Video content is everywhere these days; it’s used in everything from TV commercials to YouTube videos to Facebook posts. But when it comes to selling products, video content doesn’t seem to be doing much for businesses. So, what gives? Is video just another form of advertising that won’t translate into sales? Or does it actually work? Check out How to get sales from making videos of products.
In fact, research shows that video is a powerful tool for driving sales. Here’s why:
1. People Are More Likely To Watch Video Content Than Read Text
According to a study conducted by Adobe, nearly half of all web traffic consists of video content. And according to Google Trends, searches for “video” outnumber searches for “text” by almost 3 to 1. One of the best tips for How to get sales from making videos of products.
This makes sense since we tend to spend more time watching videos than reading text. According to a study conducted by Nielsen, only 8 percent of people read the entire article in a newspaper, but 50 percent watched the entire video.
So, if you’re trying to sell something, make sure you’re creating video content that appeals to viewers’ attention spans.
2. Videos Have Long Attention Spans
Another reason why video content drives sales is because it has a longer attention span than written content. According to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, participants were asked to watch a 15-minute video clip versus reading a similar amount of text. When researchers measured the participants’ brain activity during the experiment, they found that the brains of the participants who viewed the video were still active after the video was over. By contrast, the brains of the readers became inactive shortly after they finished reading the text.
Since people’s brains become less active after viewing a video, it takes fewer mental resources to process information presented visually than it does to process information presented verbally. As a result, videos are easier to understand and remember than written content.
3. People Like to Share What They See
People like to share things they find interesting and entertaining. And when it comes to sharing videos, people are especially likely to spread the word about videos that appeal to them emotionally. For instance, studies have shown that people are more likely to recommend a product that made them laugh than one that didn’t. Similarly, people are more likely to click on links to videos that feature cute animals or funny characters than ones featuring serious topics.
That’s why it’s so effective to create video content that features emotional appeals. These kinds of videos are easy to share, and they also lend themselves well to social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.
4. People Want to Learn Something New
Research suggests that people enjoy learning new things. In fact, people are willing to pay money to learn new skills. For example, a survey conducted by the University of California Berkeley found that people are willing to pay $20 per hour to receive training in a skill that they lack.
And according to a study published in Psychological Science, people feel motivated to learn new things when they see others around them learning. Specifically, people felt more interested in learning a language when they saw someone else speaking it than when they heard a native speaker speak it.
These findings suggest that people are more likely engage with video content that teaches them something new than text content. And that’s true whether the content is educational or entertainment based.