Faster mobile connections, increased data allowances and a rise in Wi-Fi availability has led to a growth in digital video viewers.
Earlier this year, market research company eMarketer predicted that the digital video audience would grow 8.2 per cent in 2017.
That means that more than 62 per cent of the world’s internet users will view digital video during this year.
But why is video content marketing so popular? And how can it benefit your business?
In this blog, we look at the ‘science’ behind why video has become the most effective digital communication medium.
Processing power
There’s a statistic often bandied about that ‘visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text’ – although the source for this claim is not clear.
However, a 2014 report from neuroscientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology did find that the human brain can process entire images that the eye sees for as little as 13 milliseconds.
After visual input hits the retina, the information flows into the brain, where information such as shape, colour, and orientation is processed.
An image can be extracted even when an image is mixed up in a sequence of six or even 12 images presented a rate of about 75 frames a second.
Learn quicker
Streaming media, such as video, can help people understand complex concepts and procedures that are difficult to explain with simply text and graphics, say academics.
Video-based materials can also boost creativity and cooperation and help motivate people to learn, research has shown.
Video has become an essential tool for learning and communicating for millennial employees and students.
Because millennials are technologically-oriented, they are visual and kinesthetic learners who prefer to experience the world through multimedia and not print.
Communicate faster
Another statistic often used by marketers is that ‘one minute of video contains the equivalent of 1.8 million words’. Attributed to an analyst at research firm Forrester, the belief is that video can convey more powerful messages than written communication.
Unlike just text or images, video can help someone visualise what a product looks like in real life before making a purchase. Or explain the technology behind what you do far quicker than written materials.
In the 1970s, Albert Mehrabian – a professor of psychology – suggested that much of human communication is non-verbal which support the ideas that visuals and images make for better content compared to blocks of text or audio alone.
Make a connection
Videos that tells stories about your business is a popular trend in marketing. Experiments show that character-driven stories with emotional content result in a better understanding of the key points someone wishes to make and enable better recall of these points weeks later.
In a series of experiments, researcher Paul Zak found that visuals that cause our brains to release the oxytocin neurochemical (which influences social behaviour and emotion) – lead to a build of trust in a product or brand and, therefore, increase sales.
Brain expert and behavioural scientist Dr Susan Weinschenk says there is a brain function that hard-wires us to use the human face as a gathering point for information and believability. And, when we hear a human voice speaking, we are more likely to convert the information into meaningful content.
When we see people have emotional experiences (versus reading about them and trying to imagine them ourselves) we have a greater connection.
It’s good to share
Interpersonal communication can affect decision-making and the spread of ideas and opinions. It is widely acknowledged that people’s behaviour can be heavily influenced by what others say and do.
So, it makes sense that businesses that get people talking more about their brand are more likely to succeed in communicating their message.
Jonah Berger, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has studied the key factors that cause people to share information. He found that video content that leaves people emotionally aroused is more likely to drive them to share.
As a video production provider, we regularly chat to people about the benefits of video marketing for their business.
If you’d like to know more about how your business can utilise the power of video communication in your marketing and sales, please get in touch.
