Are you using video to promote your business’s products, services and brand? Statistics show that approximately 74 percent of all internet traffic comes from online videos. With the smartphone technology improving and broadband internet access expanding, experts predict this number will grow even higher in the near future.

As a business owner, you can capitalise on the growing trend of online video by making it a key component of your marketing strategy. If you’re hesitant to begin using video, check out some of the amazing benefits it offers.

1. YouTube Is The World’s Second-Largest Search Engine

With more than 2 billion monthly users, YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine, surpassed only by its parent company Google. Uploading your marketing videos to YouTube will allow you to capture some of this traffic. Some users may even follow your channel, further boosting the visibility of your marketing videos.

2. Consumers Prefer Watching Product Videos Over Reading Text

According to Animoto, consumers are 400% more likely to watch a video about a product than read text about that product. Of course, this shouldn’t come as a surprise given the visual nature of video. Watching a video allows consumers to see exactly how a product works, whereas reading text forces them to envision the product. Because of these nuances, consumers typically prefer to watch product videos instead of reading about products.

3. Enhances Email Marketing

You can even use video to improve your email marketing campaigns. Just seeing the word “video” in the subject line is often enough to entice recipients to open the email. But if you really want to leverage the marketing power of video, you should include them in your actual messages. Studies show that adding video to marketing emails increases click-through rates (CTRs) by up to 300%. If your current marketing emails generate an average CTR of 10%, for instance, adding video can potentially boost that number to 30%.

4. Encourages Higher Search Rankings

Including video on your business’s website may help it rank higher in the search engines. Search engines use complex algorithms consisting of hundreds of signals to determine a website’s rank. However, high-quality and relevant content is one of the most influential ranking signals. If you publish high-quality, relevant content to your site, search engines will respond by increasing your rank. Video, of course, is the perfect type of content for this purpose. A study conducted by Moovly found that websites with video are 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of Google’s search results than their counterparts without video. This doesn’t mean that adding video to your site will automatically yield a #1 rank. Rather, it can complement your search engine optimisation (SEO) by filling your site with stellar content.

5. Video Ads

Many online advertising channels now support video ads. Google AdWords, for instance, offers TrueView video ads, which are displayed on YouTube and partner sites. Once your ad has been uploaded to YouTube, you can create a TrueView campaign for it within the AdWords interface. Traditional in-stream TrueView ads are displayed before, during and after non-promotional videos. Facebook Ads also offers video ads. According to the social media giant’s own research, Facebook video ads reach 37% more U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 34 than TV commercials. Promotional videos on Facebook Ads are displayed in users’ News Feeds. Even Twitter has jumped on the bandwagon by supporting video ads. The network’s Promoted Video service allows business owners and advertisers to create targeted video ads using a cost-per-view (CPV) payment model.

6. Generates Social Shares

Roughly eight in 10 Americans now have a Facebook account. Video marketing can increase your business’s exposure on Facebook as well as other social media networks. Because of their visual nature, videos are more likely to be shared than text and links. In fact, one study found that 76% of social media users would share a branded video if that video was entertaining.

7. Mobile Friendly

The use of mobile devices to access the internet has increased over the past few years. In 2016, the number of mobile internet users surpassed that of desktop users for the first time. And since then, mobile internet usage has only increased.

Thankfully, videos are a completely mobile-friendly form of content. You can either upload your videos to YouTube or use a responsive media player. Regardless, you can rest assured knowing that all users — both desktop and mobile — can watch your videos.

8. Increases Conversions

Perhaps the greatest benefit of video marketing is its ability to increase conversions. According to HubSpot — an industry-leader in digital marketing — landing pages with video generate 80% more conversions than landing pages without video. Whether you’re selling a product or generating newsletter signups, video can help you achieve your goals. You can further increase the conversion-generating power of video by including a call to action (CTA). Editing your video with a text overlay, for instance, will entice viewers to take action.

9. Brand Exposure

In addition to generating conversions, video also creates brand exposure. When creating videos, you can include brand elements like your business name, logo, colour scheme, slogan and more. Each time someone watches your video, they’ll see your brand elements. Over time, this helps to create brand recognition.

10. Squeeze More Content Into Less Space

Finally, video allows you to squeeze more content into less space. There’s an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, a 60-second video is worth 1.8 million words, according to a Forrester study.

Rather than writing an essay-long article for your website, try using video instead. You’ll be able to consolidate your message into a smaller size while also providing a more visualised format. Visitors will appreciate this alternative form of content, resulting in a better user experience and ultimately more conversions.

These are just a few benefits of video marketing. Regardless of the industry in which your business operates, you should make a video a fundamental component of your overall marketing strategy.