People forget things they read within a day or two. However, people remember things they have seen in a video for weeks to come. There is more to this than just another marketing myth, and companies wishing to be remembered by customers must see how video content affects memory.
Video Content is More Memorable Than Any Other Type of Content
The brain processes visual information 60,000 times quicker than text. When watching a video, people experience an all-encompassing sensory experience. They are not only watching the video; they are seeing movement, color, expressions, sounds, tones, and music; everything gels to create multiple cues for memory retention.
Essentially, text content stimulates one area of the brain, while video content stimulates multiple areas. The visual cortex processes what it sees, the auditory processing centers of the brain pick up dialogue, and the emotional brain lights up with the music and themes or stories that are portrayed. This all-encompassing stimulation creates way more powerful memories than text reading can create.
Video Content Retention Statistics
People remember 95% of what they watch in a video, but only 10% of what they read. This statistic alone is enough to create an entirely different narrative for companies that embrace it.
Viewer statistics also illustrate how much more powerful video content is when compared to text. People watch videos through to completion at unimaginable retention rates when compared to even blog content. Businesses have much more time to make an impact on potential customers through video content than any other format.
Brand Recognition
Brand recall statistics are astronomical for businesses that take advantage of video content.
People watching video content make decisions about companies within seconds of viewing the content. Businesses have the opportunity to cultivate connections through product showcases or behind-the-scenes peeks into their operations.
Video content helps businesses convey personality in ways text content can never hope to compete with. The sound of a person’s voice and their gestures, as well as the backgrounds captured in these videos, say a lot about how trustworthy or authentic the business might be. People’s assessments stretch beyond what they read about a business.
Different Types of Video Content Are Differentially Remembered
Video content with story arcs is remembered better than random collections of clips and slideshows without any story.
How-To Videos
People respond better to informational content in videos than they do text. Even complicated products or services are easy to understand when people watch an explainer video.
Testimonial Videos
People remember videos with testimonials from satisfied customers better than text containing these same testimonials. The hints people pick up from these videos about excitement and sincerity alert viewers to authenticity in these videos.
The Social Impact of Video Shares
People share video content at much higher levels than any other type of post for months down the line, on multiple platforms.
The value of shared video content is impossible to measure. When people share a video, they share a business, and recommend that business to their friends and loved ones.
Social media algorithms favor video content and make it go viral, real-time. The Instagram feed comprises video content, not static posts. Businesses investing the time and energy to create regular content in the form of videos will reach many more people than businesses relying on texts and one-off images or video content.
Achieving Goals Through Video Content
Businesses can strategically use video content by setting goals for the content they are creating. Product demonstration videos can achieve simple goals demonstrating how products work. Behind-the-scenes or outtake videos can make people feel engaged with businesses. Educational videos can elevate any business’s status as an industry authority.
Companies must keep this in mind—consistency is far more valuable for memory retention than perfection. Businesses placing posts with video content now and again will not have nearly the impact as businesses that feed people a steady stream of video content as part of their marketing strategy.
Quality Counts
In as much as companies should be consistently posting videos, there is never any harm in focusing on quality. Poorly made videos filled with shaky images or terrible sounds can render even awesome ideas forgettable, or memorable for all the wrong reasons! Professional services like Rochester video production services can ensure that video quality meets the quality of the messages people wish to deliver.
The Long Game
Companies creating good quality video content today will build an entire collection of memories for consumers to recall long after they have watched even their first piece of content from these businesses. Excellent content on platforms like YouTube continues to work for businesses long after it has been posted.
Businesses that keep coming up on different platforms time and again over months or years appear to monopolize entire markets, even on a shoe string budget. Using winning video-sharing platforms like YouTube will allow companies to build memorability for their content.
Viewers Form Relationships With Businesses Based on Video Content
Video changes everything about how viewers remember a company because it transforms their entire experience with these companies from the moment they engage with their content.
Through the sustained use of video content as part of a firm’s marketing arsenal, companies will build lifelong relationships with their audiences. The use of video content is the single most effective vehicle for a company’s future success.