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a significant shift in way people engage with the web. It isn’t anything new and it isn’t anything unheard of, but it is a significant shift, and that shift is towards video content. As we move away from desktops and toward mobile communication devices as the primary interface on the internet, video is the communication mode of choice. With the increase in connectivity speed, visually engaging content works better. It is faster, more intent and more focused on a subject matter. This video content can include audio and it can shift from words to images. The content can mix medias and engage with entertainment and instructions, creating an “edutainment” environment. 70% of the human race is primarily visual and over 90% have a visual/auditory modality, so it is only natural to have a visually engaging interface.
Shifting how business is done
From the standpoint of a content marketing business, this is a major shift. In fact, Google and Bing are still exploring the methodology to interface with video and give it the level of attention that they now give the written word. Over the next few years, you will begin to see more complex algorithms, in relation to videos and theri subject matter. It is already common knowledge that video has a dynamic reach and viral engagement. However from the business and Return on Investment (ROI) perspective, it is largely underutilized. This is primarily because there is no proven ROI or business model for product or service-based video utilization. However, as anyone with a TV can tell you, visual engagement has an excellent return on investment, when properly used.
The model exists
There is a model that already returns significant gains on the web and it is well suited to the video media marketing structure. That model is the authority content marketing model. The marketing philosophy, which embraces the philosophy that your business is a part of a greater community and your attention to that community is rewarded when you directly contribute to that community, has been around for years. A video marketing campaign, centered around helping, entertaining and emotionally engaging the potential customer, is a campaign that aligns with Google’s primary intent. This form of contributory involvement in the businesses arena is presently encouraged by search engines, from a word based structure. It will most likely be a significant factor in the video content model.
SERPs are already working towards this future
The web is filled with a wide range of streaming videos on sites like Vine, Periscope, Snapchat, Vimeo, and YouTube. The structure of the search engine is shifting and as the web shifts to video engagement, the search engine world will adapt its search structures to suit customers. For consumers, this means that major players will increasingly be providing instructional, engaging and entertaining videos that encourage you to adopt their brand and their products. As a result, smaller providers will follow suit. As they follow suit, the world of content marketing will shift dramatically. Already the small business provider’s are surviving on instructional videos, as a sales and marketing tool on YouTube and Vimeo. Soon, product placement and “click on products” integration will become the norm. You will watch a movie on your mobile device, click on the couch from a certain scene and be guided through its purchase. Movies designed to engage your emotional states and sell you products at the same time. This speaks to a higher level of product placement and cross-platform integration.
The new way to PPC and CPC
Search engines will adapt to this environment, using some type of “cookie-like” structure to allow you to buy the wonderful couch while surfing for another entertainment. Or help you find a place to eat dinner, while watching “Master Chef”. Pay-per-click (PPC) will become the new integrated feature of your entertainment. Perhaps while watching a scene from a movie, you will be able to send Channing Tatum’s haircut to your stylist for your next styling. During a mid-season football game, you could click on the screen and get tickets to their next home game. All of this will be driven to and from your search engine and various per-click services.
So the question is: will you be on the leading edge of this new trend or scrambling to catch up? Building your web site around a video capable platform, considering videos for engaging your customer and working towards a contributory model of web engagement will all help you be prepared for the new surge and the time to start is now.
– Jeff Batchelder, SEO Manager
