Stock video is generic video footage held by massive online libraries. In a world where videos are quickly becoming the most sought after type of content online, marketing firms are using stock video to boost engagement and increase their video presence for pennies on the dollar.
If you’re not using stock video in your marketing campaigns, here are five reasons why that has to change.
Video content is the new standard
Whether you like it or not, consumers want video content much more than they want to read your landing pages or blog. 90% of consumers say video content helps them make buying decisions, and internet traffic is expected to be 82% video-based within a year.
The bottom line? Your customers want more video content.
Using stock footage allows you to make more videos for less money. An increased video presence will help keep your brand front of mind for existing customers and will entice potential customers to watch and follow. If you aren’t producing up-to-date video content, new customers will likely choose a competitor that is….
High quality, low price
Stock video has a reputation for being cheesy and inauthentic, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Modern stock footage is very high in quality and is even available in 1080p and 4K resolution.
There are millions of stock video clips to choose from, ranging from cityscapes to nature panoramas to emotional interactions between people (more on that later).
Investing in stock video means you can get the professional shots you need for your campaign without hiring a production team (and therefore, saving a ton of cash).
If you’re thinking of exploring stock video for your marketing campaign, you’d be in good company. Over 40% of marketing teams already use stock images and some of the biggest brands use stock video, including Allstate, Netflix, and the LA Chargers.
Be more authentic
Customers don’t just want to see your product. They want to see your brand’s personality. But, sending an authentic message via the magic of video can be tough.
Some brands crash and burn by putting resentful employees in front of the camera, usually with cringe-worthy results. Other hire actors (at great expense) and still risk missing the mark.
When you use stock video, you can choose from millions of clips to find those that vibe with your brand. Whether it’s enthusiasm, determination, respect, tenderness or any other trait, you’ll know exactly what message you’re sending (and the emotion your conveying) before putting down a dime.
The brand SoFi is a student loan refinancing company. Not in a popular industry, they walk a tightrope every time they produce an ad. SoFi used stock video to add loads of people power and authenticity to their 2017 commercial.
Capture the micro-moment
While consumers love video content, they don’t have time to commit to a Lord-of-the-Rings style epic, no matter how well made it is.
We live in the era of the micro-moment. This is the window of engagement that opens when someone casually checks their phone or scrolls on social media. Micro-moments last only a few seconds, but if they’re done right, they can subtly keep your brand in the spotlight at very little cost.
Check out this Corona ad as an example of great micro-moment marketing. No words are necessary to convey the emotions of freedom and escape that Corona wants to embody its brand.
By using stock video, you can create micro-moments in minutes, keeping up with trends and new product launches. You can even cut one stock video into a bunch of different micro-moments to save time and money.
Tell your story better
In the end, your marketing campaign is all about telling a story. Whether it’s about your company or your target, viewers want to form a connection with a narrative.
Even if you shoot your own content, stock video can be spliced in to add more gravity to your tale. It could be a shot of rolling farmland, a mother and a baby, or a crowd going wild–introducing archetypes and professional footage lets you scale the perception of your video in ways you couldn’t do without a full production team.
One of the best ads of all time, the Nissan Leaf polar bear commercial, used a real polar bear and additional nature shots to tell a story that feels both planetary and personal.
Whether your firm has a masterful production team or is new to video content marketing, you can boost engagement and decrease spending by incorporating stock video into your next campaign.
