Since we’re in the video and film-making industry, we thought we’d start a monthly series of posts dedicated to giving tips about preparing, creating and making the best use of video. Over the years we have come across clients who have felt a little lost when it came to putting together a video project and we’d like to use our experience to help you ask the right questions, consider your options, and be fully prepared so you can eventually create something you are truly proud of.

Not very surprisingly, we’re going to start this series by making sure you know all of the reasons you absolutely need to be using video right now. It turns out this is all for your own good. Here’s why:

Video is the current big thing, and it’s becoming bigger

As we’re sure you’ve already heard on the grapevine, video is BIG on the Internet. And it’s only growing. Research by Cisco predicts that consumer video traffic will be 80% of all consumer Internet traffic in 2019, up from an already massive 64% in 2014. Thanks to Facebook’s auto play feature where videos automatically play back once the user scrolls to that section of the newsfeed, videos are harder to ignore than ever, creating an undisturbed attention bubble where you get to speak directly to your audience.

Video captures attention

Whether on or off the internet, from the very first screened moving image, film and video have captured audience attention and imagination in a way no other medium has managed to. Appealing to both sight and sound in a flurry of action, video absorbs viewers for longer periods than writing or static images alone.

When done well, video can transport audiences to an alternate reality, one where they are fully engaged into listening to what you have to say.

Video humanises your company or cause

Companies nowadays are often faceless. Customers have direct contact with products in a shop, an online transaction through a website, a voice on a phone line and little more. Video gives you the opportunity to get behind the screen and tell your own story. You can showcase the people and the stories behind the services you offer, in a way that fully illustrates your brand’s character and values.

A strong video stays in circulation for years

Creating an entertaining video can be a cost effective marketing tool that relies on people’s psychology to encourage sharing for distribution. With targeted marketing and investment to get it noticed within the right channels, a video can get hundreds, sometimes thousands and thousands of shares round the globe. The video that Shadeena produced for Valletta’s bid to become the 2018 Culture Capital was viewed over 11,700 times on YouTube since it was released three years ago. Moreover YouTube statistics show a very even distribution in the number of viewings over the years, so that three years after its release, the video is still very relevant and doing a great job of promoting its subject matter, making it a sound long term investment.

The YouTube generation and far beyond

Millenials and under 18s prefer to use YouTube rather than Google when researching online, making YouTube second only to Facebook in terms of time spent on one particular platform. It stands to reason that video is the obvious choice when communicating with the younger generations.

Perhaps more surprisingly, video is also rapidly increasing its hold on older age bands. Research by Nielsen shows an 80% increase in video viewing time for 35-49 year olds and a 54% increase for 50-64 year olds in 2014, making video hard to ignore whatever the age of your audience.