Video marketing vs content marketing: are they different?

Summary

What is the difference between content marketing and video marketing? Is there really a difference? Find out in the article who wins the video marketing vs content marketing “challenge”.

What is content marketing?

These days, if you want to market your brand online and offline, content marketing is an essential part of your strategy. The question we will address in this post is the following: is there a difference between video marketing vs content marketing? 

Actually, video marketing is a subcategory of content marketing. So, what is content marketing? Content marketing is important because it is tailored to the needs and interests of customers. 

Personalizing content marketing helps brands make conversions in relatively short periods of time.  

Being able to convey the personality aspects of your brand, without focusing too much on selling, is what helps increase trust in the brand.  

However, when people think of content marketing, they mainly think of “written text” conjugated in different forms: blog posts, social media posts, or online articles. In short, for a long time, text was the main mode of communication.  

But then something changed. 

Video marketing vs content marketing: does video win?   

Let’s return to the video marketing vs. content marketing “challenge”.  

After the huge success achieved by social platforms, video content has taken over. Let’s look at some data:  

• Online video will be the leading source of web content by 2022, accounting for 82.5% of all web traffic (source: Cisco). 
• 86% of companies use video as a marketing tool (source: Wyzowl). 
• The average person will get to spend 100 minutes a day watching online video in 2022 (source: Smart Insights). 
• 84% of people said they were convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video (source: Think With Google). 
• 69% of people said they would prefer to watch a short video about a product or service if they wanted to learn more about it (source: Wyzowl). 

It is evident how videos have been the new frontier of marketing. They are pleasant to watch, they make it easier and faster to enjoy content, and they can also be entertaining.  

Surely we can say with certainty that video marketing was not born yesterday: platforms such as YouTube have been around for a while now, but it’s also true that it was the advent of social media when video marketing began to penetrate the market. 

We can’t overlook that the video format is much more appealing in a world overloaded with information that is increasingly difficult to process. The audio-visual nature of video helps us to process this information more easily. Objectively, it’s much easier to create impact through a video than through a blog post.   

These are the strengths of video. Now, let’s get back to the topic of video marketing vs content marketing and analyze the pros and cons, the potential and the weaknesses, of each.  

Don’t underestimate written text 

Video marketing vs content marketing: but what about written content?  

• 90% of marketers use a content marketing plan and they will continue to invest the same amount in 2022. 
• 66% of marketers predict that the budget dedicated to content marketing is up from 2021. 
• More than 60% of marketers measure the success of their content marketing strategy through sales (source: Hubspot). 

It is clear that including video content in a marketing strategy is essential, but marketers should not underestimate written content, which is still relevant and especially useful for positioning. 

1. Producing written text is easier 

Written content is much easier and faster to produce, especially if you rely on a copywriter. Videos take weeks or even months to produce, compared to only a few days for written content.  

This is why most companies have a blog and often choose written content for smaller announcements, while using video content for longer, more in depth topics. It’s useful to think about which stories actually require video and which require text.   

2. Written content is less expensive 

No additional equipment is needed to write content, which will also require editing and proofreading (but again, no equipment). In addition, there is no need to invest in “better content production” if the brand starts getting more recognition. It may only be necessary to hire additional content writers to create more. 

3. Text is “skimmable” 

Although a lower attention threshold is required for video, a viewer is much more likely to have to scroll back and forth to find the information he or she is looking for, which is very likely to lead to the end of the viewing experience.  

With written text, on the other hand, it is much easier: the reader can scroll through the headings to get to the part he or she needs or use “ctrl F” to quickly locate specific keywords.  

4. It is easily distributed 

A great way to help your brand gain more recognition and create relevant partnerships is to write posts for other blogs and participate in link exchange. Similarly, you can also post written content on large platforms like Medium to get traction, instead of competing for views on YouTube. 

5. Written content is reusable 

It is much easier to reuse written content by simply making updates. Instead, posting the same video everywhere, regardless of platform, will not work. If your video was designed for Instagram, it may not fit on your LinkedIn page. 

6. Written text is much more SEO-friendly 

Unfortunately, you cannot distribute keywords within a video. The most you can do is include some keywords in the title and caption. With written content, you can distribute more keywords in the article or website content section, which will help when it comes to ranking.   

In short, written content is still valuable and this should not be forgotten.   

The benefits of video marketing 

Video marketing vs content marketing: what are the benefits of video content? 

1. Video elicits greater engagement 

People tend to be much more curious when it comes to watching videos and they are more likely to watch them to the end. Video also lends itself much more to sharing, which is why video ads are often discussed and shared on social media, bringing more recognition and curiosity about the brand.  

2. It improves conversion rates 

Video content increases conversion rates, particularly when used on landing pages or included in marketing campaigns. People want to see an overview of the product or service, and this is best achieved through video. Likewise, text-rich landing pages tend to underperform, so adding video content is a perfect way to make it more dynamic but also to reduce bounce rates.  

3. Video is visually appealing 

High quality videos are much more appealing to the viewer. Good graphics create a pleasing visual experience, which establishes a positive association with the brand and encourages further research.  

4. It’s more convenient to consume 

More and more people are enjoying content on mobile devices. Smartphones accompany us during our every move. One important note here: Don’t forget to include captions or subtitles!  

5. It provides better reach 

Videos are more likely to go viral. This is certainly not the case with written content, as important as it is. Releasing video content is more likely to introduce your brand to people outside your customer base and increase your overall reach. 

6. Good for explaining  

Videos are great informational content. In fact, video explainers are especially hot right now. Videos designed to explain the features of a product or service that would be very boring to read about in written text.  

Video marketing vs content marketing: what are the flaws? 

Now that we have had a chance to see that both video marketing and content marketing (understood as text production for this comparison) have their merits, and it is important that your marketing strategy include both. But what are the cons? 

As far as written text is concerned, surely we are talking about one piece of content among millions. There is a clear saturation of text on the web, and no matter how well-written and relevant the content is, it surely cannot be the goal of a marketing strategy. It also tends to be much less visually appealing.  

Not to mention that some people would never read a written text. With video, it’s much easier to emphasize the most relevant parts with images and sound. This is almost impossible to do when working with text, especially in the case of long pieces.  

But video marketing also has cons: think of production costs– equipment costs–and much longer lead times (even months for some projects). Unlike a blog post that can be easily updated with the most current information, a video will necessarily have to be replaced. Also, depending on the type of video, some may require the presence of real people. 

It is necessary to choose people who are comfortable with this medium to avoid an unpleasant end result. Similarly, employees who agree to be filmed should be helped to feel comfortable, and certainly more takes will be needed for each video. 

So who is the winner in the video marketing vs content marketing challenge? 

In search of the right balance 

Today there is no longer a clear distinction between video marketing and content marketing.

It is now unthinkable to consider a content marketing strategy that doesn’t include video. And there is certainly no absolute answer to the video marketing vs content marketing question. 

Both have pros and cons, it’s just a matter of finding the right balance between the two!