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As a business owner or marketer, you always have to be thinking about how you can improve and complement existing strategies by leveraging available technologies. In terms of content marketing in 2015, this means you should carefully consider video and how it fits into your current marketing plan.

The value of video marketing

The value of video cannot be overstated. It’s a huge, untapped channel for content marketing that’s ideal for engaging with customers in unique ways. And while many brands are already utilizing it, many more avoid video because they’re unsure of how to appropriately and effectively maximize it. Well, before talking about a handful of best practices, let’s quickly review some video marketing statistics so you can truly understand the value of this medium.

According to this infographic, online video now accounts for 50 percent of all mobile internet traffic. Around two-thirds of all viewers watch at least 75 percent of a video they start. Roughly 78 percent of internet users watch videos online each week, while 55 percent watch videos online every day. This year, predictions suggest 57 percent of all internet traffic will be related to video. By 2017, that number will be up to 69 percent. And by 2018, 79 percent of all internet traffic will consist of video.

4 ways to incorporate video into existing content marketing

As you can see, video isn’t some internet fad that appears to be fading off into the distance any time soon. Video, as a content marketing medium, is only going to grow in prominence. You can either sit back and watch competition leverage it, or you can find ways to integrate it into your existing strategy. Here are some tips for doing the latter:

1. Use video on landing pages

One of the best places to use video is on landing pages where you’re encouraging users to complete a specific action. Almost half of all internet viewers take some sort of action after watching an ad or video, and they typically result in higher viewer retention rates. By incorporating video into landing pages, you can enhance your sales message and more effectively push users through the conversion funnel.

2. Build a YouTube presence

If you want to understand what’s working, take a look at the top brands around the world. According to one study of the top 100 global brands, you’ll see that YouTube is a high priority. The data shows that these brands have spent billions of dollars on thousands of videos – and the budget has steadily increased for months.

The lure of YouTube is the user base. With more than one billion active monthly users watching more than four billion videos daily, it’s no surprise that YouTube is the second leading search engine in the entire world.

3. Consider live-stream capabilities

While YouTube has long had live-streaming capabilities, social networks like Periscope have taken it to an entirely new level. Brands have already jumped at the opportunity to align themselves with this progressive technology, hosting behind-the-scenes looks, celebrity takeovers, live interviews, Q&A’s, and more. It’s this aspect of video that will be most interesting to watch unfold in the coming months.

4. Use video for product features

One area where video has the potential to really increase conversions is alongside product pages. This is especially true when the product you’re offering is relatively unknown or complex. Instead of simply describing how it works, or presenting a few static images, you can actually give customers a firsthand look at what it does, how it can be used, and why it’s valuable.

Don’t overlook video

The value of video content marketing is as high as it’s ever been, but the good news is that it will only improve over time. In the coming months and years, the value of video will continue to grow, and it should be your goal to extract as much value as you can from this powerful medium.

If you want a whole set of tips to generate leads with content marketing such as ways to repurpose your content into other forms, insights on which format you should focus on, techniques to measure the results and other data points, download the eBook “How to generate leads through Content Marketing“.