In the original version of this blog post, written in 2018, we wrote that 'by 2021 Cisco Systems believes that video will account for 80% of internet traffic'. So we've decided to explore whether this is actually the case - has video come as far as we thought it would?

Not all of that traffic is Netflix, dogs playing the piano or Facetime calls. Video is on the verge of becoming the number one way that buyers expect to learn about your business. 

Following the pandemic and the mass exodus from offices to working from home, it is obvious why video is a crucial tool for every aspect of the modern business: from operations and sales through to marketing and customer service. 

In fact, according to Forbes, 90% of customers say video helps them make buying decisions. If that wasn't enough to persuade you that video should be part of your marketing and sales strategy, then what about 64% of customers saying that seeing a video makes them more likely to make a purchase?

Video is no longer an optional extra in your marketing plan, it should be a central part of your go-to market strategy. Video marketing is undeniably and inescapably effective - it works for B2B, ecommerce, SMEs and beyond.

If you are not using video in your content marketing strategy already, this blog post is for you. We will cover how to start and keep up best practices for video marketing with HubSpot. 

The trouble with video marketing... until now

While consumer-level video hosting is freely available in the form of YouTube, professional-grade video marketing platforms often seem like an expensive add-on for businesses. At ESM Inbound, we love Wistia but – if your company has a large video library – the storage costs can soon add up.

Professional marketers have been left with a choice:

  • Use cheaper video-marketing platforms that don't include vital tools, such as calls-to-action and the ability to integrate with your CRM or marketing automation software
  • Or, invest in business-grade video-marketing tools with an ever-increasing cost.

Neither option is particularly attractive.

Enter HubSpot Video

Today, that compromise disappears. HubSpot Video is live for all Professional and Enterprise portals  – at no extra cost. That's right, for the same price as you're paying now, you'll get a genuinely professional video-marketing platform right inside your existing HubSpot portal, all powered by Vidyard.

If you don't already have a HubSpot Professional or Enterprise subscription, then the value proposition is even better than before. A comprehensive, all-in-one business solution with advanced video features.

...and look how easy it is to add video to your existing web assets:

Video gif

 

Powered by Vidyard's incredible video platform (but built natively into HubSpot), this combines power, flexibility and ease of use.

Video for sales and customer service teams

Marketing teams are not the sole beneficiaries of HubSpot’s video capabilities: anyone with a seat for Sales Hub Professional/Enterprise or Service Hub Professional/Enterprise will get access to video for their one-to-one emails. This means that 

Sales people can record and send demo videos (screenshare and webcam recordings) without ever leaving their HubSpot portal. Service and support professionals can walk customers through solutions to their problems in a short video.

To reiterate the efficacy of video content, emails with video see an 8x increase in open-to-reply rates compared to text-only emails. And it helps you engage decision makers, too – Forbes found that 65% of executives visited a company's website after watching a video.

With HubSpot Video in Sales and Service Hub, you can give your team the ability to delight customers and engage prospects while saving time, and without having to learn a new software platform.

SEO for video marketing

Optimising your video for search is an important part of video content marketing. Much like more traditional content SEO, video SEO is the practice of optimising your video for search engines, with the aim of improving your visibility and rank. 

Here are some rudimentary video SEO tips to get you started:

  • Closed captioning (CC) and video transcripts are vital. Transcripts offer search engines a text version of your content, whereas CC allows those scrolling with their mobiles on silent to still consume your video content. 
  • An engaging thumbnail will never go amis - you want people to want to watch your video, right? Plus, Wistia argues that videos with custom human thumbnails receive a 30% higher play rate than those without. 
  • Ensure your titles and descriptions are SEO-informed and click orientated. 

How can you get HubSpot Video?

HubSpot's video features are included in all of the Professional and Enterprise level hubs.

  • Marketing Hub users will be able to store their videos in HubSpot and embed them into website pages, landing pages and blog posts. You can include CTAs within a video and created workflow automations based on video analytics.
  • Sales Hub users will be able to quickly record and embed video into their one-to-one emails and get notifications when prospects watch a video.
  • Service Hub users will be able to record and embed video in their one-to-one emails. They will also be able to embed video into Knowledge Base articles.

Do you want to learn more about HubSpot Video?

As a HubSpot Diamond Agency Partner, we've had access to HubSpot Video for a while and we're excited to roll it out to our customers. If you'd like to learn how you can accelerate your marketing, sales and service offering with HubSpot Video, book a free call to explore these new features.