By Ken Turley

Every self-storage owner wants to find that next tip or trick that will help his business gain an edge over the competition. That edge often comes in the form of advertising or marketing. Over the last decade or so, marketing has taken a completely different path for most businesses. Instead of phonebook listings, newspaper ads, fliers, etc., companies are now focusing energy on online marketing techniques to drive consumers to their websites. These techniques commonly include search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising, social media marketing and blogging, just to name a few.

Another strategy that’s become effective is video marketing, in which the simple goal is to engage the viewer and create a feeling that will influence him to act, whether that’s filling out a form to learn more, renting online, sharing the video on social media, or many other positive actions beneficial to your business. Many companies now have dedicated YouTube channels to market their products, offer tutorials or answer frequently asked questions. They also share these videos across their various social media channels, which allows them to promote their business to a wider audience.

Video Dominance

If you need convincing that video has become a major marketing tool, consider these key statistics from “29 Big Video Marketing Statistics for Media Brands,” published by ReelSEO.com:

• 68 percent of marketers believe original, digital-video content will be as important as original television programming in the next three years.
• In the United States, YouTube reaches more 18- to 49-year-olds than any broadcast or cable TV network through mobile devices alone.
• During prime time in the U.S., more 18- to 49-year-olds tune in to YouTube than the top 10 TV shows combined.
• In 2016, more video content will be uploaded in 30 days than all three major U.S. television networks have created in 30 years combined.
• It’s estimated that mobile video will account for 75 percent of total mobile data traffic by 2020.
• Users are watching 100 million hours of video on Facebook every day.
• 55 percent of people in the U.S. watch videos every day.
• Google Preferred, YouTube’s premium content offering, reaches more people in the U.S. on mobile devices than all full-episode players, like Hulu or Netflix, combined.
• In 2020, video will account for 23.2 percent of marketing spend, compared with 17.7 percent in 2015.
• The average Internet user spends more than 16 minutes watching online video ads every month.
• The average click-through rate of video ads is 1.84 percent higher than any other digital format.

Short Attention Spans

As you can see, video content is a major draw in our society today, but why? Well, for starters, while society is filled with many innovative and brilliant people, the average attention span of a human is only eight seconds thanks to mobile devices, social media and other channels. To put that into perspective, goldfish have an attention span of nine seconds. Today’s marketers need to cater to an impatient and somewhat dull society. The best way to do that is by using video as a main source of content on your website. Here are three reasons why it works:

1. Videos convey your message quickly. Videos can get right to the point better than any other media or content structure. There’s no reading bullet points or boring articles like this one—just key information on demand.

2. Videos keep viewer’s attention. High-quality videos connect with viewers and keep their attention using audio and visual effects. This reduces other distractions and enables the viewer to pay attention to a video’s core message. This is pretty much the same idea as turning on cartoons for a child or using a laser or something shiny to distract a cat.

3. Google loves videos. In today’s Internet world, Google is king, and to be successful, we need to follow its rules. Google has come out with numerous articles and updates urging people to utilize “media-rich content” to enhance the viewer’s experience. Websites that demonstrate good video practices usually rank higher in Google searches and receive more relevant traffic as a result.