Earned media is the hardest type of PR media to obtain.

Accessing free press is challenging for micro to small-sized businesses. People who work at media outlets get bombarded daily with outreach emails and calls, trying to sell them a ‘story’. Plus, it can be challenging trying to get in front of the right people with your message.

Accessing PR is an effective way to build brand awareness, generate leads, and convert those leads into paying customers.

But the challenge shouldn’t discourage you from trying! Leveraging media channels to promote your small business is one of the most effective ways to expose your brand to new people who’d likely be interested in your product or service, cultivate a positive public perception and drive sales.

Are you reading up on the latest trends in marketing? Do you keep hearing about content marketing and how important video is? But what is it about video in a marketing strategy that make it so important?

There are countless reasons for incorporating video in your marketing strategy, but these top 7 will have you storyboarding before the day’s end.

1. Mobile Friendly

Videos are easily viewed on mobile phones and perfectly placed to engage potential customers during their morning public transport commute and lunchtime scroll. Mobile users are opting to absorb everything from television programmes to their daily news on their device, and this trend continues to grow.

Mobile video consumption rises 100% every year. (Kallas)

With a ready and willing audience, incorporating video in your content strategy is a no-brainer.

Given the growing popularity (and current supremacy) of video as a preferred medium for consuming knowledge, incorporating video in your marketing strategy should be a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. YouTube is the ultimate platform to house your investment in marketing content for a number of reasons:

Statistics in favour of a resounding “yes” verdict

• “1.9 billion logged-in users visit YouTube every month.”(Cooper 2019)
• “Searches of ‘how to’ videos are growing by 70% year on year.”(Smith 2019)
• “In an average month, 8 out of 10 18-49 year olds watch YouTube.” (Smith 2019)