The Role of Video in Building Stronger Connections
Third-year University of Lincoln journalism student Izzy Ames is no stranger to understanding the power of video marketing in a world where news and information is now digestible in short-form video snippets. She outlines how video can help build stronger relationships with your customers in her blog post, which she wrote while on work experience at Shooting Star.
The use of video content in marketing can benefit the promotion of a brand’s values, identity, products and services. When video is used effectively, it can allow you to communicate with your customer and increase engagement.
The creation of video can seem daunting: too expensive, too time consuming, too little confidence etc, but it doesn’t have to be, and you need to dive in sooner rather than later to be able to compete. Videos can provide significant opportunities for companies to shape brand perception and to influence the audience along the marketing funnel.
Visual content has become a dominant force in the digital world. The video content marketing agency Social Films found that brand recall when watching a video is 85% higher than when reading text-based content (research conducted in 2025, based on UK consumer habits). It’s no surprise that 93% of marketers said they gained new customers from promotional videos they produced.
It’s all about connection
Consumer connection refers to the relationship that a brand develops with its customer, ultimately cultivating loyalty and trust. Consumers want to be seen, heard and understood; they seek connections with brands that fulfill their needs and add value to their lives. Recent data from the social media management platform Sprout Social found that 64% of the consumers they surveyed were more likely to engage with a brand that attempts to connect with its audience. Building these connections is more likely to lead to an increase in sales and repeat purchases from these consumers if the brand can continue to nurture the connection.
Hitting the Sweet Spot
Video marketing is a powerful tool for connection as it delights more senses than static content alone, helping to portray a richer story and evoke a deeper emotional response.
In today’s fast-paced world, keeping it short to grab people’s attention is the best strategy. Most videos that feature on social media will be under two minutes and are produced to entertain, inform and persuade. Video can be used for a variety of objectives from recruitment and product launches to brand awareness.
Try to feature people, for example showcase the staff to humanise the company or promote content of people who have reviewed your products and services. People buy from people – this has never been truer. Not only does it bring the company, its products and services to life but it also helps to build trust.
Research produced by the production company Lambda Films found that 55% of people visit a company’s website after watching a promotional video for that company; meanwhile, 86% of companies say that promotional videos have helped to increase their web traffic.
Having a Hoot with Duolingo
The language learning app has become a global social media phenomenon; the official Duolingo TikTok account has 16.8 million followers and an overall like count of 432.6 million. The videos that Duolingo create and share combine humour with the latest social media trends. A recent video with the company’s CEO Luis von Ahn has been viewed 3.8 million times, and one of the top comments on the video reads: “Duo’s social media and marketing team is the elite.” Video has proved a powerful tool for increasing brand awareness and engagement with its audiences.
Examples of video content that can help increase consumer connections include:
- Videos which tell a brand’s story and journey. For example, where the brand started and where it is today.
- How-to tutorials do well on social media as they suggest that a company is interested in supporting consumers, while simultaneously portraying the best features of a product or service.
- Live videos encourage audience engagement as they provide opportunity for direct interactions between consumers and brands.
- Behind-the-scenes videos help improve the credibility of a company.
- Testimonials from existing consumers are essential to help build trust with your company.
- Creative campaign videos – creating entertaining videos for key messages and product launches to build connections with your audiences.
There is no better time to start including video in your marketing efforts – adding good quality, consistent videos to your marketing channels will soon deliver results of increased brand awareness and engagement, ultimately leading to an increase in sales.
Pick up your smartphone and get used to the idea of filming content. Alternatively, if you want something a little slicker and with a strategic focus to meet your objectives, the team at Shooting Star can help! Contact us for more information.
