Video didn’t kill the text star

"Video killed the radio star" is one of those catchy 80s chorus lines that pops into your head when you're hanging laundry or scrubbing counters. I'm not sure how upset The Buggles were when they wrote that song, but I like to think they were enraged.

In the content marketing world, many would confidently state that video has more blood on its hands — the written word.

To be fair, video has dominated the industry for years now. According to the latest Wyzowl State of Video Marketing report, 87% of video marketers say video has helped them increase traffic. And 79% of marketers who don't use video said they would start in 2022.

Basically, it's a free-for-all brawl for consumer attention and it shows no sign of slowing down.

So where does that leave written content? Dead in a ditch? Buried in a shallow grave? I don't think so and it seems others agree. A report by Social Media Examiner found that 58% of marketers still place original written content above video and other formats.

Here's why.

The bottom line

Short attention spans are most definitely a consideration for content strategies, but so is cost. Video marketing can be a much bigger drain on budgets. Buying the editing software, the equipment and the time spent producing and finding licensed footage all adds up.

Written content is much easier to produce. All you need is an experienced content writer and a... well, that's it really!

With a bit of inspiration, they can produce something that's easily adaptable from platform to platform, extremely search-friendly and skimmable for maximum retention.

Written content often has a quicker turnaround, which can be helpful in the age of mass publishing. In 2018, 51% of content marketers committed to publishing something daily. That's a whole load of videos.

When planning your calendar don't be alarmed if you don't have the funds (or the time) to make a new video each week. A blog post or newsletter can be a cost-effective way to keep your audience engaged.

The deep dive

As hard as you try, sometimes you can't get the nuance you need into a 1-minute video. Take it from someone who regularly writes articles as well as video scripts, sometimes you wish you had 30 frames instead of 15 to get the really juicy stuff across!

Some ideas are just born to be articles. And in a world where only 44% of people trust news, putting out well-sourced written content that dives a bit deeper can help build credibility.

And for those who want it all, an article can be a great starting point for social videos. You can squeeze two great pieces of content from one idea.

The looking glass

When was the last time you searched beyond the first page of the Google search results? Exactly. According to Backlinko, only 0.78% of Google users click on results on the second page. One major benefit of written content is that it's searchable. That means it can get your brand on page one, in answer boxes or news carousels, all the places you want to be.

With a few simple tricks, a savvy writer can turn a relatively low-profile piece into go-to content. The stats and analytics will speak for themselves. For this to work, content needs to be relevant, clear, easily understandable and high-quality. Those are just a few of the pieces of the puzzle, but we can't reveal all our secrets here, can we?

Let's just say that 70% of marketers consider making their content more search friendly, through search engine optimisation (SEO), to be more effective than pay-per-click advertising for good reason.

Creating content with SEO in mind allows brands to define themselves clearly to their audience and remain consistent throughout all of their communication channels. It's a great way to establish branding pillars as well as accompany other content formats which are not searchable.

The big picture

The bottom line: text is alive and kicking. Text, video, graphics, audio... they all have their part to play in the content marketing process. No-one's saying you should drop videos after reading this. But whatever you do, don't discount the written word either.