ou’ve probably noticed in the last few years, the shift that’s been happening in content marketing and really all of the internet. The data is clear. Video is how people prefer to be communicated with.
What is this data I’m talking about and why am I so sure that video is the future of marketing?
According to a report by CISCO from 2016, video will account for about 82% of total online traffic. That’s up from 67% in 2016.
The key drivers of this growth in video are social channels. For example, on the strength of video, Youtube is the number 2 most visited site in the world right behind Google and ahead of Facebook. Talking about Facebook, an Executive there recently predicted that in less than 5 years, Facebook will be all video. You heard that, not mostly video, all video. However, video’s dominance goes beyond social media.
Video on landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80%, and just the mention of the word “video” in your email subject line increases open rates by 19%. 90% of customers also say videos help them make buying decisions. You can take advantage of video throughout your marketing funnel. From the attraction and engagement phases to the decision phase where the customer has gotten to know how you solve their problems and is ready to make a purchase.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself, that’s great and all, but we don’t have the time, resources or expertise to invest in video.
I’m going to get a little more specific about where video fits from the top of your customer journey in the attraction phase, all the way to delighting customers with great service. This is not an exhaustive list of every type of video you might want. It’s just a primer, and your specific needs may vary.
You’re probably most familiar with the types of videos you would use here.
These typically include Fun lifestyle or Brand Videos, and Sleek product or showcase videos.
The purpose of these attraction stage videos is first to entertain, and then to educate.
Pro-tip: You want to coordinate a digital deployment campaign around your video to help it reach the largest possible audience. This means, don’t just put it up on your website and forget about it or send it to your local TV station and call it a day. Get it in front of your desired audience on the social channels they’re most likely to be on and have a clear call to action.
As we move through the attraction phase into engagement, you can create explainer videos that demonstrate your understanding of your prospects’ needs and demonstrates
how your product or services solve those problems. The video itself can be animated or live-action (which just means it uses real-life footage and real people), or it can some sort of hybrid with graphics.
You can also create a thought-leadership series, which is a series of videos that leverage your in-house expertise or access to external thought leaders to create an informative resource in for your target. If done well, these establish you as a trusted source of insight and expertise.
Pro-Tip: Make sure you have a dedicated library that’s easy for your clients and prospects to discover where all your informative content can live.
Another way to use video to engage with and nurture prospects, especially when marketing B2B is by using a webinar. This webinar needs to laser-focused on the problems being faced by the people in your industry. You want to provide insights and a framework for understanding those problems while present well-researched solutions. Similar to the thought leadership series, a webinar can earn you a lot of trust, especially if you refrain from turning it into one long advertisement for yourself.
So, you’ve gotten your prospects’ attention and trust. Now, they need to make a decision. They’re a couple of videos you can use to do this.
First off is the testimonial video, and I’m not talking about any old testimonial video.
I’m talking about telling a story, preferably one that’s being told by someone your prospect can identify with. A story that’s structured around the problem being faced by the customer and the change that resulted from your intervention. You can also think of these as video case studies. They’re a great tool to arm your salespeople with so they can help your prospects make up their minds.
Now we come to the personalized email. This is where we really bring the salespeople in on all the fun by equipping them to send personalized one-on-one video messages. This kind of outreach not only helps establish a relationship with your viewer but also helps your salespeople provide custom insights based on the viewers’ company and role. Most importantly, it bridges the gap and introduces a friendly face they can connect with.
On the service side, you can empower your customer service team by using video to answer your customers’ frequently asked questions. These videos should live in a central location, probably on a help page, and can be sent out to customers as needed, helping to reduce the time it takes to find answers, increasing their satisfaction.
Whew, we’ve gone through quite a bit of information, and again, this is not an exhaustive list of videos you’ll need. But I do hope I have been able to show you a few ways you can achieve greater growth with video and make happier customers who will go on to become advocates for your business.
I hope I’ve left you excited about all the ways you can implement these ideas in your organization.
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