If you spend any amount of time online, it’s almost impossible to avoid videos—videos of cats, celebrities, songs, Internet memes (hello, Harlem Shake), and much, much more. Videos are an extremely effective way of communicating with and engaging people, so it’s no wonder that more and more businesses are trying to figure out what role video will play in their own marketing mix.
So let’s take a deeper dive into video marketing: why is it so important, what makes for good video, and how can you use video to boost customer engagement?
Why is video marketing so important?
- Videos help convert people into paying customers.
- Videos come up in search, so they can be an essential part of any digital customer journey.
- Videos are being viewed on mobile devices. From smartphones to tablets to desktops, we’re a plugged-in society and rarely far from a screen.
- Videos are easily shared.
- Videos cater to different learning styles. The combination of visuals and sound can help some people remember the information better than straight text.
- Videos are “quick.” Not everyone has the time to read a ton of text when they’re looking for specific information. A one-minute video is a different story.
- Videos can enhance existing information. Let’s say you have a retail website where you sell women’s clothing. A video on how to mix and match the latest spring line can enhance the existing content you already have on your site.
What makes for good videos?
- Customer testimonials. Most business websites include written testimonials from happy customers, and that’s fine (and still important). But an even more compelling testimonial is one where you can see and hear a person talk about his or her experience with Awesome Company ABC.
- Tutorials and product demos. People often turn to Google when they need instructions on how to do something, be it changing the oil in their car, how to cook a turkey, or how to do a French manicure. Watching a video where someone demonstrates how to do these things can be much easier than reading step-by-step instructions. Think about the questions your customers ask, and then think about how you can demonstrate the answers in a video.
- Virtual tours. These types of videos can be great for businesses that specialize in “spaces” – think design/build firms, landscapers, vacation spots, 55+ communities, hotels. A video that walks people through a setting will beat out a picture gallery every time.
- Time-lapse videos. These can take more work to put together, but this type of video can also be a great way to demonstrate something visual, such as the renovation of a kitchen or the landscaping of a backyard as it goes through the different seasons.
- Behind-the-scenes. People are often intrigued with behind-the-scenes look at businesses. These types of videos are a great way to remind your customers that there are people behind your brand: you could do short Q&As with employees, show off the office dog, and take people on a tour of your warehouse (spa, kitchen, design studio…you get the idea).
- Introductions. Use this video as a way to greet people and “invite” them into your business (it’s something you’d likely post to your website’s home page)
- Pop culture references. Think of all the different videos that popped up of the Harlem Shake or Gangnam Style. Many of these came from small businesses where employees wanted to get in on the fun. It’s another great way to show your “human” side and to take part in a current cultural conversation.
- Speaking events. If you or someone from your company is speaking at an event, consider recording the speech and turning it into a video clip. This can be a great way to garner more speaking engagements as well.
A note about creating videos: The good news is that you don’t necessarily need to invest in professional video services in order to get useful, usable video for your site and social media. The devices we use every day, like our smartphones, take decent video (here’s an interesting article on some tips for taking great marketing videos with your iPhone). The one exception would be product demos. For those, it might make sense to invest in some outside help, depending on the complexity of the product you’re demonstrating.
How should you use these videos to boost customer engagement?
- Post them on your website. Don’t only rely on Youtube and social media for video hosting and sharing. Set up your business website and share your videos there. Before doing so, go through lots of business name ideas to find something that is memorable.
- Use them on your blog. Either as their own post or to enhance existing content.
- Upload them to YouTube. Create a YouTube Channel, and be sure to optimize each video for keyword phrases.
- Share them throughout social media. Videos work especially well on Facebook, because people can play them right in their newsfeed and they can share them with one click. LinkedIn allows you to add videos to your company page’s services and products tabs.
- Add them to your email newsletters. Videos can make great items for the sidebars or as a way to enhance the main content.
- Add a link to your email signature. Include a compelling statement—something more than simply “view this video.”
- Get creative in sharing “evergreen” video content. Just because you’ve posted or shared a video once doesn’t mean that you should never post it again. You’ll be getting new customers, fans, and followers over time, and you can’t assume they’ll have seen all the videos you’ve ever created. It’s OK to repeat your video content. Try scheduling it at different times of the day or create features like “Popular a year ago” and then share the videos.
- Don’t overlook other opportunities. For example, have you published any books to Amazon? If yes, you can create an author profile through Amazon Central, and you can upload relevant videos there. Other opportunities might include organizations your business is involved with, such as chambers, rotary clubs, and networking organizations. You might be able to include a video on the profile sections of these organizations’ websites.
Do you use video in your marketing? How do you use the videos? Do you make them yourself, or do you have them professionally done? We want to hear about your experiences. Share in the comments!
