The majority of companies are not using video in any way that provides any real ROI. Just to clarify, simply knowing the number of people that clicked on your video is not a measurement of ROI.
It’s just a measurement of the number of people who clicked the button to watch the video. From that data, it isn’t clear how much of the video they watched.
The Challenges of Using YouTube for Lead Generation
Using YouTube for lead generation isn’t for the faint of heart, and it isn’t the sort of thing that you should assign to an intern.
The majority of the buying process for everything that is purchased these days starts online, and with video being the preferred method of learning for most people, it is a new opportunity for companies to stand out.
Business lead generation video can help increase the sales of products and services for both B2B and B2C companies.
Creating Effective YouTube Content
For your brand to succeed using YouTube, it is necessary to create more than one video. YouTube recommends that you have eight pieces of video content when you start a YouTube page.
We recommend that this be information your target audience would find important in the early stages of the buying process.
From there, you should create new content at regular intervals so your target audience can learn more. Your content should be something people want to share.
Here are a few free resources for new video creators.
The Importance of a Strong Call to Action
One of the key ingredients for using video for lead generation, outside of good video, is in the call to action. In the first few videos, the call to action might be an invitation for your audience to subscribe to your YouTube channel.
At some point, the call to action should be to invite them to visit your website for more videos or for some other offer that will move the buying process along.
Promoting Your Videos Across Platforms
While YouTube is a big part of lead generation, this can’t be accomplished by using YouTube alone. You need to promote your videos on the other social media sites that your target audience is using.
Personally, I would recommend that you start by using Facebook, Twitter, and if you are a B2B brand, LinkedIn.
Transitioning Viewers from YouTube to Your Website
Your industry may find that one or more of these platforms don’t work for you.
It is important to move the viewer from YouTube to your company’s website as soon as possible because if you don’t, you run the risk of losing them to another suggested video about kittens or, heaven forbid, your competition’s product or service.
Enhancing Website Engagement
Once you get them to your company’s website, the video content there should be very interesting and valuable because your target audience has made the journey to your site, and you don’t want them to regret their decision.
For those that have made the journey, you need to learn who they are. Here are a few of the best WordPress Call-to-Action plugins for you to use!
Gating Content for Lead Generation
A great way to do this is by making sure that some of your video content on your website is gated, requiring them to opt in by providing their email address to watch more videos. The videos on your company website should not be hosted via YouTube.
The reason is that YouTube doesn’t provide enough metrics or the ability to gate content to know who is watching your video. This isn’t to say that the YouTube player isn’t great. It just has a time and a place, and your website is not the time and place for it.
Analyzing Video Performance
Now it is time to look at the data. Who is watching your videos? Are they watching the whole video or are they dropping off after a certain point in time?
If you are losing them, you need to figure out why and adjust your videos accordingly. It is natural for some people to drop off. Those people are not interested or qualified for your product or service.
Converting Viewers into Leads
This is good to know, but we want to focus on your target audience, the person you would be a good match to do business with who will stick around and raise their hand to buy what you have to offer.
Knowing who has watched your video all the way through provides your sales team with a qualified lead and, taking it one step further, if the sales team can see that this person has watched videos about a certain subject, they will know what to talk with them about. When this data is connected with your CRM, you are now able to track the ROI of your video.
It is also a good idea to use Youtube to incentivize more downloads and printables as these provide additional brand recognizability opportunities. You can also offer a Vistaprint coupon code to your viewers to offer them some additional value.
Measuring the Success of Your Videos
How will your company start measuring the success of your videos?
By integrating these strategies and continuously analyzing your video performance, you can ensure that your video content drives real ROI and helps achieve your business goals.