Video is a great medium for marketing, it can communicate so much more than the written word or images alone can. One third of all online activity is spent watching videos, and video has been shown to increase purchase intent by 97% and brand association by 139% (source insivia.com).
Video can build trust in your product or service and begin the customer relationship before you have met your client or they have seen your first product. It can create an emotional connection with your target market and even help people remember your message.
Many businesses have promo or explainer videos, but this is just the tip of the iceberg when using video to grow your business. Here are just a few ways you can integrate video into your marketing.
Tell Your Business Story
Show a more personal side to your business. Tell the story of your business, why your business exists or how it came to be. Humans are hardwired to respond to faces and we love stories, so this is a powerful way you can connect with your target market. Aim to create a personal connection with your audience.
Interviews
Interview your staff, ask them to talk about their role at your company, what they love about working there or some other aspect of your business. This shows your potential clients that you are not some faceless company, that you are more than just the product or service you sell and it gives them a reason to connect with you.
Testimonials
Interview your customers or ask them for testimonials. Video testimonials can convey more information and build trust so much more than written testimonials can.
Case Studies
Film a client case study about how you solved your clients’ issues, emphasising how they went from zero to hero thanks to your business, and how you have helped to improve their lives.
How-to videos, tips or hacks
Give demonstrations on how to use your product, or tips on how to do things that your target market is interested in. For example if you are a landscaper, you could give your audience seasonal tips on how to look after their garden. You’ll become an authority on the subject and they’ll remember you when they need some big work done.
Behind the scenes
Show your clients or social media followers behind the scenes at your office or event, give them a sneak peak of a new service or do an unboxing of your latest shiny new product. Share your video with your Twitter followers or on Facebook to create a buzz. You can even broadcast with Facebook Live.
Updates
When you are releasing a new product or service, you can keep your followers and clients updated with a short video. This will also do well on Twitter or Facebook Live, or within your email newsletter.
Answer your clients’ questions or offer solutions to their problems
Whenever your clients ask you something, make a note of it and turn the answer into a video. This shows that you are listening to your clients and generates interaction. You can even host a live Q&A on Facebook Live.
Client created content
Another way to create interaction with your brand is to ask your clients and followers to make videos of themselves using your product or something else fun but relevant to your target market.
For instance, if you have a travel business, you could ask your followers to upload a short holiday video or talk about their favourite place to visit, or if you have a pet related business you could ask them to send in videos of their pets.
Create a series
This could be a series of tips or product demonstrations, anything that has a common thread. Upload these to Youtube and create a playlist for your series. You can then share these videos across social media either weekly or monthly, so your followers anticipate the next video. One series that has been very successful and gone viral in recent years is BlendTec’s “Will it Blend?” where Blendtec CEO Tom Dickson tries blending an assortment of items in a BlendTec blender.
Make sure that your branding is prominent at the beginning and end of your video and finish with a call to action. Once you have made your marketing video, be sure to share it across social media, in your email campaigns and on your website or blog.
