The internet has become the world’s largest hub for finding videos on nearly every topic and if you’re not leveraging this for business, then you risk falling behind competitors.
Video has become a crucial tool to enhance engagement, boost brand recognition and get noticed. According to Outbrain, 87% of marketers are currently using video to get results for their clients.
Discover six powerful ways to use video to improve conversions and engagement for your business:
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1. Create Tutorials to Explain Services
When you’re trying to sell a product or service, it’s important that you explain exactly what it is, how it works and how it will help the consumer. Creating a video and sharing it on popular platforms is the best way to do this.
Many people learn better when they see and hear the information from an actual person, rather than just reading the information on a page.
Visitors might get distracted while reading an article, but an entertaining video will usually hold their attention longer.
Uploading Tutorials to Youtube
YouTube is often the first place people turn to when they want to learn about something.
In fact, about 73% of adults in the U.S. watch YouTube videos. Even if they’re searching on Google for information about how to do something, these videos are some of the first search results to appear.
For example, makeup artists and beauty brands that post videos on YouTube about how to apply certain products have a higher chance of being seen on Google than brands who advertise their products and techniques on a blog or webpage:
BTW: Discover how to get your YouTube videos to rank in YouTube SEO 101.
2. Use Videos to Make Your Website More Appealing
Including videos on your website will give it a more lifelike feel and is a great way to break up large blocks of text. When the human brain sees a paragraph of words on a page, it may be harder for it to focus on the information.
However, a video is more likely to catch their attention and help them process the information faster and more thoroughly. In fact, it’s proven that video is easier to process than text. Knowing how to place videos throughout a website is essential.
On Your Homepage
When people are searching for a product or service in your niche, your homepage might come up first. Inserting a video in the header is a good way to get organic visitors and potential clients to stay on your site longer.
For example, Dr. Ian Smith placed this video at the top of his home page. It shows a dentist looking over X-ray results. The movement causes you to focus on that part of the page and the professionalism shows that he’s knowledgeable in his field.
To Visually Back Up Text
Embedding a video next to the corresponding text will give the reader the option to listen, see, or read the provided information.
It also lets viewers see a demonstration of the product or service if the wording is confusing to them.
Add a Personal Touch
Most websites have an “About Us” page that lists each employee and a little bit about them. While having a picture next to each name helps visitors put a face with the name, adding video bios will give the page a personal touch.
Creating videos of each team member explaining who they are and what they do can make them seem more trustworthy and not like just another person trying to sell something. Click To TweetSince this method can be time-consuming, posting an overall “About Us” video explaining what makes your company and team special can be just as effective.
3. Bring Testimonials to Life
Do you ever read customer reviews and wonder if they’re genuine or not?
It’s hard to understand someone’s expression or tone of voice by reading their words instead of hearing them.
There’s also a chance the person who wrote the review was in the heat of the moment and didn’t mean what they said, or that it was written by an employee or someone they know.
Video testimonials allow you to see real people and hear how the product or service makes them feel. These genuine reviews should be shared on as many platforms as possible to make your company seem more relatable.
Your Website
The most obvious place to post your testimonial videos is on your website.
This is one of the first places people go to see what your customers are saying. Having at least some of your reviews in video format will set you apart from competitors.
This is the platform that has the widest range of customers and has the most interactive features as well. You can post both the video testimonials and a link to your site on your Facebook page.
People can then choose one of the multiple reactions or reply in the comments to respond to the video.
BTW: You could splice a collection of customer testimonial videos together and use this as a FB ad for your business. Einstein Marketer has done this before with amazing results.
This social media platform is constantly growing and expanding its audience.
People don’t often spend too much time on one Instagram post, so we recommend posting shorter videos or just a snippet of your testimonials. Since you can’t include links in the description, you’ll have to refer them to the link in your bio.
While Twitter started as a text-based platform, video has become the most shared form of media. When you share a video testimonial, people can easily like, retweet, or share with their friends. This is a great way to expand your audience on social.
YouTube
As you might know, YouTube consists of mostly video content. This is where consumers go to watch engaging videos, so creating a channel that includes your testimonial videos could be highly beneficial for you.
Like we’ve mentioned before, YouTube videos are even one of the first search results viewers see when searching on Google.
4. Start a Company Podcast and Record it on Video
If you’re unfamiliar with podcasting, it’s a method of recording and listening to people having conversations about a huge array of topics.
There are podcasts on virtually every topic, and companies like Ford, Blue Apron, and ZipRecruiter have launched popular podcasts that cover topics related to their company.
There are many advantages to organising a podcast for your company. You’ll never be lacking in content to share, they’re great for branding and engagement, and it’s one of the best ways to enhance team-building.
One way to make them even better is to record them on video and upload each episode to YouTube while sharing it on Facebook.
Benefits of Recording Your Company’s Podcast on Video
Whether your podcast is serious and technical or trendy and fun, there are a lot of advantages to filming and uploading it to social media platforms.
For starters, YouTube is one of the most popular places where people consume podcasts in general, so you’ll probably get a lot more subscribers if you’re turning your episodes into videos.
In addition to more people seeing your podcast, video will offer a more complete experience for your followers. People like to put a face to the voices they hear and a video podcast accomplishes that perfectly.
Example: The Rogue Writers Podcast from Now Media Group
While an audio podcast provides a wide range of benefits for a company, putting it on video takes it to a whole other level. One example is this video made for the Rogue Writers Podcast, which focuses on trending topics and is a podcast associated with an agency in San Diego.
By showing the people involved and their actions and expressions in real time, fans can really get a strong idea who they’re talking to and become more engaged than they otherwise would.
5. Create an Engaging Introductory Video for Your Business
You might have the best written “About Us” page, a powerful mission statement, and a story that truly draws people in. But if they’re all written on different pages of your site, how many people will truly read them?
While the average person isn’t going to do excessive reading to learn more about your business, they’re far more likely to watch a short video on it.
In a brief, engaging video, you can let the world know what you’re all about as you speak with confidence about the services you offer and the values that are most important to you. Click To TweetAn intro video makes your company seem more welcoming and can answer many questions at once for a prospective client. Explore these examples and see how they summarise their businesses in a concise manner:
Example Intro Video: Law Offices of Phillip Linder
One example of an intro video that retains a professional feeling while explaining the services and mission statement of the business is this one by attorney Phillip A. Linder.
Notice how this video features Phillip, his story, and his goals as he defends clients arrested for drug crimes in Dallas.
Example Intro Video: Dr. Steven Haywood
Every intro video is different, and what you include will depend on which aspects are most important to your clients or patients. A prime example of this difference is seen in the intro video of Dr. Steven Haywood.
Rather than having the business owner speak to the viewer the entire time, this video features a narrator that takes the viewer on a tour of the dental office and the services they provide.
While Dr. Haywood’s video doesn’t feature him speaking, it does provide all of the valuable info that potential patients would want to know, including what the office looks like, what the doctor’s specialties are, and what to expect from a visit.
Before making your intro video, take some time to consider how fun, informational, persuasive, or simple it should be to attract potential clients. These factors may vary greatly depending on how you want to brand your business.
6. Establish Yourself As an Authority in Your Industry
No matter your job or industry, if you have the knowledge and motivation to speak out as an expert, you can create videos that show you as an authority.
If someone needs a service you offer and out of the dozens of available options, they see videos of you speaking as an expert in their search results, you’ll gain massive credibility and are likely to attract customers over lesser-known competitors.
Two Methods to Creating Your Expert Video
Having videos online that feature you speaking on complex topics in a way people can understand is valuable for your business. The simplest way this can be done is by yourself, where you make videos giving tips or speaking as an expert and sharing them on social media.
Consider a question or problem that people deal with in your industry, speak about your experiences with the problem and offer solutions, and people will see you as an industry expert.
A second and more valuable way to be seen as an authority is to take advantage of mediums that are already popular, like the local news or talk shows, for example.
Think about it: one appearance on the local news to speak about your service or some compelling facts about your industry will be seen by potentially millions of people at once. Leveraging audiences that are already present and engaged is a brilliant way to boost your brand recognition.
Example: Dr. Amanda Sheehan Speaks on the Wellness Hour
Many industries have opportunities to get their message out to the public if they’re so inclined, and for doctors in the US, The Wellness Hour is one of those options.
By taking the initiative to get booked on the program, Dr. Sheehan was able to speak about many of her key services in various episodes.
How Will You Use Video to Enhance Your Business?
Throughout history, it’s the businesses that learned to use their resources that soared above competitors to thrive, while others who were more single-minded struggled to make it.
In 2019, video is one powerful tool that simply can’t be ignored.
Whether you’re using it to make your business seem more welcoming in an intro video or you’re showing off your connections and knowledge by making an appearance on local news shows, there are many ways that video can boost your marketing efforts and get your message out to the right people–your potential clients.
Want more digital marketing strategies to up your game? Here are a few of our most popular guides:
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