They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
Well, a video is worth a thousand images. And that’s also why video marketing is now an important part of every online marketing strategy.
There is a good reason for this. The basic goal of any online marketing company is to get people to convert. To keep them interested enough to sign up, fill out your contact form or buy from you.
I think you would agree with that. Why would you spend so much time producing content after content to reach people you barely know?
Video marketing is gaining ground because of how easy it is to consume. That’s why a video, as long as it’s done right, draws more crowds than, say, an instructional blog.
The proof is in the statistics. Recent studies show that 75% of mobile traffic will be video.
In this post, we’ll take a look at five video marketing strategies that can help you increase conversions.
1- Engage your audience with interactive videos
Customer preferences change on a dime. Trends come and go. And even viral content fades over time. For audiences to stay put, you have to give them something that will keep them interested.
Lately, marketers are using interactive videos to achieve this. These are videos that allow viewers to participate and change their outcome. It’s kind of like how multiple choice games work. You create a shifting story where viewers make different decisions for different outcomes.
In a way, interactive videos give us experiences that static content can’t. Rather than a passive experience, the medium encourages the person being watched to act. This drives engagement.
For example, consider Mended Little Hearts, a charity for children with congenital heart disease that uses interactive video to show how donating money can make the lives of children with the disease a little brighter.
2- Keep it short but entertaining
The average attention span of Internet users is less than that of a goldfish. That’s why we’d rather skim through the content than read every word and move on. Getting noticed is a matter of immediately showing value. Think of it like a five-minute marketing pitch you need to give to investors to sell them on your idea.
Video marketing works the same way. You can’t just post long videos and expect visitors to watch them all the way through. If you have any hope of conversions, your video content needs to be short. And it must be sweet.
Some social media platforms have made it easy for companies to do this. Take Facebook’s autoplay video feature, for example. Videos automatically play as users scroll through their news feeds. Viewers will watch for a few seconds and then move on if your video isn’t interesting enough to grab their attention. According to statistics, the average retention rate of 90-second videos is 53%, while videos over 30 minutes retain only 10%.
3- Do not make it look like a commercial
What do we usually do when a commercial appears? We change the channel. The commercials may have worked before. But now we have small screens in our pockets; smartphones that provide us with a host of other valuable content that we’d rather be watching.
The point is that people have more reason than ever to “change the channel” on your video. Post a video on your social media channel? People will probably scroll through it if all you’re trying to do is sell.
No one willingly views an ad unless it offers something worthwhile. Viewers are likely to engage with your content if they get something out of this experience. This “something” can be humorous or perhaps a value proposition. Something unique that could prompt them to convert.
To illustrate, consider a famous Heathrow airport Christmas advert where two grandparents (shown as teddy bears) take a grueling flight to London. During the trip, the airport staff are there to help make this trip comfortable until the couple finally meets their family.
It’s quite a moving announcement. It touches your heart, it reminds you of how exciting it is when families finally come together for the holidays and how worth the trip is in the end. Most important of all, it makes you appreciate all that Heathrow Airport does for travellers.
4- Use lead capture forms directly on the video
One trick to capturing leads is to present your lead capturing actions right away. App developers, for example, often place lead capture forms on the first page of their websites or landing pages.
So how do you do this in a video? How can you get people to convert not after watching a video, but in the middle of it?
It is possible with a tourniquet. Some online video platforms offer this feature. With it, you can insert a lead capture form anywhere in your video. It’s a great way to get high-quality leads like emails or first and last names, which can help you personalize your follow-up emails.
5- Use your products to teach your target audience
People learn better if they are able to visualize the topic. That’s why visual content like charts or videos keep students engaged longer than boring lectures.
You can apply the same technique if you want your videos to not only be viewed, but also convert your audience into customers.
Some brands do this quite well. To illustrate, consider Home Depot, which streams instructional videos that teach customers how to use or assemble their products. The brand has thousands of subscribers and about 45 million views on the how-to space. By displaying its products and teaching people how to use them, Home Depot gives them more reasons to become paying customers.
to wrap
Video marketing offers tremendous opportunities for those who know how to use it. In short, you can get more conversions from your video marketing strategies by getting audiences in on the action with interactive videos. Focus on keeping the content short but worthwhile for the viewer. Use lead capture forms right in the video and never underestimate the value of how-to videos.