What does your company have in common with Sears, JC Penneys and Ikea? It could be a lot more than you think. All three of those retailers use video to explain, to demonstrate, and to educate.
If your customer has questions, you can provide the answers in videos. As someone told me recently: if I answer a customer’s question in an email, I’m talking to one person. But if I answer a question in a video, I could be talking to hundreds of persons at the same time.
Do you sell something that requires assembly? Why not put the instructions online in a video. Are there modifications the customer can make? Do a video. One of the more popular categories in retail is the “unboxing” video where everything in the box is explained and examined. Those are particularly helpful with electronics.
If you can answer all of your customer’s questions this way, or provide the helpful information they need, would they see you differently? What do you think their perception of your expertise would be?
How many persons can you reach with a video on your website…and how much easier could you be found? I can help you find those answers.
-That’s a wrap.
Category Archives: Who Uses Video
The Emotion Of Web Video
Most of my clients have one goal in mind when they ask me to produce a video for their website: they want their message to be remembered. That’s why customer testimonials on video work so well. It’s real people, real words, and real emotions.
That is also why – when you talk about your business and show your product, the you that is so passionate about hour business comes thru. Your prospects will respond to web video. So, tell your story and have fun, as well as gain an advantage.over the competition.
What else can you do with web video? More on that next time.
-that’s a wrap.
Showing Our Stuff
The past three years has brought a lot of new friends our way. Every project we do is different and exciting. The new year gives us an opportunity to take a look back and put together some of the work we’ve done for our clients. Here’s our 2012 demo reel. I hope you enjoy it. When can we get started on YOUR project?
–That’s a wrap.
Questions About Building A Video Library
How well do you know your competition? How well do you know their marketing efforts? Sometimes being in business and competing for the same customer is like a chess game. The winner will always be the one who is thinking three moves ahead.
Think your competition has a marketing plan? Or do they favor a shotgun approach: a little of this, and a little of that? Unfocused marketing misses the mark. Make blatent one or two things about your brand, and you’ll be successful. One thing that realy focuses your efforts, and has a large return on investment is video.
If you have video, and your competition doesn’t – You Win!
It’s been proven thyat companies with at least three videos on their site are perceived as experts by their customers.
Start building a video presence – with a blog, or a tips and tricks section to your website – BEFORE the competition starts paying attention.
–That’s a wrap.
5 Things You Should Know About Video Marketing
You’re in business. You have competition. That’s a given. Still, there are things, ideas, products, or people that set you apart from your competition. But how do you let your prospective customers know? The traditional way is advertising, but it can be expensive, and most times, you can’t be sure how effective it will be. Videos for business and website video marketing is effective, affordable and trackable. Here are the basics you need to know: 1. Pick a video production company that specializes in producing ONLINE video. They will help you decide how to best reach your target audience. 2. Use real people. Use yourself: customers love to be able to put a face on your business. If you’re not completely comfortable on camera, a professional video producer will show you how to look at the top of your game. 3. Show where you do business. Show where your product is made. Behind the scenes videos CAN be tricky. Someone who specializes in shooting business videos can spot the details that could make or break the scene. 4. Put the finished video in the right spot on your website. Video marketing professionals will work with you or your web designer to make sure the video is optimized and plays properly from your server. 5. Promote your message in social media, blogs, and newsletters. The more places you put your video, the more the search engines will love it. For more information about how videos drive results, visit Videos On Your Website
–That’s a wrap.
Would You Feel Better If I Called It A Commercial?
After decades in advertising, I can tell you that business people LOVE commercials. It’s their opportunity to get “face time” with their customers and prospects and talk about their wonderful products.
Guess who doesn’t love commercials?
Answer: customers and prospects.
When is the only time customers love commercials?
During that football game each February.
But this is the online world. And people don’t search for commercials.
And yet, I’m surrounded by materials from video producers trying to sell businesses a :30 second commercial, or an Infomercial, or even, heaven forbid, a Webmercial. And so it bears repeating:
People. Don’t. Search. For. Commercials.
They’re looking for content. If you’re a plumber, it might be: Five Things You Should Never Put Down Your Garbage Disposal. If you’re a dentist, it might be: Meet Our Staff. If you run a pet grooming service, maybe it’s a couple of testimonials from satisfied customers.
That way, when folks search for a plumber, and that video shows up in search, that plumber has a certain amount of expertise in the eyes of that prospect. When someone is searching for a dentist, all of a sudden this one seems nicer and more trustworthy. When my friends tell me to check out the pet grooming service, I see a couple of folks like me talking about what a pleasure it was working with them.
Content like that will keep me on a web page longer. Content like that will build trust in the eyes of a customer or prospect. It’s closer to showing and telling than it is to selling. But it is not a commercial.
It’s better.
–that’s a wrap.
My Cat Eats Small Meals
I work with a few clients on a monthly basis helping them build their video blog.
When a business decides to do a video or two every month, they’re understandably very excited. Come the day of the shoot, they are in one of two camps: They have a three page written script –or—they have no idea what they’re going to say.
I have the same advice for both of them: My cat eats small meals.
A few times a day, my cat will saunter over to her bowl and take a few bites. That’s all she needs. After that, it can be playtime, naptime, or she’ll sit on one of her favorite surfaces in my office and watch me work.
Humans can be the same way with information: don’t give them too much to digest.
Instead of putting all of your messages into one video, think about what you want your viewer to come away with. What inspires you? What motivates you every day? Those are great video blog posts. It doesn’t always have to be about your product.
By breaking up your information into small “bites” you can feed your customers and prospects just the right information diet that will have them coming back for more.
That’s a wrap.
The Videos On Your Website Exercise Program
Tired? Overworked? Let’s get you and your business moving with the Videos On Your Website exercise program. Ready? 1 – 2 – aaand 3
Stretch (your budget) Unlike advertising, videos don’t vanish after they are consumed. They’re right there working for you 24/7. Not only that, but they can get passed around to others who may not be familiar with you. Sharing is why you want a compelling video with a message.
Crunch (the numbers) Internet Retailer says ecommerce sites that use product videos sell 45% more product. And 73% of email marketers say using video has increased their clickthrough rates.
Heavy lifting (made easy) When it comes to getting to the top of search engine rankings, nothing is better than video. Forrester reports that websites with video are eight times more likely to make it to the first page of search results.
Kick (your marketing plan into high gear) Use videos on your website, on your blog, on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn. Did you know you can create a QR code that will lead your prospects straight to your video page!
Jog (your prospects’ memory) Nothing is better than video for building trust, loyalty, and telling your story. 80% of American consumers head to the web when researching a product or service. If your competition has video and you don’t; the competition wins!
Don’t Sweat. We’ll help you develop some great ideas to make your video tell the story your customers are looking for. We write, shoot, edit, do all the post production – like adding graphics, music, and voice, if needed – and we can show you how and where to upload your video for maximum response.
And relax.
-that’s a wrap.
What To Do When The Competition Starts Using Video
Hopefully, you do some sort of competitive intelligence on companies that are in the same business as you. . That means among other things, checking their website with about the same frequency as you look at yours. So what happens if one day you go to the competition’s website, and they have a video?
A marketing and SEO expert commented in an article just last month: “If the competition is using video and you’re not, the competition wins” That’s pretty straightforward. That video will start showing up in searches in a matter of hours. Probably before that even happens, they will blog, and Twitter and do whatever else they can to spread the word and get it watched.
Ok, so what if the competition starts to use video, and you’ve had one for awhile?What then? First – take a really critical look.
- Who’s message is more clear?
- How’s the sound quality and the lighting of the video?
- Is it just a self-shot talking head, or Are there compelling images that move the story along?
Production values do count. But what it really comes down to is: Who is telling the better story? Who is more likely to be found in the search engines? With the proper keyword tagging and placement, even if your competitors rank higher in a Google Search, YOU CAN STILL HAVE THE UPPER HAND WITH VIDEO.
Now the score is one and one. You each have a video. Here’s where you step up the game: Do more. Really communicate. Put your customers, your staff even your vendors on video and post them everywhere. Once you start building that library strategically, the competition won’t know what hit them.
That’s a wrap.
What I Did Today
At 7:30 this morning, I was sitting in front of the DMV waiting for them to open so I could renew my car’s registration. Yes, I was first in line! Amazing. Also in front of the door: the latest edition or other of a yellow page book. After I had been there ten minutes, others started to arrive. One woman, bent on ingratiating herself with the state employees, picked up the book as if she was ready to present it when the doors opened.
“Does anyone still use those things?” I asked.
The woman looked down and said, “Well, I don’t anymore. I was on the web to see what time the office opened this morning.”
Exactly what I’ve been trying to tell people.
My wife doesn’t even let the Yellow Pages, or similar tomes in the house anymore. They go straight to the recycle bin. We find out the stuff we need to know about businesses on the web.
Later in the day, I discovered I needed a new thingamabob. I went online to do my research and find out which stores had what. I found one manufacturer with a video about his product. I watched the whole thing. Then I wrote down the model number to see if I can find one in the store.
Towards the end of the evening, a friend sent me a link to a company he wanted me to check out. The site was only a logo, and a list of what they sell. There.Were.No.Other.Pages. So basically, it was an internet business card. I would have loved to have found out more about this business, but they had no content.
I look at a phone book, and wonder how much money is being wasted there. Those ads are expensive. And no one is reading them! There are companies on the web who have nothing but their name on their website. How many of these folks are YOUR competitors? Now you know something they don’t.
Videos are not cutting edge. They are accepted, searched for, and watched thousands of times every minute.
Imagine your business having more customers, staying longer and becoming more engaged with your brand.
-That’s a wrap.