Every day, video becomes a more valuable part of the marketer’s toolkit. Consumers crave visual information, and video is an effective and engaging way to communicate. According to ReelSEO, 93 percent of marketers are using video in their campaigns, and 82 percent believe it has made a positive impact on their marketing initiatives. However, many companies have yet to take video to the next level. It’s pretty common to use videos on landing pages or share them on social channels, but this really only scratches the surface of how video can be used in a business environment. Think of all the different ways you communicate over the Web on a daily basis. Chances are, you do it a lot. Whenever you have something to say, consider using a video to say it.
Here are some other unique uses for video:
Send Personalized Sales/Marketing Emails
It can be tough to get in touch with qualified leads. Decision-makers have many elements competing for their attention. According to Aberdeen Group, video helps fight the forgetting curve of buyers and makes a more memorable impression. Best-in-class companies are 38 percent more likely to use video in communications with prospects and 33 percent more likely to use video at the bottom of the sales funnel. Now, consider the impact of a personalized video message.
Using Switch Merge, sales reps can send out a custom tailored video message, with fields of the video personalized based on the recipients’ name, where he or she works, and other attributes. When Trinity College School used Switch Merge for a fundraising campaign, its open rates increased from 17.8 percent, the average open rate for education emails, to 44.6 percent. That’s an increase of 150.56%! Imagine what sales teams could do with that kind of boost.
Triggered Emails
Transactional emails are the messages you get when you sign up for a newsletter or open a new account. They are a virtually untapped branding opportunity for companies. According to data from Easy-SMTP, open rates from these emails are more than 100 percent and click rates are six times higher than with bulk messages. Send a welcome message with a video and use the opportunity to teach new subscribers more about your company.
Why not send a video when customers choose to unsubscribe from your email list? Including a video gives you one more chance to engage with a customer. They may still unsubscribe, but you will have left a positive impression. HubSpot made quite an impact with its funny unsubscribe video in which a marketer addresses the viewer. It compares to situation to a breakup, and it’s quite witty.
FAQ Pages
If you have frequently asked questions, a series of videos could be the best way to address them. Customers often want to solve an issue on their own before turning to customer service for help. By visualizing common issues, videos are an ideal fix for questions related to processes on technology platforms or inquiries about your company. Vimeo has a good video that explains how its “Tip jar” works. Including self-service resources has a legitimate impact on customer service and can reduce the volume of calls and emails. According to Destination CRM, 45 percent of companies that offer Web-based self-service reported an increase in site traffic, as well as reduced phone inquiries. All told, incorporating more effective FAQs will lead to happier customers, and your customer service representatives will have more time to focus on the questions that can’t be answered online.
Internal Training
Video isn’t just for marketing and sales. As a strong communication tool, video can help you invest in your people and communicate the things that matter to your company. Whenever you need to inform the company about a big change in processes or training, video is a smart way to reach out to your team. When you have a new employee, use video to inform them about your company and their role in it. A story-based animated video offers an easy way to adapt to your company culture by creating a persona that a new hire can identify with. Of course, video isn’t simply a valuable educational tool. By combining sound and simple visuals, video can convey information without overloading working memory, inevitably helping you retain more of what you’ve watched. If you really want your training to be effective, consider incorporating video.
Make a Preview for an Event
Have a trade show or conference coming up? Maybe it’s a webinar you’ve invested a lot of time in, or a meeting or presentation. Try creating a trailer to raise awareness and get customers excited to join you. Hey, it works for the folks in Hollywood. With a great script, music, and branded visuals, you can quickly convey what the event is about and more effectively convince potential attendees that they need to be there.
Check out this Webinar video we created for our friends over at Funnelholic:
Make a Series for the Sales Funnel
Today’s business buyers have varying needs. To be successful with video content, you need videos that are geared toward the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel. The majority of the time, buyers are 57 percent of the way through their journey before they even get in touch with sales, Executive Board found, and some are even further than that. Earlier in the buying cycle, teams are doing research to gauge what’s out there. As they near the bottom of the funnel, they want to learn more about specific products and evaluate each one. Creating a branded video series can help you lead prospects down the funnel, giving prospects new content to watch that can bring them closer to a decision.
Video is a highly effective tool for communication and it has more applications than most companies realize. Every day, marketers have something to convey to leads, prospects, and customers. People are inundated with words every day, from memos and emails to blog posts. Imagine how much greater your impact could be if you harness the power of video. By using video, your message truly stands out from the crowd. That’s valuable, whether you’re explaining the features of a product in an FAQ or reaching out to a qualified lead. Next time you have something important to say, consider the potential of video to get your message across. You’ll be glad you did.
