Marketers today are well aware of the power of video. Tablet and cellphone use has dramatically increased, and according to a study by Econsultancy, engagement with mobile video is three times higher than video on a desktop.
Video has moved from a “nice-to-have” marketing component to a “must-have” marketing tool. Videos can be paused, rewound and repeated unlike a real-time demonstration. And as we’ll show you here, the options with video are endless.
Here are a few ideas on how you can incorporate video into your messaging.
Customer Targeted Videos
Product Demonstrations
These videos are a useful tool to show your customers how they can use your product or service. Ideally these videos should not be longer than 60 or 90 seconds.
For example, Cabot Cheese has lots of recipes on video showing on how you can use cheese in your everyday cooking. These extra resources provide great value to customers.
FAQ and Help Videos
You can use these videos on the help section of your website to provide solutions to common problems that your customers might encounter. This will reduce the amount of time that they need to spend talking to your customer service team or searching your website for a solution.
AT&T realized that mobile bills can be complicated. To make their customers’ lives easier, they launched in-bill videos to help their customers with the billing process. Customers can click on a link which leads them to a video that is personalized for each customer. This personalized content helps customers feel like they have their own assistant to help them out without having to speak to someone at the call center.
Branded Content
Branded content is more about entertainment and less about the actual product. These videos often play on emotion, rather than the “how” and “why” of a product. After all, it is emotion that leads to a purchase decision.
For instance, Red Bull sponsored Felix Baumgartner’s jump in outer space from 128,000 feet above ground. It had nothing to do with an energy drink, but by associating itself with an extreme activity like this, Red Bull reinforced its image of being “extreme” with the “You Can Do Anything” spirit. The video itself generated over 40 million views, which is far higher than what a regular ad would have generated.
Enriching User Experience
The Art Institute of Chicago wanted their customers to spend more time in the gallery and make it an engaging experience. To do this, they collaborated with Blue Cadet and turned Van Gogh’s bedroom exhibit into an interactive experience, with animation, touch screens, motion graphics and sound. This left a bigger impression on all those who visited the exhibit, especially the younger audiences.
You won’t always need to do something so dramatic. You can have pre-loaded content on iPads in your waiting room or you can even turn a white paper on your website into an absorbing video.
Internal Videos
Recruitment
You can use videos for recruitment by introducing your business and providing a description of where the candidates would fit in. A video will attract more attention than an ad in a newspaper.
Twitter’s fun and quirky recruitment video will attract employees with similar attitudes.
Briefing and Training
Internal communication can be made more exciting by making announcements in the form of videos. Training can also be done through videos, giving employees the chance to watch these videos anywhere, anytime, saving you the trouble of having to schedule a time for training. Additionally, those who absorb information faster can go through the videos at their own pace and not be held back, and those employees who need more time will be able to watch the videos as many times as they need to.
The major downside to video production is that it is time-consuming and expensive. However, there are many tools available today that makes it far less cumbersome and less expensive than it used to be. While it might seem overwhelming at first, you can start by committing to small goals at first. The important thing is to be consistent; for example, you could target one video post per week. Over time your library of content will grow and you will have content for all your requirements.
Video gives you an opportunity to connect one-on-one with your customers on a large scale. This gives them a sense of connection with your brand and helps you build loyalty and retention.
