How to use video marketing to grow interest and strengthen trust in your brand.
Have you ever thought of making a professional video for your business? For some companies, this idea has an immediate appeal, they simply aren’t sure how to execute it. For others, while they understand the value of video for some businesses, they aren’t sure of its relevance for their own.
However, if you are a business with a website (which should be every business these days), video is one of your best marketing tools. And, with the ability to re-cut footage into different takes to suit various purposes, it’s also an incredibly flexible medium. Once you take into account your audience and the various stages of their buyer’s journey, there’s almost no limit to the applications of video for your business. Here are just a few to get started.
1. Use a brand video to introduce clients to your business.
For most brands—especially those attracting business over the internet—one of their greatest challenges lies in establishing trust. Until a potential customer contacts you directly, it’s hard for them to connect your website with real people at a legitimate organization.
This is why we avoid stock photography and do actual photo shoots of our clients where possible. But nothing beats a video, where you can introduce the face of your brand, be it your team, your network of volunteers, the offices where your clients will come for their first meeting, or the store front they’ll spot from the side of the road. Video provides a sense of credibility that other mediums just can’t match.
2. Shoot a pre-roll ad for video advertising.
The first marketing battle for many businesses lies in growing their name recognition. After all, if no one knows who you are, how will they know to buy from you? SEO can certainly help by growing your organic traffic, as can paid advertising on Google. But nothing introduces a brand quite so well as a video.
Even better, online advertising options allow you to target your ad toward very specific audience segments. This means that rather than spending a large portion of your ad budget on wide campaigns with a low audience buy-in, you can focus on customer demographics that are much more relevant to your business.
3. Create product and service videos.
A few years ago, I became absolutely mesmerized by the product videos Apple put out for their iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. I’ve probably watched those videos a dozen times. They’re beautiful, elegant, and persuasive. Best of all, they show customers interacting with the device in dynamic, creative ways.
This is the power of a good product video. You can look at a dozen images, but still not get a sense for how an object or a piece of software can be used. And service videos offer a similar chance to guide your customers through your business’s offerings.
4. Create a “how-to” demo series for FAQs about your product.
A demo series serves to main purposes. The first is similar to the product video: it gives your audience a more in-depth look at your products, and helps to answer common concerns your customers may have about them. The other use is for current customers, who may need more detailed instructions for how to use your product than what are available in the user’s manual.
These videos can also be highly creative. For instance, if you sell craft tools you could do a guide for building different construction projects, or if you sell software you could give a tutorial for how to handle a certain use case. Either way, you’re building excitement around your product by helping buyers envision how they might use it in their own lives.
5. Are you a non-profit? Use video to build an awareness campaign for your cause.
Videos have also proven to be a fantastic communication tool for the non-profit demographic. Whether you want to create a powerful mission statement video, raise awareness about a specific cause, or build a fundraising campaign, video gives you the scope to make a heartfelt case.
Furthermore, these videos work great on YouTube, and can build a lasting record of your non-profit’s community involvement and financial responsibility. With an archive of successful advocacy stories at your back, your non-profit will have a better chance of convincing future donors to support your cause.
6. Talk with your customers about creating testimonial videos.
Finally, testimonial videos from clients, customers, volunteers, and beneficiaries make for powerful support statements for your company. Apart from a personal recommendation from a trusted contact, there is nothing more powerful than someone who has worked with your company speaking on camera about their experience.
While testimonial videos can take more coordination to arrange, they’re also a chance to strengthen your customer relationships. Your best opportunities are during conferencing events or on-store promotions, where you can have your camera ready and all your customer needs to do is step up to your filming station and give their recommendation. In other cases, you can work with influencers who might be willing to try your product and create a video afterward describing their experience. So long as the testimonial remains authentic, it can have a huge impact on your customer base.
Video is the fastest and surest way to establish your reputation with new and returning customers alike.
This should be clear from our examples, but it’s worth stating nonetheless: video isn’t just an advertising tool to bring in new clients. Video is also for your current clients—to build relationships, instill confidence, and provide inspiration. Audiences connect with video content more readily than any other. Why not use it to help them connect with you?