How High-Quality Videos Will Help Your Company Sell More
We’re in a day and age where it’s never been easier to create a video and post it online.
Really, you don’t need to go back that far to a time when the above notion was laughable. It used to be that video recording required a camera (not connected to your phone), which was only available to those lucky few who could afford it.
Even at the turn of the century, as we entered the new millennium, mobile phones were still in their relative infancy. The thought that you could quickly and swiftly use videos for sales and marketing hadn’t entered the social consciousness.
In those days, it seemed the only sales video you could make was a TV spot (or, perhaps, specific promotional material taped onto a VHS).
Video production felt inaccessible for small businesses and solopreneurs. The budgets only seemed feasible for more mainstream companies. “The little guys” were left to word-of-mouth, direct mail, and the classifieds.
Fast-forward some two decades, and the world is an entirely different place. Almost anyone can try their hand at video production because the tools are so readily available. There’s no need to pour tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, into the process anymore.
While this accessibility is undeniably a boon to most businesses and brands who’d never have been able to consider sales video before, it’s not so cut and dry.
To further explore the above point, we must point out that sixty seconds of video is worth 1.8 million words. Moreover, video viewers retain 95% of a message compared to the 10% retention of those reading text.
So, there’s not much arguing about the value and effectiveness of a sales video for social media marketing or general advertising. A) it’s affordable, and B) why limit yourself to lesser methods that don’t grab your audience’s attention nearly as much?
But we still haven’t painted the complete picture. While the potential for success with an advertising or sales video is exponential, achieving that success doesn’t simply happen because you made a video.
Video Production Is A Double-Edged Sword If You Aren’t Careful.
Publishing videos as a company owner, marketer, content producer, or content creator is like any other business investment. First, you must be strategic when investing and contemplate how it fits your business model.
Then, it’ll come down to what you put into your video production efforts.
What do we mean by that?
Specifically, we’re referring to taking the appropriate steps to make a steady stream of high-quality videos. We’re talking videos that boost sales, increase brand recognition, and send conversions to the next stratosphere.
The desired results won’t be there if you don’t take the appropriate steps and still insist on making videos. Actually, producing a poorly made video could be worse for your brand than if you never made one.
Think about it for a second.
If, as was already discussed, it only takes a minute for a video to say 1.8 million words, think about the horrible impact that an ill-conceived, unappealing video could have.
Those nearly two million words per minute will tell customers that your brand isn’t up to par. According to research, 62% of consumers will likely perceive your brand negatively if you publish a video of poor quality. Moreover, nearly a quarter of consumers who’ve seen a poor-quality sales video would struggle to buy from the company responsible.
As we delve into more reasons why video content is vital in today’s business landscape, it’s with the caveat that we mean top-tier content of the highest quality.
Be mindful that the advantages we discussed still exist despite our disclaimer. Creating an excellent marketing or sales video is more accessible than ever and cost-efficient. It’s just not automatic.
With High-Quality Video, You’ll Attract More Website Visitors.
Top-tier video content rules the online marketing space. There are no two ways about it.
According to Search Engine Watch, half of all mobile traffic is through video content. Also, videos earn 41% more click-throughs than text alone, and they’re 53-times likelier to rank on the first page of Google results. This statistic makes videos a massive boon to your SEO (search engine optimization) efforts.
Part of the reason Google ranks videos highly (specifically YouTube videos) is that Google owns YouTube.
Thus, with well-made videos, you make more people aware of your website and your brand because you’re showing up where your audience is looking.
What can you do to bolster your efforts to crack the lucrative first-page search results?
Your first order of business is to hone into user keyword searches. Doing so makes you more visible to relevant, interested eyes and solidifies your brand as a trusted resource. Value-forward content that helps establish you as an authority includes the following video types:
- How-to videos
- FAQ videos
- Educational videos
These video types tend to focus on long-tail keyword-based search queries.
Below is an example of how you can execute based on long-tail searches with FAQ and how-to videos.
Suppose your keyword research tells you, as an insurance provider, that a commonly searched phrase is “how to find an insurance provider.” Or, maybe it’s “what kind of insurance provider should I use for my home insurance?”
In the above instances, it would make sense to have multiple short FAQ videos such as “4 Tips On How To Find An Insurance Provider.” You’ll respond to the question directly while proving yourself as a reputable insurance-based authority to your audience.
Leveraging popular keywords and offering viable answers with easy-to-grasp educational video content increases trust in your hypothetical insurance products/service.
Simultaneously, it skyrockets your company’s visibility.
How Else Can You Bolster Your SEO And Sales With A Video?
Before moving on to the next topic, we want to focus a little more on SEO and how you can optimize it for your online videos. Here’s a list of best practices you can use as a guide:
- Videos should be kept short. If possible, keep them under two minutes because that leads to the highest engagement numbers. Get your point across as promptly as possible, economizing every second. A four-minute video can generate results, but don’t go longer than that. Because failing to stay within that timespan will lead to a significant loss of viewership.
- Video scripts should be transcribed to text from sound so Google’s crawlers can be more accurate when crawling your content. Doing transcriptions increases the chances of your videos being featured across multitudes of online searches.
- Optimize videos by adding relevant subtext, descriptions, meta tags, and titles to assist searching engine crawlers.
- Ensure that your thumbnails are high quality to grab your target audience’s attention and boost your click-through rates.
Using High-Quality Videos Keeps Your Audience On Web Pages Longer.
Research from just a few years ago shows that the average online user spends nearly 90% more time on websites with videos than websites using any other content.
The above statistic proves the power of well-produced videos and soundly executed video editing. You’re telling a relevant story about your products, service, and brand with audio and visual components, grabbing people’s attention.
Product videos with demos often contribute to people staying on pages longer.
Then, when consumers stay on your pages for longer, it’s more time spent with your brand. They familiarize themselves with your colors, designs, messaging, etc., which has a subliminal effect. They become immersed in your branded experience.
These videos also allow you to offer value to the customers, leading to high client retention rates.
Videos Are Far More Shareable Than Other Content
As powerful as video marketing can be, there’s nothing quite like word-of-mouth marketing.
According to recent studies, 92% of consumers trust when their friends give them recommendations. Moreover, word-of-mouth leads to 5x more sales than paid advertising. At the same time, nearly 3-quarters of consumers believe that word-of-mouth significantly influences their purchase choice.
Are we saying this means you should abandon video production and focus solely on referrals?
Absolutely not.
Instead, we’re pointing out how videos–mainly social media marketing videos–can skyrocket your word-of-mouth appeal.
Together, high-quality video production and word-of-mouth buzz create marketing rocket fuel that sends your brand to unprecedented levels of success.
Here’s what we mean–compared to text and image content combined, social video receives 1200% more shares. On LinkedIn feeds, video content sharing outperforms other shared content by 20x.
Usually, videos shared on social media are practical, offering people hacks and tricks to improve their lives. Plus, they’re well-produced and entertaining, captivating audiences.
Think about your social media habits and relate them to the potent combination of video marketing and social media shares/referrals.
If you see a paid video, you’ll likely check it out if the visual or headline truly entices you. But if the product never entered your mind beforehand, you’re far likelier to scroll past the paid video.
Alternatively, suppose your friend or family member, who you trust, shares a video about a product, service, or brand, expressing their appreciation.
In the above case, the shared video will grab your attention. People don’t recommend or share product information unless they wholeheartedly endorse the product, and that’s why you’re likely to trust socially shared sales or marketing videos. You can trust the word of people you know because they won’t steer you wrong.
High-Quality Video Production Encourages Brand Trust And Loyalty
Let’s circle back to when we discussed making your target audience aware of your brand with how-to and FAQ videos. The next part of the prospect’s journey is a consumer reaching the consideration stage, where you want to hone into your brand’s positioning.
Instead of keeping content surface levels like you do with fast-paced FAQ content, you now get to delve deep with brand videos. These allow you to educate, engage, and entertain prospects by establishing a brand narrative and telling your company’s story.
Here is some topic matter you should consider for a brand video:
- Who is your company/brand?
- Why are you the ideal brand for your target audience?
- How do your solutions best suit your target audience’s needs?
A brand video tends to be most successful when focusing on humanizing a brand, proving that you’re not a corporate machine.
The meaningful connection you’ll foster with your audience earns their trust. Prospects will feel more confident they can invest their hard-earned cash in your products or services.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a proven 300% increase in conversion rates when you have high-quality video content on your homepage.
High-Quality Videos Can Be Used In Email Campaigns
Thus far, we’ve discussed using videos on social or on your homepage. It doesn’t end there, though, as we haven’t yet discussed email.
By itself, email marketing’s ROI is $36 per dollar spent. While emails seem dated, most people continue to check their inboxes and send/receive emails. As such, email generates plenty of business for companies who know how to execute related campaigns.
Then, bring video into the equation, and you double down on the effectiveness of email marketing.
Statistics show that sending an email with a video improves click-through rates by a whopping 96%.
The hard work you put into your marketing email will pay off significantly when using videos. More to the point, your content won’t end up in your target audience’s trash or spam folders.
Want to learn more about combining video and email marketing? Check out this blog from Hubspot, which highlights 8 eye-opening examples.
Should You DIY Your Own Sales And Marketing Video Production Efforts?
As a business owner, the DIY spirit is strong in you.
However, when it comes to video production, there are too many nuances involved to play any guessing games. Moreover, working with a trusted, award-winning video producer (like the team at Unify Creative Agency) is cost-efficient and return-oriented.
The upfront costs aren’t outside your budgetary grasp, while the quality is second-to-none. Partnering with an experienced, top-tier video production team like Unify will ensure your videos lead to the exponential benefits discussed in this article.
You can get started with Unify Creative Agency today. Let us help you take your video marketing to the next level.
Let us help you take your video marketing to the next level.
