The digital world is slowly becoming increasingly dominated by video content. Despite already making up 80% of all online consumer traffic, video media’s rampage doesn’t look to be ceasing any time soon. Having realised the potential of online video, some marketers are making it the central feature of their branding. Thanks to the efficiency and simplicity of watching video content, individuals are far more likely to engage with it. In fact, 4x as many people would rather watch a video regarding a product than read about it. This modern reliance on video is the reason it can be an efficient tool for generating new business leads.
Using video to generate leads begins with your overall content strategy. It is important that you thoroughly plan out how your video content will be used, rather than spreading it all over your website before outlining a plan. The latter will more than likely end in disappointing results. Remember that video has the ability to showcase your business the way that you want it to be visualised. So, don’t use your video content as a gimmicky sales channel. Instead, use it to tell a story about your brand to attract the right audience to your website.
But getting people to visit your website is just half the battle. Whilst increasing traffic is a positive for any ambitious company, conversions and a loyal customer base are the real golden ticket in this scenario. There are a number of techniques through which companies can use video to create these valuable business leads. You are trying to grasp the attention of your target audience and start making connections with them. This is no mean feat, but there are many ways of helping it happen.
Here are some tips on how video can help generate new business leads.
Gated content
Gated content refers to a type of media that can only be accessed once viewers have filled in a form. This could be in the shape of a sign-up form, a subscription or something similar. Gated content allows brands to gather data on their prospective customers. This can give you valuable information like age, gender or geographical location, which can be used for personalised comms further down the line. But more importantly, it gives your company a means of continuing contact with new leads through email addresses and occasionally physical addresses.
To some this may seem like something that would put people off watching your content, opting instead to look elsewhere. But research from Wistia suggests otherwise. They tested the proficiency of gated content in the form of their Turnstile tool, which resulted in a 16% conversion rate. That means it generated 16 new leads for every 100 viewers watching the content. This stat is impressive in itself, but when the form appeared in the first 20% of the video the conversion rate rose to a whopping 43%.
This shows just how nifty gated content can be as a format for creating business leads, especially when placed at the right moment. But this won’t work without the temptation to continue watching your content after the form appears. That is why quality video production and adhering to the content plan are the ultimate keys to success with gated content.
Personalized videos in follow-up emails
Once you have a means of contacting your prospects, it is important that you handle this info with care. Too much spamming will just scare away the majority. But no contact at all will cause people to question why your brand is worth investing in. It is important to get the balance just right.
Video content in emails can be a valuable tool for enticing prospective customers into visiting your site and ultimately investing in your product. Research has shown that the mere mention of “video” in an email tagline is enough to raise the open rate by 6%. This shows just how popular video footage is as a marketing tool. People would much rather be presented with the ins and outs of your brand than have to read about them.
Once they have clicked on the email, you can entice them to delve in a little further by using a video thumbnail. Using a video thumbnail rather than a straightforward image has been shown to increase CTR (click-through rate) by 300%. This means that your prospective customers will end up exactly where you want them to be – on your website.
As for where you want these prospects to arrive on your website…
Adding videos to the landing page
The landing page is the webpage on which a visitor “lands” after clicking on a link to your content, typically from an advertisement or email. Landing pages can be pages that already exist or they can be built for a specific purpose. For example, you may let the link take visitors to your homepage or to a page specifically relevant to link’s content.
Building a page specifically for a particular campaign can be a useful tactic. It allows you to lead your audience to a page that contains exactly what they were after. In turn, they are more likely to engage with the site and create connections with your brand. Situating videos on content-specific landing pages can be a shrewd tactic, improving conversion rates by up to 86%. Drawing visitors in through this manner is an effective means of generating new business leads.
When it comes to the style of landing page video, this varies depending on both your brand and your content plan. Typically, it should be campaign-specific video content. But in terms of genres that will help draw prospects in, topics like explainer videos or testimonials work very well. Introducing your new brand, product or service using this style of video allows you to encompass all that your brand is in a concise manner.
For more information on marketing video genres, read our blog on 7 Types of Video Series You Can Make.
Using online advertising
Online advertising is everywhere. Ads pop up all over almost every page that we visit on the internet. Sometimes they can be irritating or overbearing, but there is always the occasional advert that catches our attention and draws us in. The latter is what you are aiming for and using video can help you achieve it.
Digital video ad spending in the US more than doubled between 2014 and 2018 and it is easy to see why. Video adverts have an average click through rate of 1.84%, which is higher than any other medium of online advertising. Moving imagery is more likely to draw the human eye, so if you land your video advert in front of the right people then it has a good chance of leading to engagement.
As well as being a brilliant means of introducing your brand to new leads, video adverts are also excellent for dropping reminders with those who have already discovered you. In a B2B context, 47% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content on a subject before engaging with your brand. This proves that your initial impression alone is unlikely to be enough to solidify new business leads. Retargeting adverts on platforms like Facebook are a thoroughly productive way in which to do this. Retargeting ads work by presenting those who have visited your site or bought your product with reminders of what you offer. They help bring potential leads back to your site, allowing you to bolster your initial impression and make it more concrete.
Using video testimonials
Testimonials are a form of video marketing strategy that helps build trust in your brand. By hearing the positive remarks of others who have invested in your company before, people are more likely to perceive you as a brand that they can invest in. Therefore, it is a brilliant means of creating new business leads.
Usually in the form of a customer reciting what it is that your brand has allowed them to achieve, they give a real-life edge to your company. But video testimonials don’t have to be a customer reeling off what it is that they like about your brand. Animation can be used to overlay the content with previous reviews, for example. How you convey the delight of your previous customers is up to you.
Whichever way you style a video testimonial, it is sure to build stronger connections between your audience and your brand. 79% of people have watched a video testimonial with the intent of discovering more about a particular brand. Plus, 2 in 3 customers say that they are more likely to purchase something having watched a testimonial on the subject. They may not suit every style of business, but video testimonials are a fantastic means of bolstering company-customer relationships and creating a trustworthy brand image.
Including a clear CTA
CTAs (or calls to action) are nudges that appear within the video window, directing the viewer to take further action. This could be in the form of learning more about your brand or a call for the final action (i.e. making a purchase). CTAs can either be in the form of someone mentioning the topic during the video or a popup button.
They are a great means of encouraging a prospect to take that extra step towards becoming your brand’s next fan. Once the viewer clicks the link, they have officially registered their interest. Often CTAs are left to the end of the video, merging them in with the conclusion. However, this isn’t always a sensible move. In fact, placing it nearer the start of the video has been proven to be a more effective tactic.
Regardless of where and how you implement the CTA into your video content, it should fit in seamlessly. The last thing you want to do is annoy potential customers with an irritating popup that doesn’t quite fit in. One thing is for sure – leaving a CTA out of your marketing video is a mistake best avoided.
Conclusion
Video is fast becoming the most popular form of media on the internet. And it is easy to see why. It allows messages to be condensed from pages of text into a 2-or-3-minute watch. It has become increasingly efficient to produce content in recent years. And its endless array of styles encourages almost limitless creativity.
It is no wonder then that video can be such a valuable asset when trying to generate new business leads. Designed to wow audiences through eye-catching visuals and enticing sound quality, it is unsurprising that many deem it the future of digital marketing. And what better tool to use for attracting new leads to your website? Video also offers the luxury of allowing you to portray your brand exactly as you envision it. This means that it will land with all the right people and increase the likelihood of customer longevity. However, it will ultimately come down to the quality of your content. If you video is not worth viewing, it won’t achieve what you want it to.
By drawing the attention of the correct people and enticing them into interacting with your brand, video is the perfect means of introducing your company to those who are unaware of it.
If you want to learn more about using video to generate new business leads, drop us a line.
