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How to inform your audience with video

Many businesses have figured out that placing videos on their website is a good move.

Why? Because it builds your brand name, showcases you as an expert, puts real people behind the name, speaks to new prospective clients, gives important information, offers real live client testimonials, brings in new online traffic and increases sales. Videos can be a powerful business tool for communicating and marketing to your clients and prospects – but are you using this tool the right way? Are you using videos within your business at all?

Research shows the way

If you’re not implementing video within your business, you are not optimising your marketing. For example…

65% of video viewers watch three quarters of a video.
78% of people watch videos online every week and 55% view online videos every day (HubSpot).
59% of executives say they would much rather watch a video than read text (WordStream).
55% of people pay close attention when consuming videos, more than all other types of content (HubSpot).
51% of all videos play are on mobile devices (Adelie Studios).
50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store (Google).
95% of a message is retained by viewers when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text (WireBuzz).
There is a 27% higher click through rate and 34% higher conversion rate for businesses that use videos in their marketing than those that don’t (Buffer).

You can’t draw any other conclusion – people love video. This means your market, your people, your prospects love video. Simply put, using videos right now to reach and engage users and clients is not optional, but necessary for any type of business.

The takeaway

Here are three more key statistics for you…

78% of marketers say their most effective SEO strategy has been creating more relevant content (marketingprofs.com).
43% of people want to see more video content from marketers (HubSpot).

73% of marketers said they’d create more video content if there were no obstacles like time, resources and budget (Buffer).

How you can use video in your business

So if you had the resources, here are some ideas for adopting video within your business to get better results …

Introduce you and your business and an overview of the problem(s) you solve.
Give specific examples of the problem(s).
Explain why the problem is valid for them (your ideal clients).
Convey your value proposition and explain how you solve your client’s problem(s).
Answer any potential objections, reduce scepticism and state your guarantees.
Client testimonial videos with real people giving their honest feedback. This is the social proof that will help you engage and convert more clients.
A brief video introduction into what you do. I call this a ‘client authority and value proposition video’.
A brief walkthrough of your website video. Show them the page tabs and the search function so they can find what they are looking for on your site. Also, show them the contact page so they can ask questions or leave feedback.
‘How To’ videos. Perhaps you can show potential clients how to use your services or client software and obtain further help, advice or service based on their needs.
Question and answer videos. Take the typical questions you get and make a video answering them. This shows clients you care, further demonstrates your ‘subject matter expertise’ (authority) and also cuts down on your time having to repeatedly answer the same questions via email.
Guest commentator videos. External business ‘authorities’ that add to your own positioning in the eyes of your market. Fund managers, economists, accountants, finance specialists or lifestyle experts. They could be in the form of Q&As or they may simply be a presentation of their viewpoint.

Commentary videos. Regular opinions, explanations and feedback about topical world happenings and what clients can and/or should do about it, from you and/or other members of your team.

So what’s stopping you?

Well sometimes it’s the potential cost of outsourcing to video marketing specialists and sometimes it may be that you would like to do it yourself. Costs can be an issue.

For some types of videos, I would recommend using professional videographers. For example, for client authority and value proposition videos. This video is meant to place you and your business in the spotlight and to show you off in the best possible light, so it makes sense that you want this video to look and feel very professional. You can have this type of video professionally produced between $2,500 to $5,000.

This type of video is usually generally perennial and you may only need to update it every five years or so. Given the powerful messaging and positioning this type of video can deliver, as an amortised expense, it’s not an unreasonable outlay.

A lot of these videos can be produced quite professionally and inexpensively inhouse. The initial outlay for the hardware and software required is surprisingly quite low. And with a bit of study, guidance, practice and patience, many of these videos can be produced by almost anyone willing and able to spend the time. After the initial expense of purchasing the equipment, the biggest ongoing cost is time. Of course, the time it takes will vary quite a lot, depending upon the type and subject matter of the video.

Things to consider

Several steps require commitment and preparation before and after recording your video. Sometimes, the subject will be presented by you or some other person/people facing and talking into the camera. Alternatively, you’ll want to record presentations, such as a PowerPoint from your computer screen.

Before

Scripting – either for people facing the camera or for recording PowerPoint presentations with voice over.
PowerPoint presentations – usually used for delivering education, tutorials or some Q&As.
Practice – whilst in either case, you can have a written script or teleprompter to guide you, a little bit of practice will help remove some initial nervousness and ultimately save time.

After

Editing – use software to edit the recordings, cutting out all of the bits that didn’t work and adding the professional finishing touches, such as intros and outros (business branded 5 to 10 second animated video clips placed at the beginning and end of each video) and add music where applicable.
Uploading to your website, social media and video channels such as YouTube or Vimeo.
Promoting – getting the word out to your clients and prospects via email and other strategies.

I know at first glance it all seems like a lot, and it can be for certain video projects, but for many videos you may want to produce, after you (or someone within your business) has a little experience under their belt, and using a proven systematic approach, the time and effort taken can be relatively low.

And for the power that video can deliver to your business over time, it can be a very profitable marketing, promotion and positioning strategy – making you stand out from your competitors.

The team at Capstone can help guide you regarding your video content. To find out how contact:

Kym Turner
Senior Practice Manager
Capstone Financial Planning
P: 03 8622 0719
E: k.turner@capstonefp.com.au