Marketing Digest

Video Leads the Way

Why You Should Be Using Video for Lead Generation

Have you struggled with lead generation? Have you tried all of the digital avenues – email campaigns, search engines, social media, and forums – and found that they’re not generating the quality or quantity of leads that you’d like to see? Many marketers, don’t realize how video can significantly improve their marketing campaigns.

Customers and the marketplace are rapidly changing. Whether you believe people’s attention spans are getting shorter, or that people are just multitasking more and giving each task less time, the fact is that marketers have a brief opportunity to get viewer’s attention and convey their messages. So, how do you communicate as much content as possible in a short amount of time? The answer is simple: video. By properly integrating video into your current marketing strategies, you increase the likelihood of a potential customer finding what they need because you are providing them with more information in a shorter period of time.

Get Your Visitor’s Attention

More so than ever before, people prefer video over every other content formats, and online, videos are watched over ten times more often than text is read. Video is king, and it won’t be dethroned anytime soon. It’s used across all social media channels, embedded in email and web pages, and even streamed to our homes through our TVs, tablets, and phones.

We Absorb What We Watch

When we watch a video, our brain is able to process the visual imagery much faster than we would process that same amount of detail in the form of text. In fact, our brains process video over 50,000 times faster than they process text.

Stimulate their Emotion

It’s human nature to relate to what we see. We immerse ourselves in what we’re watching and create an emotional connection to what we see.  Text doesn’t illicit emotion like video.  Studies show that when introduced to visuals and imagery, our brains trigger the release of Oxytocin (the “love hormone,” as some call it because its levels increase when we hug).  The release of Oxytocin causes us to bond emotionally and it generates feelings of trust.

Video and Brand Recall

There’s a good reason that over half of all marketers believe that video is an effective tool for brand awareness: studies show that video is memorable.  One such study showed that 4 out of 5 people recalled a video ad they had seen within the last 30 days.  

Trust the Statistics

Statistics show that video dominates the online world, so use it to convert visitors into leads. The majority of people watch online videos every day, and about 2 of every 3 viewers watch at least 75% of the video.  Even using the word “video” in the title of an email will generate an open rate of almost 20%.

Use Video to Retain Your Website’s Visitor

Arbitrarily adding video to your marketing materials and mediums may look great, but unless they’re used effectively, don’t expect big returns from your efforts.  Be smart, be strategic, and make good choices when it comes to video content and placement.

Get Social and Make Your Videos Public

With so many online outlets – YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. – for getting your videos in front of viewers, there’s ample opportunity to direct those viewers to a landing page. So get out there and get social! If you aren’t already, take advantage of every outlet available.  After uploading your video to a social media platform, make sure the video is set as a “public” video.  This will allow viewers to watch the video without being on your landing page.  Give the viewer an opportunity to jump to your landing page with links in the video description.

Landing Pages and Conversions

Almost everyone agrees that the first, and certainly the best, opportunity to get a conversion, is on a landing page. Of course, we first need to get the attention of the visitor, and what better way to do so than with a video?

Place video on your landing page to establish that emotional connection. Add a product demo, a review, or other high-value content like instructional videos.  You can even provide the viewer with a form within the video!

Don’t forget about content; composing the right video is extremely important. Don’t forget about your sales funnel; think about where in the buying cycle your visitor is… we’re nurturing a conversion.

… and, Action!

Knowing why video is crucial to your marketing efforts is only a portion of the battle.  You’ll need to choose the best video content for your campaign, and you’ll need to decide how to best utilize your video content.  Strategic placement of video, and its effective use can make the difference between a bounce and a conversion.

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