4 Ways Video Marketing Helps Dominate Your Objectives

For a long time, animated video production companies have talked about video marketing like it’s the cure for every marketing woe. As if getting an explainer video for your brand will somehow magically guarantee you a sea of qualified prospects that turn into a mountain of sales.

I’m here to tell you – that’s just not true.

Video marketing isn’t a silver bullet – it’s not going to instantly transform your entire business.

But it is a useful tool to help you amplify the results of your marketing efforts.

That’s why you need a video strategy that’s tailored to your unique marketing objectives – remember, it’s not a one-size-fits all solution. One stand-alone explainer video on your homepage may not do the trick. In fact, that might not even be the video you need! Brands have to think critically about how video will propel their specific marketing strategies.

Time for some examples. In this post, I’ll walk you through four scenarios where video could help increase the results of the marketing tactics you’re already using – and move your potential customers further down the path to purchase.

1. Use marketing videos on your homepage when you have a high bounce rate.

Did you know that, on average, bounce rate is 34% lower on pages with video? Take ExactTarget, for example. When they added video and a branded video portal to their site, their bounce rate went way down – and time on site? Increased 100%.

Or how about when Limelight Networks implemented videos as part of their marketing strategy? Their bounce rates evaporated, and their unique visitor counted doubled almost immediately.

Think about what this means for you. If your potential customers are staying on your site longer – and moving beyond your homepage – they have more time to learn about what you do, read your site copy, and think seriously about moving forward with you. They’re more likely to download your whitepaper, sign up for your email list, or take that first step. Whatever that looks like.

If your homepage isn’t holding your audience, then short, engaging, top-of-funnel marketing videos just might do the trick.

2. Use an explainer video when your value proposition needs clarity.

This is a little bit trickier than bounce rate. Bounce rate is a measurable, quantitative metric, whereas customer confusion over what you do is less definable. But if your customers are calling you, emailing you, or stopping you on the street to clarify your product or service – and if your sales cycle seems longer than it should be – it’s probably time to consider marketing videos.

I’ve written time and again about why you should already have a top-of-funnel explainer video. Short homepage videos can really shorten your sales cycle by educating your audience quickly and clearly. Research backs this up, too: understanding of your service or product is boosted by 74% thanks to the dual coding that video offers.

This isn’t just a chance to tell your audience what you do; it’s an opportunity to tell them why. Compelling video gives your viewers a chance to shift their perspective and buy in to your brand.

3. Use video marketing when there’s trouble further down the funnel.

What if you’ve already got a landing page that drives conversions like crazy, and potential customers don’t really have any issues grasping your UVP? Things are good, right?

But maybe you’re having trouble further down the funnel. Maybe you’re seeing a lot of qualified leads come your way, but they seem to fizzle out – or even worse, they end up choosing one of your competitors instead! What do you do then?

Try targeting your mid-funnel with informative video content that will help your potential buyers make a better purchase decision. This is when they’re considering the best course of action, so it’s critical for you to give them really, really helpful content – things like client testimonials, case studies, company culture pieces, and product demos.

Take your cue from Zappos. They wrote the book on product demo videos. And they saw a 30% sales impact when they started featuring them on their product pages! Naturally, they now make a demo video for almost every shoe they sell.

If as potential customer sees one of these product videos, that means he or she is already made their way to a specific product page. They already know Zappos sells shoes, so they don’t need to watch an explainer video; what they need is video content that helps educate them on the merits of Converse vs. Vans. And, as the numbers prove, this kind of video content makes Zappos’ audience much more like to add a pair of kicks to their shopping cart.

This makes sense, doesn’t it? When you give your audience the information they want, they’re more confident that they’re making the right decision.

4. Make marketing videos to address FAQs.

You’ve got video marketing collateral that drives awareness, increases conversions, and ultimately makes your audience feel great about choosing you when it’s time to make a buying decision. Life is good!

But don’t neglect your customers! They need solid video content too. What if they have questions about how to maximize your product? Or what if your software isn’t 100% intuitive? Now it’s time to make FAQs, video tutorials, and more detailed product demos.

For example, IKEA released a series of instructional videos on YouTube, explaining how to build some of their most popular furniture, saving consumers time and frustration by providing them with valuable videos.

When you create FAQs and tutorials like these, you’re able to answer the most common questions your customers will be asking – quickly and easily, with answer that’s ready-made to share. These videos don’t have to be Hollywood productions, either. If you’re a software company, even a simple screencast tutorial will do just fine.

If you take one thing away from this post, let it be this: video’s got to be a part of your marketing strategy throughout the buyer’s journey. Whatever your objectives, video marketing can lead to better results – and give your audience a greater degree of clarity and engagement as they interact with your brand.

Where to start isn’t always clear – but if you think of video as integral to your marketing initiatives from the get-go, you can build a killer video strategy that fits your specific business needs.

You just have to start somewhere.
nbsp;