I started to compile a bunch of stats to show you how popular video marketing is becoming.
And then I realized – the last thing you need are more stats about how video is taking over the internet. The fact is, if you’re not using video yet, you’re losing customers, clients and revenue.
Consumers love video. They watch video. They ENJOY video. They even enjoy video when the video is selling something, as long as the video still entertains and informs.
So how can you use more video in your business? And how can you make those videos perform as well as possible in getting your viewers to take action? Here are ten tips to get you started in the right direction:
1: Make your video is about the story, not about the sale.
Anyone can slap up a sales video and put it on YouTube. “Buy my product!” But will it get views? Not likely. Instead, tell stories and deliver value. Let’s say you’re selling a course on how to do marketing for chiropractic offices. It’s tempting to tell the viewer why your course rocks, why it’s exactly what they need, and how it’s only available for a limited time. But what if you make a series of short videos, with each video providing one powerful marketing tip just for chiropractors? I guarantee those videos will be watched and shared among the chiropractic community. You’ll establish massive credibility. And of course you can politely refer them to your website at the end of each video.
These videos won’t sell your course for you. But what they will do is make it far easier to get the sale. Think of it as romancing the client…First you take them out on a date or two or three…And THEN you close the sale. Your success rate will be much higher than if you try to close the sale while the two of you are still strangers.
2: Make the first 10 seconds the BEST 10 seconds ever
One stat says that 20% of viewers will click away from a video within the first 10 seconds. Now you’ve got to ask yourself – why would they do that? They came to watch something, yet they leave almost immediately.
There could be a few reasons:
- Your video doesn’t appear to be what they expected. If they are coming from a link that says, “Free iPad!” and your video is about growing organic veggies, you’re going to lose them. Continuity is key here.
- You have a long, boring, “Look at me!” intro. You’ve seen those intros where it’s 30 seconds of how great the company, video creator, brand or whatever is. The problem is, no one cares but the person who made the video. Lose the long intro.
- You dilly dally around. Taking the first minute of the video to finish setting up your recording equipment is a major no-no.
- You don’t start out with a bang. You want to get right to the meat of the subject by quickly introducing what’s happening and then making it happen.
Think about movies back in the 50’s, 60’s and even 70’s – they all had long boring intros filled with lots of credits and no action. Now think about today’s’ movies – from the first moment there is action; something that captures your attention and makes you want to stay tuned to find out what’s happening, why it’s happening and what’s going to happen next. When it comes to writing fiction, teachers often tell their students to lop off the first page or two, because they’re usually full of long, boring intro stuff to set up the first scene. But when you lop that off and start with the action, BOOM – the reader is captivated. Videos are the same way. Start with the good stuff and let it just get better form there.
3: Don’t be so serious.
Your video might be to inform and instruct, but that doesn’t mean you have to sound like a boring, stuffy college professor. Find ways to inject fun and humor into your presentations. This doesn’t mean to inject knock-knock jokes that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Instead, find the humor in what you’re teaching or talking about. It’s always there, you just have to look for it.
Now I know that when you get in front of a camera, if you’re like most people you get nervous. And when you get nervous, you might not be able to find the humor in anything, except perhaps your own nervousness.
Three things I can tell you – if you practice beforehand in front of a friend, you’ll be surprised at the funny things that come to mind. Go ahead and try your humor on your friend and listen to their feedback. They’ll tell you which ones parts and which to leave out. Second, when you’re filming, continue to think of the camera as your friend. You’re just having a friendly conversation, regardless of whether it’s you on camera or you’re using slides. Third, have fun. If you’re having fun then the viewer will likely have fun as well.
4: It’s good to be human
No one really likes someone who is perfect, or even someone who comes across as perfect. That’s why it’s okay to make mistakes on camera. If you are nervous or if you do something wrong, just acknowledge it and move on. For example, you drop something you were showing the viewer. Laugh, pick it up, make a joke about your nerves or your butterfingers or whatever, and move on. It’s a funny thing when we admit to the audience that we’re human and we can laugh at our own foibles – the audience begins to like us more, and they root for us, too. I even know people who purposely make a mistake or do something clumsy, just so they can get the audience on their side. It’s a truly effective technique when done right.
5: Tell embarrassing stories about yourself
As an extension of the last point, use yourself as an example of what not to do. Let’s say you’re teaching dating tips. You want to tell the viewers what not to do. Instead of saying, “You should never, ever do this or that because it just annoys the other person,” say this: “I was once on a date and I made the dumbest mistake possible. What happened was…” And then go on to tell a story about yourself doing something stupid or wrong or whatever. Notice that now instead of lecturing the viewer, you are sharing a valuable story about how you goofed up. This does a couple of things. It teaches the viewer in a way they will remember, because people remember stories much better than lessons. And it’s yet another opportunity to show just how human you are, and make the audience like you even more.
But what if you never made that mistake yourself? It’s up to you, but I see no harm in telling the story from your point of view anyway. Again, it’s a highly effective teaching method, and everyone loves somebody who can laugh at themselves. Just look at comedians – they are continually telling audiences about the stuff they’ve done that wasn’t too bright. And audiences love them for it.
6: Optimize your videos for search
Here are a few tips for doing just that:
- If you can, host your video to your own domain first, before uploading it to sharing sites. This has the potential to get people to link back to your own domain, which will also help your overall SEO efforts.
- Enable embedding on your video to increase the likelihood of receiving inbound links.
- Add your videos to your sitemap to give Google information about your video. This gives Google useful metadata that can improve Google’s ability to include your video in search results. Here’s a handy page to tell you how:
https://developers.google.com/webmasters/videosearch/sitemaps - Use tags for the relevant keywords. Write full descriptions and add a unique title.
And remember this: If it has a box, Google needs you to fill it out in order to help you rank.
7: Educate your audience
Some of the best videos you’ll ever make, that your prospects and clients will love, are videos that teach your viewers something useful. Whether it’s to get a result they want, show them how to best use your product, or provide useful tips, people enjoy short ‘how to’ videos that teach them what they want to know, when they want to know it. Which of course means you need to be found when they are looking. To do that, go back to #6 and make sure your video shows up in the appropriate SEO searches.
8: Let your customers speak for you
Social proof is best done by your customers on your behalf. For example, you can ask customers to film themselves talking about how they use and love your product. Case studies are an excellent way to showcase your product while teaching your audience how to achieve the result they desire. Your customer might talk about their buying decision, what might have stopped them from buying, and why they went ahead and got the product. Next they might talk about their results of using the product, what specific features they like, and the biggest benefits of using the product. A good customer testimonial or case study can be worth an entire sales letter when it comes to converting new prospects into customers.
9: Add a call to action
Whatever kind of video you’re making, don’t forget to add a call to action at the end. It might be to visit your website, go to a landing page to grab a free report, check out a sales page or whatever.
Just remember that your videos should be 90-95% great content and just 5-10% sales.
10: Add a video to your landing pages to increase conversions
Naturally you’ll want to test this out, but odds are you’ll see a nice bump in your conversions on your landing page if you add a short video.
The video should quickly introduce yourself and let them know what they’re getting when they subscribe. Make it friendly and fun for the viewer, and try to inject a little humor. Most of all, give one very clear and immediate benefit of subscribing to your list and grabbing your free offer.
I know a marketer who never sells a thing on his videos. All he does is provide helpful tips, tell silly stories about his industry and act as a helpful friend to his viewers. And his sales are through the roof. Why? Because people love him and trust him.
Video isn’t hard. What’s difficult sometimes is relaxing enough to simply be ourselves and lend a helping hand or tip to the viewer.
