Dave Cowling, Kristy Smith and His Fine Team – Enjoy the Tips!
This is what you call a Marathon Guest Blog! I am very honoured to have Video Marketer and Producer Dave Cowling join us to give us all some great insights on how one can use Video to Market their businesses.
As I put this blog together, I was blown away by the length and detail. Enjoy it and put it into practice!
The Video Revolution: Guest Blog by Dave Cowling:
I remember when I was growing up, TV advertising was the pinnacle. Only the biggest brands could afford to advertise on TV. Advertising on TV is still an expensive thing to do – but consider the reasons:
The audience: TV advertising is still very powerful and still the most effective way to quickly reach a large audience. However, there is a consumer shift in the way that we are collectively consuming ‘TV’. It is now very definitely heading online – and that’s where smaller businesses can capitalise.
The medium: Video, the moving image works. Pure and simple.
There are many statistics that all point to the fact that there is indeed a revolution happening in marketing right now and that revolution is:
– VIDEO!
Some of my favourite stats:
– 90% of consumers prefer to absorb information through video (source: Mediapost.com)
– 74% of all Internet traffic in 2017 will be video (source: Syndacast)
Some stats from the 2nd highest search engine – YouTube:
– 700 YouTube video links are shared on Twitter EVERY MINUTE !!
– 500 YEARS of YouTube videos are watched on Facebook every day. (in 2014 that equated to 1 Billion video plays per day!)
– 100 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute.
– Facebook now gets over 20 Million videos uploaded per month.
Video ads on Facebook out-perform image or text ads. Facebook are rolling out more video content and creating new avenues for video advertising.
Video is a very effective way to communicate. Our brains are programmed to receive visual information much faster than text (60,000 times faster!).
So now we know – video is important. If you’re not already using video, you are probably falling behind your competition. The question for many small business owners is ‘what sort of videos should I create?’. Here are some ideas:
1) About Us / Your Business Passion Story:
Although we call this an ‘about us’ video – the key is to make it ‘about you’ – the customer! This style of video is usually found on the front page of a website. This is putting your best foot forward and giving your customer the information that they need to become invested and to ultimately make a purchase from you. For this sort of video, I would suggest that you hire a pro and do it to the best of your budget.
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7reO3totjBE
2) Product and Services videos:
Drilling down, explaining the benefits of your products and services.
3) Blog content / quick tips:
Quick and easy blog content. Sharing quick tips and your thoughts (Ed is THE MASTER at doing this). These can be done quickly on your phone, even edited on your phone (with an app like iMovie) and quickly posted online.
4) Email responses:
When you can’t get your customer on the phone – make the connection with them through video. Check out screencast-o-matic.com or you might direct your customer to pre-recorded content. You can bet your competition isn’t doing this. An AWESOME way to stand out in a crowded market.
5) Special Event / Achievement Videos:
Doing something special in your business? Video is a great way to capture and then share it with the world. This example is from a World Record attempt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-rPMjXEdiw
6) Testimonials:
I often get asked about testimonial videos and whether it’s OK to record these yourself (on your phone). I would suggest that you shouldn’t waste an opportunity. If you have a client who would give you a great testimonial RIGHT NOW, then by all means – grab it !! Self-recorded testimonials can be great social-media or blog content. However, I’d suggest that if you were including testimonials within a more polished video (such as your ‘Business Passion Story Video’), then you should have the best production quality you can.
While written testimonials have worked well as a marketing tool in the past, people no longer trust them. By stepping up to video testimonials you are able to bring a new level of authenticity to your business, which in turn brings new opportunities and additional sales.
You might think that a testimonial is simply one of your customers saying how fantastic your business is. However, you can be far more strategic than this.
The most effective approach is to tackle your potential customer’s barriers of sale, i.e. the objections that, if not overcome, will prevent them from signing up to be a member or client.
Video testimonials are perfect for dissolving barriers of sale.
7) Video hooks / Tripwire:
These can also be great to build your blog audience or to lead your audience to a secondary target.
If you’re blogging, you can draw people into your blog with video content on your social media channels. Because of the higher engagement of video, take the essence of your blog post and create a short video about it. Give a teaser / taster of the content in the video and invite them to click to your blog post for more content.
A tripwire is an introduction to your services. Eg: an eBook, quick lesson or free consultation – where the goal is to get engagement from that customer to be able to nurture them towards your other services. If you think in terms of ‘fishing’ for business, VIDEO is awesome bait !!
8) Educational / Training videos:
Similar to tips, but you might want these a bit more polished. They might be longer. You might record a few of these longer videos and make a series that you release over a number of weeks.
You might think to yourself, I don’t have anyone to train with videos – I don’t have a big staff. But this is where you’d be wrong … You do have something to teach and there’s a world of people who want your knowledge. Create a great video. Get it on YouTube and monetize it 🙂
9) Recruitment video:
A great way to attract the right people to work in your business. Video is the perfect way to convey your company’s culture and values.
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXMUprp20PI
10) Newsletters:
Use videos or video links in your newsletters. If your newsletter software doesn’t allow you to embed video (most don’t) – then create a simple image that looks like a play button. A great tool for capturing still images is Jing (check it out – very simple to use).
Having the word VIDEO in the title of your e-newsletter will statistically get a 20% higher open rate and a 65% increase in click through rate.
11) Sales Videos:
These are short and to the point. Videos that address your customer’s pain points, quickly establish you as a credible expert and get them over to your website or on the phone to you. These – I would also suggest hiring a pro to do.
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXAhZlAIJGs
12) Industry specific videos:
There are some industries that lend themselves to specific types of video, eg: real estate. Ultimately, these are often a variation of a sales or training video.
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj94ot35R6s
Ultimately, the key here is that video provides a fast, effective and engaging way to communicate with your potential customers. That’s something that is important to every business.
Always consider what your video is saying about your business. I’ve given a few examples of where DIY video can be used, but also consider that whatever you put out there is a reflection of your business. A great video can be a fantastic tool and can align your business with high value. A poor video can have the opposite effect and can damage your brand, making you look unprofessional.
Call Dave on (02) 9659 1333 to chat about ways to use video in your business.
Visit www.youtube.com/dnmvideoproductions to check out some of the D’nM team’s work.
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