Videos have been regarded as one of the most popular content formats for generating leads in recent times. A study published by Software Advice found that video content delivered the highest quality leads to B2B companies – the quality of leads outperformed those from salesperson demos and free trials. So why are videos so effective in attracting leads, and how can you increase the ROI of your campaigns? lets take a look.
Why do videos work?
Videos achieve a higher level of interaction between viewers compared to texts and even photos. Studies show that our human brain processes videos approximately 60,000 times faster than texts. This is because videos are a mixture of verbal and nonverbal communication channels. This allows the viewer to learn about body language, tone, and other visual cues – as well as the content itself – for interpretation.
In fact, videos tend to have a higher level of interaction between viewers, and thus provide better returns. Social videos are believed to receive approximately 1,200% more shares than texts and images. Not surprisingly then, more than a quarter of all ads on platforms like Instagram are single video ads.
Generate leads through videos Generating lead lists usually involves three steps – content, promotion, and acquisition strategy. The idea here is to increase exposure with the right kind of content and promotion, then convert a healthy portion of those viewers into leads through your acquisition methods.
Content strategy
With video marketing, content and promotion strategy is of prime importance. This is because your success depends a lot on the type of video content you produce. A viral video , for example, can help you reach millions of users. However, that might not matter much if it doesn’t reach the potential customers who are paying you. At the same time, creating explainer videos can help show your product to target buyers – but its impact will only be felt if your promotion reaches the right type of viewer. There are a number of different content formats to choose from. Shopify, for example, relies heavily on “how-to” content targeted to the small business owner. This content goes beyond just showing their products (e-commerce in this case) to include advice related to marketing, business direction, etc. The idea here is basically to create useful content that will appeal to the entrepreneurial community. Viewers can then be sponsored over time to launch their e-commerce store using the Shopify platform. In addition to content strategy, production quality is another aspect that can make or break a lead generation strategy. If you are into playlists, you can check out free tools like FlexClip, Blender, Lightworks, and Shotcut to quickly produce and edit videos for your marketing campaigns. I have personally used Lightworks and FlexClip and they both work great for editing videos for marketing campaigns.
Promotion
The second step in the lead generation process is promotion. Your promotion methods are closely related to the content strategy you choose. A viral video, for example, needs a social media marketing campaign to go along with it. On the other hand, a media ad would be good either as a sponsored ad, or with an influencer. So how do you choose the right promotional tools for your business? Besides the obvious link to the content format, marketers should also consider some other aspects. The first factor to consider is the marketing budget. Do you have the budget to run a PPC or social media campaign? Organic marketing campaigns are resource-intensive and time-consuming to deliver; However, it might not cost as much as a PPC campaign. Also, some campaigns (like viral marketing) require marketers to invest all of their planned budget up front while others (like PPC) require a sustainable budget. These factors may need to be considered while choosing the strategy to follow.
Acquisition of potential clients
The traffic and views of your videos make no sense unless they translate into revenue. Here are some strategies for converting video views into verified leads:
Closed content
This strategy usually works for educational videos hosted on your server. Examples of video content that can succeed with this strategy include webinars and industry analysis reports where there is a dire need among viewers to access content that cannot be found anywhere else. Marketers may require interested viewers to provide their credentials to view the video.
Annotations / cards
If your business is focused on YouTube to gain leads, annotations and end cards are a great way to generate leads. This strategy allows companies to link to external websites from within their YouTube videos.
Let’s take a business example like Shopify again. Their YouTube channel, for example, can include an end card linking the user to a landing page where they can enter their email credentials to sign up for a free trial or access an e-book.
Note, however, that YouTube has tightened its rules regarding external linking. You are now required to be part of the Affiliate Program in order to be able to link.
You can also take advantage of the YouTube description field for the link or your free demo page where your viewers can convert them into leads.
Subscriptions
YouTube offers users the ability to subscribe and notify them of new video uploads. As a marketer, this isn’t entirely helpful since you still have full access to subscriber data like their email or phone number. One way to solve this problem is to integrate your video campaigns with an email marketing system. Viewers interested in following your videos are asked to subscribe to your newsletter so they can watch it.
However, this strategy only works if you run a video series with frequent updates. One-time video campaigns don’t work with this strategy.
conclusion
Video marketing is one of the most effective forms of brand promotion and lead acquisition. The strategies mentioned in this article not only help you create the right video format and promotional method, but they also help you determine the means to translate these opinions into valid potential customers for your business.