Although there may be some wisdom to Forrest Gump’s comparison of life’s unpredictability to a box of chocolates, it’s not wise to treat your online videos that way. Yet this is often what happens when potential customers land on a website and launch the online video – they never really know what to expect! To eliminate uncertainty, produce video content posted on your website or social media that is relevant and valued by your customers.
Although marketing studies indicate that website videos could increase your SEO, you could actually jeopardize your credibility if the content is poorly written. Even if your online video appears slick with all of the “bells and whistles” of an “over-the-top” music video, if the content is not relevant to your viewer, you will actually lose customer engagement.
According to Forrester Research, featuring video on your website makes it more likely to be ranked on the first page of a Google search. As a result, many small business owners immediately say, “I need a video to increase traffic to my website!” However, to avoid creating a video that could turn out to be one of those “not-so-good chocolate covered jelly candies”, here are several things to consider when producing your video:
- Keep it short. The attention span of the average person seems to be shrinking every day! Challenge yourself to create video that is one minute in length, tops. Much more than that and you’ll lose them.
- Have a strategy. Because you want to keep your message succinct, make every second count. Think through how you can communicate in both words and visuals for the biggest impact. You want to whet their appetite, not explain everything in verbose detail.
- Show your value proposition. Like other forms of media, make sure to communicate the value you offer to your potential customers. You don’t have to do hard “selling” of your product, simply create interest and show how they’ll benefit.
- Prove it. Build trust and credibility by utilizing the power of video to demonstrate the effectiveness of your businesses’ product or service because “seeing is believing”. Video is the perfect medium for visual products or for explaining complex concepts. It also adds interest when you have a video comprised of more than just a “talking head”
- Create evangelists. Produce a message that is compelling, entertaining, and captures a viewer’s curiosity, prompting them to share it and “spread the word” attracting buyers and generating leads
- Connect at an emotional level. Employ “storytelling” techniques to emotionally connect with customers who can empathize and identify with you. This also gives your business a face – it humanizes you.
Every day, more and more viewers “Google” and “click” to view video content on a website, not really knowing what they are going to get. Therefore, it is increasingly important to consistently create relevant content valuable to your viewer. Once your viewer is engaged by your well-produced video message, this customer will know what he’s going to get and be willing to get it from you!
If you’re thinking about using video to market your small business, it may be worthwhile to contract out with video marketing experts like The Price Group, Inc. We’re flexible in terms of budgeting and will work with you to produce a video that gives your business a professional image just like the one we produced for Raceway Car Wash. Please feel free to contact us at 630.717.8332 or at info@thepricegroup.biz.
