Videos are a powerful addition to any marketing strategy and are the de-facto medium of content consumption in this day and age. They are now considered a powerful technique for closing deals.
It is much easier to not only engage a viewer through video but also to convert them into loyal customers. In fact, 93% of brands got a new customer because of a video on social media.
People tend to skim through text-based content, so if you’re looking to capture someone’s full attention, videos are the way to go.
Harnessing the power of video can result in significant gains to your brand, but for that, you’ll need a plan. Here’s a look at seven proven strategies you can use to increase sales by the use of videos.
1. Post regularly to YouTube to close sales
Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are invaluable platforms for online video marketing, but if you want to grow your side hustle into a real business then you should consider YouTube. The issue is these platforms are not “searchable” or as searchable as dedicated video hosting platforms such as YouTube.
We recommend that you upload your video to YouTube and share the URL rather than uploading to other social media sites directly.
So, why this strategy? For starters, YouTube is the second most visited search engine. You also get targeted search traffic on YouTube which means that the audience is of higher quality than interruption-based platforms such as Facebook.
Once you upload a video on YouTube, the Share button will make it easier for you to share your video to a variety of platforms. These include Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, Blogger, and Skype.
If you’re running a blog, you can use YouTube for hosting your videos while you embed them to your blogs. A YouTube account is completely free. If your channel gets big enough, you could even earn revenue directly from YouTube via ads without the need to make your own website.
Quick Tip: If you want to increase your ranking in YouTube’s search engine make sure you post your video content frequently and consistently.
2. Demonstrate your product to improve conversion
Ultimately, the purpose of your video marketing effort should be to offer entertaining but valuable content to your audience. A deviation from this might lead to lots of missed sales and prospective customers down the line.
Videos will enable you to deliver valuable information to your viewers in a short amount of time. It is also easier to show all the features and benefits of your product on video as opposed to a lengthy blog post.
If your company deals in home cleaning tools, you can be able to demonstrate how to set-up and use a vacuum cleaner in two minutes. You can also include more videos to show your viewers how to clean and maintain the said tool in other videos.
Another benefit is that by using videos for product demonstrations, you’re able to eliminate a lot of troubleshooting questions from customers.
Keep in mind that the best product demonstrations are short. Looking to trim your lengthy videos? Here are the best editing programs.
Quick Tip: Include a brief FAQ section at the end of the video – this will allow you to address customer concerns and increase conversion rate.
Learn more about product demos here.
3. Be concise
When you start using videos for marketing, you might assume that videos with as much information as possible about a product are the best. This is not usually the case.
Almost a fifth of viewers will click away from your video within 10 seconds. That’s why you should be brief and straight to the point.
Before making a video, always ask yourself what would be the reason for you to watch that video. Once you have that figured out, try and explain it within the shortest time possible.
Using the same example of a vacuum cleaner, let’s say you’re considering buying a vacuum cleaner, but you want to see if it’s easy to set up. A 60-90 second video will be more appealing than a five-minute video.
You should also consider optimizing your videos for silent playback. You can do this by the use of compelling subtitles and appealing visuals.
Quick Tip: Include a video transcript – this makes your video accessible to more people while still providing indexable text to search bots.
4. Optimize your video for search engines
Ok, so you’ve created your short and catchy video. Now, how do you reach as many people as possible?
You’ve probably heard the term SEO a million times, but did you know that including a video on your website increases your click-through rates and reduces your bounce rates.
That being said, Google is more likely to rank videos hosted on YouTube. Given the fact that YouTube is a very large search engine, you will need to optimize your videos to reach your desired audience.
YouTube uses various data points to to rank videos such as:
- Video title
- Keywords in the video description
- Video length
- Audience retention
- Comments
Ensure you tag your video with searchable terms and keywords. Also, make sure your video thumbnail is engaging. The video thumbnail is the first thing people see when scrolling through YouTube.
Quick Tip: To create professional video thumbnails, consider using dedicated photo editing software for the best results.
Learn more about Video SEO – here
5. Use customer testimonials and success stories
Customer testimonials are fantastic for bumping up your sales. What makes video testimonials better than written quotes is the use of verbal and nonverbal cues by your interviewees.
Nonverbal cues such as the excitement in the customer’s face and their enthusiasm in their voice as they talk about your product are what attracts new customers. Remember, emotion is what sells.
When you decide to use this strategy, avoid asking basic questions such as “How was the product?”. Instead, ask more involved questions that showcase the products value directly such as:
- How much time have you saved when cleaning the house since you bought the vacuum cleaner?
- How much money did our all in one marketing tool save you?
Aim to split your testimonials between actual clients and professionals. While people trust real customers much more, experts give credibility to your product. If your budget allows, get some testimonials from celebrities. It will boost your brand image.
Quick Tip: Get a mix of real people and credible professionals to add a mix of both authenticity and credibility to your testimonials.
6. Spread the word around & interact with your viewers
Within the first hour after uploading your video, send out a notification to all your social media followers and mailing list subscribers. It is essential as it can help your videos go viral.
Also, promptly reply to every person who comments on your videos, especially if your business is still small. While at it, make sure your replies are personalized, not just generic. It helps you build a good relationship with your customers.
Another benefit of replying to everyone is people will be more willing to comment on your videos since they know you will respond. On YouTube, more comments influence your video ranking positively.
Keep in mind that people are 2x more likely to share videos as compared to other forms of content. However, with thousands of videos flooding social media platforms each day, you’ll have to get creative to have an edge over your competition.
Quick Tip: Respond to each and every comment on YouTube (especially if you are a small channel)
7. Make your videos interactive and include a call to action
65% – That is the percentage of people who report having visited a vendor website after watching a video.
A call-to-action is crucial if you want to boost sales with video. After all, if you don’t guide your viewers on the next step to take, there is no way they can convert.
You can either deliver your call-to-action on-screen, verbally or in the video description. In the modern world, people like experiencing new and better things. That’s why you should strive to make your videos more interactive.
A few tips on this include:
- Enabling your audience to shop for things they see on the screen. You can use clickable links on different products.
- Embedding links leading to your webpage on your video.
- Cleverly embedding various links to more of your videos for a better chance of converting in case they aren’t already convinced.
Quick Tip: If you are selling a product, include a CTA (Call To Action) at the end of the video.
Conclusion
The demand for video is increasing by the day.
Hop on the bandwagon and incorporate videos into your sales funnel. Videos work wonders for grabbing your viewers’ attention and engaging them. Videos are also excellent for communicating valuable information in a short amount of time. All this translates to more sales for your business.
Thank you for reading our guide on how to increase sales with video. In the quick-changing world of digital marketing, video has proven itself as a reliable and effective form of content.