I started compiling a bunch of statistics to show you how popular video marketing is getting.
And then it hit me: The last thing you need is more statistics on how video is taking over the internet.
The fact is, if you’re not already using video, you’re losing customers, customers, and revenue.
Consumers love videos. They watch the video. They ENJOY the video.
They even enjoy video when the video sells 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 work as well as possible to get your viewers to take action?
Here are ten tips to get you started in the right direction:
1: Make your video about the story, not the sale.
Anyone can make a sales video and put it on YouTube. “Buy my product!” But will you get views? Not likely.
Instead, tell stories and deliver value. Let’s say you’re selling a course on marketing for chiropractic offices.
It’s tempting to tell the viewer why your course is great, 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, each providing a powerful marketing tip just for chiropractors?
I guarantee those videos will be seen and shared among the chiropractic community.
You will establish massive credibility. And of course, you can politely refer them to your website at the end of each video.
These videos will not sell your course for you.
But what they will do is make it much easier to get the sale.
Think of it as making the customer fall in love…
First, you take them 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 statistic says that 20% of viewers will click away from a video within the first 10 seconds.
Now you must ask yourself: why would they do that?
They came to see something, but leave almost immediately.
There could be a few reasons:
Your video doesn’t seem to be what they expected. If they come from a link that says “iPad for free!” and your video is about growing organic vegetables, you’re going to miss 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 is, the creator of the video, the brand, or whatever. The problem is that nobody cares except the person who made the video. Lose the long intro.
You entertain yourself. Taking the first minute of the video to finish setting up your recording equipment is a big mistake.
· You don’t start with a bang. You want to get right to the heart of the matter by quickly laying out what’s going on and then making it happen.
Think of movies from the ’50s, ’60s, and even ’70s: 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 pay attention to know what is happening, why it is happening and what is going to happen next.
When it comes to writing fiction, teachers often tell their students to cut out the first page or two, because they are usually full of long, boring introductions to set up the opening scene. But when you cut that out and start with the action, BOOM: the reader is wowed.
The videos are the same way. Start with the good stuff and let it get better from there.
3: Don’t be so serious.
Your video may 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 does not mean injecting knock knock jokes that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Instead, find humor in what you are 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 may not be able to find the humor in anything, except perhaps your own nervousness.
I can tell you three things: if you practice beforehand in front of a friend, you’ll be surprised at what fun things come to mind. Go ahead and test your humor on your friend and listen to their feedback. They will tell you which parts and which to skip.
Second, when you’re shooting, continue to think of the camera as your friend. You’re just having a friendly conversation, regardless of whether you’re on camera or using slides.
Third, have fun. If you’re having fun, chances are the viewer is having fun too.
4: It’s good to be human
No one really likes someone who is perfect, or even someone who seems perfect. That’s why it’s okay to make mistakes on camera.
If you’re nervous or if you do something wrong, own up to it and move on. For example, you drop something you were showing to the viewer. Laugh it, pick it up, make a joke about your nerves or your butter fingers or whatever, and move on.
It’s funny when we admit to the audience that we are human and that we can laugh at our own weakness: the audience starts to like us more and support us too.
I even know people who purposely make a mistake or do something clumsy, just to get the audience on their side.
It is 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 advice. You want to tell viewers what not to do. Instead of saying, “You should never, ever do this or that just because it annoys the other person,” say this:
“I was on a date once and I made the dumbest possible mistake. What happened was…”
And then you go on to tell a story about yourself doing something stupid or wrong or whatever.
Note that now instead of reading to the viewer, you are sharing a valuable story about how you made a mistake.
This does a couple of things…
It teaches the viewer in a way that they will remember, because people remember the stories much better than the lessons.
And it’s yet another chance to show how human you are and make the audience love you even more.
But what if you’ve never made that mistake yourself?
It’s up to you, but I don’t see any harm in telling the story from your point of view anyway. Again, it’s a highly effective teaching method, and everyone loves someone who can laugh at themselves.
Just look at the comedians: they continually tell the audience about the things they’ve done that weren’t too brilliant. And the public loves them for it.
6: Optimize your videos for search
Here are some tips for doing just that:
If you can, host your video on your own domain first, before uploading it to sharing sites. This has the potential to get people to link to your own domain, which will also help your overall SEO efforts.
Enable embedding for 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 is a useful page to tell you how https://developers.google.com/webmasters/videosearch/sitemaps.
Use tags for relevant keywords. Write full descriptions and add a unique title.
And remember this: if you have a chart, Google needs you to fill it in to help you rank.
7: Educate your audience
Some of the best videos you’ve ever made that your prospects and customers will love, or videos that teach your viewers something useful.
Whether it’s getting the result they want, showing them how to best use your product, or providing helpful 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 that you need them to find you when they’re looking. To do that, go back to no. #6 and make sure your video shows up in the right 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 a great way to showcase your product while teaching your audience how to achieve the result they want.
Your customer can talk about their buying decision, what might have stopped them from buying, and why they went ahead and got the product.
They can then talk about the results of using the product, the 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
Regardless of the type of video you’re making, don’t forget to add a call to action at the end. It could be visiting your website, going to a landing page for a free report, checking out a sales page, or whatever.
Just remember that your videos should be 90-95% great content and only 5-10% sales.
10: Add a Video to Your Landing Pages to Increase Conversions
Naturally, you’ll want to try this, but you’ll most likely see a nice boost in your conversions on your landing page if you add a short video.
The video should quickly introduce you and let them know what they get when they subscribe. Make it viewer friendly and fun, and try to inject a bit of humor.
Above all, give a very clear and immediate benefit by signing up for your list and getting your free offer.
I know a salesperson who has never sold anything on his videos. All he does is provide helpful advice, tell silly stories about his industry, and act as a helpful friend to his viewers.
And their sales are through the roof. Why? Because people love him and trust him.
The video is not difficult. What is hard is sometimes relaxing enough to just be ourselves and lend a helping hand or advice to the viewer.