The 4 Forms of External Communication Video
As promised I am back with another installment of the Storybuilder Blog! THis week we are going to take a deep dive into the 4 types of external communication videos. This post will try and help unravel all the various ways video can help you not only find but connect with your ideal client!
Let’s dive in!
Awareness
One of the first types of video that comes to mind when you think of video for business are videos that fit into this category.
Business Profiles, Video Business Cards, Brand stories, and Why Us videos. To give you an idea of what these videos look like I have included a quick video PD Creative Media created for The Mermaid Society.
There are many ways to approach awareness videos, but the main objective is to give your audience the basic who, what, and why of you business. You want this video to capture the unique value of your product or service on a broad level. This is not the time to get technical, You want to appeal to the viewers emotions and get them to stop scrolling and get curious. We often like to link these videos to a website homepage or social media account and they will be first line of communication for your business.
Education
Educational content is a very broad term, but in this instance we are talking about bringing value to your customer. Depending on your ideal client this can be achieved through various styles of video including Market Commentary, Prospect Nurturing, Product Overviews, Employee Profiles, White board Explainers, How to videos, or simply reviewing your Frequently asked questions.
Once they have showed interest in your product or service will switch from the more emotional experience to a more logical standpoint. Think back to when you found something you wanted to buy online, what was your first thought after “thats cool”. I know mine is, “well how does it work, what goes into making it, where is it made”,. Each one of these questions can be a touchpoint with the potential buyer. Think of it as stepping stones across a pond. If a stepping stone is missing, your customer will turn around and find a different pond no matter what is one the other side.
By employing educational content. You can start appealing to the logical decision making part of the customer’s journey. These videos sole purpose are to inform and educate. People might want your product or service, that is why they followed you on Facebook or visited your website, now it is time to educate your follower on the VALUE of your product or service.
This is not a sales pitch—if you focus your energy on the sale it will not get you results. You have to speak from authority and authenticity on your product or service. Market commentary and white board videos do this exceptionally well.
Here are a few examples of how that looks:
One last point on education: user generated content or influencer marketing videos are great for educating your followers. You can pair with a current client and create review videos, unboxing videos, and other forms of content. Finding the right influencer is a whole article in itself, I will be covering this in another post so hang tight for the ins and outs of influencer marketing.
Conversion
I use the term conversion rather than sales because, the objective is authenticity, and the last thing you want to do is come on strong with a pitch and lose all credibility you have gained with your customer. The conversion video should include a call to action but again keep it subtle and smooth. In fact the video itself does not have to have any reference to buying or purchasing a good or service. There are many ways to include a subtle call to action like an embedded buy now, or sign up list on Facebook.
This message should shift attention back towards the emotional. If you satisfied the customers logical brain and addressed any objections and pain points, the sale should flow organically. Video is relationship building!
Some of the best types of video that have a high conversion rate are:
Testimonials
Product and service testimonials are a great way to show your audience that your product or service brings value and when paired with a link to schedule an appointment or directly to a product page it can be a powerful conversion tool for your business. Here is an example of what a great testimonial looks like.
Case studies
Case studies are powerful videos created to highlight what you have done for another client in the past and often include facts and figures to solidify the value you offer. They can also include powerful testimonials.
Personal Video Communication
If you are really wanting to connect with a client a great tool for that is to send them a direct video addressing any pain points they may have. This is great if you want to be able to track if they have watched and how far they watched your video. An email with a video link is about 3 times more likely to get opened and read that just a plain text email alone.
Retention
It is easier to do recurring business than it is to gain new customers! So why not create content specifically targeted at retaining current and past clients? The good news is many of these videos can be cut downs and re-edits of existing content. The objective here is to build community around your brand. You can feature an employ profile of the month, featured client of the month, host video blogs with your customers, cover company or fundraising events, the possibilities are endless.
Conclusion
I hope that this blog made choosing the right type of video content for your current situation a little less confusing. There are so many way to use video content that it might get overwhelming. If you have any questions or comments about how video can work for you specifically, please reach out and I would love to set down over coffee or lunch and see if we can take a deeper dive into everything!
Catch you next week, when we look at the types of internal communication videos and how they can help in just about every aspect of your business, from training to sales.
