In a Huffington post article from a few years back, the opening statement exclaimed, “If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.” It’s a statement that is hard to argue. The moving picture can stir up emotion and engage the viewer through movement, changes in pacing, mood set by color and composition, as well as move people through sound and music choices. And that’s before you add in dialog or narration.
The power of video to make us feel a particular emotion (especially when it brings us to action) can be a tool leveraged for your business to better communicate and engage with your audience. The better you can communicate what you do, how you can serve your clients or customers, and how you can enrich their lives, the more likely they are to make a purchase.
What better customer could you ask for than one that is willing to pay a premium, be a repeat buyer, and spread the word about their experiences in engaging with you – all the while bringing more leads your way? Today, people – specifically millenials – are swayed to give you their business after they get to know you and see if they can trust you. If you create content of value on a regular basis, it lessens the need to “sell”. People will seek your services or products if they feel you’ve enriched their lives or given them information that impacts the way they behave. If you can create content that shows your audience that you have empathy for issues or pain points, as well as speak with authority (showing your expertise), they’ll be far more willing to make a purchase.
In today’s culture, people have shifted how they spend their money. Studies have found that increasingly more consumers are interested in experiences than material things. And they are sharing photo and video stories of experiences they’re having. This subsequently causes their friends and others in their social circles to look into – and possibly try – those experiences and adventures. It’s the millennial version of “keeping up with the Jones’” of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
As an outdoor-focused company, you specialize in adventure and experiences that are unique and exciting. Videos are a great and obvious way to showcase your products and services. In 2015, 70% of marketing professionals surveyed stated that video converts better than any other medium. Another 64% of consumers said they were more likely to buy a product after videos about it.
Enriching vs. Extracting
Consumers are willing to spend more freely when they feel that a company goes out of its way to enrich the experiences and interactions they have with your business. Disney, Apple, and Chick-Fil-A are great examples that prove we will pay a premium for a better or more pleasant experience. It may seem like such a little thing, but when you say, “Thank you” at a Chick-Fil-A and the person on the other side of the counter says ”My pleasure!”, it makes you want to come back. It causes you to share that experience with others. Though that chicken sandwich might be a bit pricier than at McDonalds or Burger King, you’re willing to pay that price, come back, and tell your friends – all because they trust that they’ll get the best experience time and time again. Chick-Fil-A isn’t looking to extract more money from you, they’re looking to enrich your fast-food experience. Additional business is a byproduct of making sure you have a pleasant experienced.
For your business, enriching your audience’s lives may look different. When it comes to creating video content that gives value to your consumers, that could mean putting up weekly demos or quick tips. These can range anywhere from posting a tutorials on tying a saltwater fly to casting the perfect overhand cast. It might even be creating videos sharing your favorite places to visit for awesome camping, rock climbing, or kayaking.
Stories vs. Sales Pitches
Your audience doesn’t want a sales pitch. They look for authentic and engaging content. That’s true of written and video content. They prefer videos that speak to them, that resonate with them… stories they can relate to. They don’t need every new spec and feature of your product listed out in a promo video… they want to see your product’s value.
If you’re boat manufacturer, for example, you could post a video showcasing your boat being used by a family of four fishing off of the Florida coast. As a rod and reel maker, you might make videos of anglers taking on that massive tarpon, showing the strength, durability and reliability of your equipment.
These videos are the types of content that show that your company cares about their story. They show that they’re the hero and you’re the guide. It shows that your product will help them reach their goals, whether that’s a relaxing time out on the boat, connecting with their family and nature, or being able to fly fish in the cold, rushing waters of North Carolina’s streams and land their biggest trout to date.
When you create videos that speak to your audience and show them the value you can give them, you eliminate the need to sell. They will come to you.
Engaging and Interacting
Making video content is great for increasing audience engagement and interaction – especially on the social media side of marketing. There are various outlets to post, upload, and share your video content. Avenues for sharing such content include your company website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and many others… the list goes on and on. It’s a good idea to share your videos on multiple social media outlets because they don’t necessarily share the same audiences and followers. There will be overlap, sure, but it is important to post to more than one to increase your reach. Some of these sites have time and size restrictions, so determining where to post which videos (and what you can post with that limit) is important… a topic we will have to dig into in a future article.
When you post video content on these sites, due to their nature, your audience and followers can do some of the marketing legwork for you. When they share, like, and repost your content, they reach potential customers who are out of your sphere of influence, but happen to fall into theirs. If it happens to speak to them, they can also like, share, or follow your company. Leads generated by your current customers on social media is good motivator for creating video content.
As a bonus, posting video content on YouTube and engaging with your audience can actually help you get ideas for more video content. Say your company posts a video talking about the top five places to fish on the east coast of the US. You may have people ask about the best places to fish in the Pacific Northwest. Now you have more content for another video. You might even find it effective to ask your audience outright what they’d like to see from your company. Not only will you have content ideas generated from them, you’ll also make them feel listened to and cared for – again building more trust in your company.
Wrapping It Up
If you’re looking to expand your reach and grow your business, creating video content is a great way. Quality video content that speaks to your audience engages with them and helps to solidify your expertise, which can translate into increased sales. You’ll have more buy-in and more leads coming in as you continue to give value to current and future customers.