Drive Engagement and Conversions With Video

Is video a growing part of your content marketing media mix?

2014 seemed to be the breakout year for brands using video to drive engagement and conversion. Now, 70% of marketers are incorporating this media into their content program with the average Internet user watching approximately 248 videos a month.

Video can serve multiple functions for a variety of users – entertainment, educational, or a sales push. This type of visual messaging conveys logic in a simple and powerful way that builds conversation with your audience. Users and marketers alike have gravitated toward this type of content because it tells a story and evokes an emotion the way words cannot.

Don’t tell your customer how your product works, show them.

Don’t tell your customer the tenets of your brand, show them.

Don’t tell your buyer you’re better than the competition, show them.

Video is an effective way to boost your overall marketing effectiveness and reach. According to recent research* best-in-class content marketers are effectively incorporating video, and key metrics reveal better performance over marketers who do not leverage video.

Metrics reported include:

• Higher website conversion rates
• Higher year-over-year unique website traffic increases
• Higher year-over-year growth in marketing’s contribution to revenue
• Higher company revenue growth

Here’s how best-in-class marketers approach video in content marketing.

Great content marketers pick the right kind of content for video.
Video has the power to connect emotionally and rationally. It persuades a skeptic and simplifies the complex. Great video content uses these strengths at the right place and the right time. Think about what topics are highly relevant in web-based searches – what is researched before the first point of contact. Consider how this research evolves across the buying cycle. Then create easy to share, digestible amounts of video content that provide answers in an engaging way.

Once you have identified the right kinds of content, build the calls to action pathway you want the viewer to take after viewing the video. Consider how it can drive a viewer to another brand owned channel, or how a call to action can help build your subscriber list.

After it’s created, use video search optimization (video SEO) techniques so that the video ranks well in search. Relevant video content is 50% more likely to show up on the first page of Google. Examples of great video content include video case studies, product performance videos and video testimonials. Here’s a great example of a video testimonial created for Conrad Siegel Actuaries where the voice of the client provides real-world perspective for the brand.

Great content marketers create video that can be repurposed.
Learn how to maximize your production budget, and bring your content strategy to the table. Then tap into tricks of the trade. Additional content can be gathered on the shoot if the right conversations happen upfront. Create multiple versions with editing and motion graphics. Edit a longer video into shorter, web-based versions. Use the shorter videos in a sales app and on social media. Open up the dialog with other internal departments to see if how they could repurpose your video content (or how you might repurpose theirs.)

For example, marketing video content can be used in onboarding or training videos. It will help you grow your budget over time while incorporating video into more areas of your business.

Great content marketers use video analytics to measure engagement and improve revenue results.
Another reason video has been such a great tool for marketers is its measurability and shareability. However, there is more to video metrics than analyzing average time spent, total view count or click through rate. Discuss real conversion goals before creating the video. Talk about the desired emotional response you seek and how it will connect with your calls to action. Distribute purposeful video content across the buyer journey in the way a buyer grows in interest with your organization. Then analyze how the video content was used with converted leads. Measure both viewer engagement and progression to connect video performance with revenue. Use this information to develop more of the content users are engaging with and tweak your distribution strategy based on which channels are most effective.

In the race to develop content that engages decision makers, video must be a significant part of your strategy. Make the right content for video. Create it to be repurposed for longevity. Then measure engagement performance with converted leads.

Jessica Melhorn is the Director of Client Solutions at JPL, one of Pennsylvania’s largest full-service, integrated, marketing agencies. Jessica works with JPL’s existing and prospective clients to improve their marketing effectiveness and outreach. JPL provides strategic thinking and creative execution across a full range of services that include brand, digital, marketing, advertising, video production and internal communications.