Using Video Content to Generate New Leads

In marketing, there are many tools at your disposal in order to convey a message that resonates with your audience. With technology at its all-time high and innovation second to none, the best tool one could leverage to market to their audience is video.

In order to maximize the reach of your campaign, it's essential to utilize video in your marketing strategy. It has been shown that 59% of executives prefer to view videos rather than read copy and according to a study, done by Google and Millward Brown Digital, 70% of the B2B customers bought products that employed cross trafficking with videos.

Furthermore, it has been shown that people actually retain more information when viewing videos as opposed to when they read. In other words, keeping your viewer engaged and informed with easily comprehensible videos is better for not only you but for your customers as well.

With these 3 tips, we will show you exactly how to turn prospects into leads with the help of video marketing.

 1. Consider Your Target Audience When Choosing the Type of Video

It's best practice to do some market research first. This will allow you to successfully identify exactly who your target audience is and what is the most effective way to grab their attention. This can be done in a number of ways, but it's very important to understand what it is they need and what they want.

By determining these two vital pieces of data you'll be able to better understand who your audience is, and what type of videos will convert those views into leads for your business. The other benefit of knowing who your audience is will also allow you to create videos and highly targeted, which will both make and save you money in a cost-effective manner.

That being said, if you have videos that were created prior to your market research, you don’t have to throw those away. Instead what you can do is repurpose them, and by this we mean, adjust them to the needs of your audience. That way you don’t have to invest in new material and it will also serve as a test of whether or not your market research was done correctly before spending more money on new content creation.

Let's discuss the 4 types of videos that are essential to any campaign so that you can decide which is the best for you and your brand.

●      Explanation Video - Informative video that helps the viewer to better understand the functions of your products and/or services. This is one of the more frequently utilized types of videos because it is able to build up prospective profiles and leads.

●      Educational Video - Educational videos allow you to bring awareness to your viewer. This can be very effective when explaining and pointing out specific problems for which you hold the solution. Furthermore, it has also been used by many companies to show prospective leads how their products work in real-world situations, giving validity to the verbal information given.

●      Testimonial Video - Allows people to view firsthand how your product has helped others solve their problems. This allows you to create a trusted relationship through people living vicariously through storytelling. This also enables the viewer to see your brand as a more reliable solution for them moving forward.

●      Promotional Videos - Overall helps to increase your reach with awareness, engagement, and conversions. The video must be not only informative but creative as well, this way you can maximize leads within your target audience.

2. Use a Lead Generation Form

One of the easiest ways to perform lead generation is through video. By using what is known as a lead generation form, you can gather information on your prospects through the data they fill out. This will allow you to understand who your target audience is while giving you more leads to convert to sales in the future. Furthermore, it will also help you optimize your marketing efforts in order so that you can capitalize on your content more easily moving forward.

You can put a lead generation form at the beginning of the end of your video. This will let your prospective customer decide if the product is worth handing over their personal contact information for.

It should be noted that a study conducted by Wistia showed that lead generation forms added 20-30% of the way through a video or 60-70% through your video will give you the highest levels of conversions.

3. Include a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA) in Your videos

It’s best practice to use a call to action at the end of your video, this way the viewer knows what action to take when finishing the video. The CTA will let your prospective lead know what the information they just watched is, and what you offer. All at a click of a button!

This is why creating a highly engaging video is sometimes not enough, because it's also important to study ways in which you can hold your viewer's attention, even after they have finished watching the video.

Content platforms such as Youtube and Vimeo both employ targeted video suggestions that can grab your prospective leads attention in a split second, and if done properly, they'll forget all about the video they just watched on your channel. The competition is steep, but that's not to say that it's impossible.

Simple optimization of CTA placements such as adding the Call To Action at key points throughout will enable you to divert their attention to engaging content on your website that benefits your brand. Likewise, you can direct the viewer to your lead generation form, which ultimately wins you a prospect.

Example: When targeting a prospective lead, you can offer them an explainer video that contains a CTA which will divert them to a product tour, lead capture, or a freemium link. You may also want to think about including in the URL information they can navigate to find out more about your brand, products, services, and upcoming deals.

To Sum Things Up

For your business to grow, you have to adapt and utilize technology. One of the best ways to branch out and extend your reach, as a business, is with videos. They can help you build relationships, trust, and awareness with prospects all around the world, in a matter of minutes, and with these tips on leveraging video content for lead generation, you'll hopefully be able to accomplish your goals in a fraction of the time.