In a world where the majority of people shop, search, and learn online, video has become more about being there for your customer in a personal and creative way, helping them throughout their journey.
And so, here are some ideas for how you can be there for your audience with Video.
AWARENESS
"The goal of an awareness campaign is to build your brand’s recognition, generating an affinity with buyers and catapulting your solution to 'top of mind'"
~Brightcove
Bernadette Jiwa reminds us that being "top-of-mind is not the same as close-to-heart." The great thing about video, especially videos that are emotionally compelling, and tell stories that resonate with your targeted audience, you can really "speak to the heart to move the mind." Being top of mind and close to the heart is a great place to be.
This might be a great time for what Vidyard calls "fun, high level videos" that may promote your existing content. This might be the time for a video that tells the big story in a creative way too. It could also be a moment for a press release. Whatever it is, video is a great way to make it personal, accessible, and shareable.
Dollar Shave Club is a great example of a fun, high level, big story kind of video.
Hey, did you know that this video cost $4,500 to make. And within a week had 17,000 subscribers. You know how much Gillete spent that year? 185 million. Ouch!
This video for Center Parcs is definately more high-end, but I fell in love with it.
It is a great example of how story, however small, can really "speak to the heart to move the mind."
They were definately proud of it too, so you can check out their blog post about it here.
Another great example, demonstrating that budget is not an issue, is Salesforce's "100 Inspiring Subject Lines" promo video for their slide share content.
ENGAGEMENT
"The goal of engagement is to break out into segments and connect with individuals through personalized messages."
~Brightcove
This is where explainer videos, how-to segments, case studies, webinars/live-stream, and personalized email videos can take their place. They are really powerful at keeping your audience on your website and interacting with your brand.
More importantly, they are great at helping the customer decide "whether you solve their specific pain points," or maybe they keep the customer coming back.
Home Depot is killing it with video marketing. On their website, they have videos that are not only helpful, but keep you on site and on brand.
Aah! I love Inbox by Google. A harmless plug, but also a good explainer video.
CONVERSION
"You want people to enjoy your content, but you want them to actually do something as a direct result of seeing it'"
~Vidyard
Conversion in the end is a sale, but it could also be email subscriptions, or sharing your content on social media channels. The point is that through video and specific call to actions, you can guide your audience through the funnel. Here are some examples.
The best part about video marketing platforms, such as Brightcove or Vidyard, is that they are designed to leverage video content. Within the player you can have a form for them to fill out, a link for them to follow, or another video for them to watch to keep them engaged and on-brand. It really depends on where you want to take video, and which platform will take you there.
This might be a great time for a product demo or a testimonial to help the customer with their decision.
An example of a Call to Action pop out available with Vidyard.
RETENTION
"The goal of a retention campaign is to reduce customer churn and delight current customers."
~Brightcove
The great thing about video is that it has a long shelf life, and is recyclable. A lot of your video content, especially from Engagement, can keep your customers coming back and turn them to advocates as well, but the real magic at this phase is keeping the customer happy and satisfied.
A great example are videos that provide training and address problems. I think that Adobe does a great job of this. They provide free training for all their products, and I think this is what has made their products so accessible, even their complex programs. Take a look at one of their product pages and you will see a link to training, even to professionals in your area that might teach you.
A screen shot from Adobe's Premier Pro CC Tutorials
I am a living example of how they have nurtured a customer throughout the years. I went from stealing their software as a student, fascinated to learn video production, to using their software professionally (and paying). With their training, and my practice, I became confident. The problems that are a result of my use/misuse of the programs are minimized, and the problems on their end are dealt with in regular upgrades and support forums.
ADVOCACY
"The goal of an advocacy campaign is to turn your customers into loyal advocates who organically spread the message of your product’s value."
~Brightcove
As I mentioned above, this can happen, thanks to social media and the share-ability of video, throughout the customers journey. Video really gives your customers the tools to be great advocates. For example, your customer finds your services amazing, but they are not great at explaining how it works. Video enables them to "show and tell" as well as your best sales executive.
This might be a great time to include your customers in video testimonials, case studies, vlogs, product/service launches. Or, you could just make it really easy for them to share and ask them to.
Dropbox
Salesforce
The bottom line is that video marketing is not about just posting a video because it is cool. It's cool because even that works. Video marketing is about being there for your customers in a personal way throughout their journey.