Hardwood Floors August/September 2019

Video Marketing Strategy (Continued)

Webinars/Webinar segments Usually longer than a how-to video, webinar segments are 10 to 15 minutes of a presentation or training session, shared as a stand-alone video or one part in a series of videos. They demonstrate your knowledge, establish credibility, and help start conversations with prospects. Demonstration Introduce a new feature or product, highlight an underutilized service or resource, showhowa technical product or service works, or demonstrate something hard to describewithwords. Demonstrations are also quick, easy, and inexpensive to produce and can highlight your staff’s personality and expertise. When a customer is close to a final purchase decision, a demonstration can answer the customer's detailed questions and address any final concerns. Use them for email follow-up or as an adjunct to a closing sales call. Thought leadership These videos may feature an owner, a president, a CEO, or another executive answering “big picture” questions about a topic on the target audience’s minds. They position and solidify the company’s position as an authority in an industry, strengthen the brand, generate new business, and keep customers engaged. When choosing a format, don’t feel limited to just one. Use several formats and even combine one or two if the situation warrants it, as long as an individual video doesn’t get too long. Try, try again If you’ve tried video before and it didn’t work, it probablywarrants another shot.The problemmay have been the strategy, target audience, message, format, production quality, media placement, or any combination. Ormaybe it was just a lack of practice. Video is too important to ignore, so try again. Learn by experimentingwith different formats and content to create the best strategy. Tweak one element at a time and track results to see if metrics like viewcount, play rate, or social sharing improve. Marketing experts agree that video is on the rise, and it’s a worthwhile investment. Companies of all sizes can implement video into their marketing strategy. In part two of this series, we’ll discuss how to get it done, suggest some resources, and share best practices in video marketing. g Katrina Olson is a marketing consultant, trainer, writer, and principal of Katrina Olson Marketing + Training. Reach her at katrina@katrinaolson.com.

Promotional video Use promotional videos to build brand awareness; drive traffic to your blog, website, or landing page; and generate leads. It’s like a commercial for your company, your product, or even your content library. Situational overview Perfect for customers in the early phases of their journey, thismay be part of a campaign to generate interest froma nichemarket or generate leads using emails. Consider producing videos for each of your vertical markets, product lines, or types of service. Rather than a hard sell, use an empathetic approach that tells customers you understand them; answer the question “What’s in it forme?” fromtheir perspective. Talking head interview Although they’re the least dynamic, talking head interviews can create brand awareness, quickly build your video library, enhance SEO, and attract customers with industry-specific interests. They’re quick, easy, and inexpensive to produce. Invite guests your customers already know (and like) to discuss topics customers really care about. Company culture video Company culture videos are used for recruiting, brand building, or rebranding, or to address a public relations issue. They should reflect your core values in the words, images, people, and production style.This is an opportunity to humanize your company and connect emotionally with your target audience. Customer testimonials/case study A testimonial is a stamp of approval from an existing customer that shows how you addressed their problem, provided an excellent customer experience, and delivered a solution. It also allows you to associate your company with a specific customer while making them (not you) the focus of the story. Live streams Live streaming is best for capturing live action, events, interviews, or behind-the-scenes shots of what you do. Great for training, live Q&As, and breaking news, live streams let you connect with your audience by satisfying their curiosity, need to belong, and desire to be acknowledged or recognized. How-to video How-to videos help move people from the discovery to consideration phase by answering their more in-depth questions about your product or service. They also position your company as experts who can help.

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