Global IT leader Cisco predicts that in 2019, consumer internet video traffic will account for 80% of ALL consumer internet traffic. While this may only be a prediction, we can hazard a guess as to why this might come true: people are time-poor, they’re increasingly turning to online shopping, and they’re feeling more confident about their purchases when videos are involved.
So how can your brand contribute to the 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute? Here are 7 simple, cost-effective videos your business can create with nothing more than a handheld smartphone:
1. Testimonials
Some clients are more comfortable than others when it comes to sharing their success stories on camera. Just remember to check your local consumer trading laws regarding before offering clients a discount or special gift to star in any videos because, in some jurisdictions, there are laws around disclosure. Industry partners, staff and suppliers can also be great ambassadors for your company.
2. Product reviews
Offering a reward on your website or in your newsletter for customers who submit a video product review is a great way to crowd source content, requiring zero effort on your behalf. Again, be 100 per cent sure to double check your local consumer laws to ensure you’re not in breach regarding incentives.
You and your staff can also create your own videos featuring non-competitive products: make-up artists can review the latest addition to their toolkit, celebrants can review a wedding venue they attended, or a caterer might team up with a florist in a cross promotion that sees each of them review the most popular recipe or flower trend for a particular season. The key is to be helpful and build trust – so, go easy on the self-promotion. If prospects consider you to be an industry expert on all things weddings, it’s your opinion, product, or service they’ll ask for when it comes time to buy.
3. Product launches
Why tell customers about a new product when you can show them, with a 360 degree video showcasing the finer details and usability of the product or service? For some inspiration, check out Hubspot’s Best Product Videos Ever (and Why They Make You Buy), including this clever video from Dollar Shave Club, in which the company’s CEO takes a tour of his factory while delivering some key brand messages, including price, convenience, job creation, product features and company culture – all without even seeing the product.
4. Meet the Team
Award-winning video production company Kartoffel Films believes a meet the team video can be a powerful tool for awareness, credibility and even recruitment: “Showing your organisation’s team to your audiences, creates a personal connection that the audience can trust. You’re no longer a faceless entity, but a team of people which makes it much easier to build trust”. Meet the Team videos can be a collaborative all-in effort, like this one created by Kartoffel Films, or a series of shorter individual videos. Having each team member answer the same questions will alleviate nervous staff from having to improvise, and will also create a recurring theme for the video series, which provides great content to share across social media and in e-newsletters.
5. Animations
There are a multitude of DIY animation and whiteboard video creation tools available today that allow you to create affordable explainer videos. For those looking for something a little more customisable (but still affordable), there are literally hundreds of skilled motion graphic designers on freelance networks like UpWork or Fiverr offering competitively priced videos with super fast turnaround times.
6. FAQs
If you’ve got a frequently asked question page on your website, you’ve got yourself a script for an FAQs video, or a series of short videos to include as part of your content marketing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFxYO47gm8E
7. How-to tutorials
Whether you want to show your followers how to recycle your wedding shoes, how to make personalised wedding hangers, or how to customise a wedding chair, VideoJug has a library of how to tutorials to guide your production prep. If you’re going to feature in the video yourself, prepare a script with short, simple steps and finish the video with a strong call to action – do you want viewers to subscribe to your newsletter for more great videos, visit a landing page to claim a discount, or leave their questions in the comments to create a dialogue with potential customers? Show AND tell the viewer what action you want them to take and how.
With statistics showing customers 1.81 x more likely to make a purchase after watching a video, it’s worth investigating how video can be used in your immediate direct response marketing, as well as part of a greater long-term strategy to increase brand awareness, build credibility and express your company culture.
Follow Easy Weddings on YouTube to see how we’re using video to ask our vendors for hot tips to share with our Easy Weddings community. Would you like to share your wedding expertise with our followers? Get in touch and find out how you and your business can feature on the Easy Weddings YouTube channel!
