Video will help you make sales - Here's how to do it

In order to succeed now, your goal should be to create lasting impressions, connections and relationships with your customers – and not just talk about yourself. That’s where video comes in: it’s engaging, clear, adds personality and acts as an easy way for you to give extra value to your customer.

Video works.

There are no two ways about it: video is incredibly effective. Studies have shown that consumers are 64-85% more likely to buy a product after having seen it demonstrated in a video, and by simply having video embedded into your site you’re more likely to be found in Google search results.

Since Google acquired YouTube in 2006 70% of the top 100 results in Google searches have been of sites which have embedded video somewhere within them. And each year YouTube announces further growth: it’s clear this trend won’t be ending anytime soon. Video helps sway consumer decision-making more than images and text – and that’s why it’s constantly being adopted by businesses all over the world.

Now is the time to embrace it.

Modern technology means videos can be easily recorded, uploaded onto YouTube, seamlessly embedded into websites and shared on social media, and watched with ease. And as internet users spend more 88% more time on a website that has video, now is the perfect time to begin incorporating it into your strategy.

So how do you start? Here are three tips when it comes to incorporating video in your strategy.

1. Think about story, not the sell.

It can be tempting to rattle off all the features your product has, but it’s much more effective to simply show your product being used. For instance, if you want to show customers how durable your product is, don’t say ‘it’s made of the highest quality materials’, but show a customer using it again, and again, and again on different days to highlight how your product could become a lasting, helpful addition to their life.

If you sell a service, like landscaping, consider speaking to previous customers, and ask them how much easier/better/fun their lives have become since you helped them.

It’s best to keep these videos quite short and sharp: it’s better to release five short videos about five separate products, ideas or services than a longer comprehensive video. By breaking your content into chunks, people will be able to easily find exactly what they’re looking for, and they won’t need to sit through anything that doesn’t apply to them.

2. Content is better than quality.

It doesn’t matter if your video doesn’t have the sharpest image or crispest audio: it’s your message that will convert customers. Here’s a mini checklist:

• My video isn’t blurry or choppy – i.e., whoever held the camera didn’t swing it around roughly.

• My video has clear audio – I can understand what people are saying and there are no confusing parts.

• My video is well lit – I can see what I’m being shown.

If your video hits those three requirements, and has a concise message, that’s good enough! Upload it to YouTube and embed it. It doesn’t need to be rocket science: it’s your message that matters, and if your video can get that message across, that’s a win.

Keep in mind that people respond to emotion. It’s what drives them to keep watching, to share your videos, and to purchase your products. If you want a truly successful video, try to evoke a positive reaction in your viewer beyond just ‘oh, that’s interesting’. Inspire them, make them laugh, educate them and teach them something new: it’s all about adding value.

3. You can go live.

A lot of people are intimidated by the process of recording, editing and uploading videos. Thankfully, studies have shown that live video is incredibly effective, and it’s simple to plug and play.

Both Facebook and YouTube have live video options. To use them, you’ll simply need a webcam (even the ones on laptops will do) or a phone. Then, you can interact with customers live as they ask questions, and you can give tours of your workspace, show completed tasks, and give product demonstrations without any other steps.

Live video is great, because it makes you seem real. It can also help calm any concerns your customers have: a business that makes live videos about its products can hardly fake them, and they show that you – and your products – are authentic.

Get rolling!

So, what are you waiting for? Video can help you hook customers, establish yourself as an authority figure, give you legitimacy and sell.

Lena Klein