Lights, Camera, Action: Creating Valuable Marketing Videos

By Shannon Murphy

Shannon Murphy

Want to kick your content marketing strategy up a notch? Try video. Video isn’t just for consumer marketing; it’s accepted – and expected – by business prospects today.

Video lets you quickly engage business prospects and educate them about your technology services and solutions at all stages of your sales funnel, from awareness to interest and evaluation to purchase.

With the tools available today, you can create quality video content quickly and easily. But where should you start? Here are a few things to consider when using video to engage with your current and prospective clients:

What equipment do you need to create videos?

Just your webcam! A few years ago, expensive and complicated cameras were barriers to entry into video production. Now, thanks to everyone working at home during the pandemic, webcams are perfectly suitable – even for business videos. In fact, they add to the authenticity of your message. (No one needs to know you’re in sweatpants!)

If you want a slight upgrade in the quality of your video, try these tips:

What should you share in your videos?

The best advice when creating content is to focus on the viewer, not you and your company. What do they care about? What do they need to learn to hit their goals? Education and problem-solving should be front and center. Once you know what you want to say, how will you say it? Like any form of content, your video should have an angle (point of view), voice and look.

Go beyond one great video and plan for the long term. Create a content calendar of video topics, jotting down ideas as the inspiration strikes. Consider breaking up complex subjects over several videos to create a mini-series. Try Googling some of your most-asked FAQs. Google’s “people also ask” section, which appears below the top return on an initial search, can be a helpful resource in generating topics for your emerging video series.

Who should speak in your company videos?

People connect with people. Consider choosing a regular host. A familiar speaker gives your videos that series-like feel, which helps to keep your audience coming back.

From there, your options are wide open. You can stick with the spokesperson or feature experts throughout your organization or ecosystem (e.g., customers, partners, vendors, etc.). Also, don’t be afraid to invite industry experts as guests since they add credibility and bring additional attention to your video content.

Where do you post and share your videos?

The right video at the right time can help to move prospects through funnels and close deals. Where you share your videos may vary based on your intent.

Here are some examples of which types of videos perform best in different marketing and sales channels:

Home page: Introduce your company by sharing who you are and why you’re different.

Service/use case pages: Explain your service offerings or ask clients to share why your work was impactful with a video testimonial.

Blogs: Summarize your blog or provide supplemental how-to videos.

LinkedIn/Twitter: When you attend events and conferences, shoot a summary of your experience and lessons learned.

Facebook/Instagram: Try a more personal approach with a “day-in-the-life” video or post videos of your team supporting your community.

TikTok: Have a little fun and shake up the workday by participating in video challenges.

Marketing nurture emails: Give viewers a rundown of what to expect when engaging with your business.

Marketing newsletters: Send a monthly “what’s new” summary to connect with your clients, keep them up-to-date and make sure they know…

…you’re listening to their feedback.

Sales outbound (cold): Again, introduce your company to prospects. Include awards you’ve received and splice in customer testimonials or quotes from your 5-star reviews. You only have one chance to make an excellent impression.

Sales prospect follow-up: Try personalized video follow-up with prospects. Video is your friend in sales, especially when you need to explain complex answers to questions.

Should you consider live videos?

Live videos can be great for building customer and prospect connections – viewers can interact with you live and feel more connected to your brand. Keep in mind that live videos are not one-and-done; they’re recorded and offer replay value just like any other video.

How do you measure the impact of videos?

When measuring video engagement, all the standard marketing metrics apply – views, clicks, shares, conversions, etc. Determine which metrics are best based on your goals – awareness, engagement or conversion. Video-specific metrics that can help you hone your content include video retention and replay rates, aka watch time.

Wherever you decide to host your videos – YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo, Wistia, etc. – leverage the analytics provided by that platform. If you’re just getting started in video, the basic analytics will give you plenty of info to gauge how your videos perform.

And don’t forget about good, old-fashioned feedback. Pay attention to how your customers respond to your videos and don’t hesitate to ask them what they think. Ask them to comment or use sentiment buttons (e.g., like, dislike, etc.) so you can gauge how your message is received. Remember, you’re doing this for them, so their opinion is the only one that really matters.

Shannon Murphy is chief marketer for Zomentum, an intelligent revenue platform built to help partners discover, sell and manage services. With more than 15 years of tech marketing experience, Murphy focuses on end-user perspectives to develop campaigns, tactics and sales approaches that convert opportunities and drive revenue. You may follow her on LinkedIn or @zomentum on Twitter.