Original By Jennifer Lonoff Schiff
You’ve all seen –and envied–that viral video that gets millions of views seemingly overnight, the one everyone talks about for days. But does getting millions of views on YouTube translate into getting millions of dollars, or even thousands of dollars, in sales? And does adding video to your website or product pages really improve your search engine rankings and make people want to do business with you?
To find the answers to these questions, CIO.com interviewed dozens of video experts –from professional video makers and marketers to companies that have successfully used video to market their products or services –to find out who can benefit from video marketing and what it takes to successfully make and market a video.
Who Needs Video?
If you sell a visual, hard-to-explain, or needs-to-be-seen product or service–”anything you can’t test drive or try on,” says Roger Vaughn, marketing and technology problem solver at Swift Marketing–having a video can make a huge difference.
Take, for example, BluScenes by Scenic Labs, a provider of ambient Blu-ray products (i.e.,high-resolution videos of aquariums, fine art and fireplace scenes) for doctors’ offices, wellness centers, spas and homes. “The first year we added video clips, our sales increased by about 400%,” says Jason Rosenfeld, founder/producer, Scenic Labs, LLC. “They doubled again (in dollars), when we upgraded our videos to full-length HD versions.”
In addition, since adding video to its product pages, Scenic Labs has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of returns–because customers know exactly what they are going to get.
And those BluScenes videos have not only benefited Scenic Labs, they’ve helped the company’s partners. That’s because “when partner sites include our videos, their sales typically double,” says Rosenfeld.
ScanMyPhotos, a service that scans customers’ photos, slides and negatives, is another good example of a service business that can benefit from video. “The best tool for explaining how to place orders and answer questions is video,” says ScanMyPhotos CEO and President Mitch Goldstone. That’s why the company features a number of how-to videos right on its home page, including this one on how to pack your photos for scanning with the ScanMyPhotos.com prepaid box.
How to Create a Video to Get People Talking and Clicking
A bad video –one that is poorly lit, that you can barely hear or is deafening, that rambles or doesn’t make a point –is worse than not having any video on your website (or YouTube). So to help you create a video that will get customers talking and clicking are 12 helpful tips from the experts.
1. Know who your target audience is. “Think how your video can help your end user…
2. Script it. “A script for a video is like a blueprint when building a house,” …
3. Have a clear call to action. “What do you want people to do after they’ve watched your video?” …
4. Shoot in a quiet place. “Always try to shoot in a quiet place away from machines, large crowds and traffic noise,” …
5. Light it well. “Make sure you are using all available light sources,” …
6. Choose the right music. “A widely ignored but great way to move the needle for brands through video marketing is to integrate music,” …
7. Less is often more when it comes to effects. “Building a story is the editor’s number one objective,” …
8. Keep it short. Try to keep your videos to around a minute-and-a-half…
9. Use your customers –especially if they are well-known and/or social media influencers. Do your customers love your product or service? Ask them to star in a video for you…
10. Use humor –if or where appropriate. To advertise the fact that its food is fresh, not microwaved…
The video reached more than 1.5 million views on YouTube in only a few weeks, going viral faster than anyone anticipated. Soon after the video’s release, sales jumped 8.5%. And while Moe’s Southwest Grill cannot directly attribute that increase in sales to the video alone, the company believes it definitely contributed.
11. You don’t need to hire James Cameron. While it’s a good idea to work with a professional videographer or video production agency that knows what it’s doing, if you don’t have someone on staff, don’t go overboard…
12. Include a video sitemap on your website. “Ensure videos are indexed by Google by submitting a video sitemap,” …
Why You Should Have YouTube Host Your Videos
Videos are meant to be shared. And the easiest way to share them is to post them on YouTube –and allow embedding…
Spread the Word –and the Link
Don’t just keep your videos to yourself. “Use social media,” says Goldstone….
So Can Videos Increase Sales?
“Our research has shown that video is ten times more likely to generate a viewer response than traditional marketing collateral and web pages,” …
“Treepodia’s own studies have shown that the mere presence of video, whether it’s watched or not, can lead to sales increases,” adds Kings, possibly due to the fact that Google includes video in its ranking algorithm, so a page with a product video has an increased chance of appearing higher in Google search results.
All that said, keep in mind that a million hits on YouTube will most likely not translate into a million dollars in sales. “Video isn’t a magic bullet,” …
Provide information that is valuable or helpful to customers and “do so in a unique and interesting way. “If you do that, customers will want to know more about your products or services or brand and, if they like what they see, be more likely to purchase from you. Though if they have absolutely no interest in or need for what you are selling, the best video in the world probably won’t change their mind.
Read the entire list and all the details here: Posted by intro60dotnet