Episode 2: Creating Videos that Convert to Business

In the first episode of my three-part series, Videos That Convert, we talked about the things video is especially good at – when to use it and when not to.

Episode two, Put Them Where They Work, is all about distributing your video for maximum impact so you can squeeze every last bit of R from your I. (As in ROI.) Here’s a brief look at some of the insights we cover.

“Put Them Where They Work” actually means a couple of things

Sure, it means their actual destination – your website’s home page, on a landing page, in an email campaign or a newsletter, on social media...there are many, many possibilities.

But it also means to think about where they’ll live in the sales funnel – what kind of video will perform best at that specific funnel stage.

So the kind of video you should make starts with identifying its destination. For example, a flagship video on your homepage has more longevity. Since its purpose is to catch someone's attention and introduce your brand to them, you can justify a higher production value and budget than for, say, a social media video, which has a comparatively limited lifespan. You're not going to invest the same amount of time and money into that video, and you don't need to. In fact, simply deciding where your video will live will determine a lot about its visual style, how long it should be, and the calls to action you should use.

Next question: What’s your goal for this video?

What do you want the viewer to experience? Are you trying to connect with them in an authentic way, or make them feel something about your brand as a whole? Do you want to simply entertain them versus educate them on a more complex idea?

Let’s say your goal for this video is to get people to feel something about your brand – to think, “That brand looks pretty cool. I like them.” Where would such a video fit in your marketing funnel? At the very top: this kind of video would be best suited for an awareness campaign.

Now, if you have enough awareness and that’s not what you had in mind for this video, you need to go back to the beginning and think about your goal. But if you’re still nodding your head, you’re ready to start mapping out the various destinations this video could go, like your social channels (great for building awareness), your newsletter, maybe as an ad before your next webinar – there are lots of places that would make sense.

Minimizing your investment and maximizing your return

The takeaway here is that having a plan, even one as basic as writing down your goal, subject, funnel stage, and destination, will allow you to increase your return exponentially compared to your investment. And with just a little foresight, you can stretch those resources even farther. For example, once you’ve made a two-minute video, it takes very, very little additional effort to make a 30-second version that’s perfect for Twitter. Or a square version for TikTok and Instagram. Or maybe when you shoot your video, you record two different introductions that you can use for two different audiences. The point here is simple but powerful: every one of these examples will extend your video’s reach and grow your return for a minimal investment. That’s smart video marketing.

Ready to dive deeper into all this stuff and get your video in front of the right viewers at the right time? Watch episode two of Videos That Convert.