We should all be making more videos, and I hear a number of excuses for not doing so. One company once told me that they didn’t make any because their website was run by a parent company in another country, and all the content originated there. I suggested: “Why don’t you make them just for a YouTube channel which you could set up for this country, and use them in your email marketing?”
However, the main reason for not making more videos is probably “I don’t really know what videos to make”. So here are a few ideas, some of which could be done in a few minutes and don’t even need to involve colleagues.
Unboxing videos: not just a daft YouTube trend for kids. Customers want to know what they’ll get when they order a product from you, and the ‘unboxing video’ shows them just that.
FAQ videos: these can be ‘talking head’ style or just a slideshow. They’re always a great way of establishing trust and overcoming buying objections, and if you’ve already got a text-based FAQ page, there’s not even any research required!
Management team introduction videos: such an upgrade on the normal ‘meet the team’ text biographies on company websites, these can be very short but can play a major part in humanising the business. Top tip: set up a specific video shooting environment so that they can be given a consistent look.
Product demonstration videos: even a one-minute sales presentation from a good presenter can sometimes cut through in ways that a data sheet or product page cannot.
Pricing videos: sometimes there are pricing structures which are difficult to communicate or justify in words, whereas a spoken explanation can make the point clearly and more quickly.
Case study videos: for businesses where it’s not possible to name customers, text-based write-ups of applications can be a little boring. However, a presenter discussing ‘one client did this’ and ‘another client did that’ can summarise the benefits of a product or service for a specific sector in a more compelling way.
These are just a few ideas. As I’ve mentioned before, all you need is a decent smartphone, a simple tripod, a good clip-on lapel microphone and some simple video editing software to add a company logo and titles.