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Education
10 ways to
communicate,
engage and sell
with video
By Konstantinos Papakonstantinou
Board Studios Inc.
tudies have shown that while explainer videos
are a cost-effective way to reach your target
audience and help them engage with your
S brand, adoption has been slow in financial
services. Many product and marketing managers would
like to incorporate video but question its effectiveness and
return on investment (ROI). Here are two possible reasons
why:
1. They have worked with the wrong team in the
past. Nine out of 10 explainer videos are produced
by animators and videographers who unfortunately
don't grasp the underlying business they're trying to
explain. While they may look beautiful, most of these
videos fall short of delivering an impactful message.
2. There's no strategy in place. Video is an investment,
and for every investment you need a strategy in order
to maximize its ROI.
Following are 10 ways to help think about your video
strategy.
1. Set a business objective
Choose a business-oriented video production
company, preferably one with payments industry
experience, that can understand your needs and
approach video as a business decision. This will
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ensure the partner will assess and advise on video
that delivers the best ROI for your company. A
partner that understands industry jargon will write
a better script and visualize concepts accurately.
2. Make it all about you
Help the partner take a deeper dive into your
business, to understand what you do and the value
you bring to your customers. What pain points do
you address? How will your customers' lives change
if they use your solution? The partner needs to
understand these things at a granular level to make
explanations crystal clear, the benefits tangible and
the visuals powerful.
3. Create a clear and compelling message
Your challenge as a product or marketing manager is
to get in front of the right people, drive awareness and
increase engagement. This means communicating
your value proposition and differentiation in split
seconds when the video opens. With so many
competitors muddying the waters, how do you
stand out? It all starts with understanding the real
reason behind why clients are working with you
and coming back for more.
4. Drive traffic and lead generation
On the traffic side, a video on YouTube or Facebook
can bring you visitors for less. Typically, marketers
acquire traffic on Google Search and pay upwards
of $10 a click for someone who reads two short
lines of text. Compare that to paying 10 cents to
show someone more than 30 seconds of your video.
Who has a better understanding of your offering?
Yes, intent is more powerful on search than video,
but now that Google owns YouTube the company
actually gives you great targeting transparency, and
you can often reach the same audience for 1/100th
of the cost.
5. Improve conversion rates
On the conversion side, studies show 50 percent or
greater improvement in website conversion rates
and click-through rates from video-enabled email
campaigns. At the very least, your visitors will
engage with your video and spend more time on
your site. The result is a lower bounce rate, which
can improve both your organic and paid search
results on Google. So even if you want to stick
with Google search ads, video can improve your
ROI because conversions will go up, and your ad
ratings will improve as fewer people bounce and
more prospects stay engaged on your site. And on
top of that, you'll also get an SEO benefit from lower
bounce rates.