Short and Sweet: The Power of Short Web Videos

Web videos can be as long or as short as you need them to be. However, before you take on a two hour documentary detailing your product or service in depth, consider the advantages of shorter Web videos.

Web Video Usability

First, consider your audience: Web surfers. People watch Web videos differently than they watch DVDs and television programming. For some, download speed remains a real issue. For others, watching videos on a tiny screen is hard on the eyes. For many, time is in short supply and plenty of diversions compete for their attention. Even with broadband connections, HD videos, and larger computer screens, few Web surfers are ready to settle in for a long video viewing session. With short attention spans, short Web videos are a must. In fact, if a viewer perceives that your Web video requires a large time investment, that viewer may never click the play button.

Web Video Discovery

Web videos can provide websites with an immediate benefit: improved visibility. Search engines often list videos in their results pages. Not only that, some users specifically search for videos, not text. Where your website may have a difficult time ranking for a given keyword phrase, the addition of a Web video could vastly improve your site’s visibility.

By optimizing your videos with relevant keywords, your Web pages could attract a much wider audience than text alone. By splitting a larger video into a series of shorter Web videos, you can get much more exposure and optimize far more pages than sticking with the longer, uncut video. This strategy also overcomes the attention span problem.

The Power of Web Video Series

In addition to overcoming the problem of short attention spans and boosting SEO, having a series of short Web videos provides you with an opportunity to engage, convert, and nurture prospects and leads. You could also use a video series in multiple ways. For example, you could offer a series of Web videos via email as an incentive for users to subscribe to your newsletter. Doing so ensures that Web visitors return to your website instead of becoming one-time visitors never to be heard from again. Each Web video could be posted strategically in your website, taking viewers step-by-step through a process that culminates in a strong call to action.

From reaching viewers with short attention spans and enhancing your SEO efforts to creating a video-to-lead funnel strategy that allows you to engage, convert, and nurture prospects and leads, short Web videos deliver a powerful punch.

Do you have a longer Web video that could be made into a series of shorter ones? How have you used short Web videos to your advantage? Share your thoughts, experiences, and ideas with

us in the comments section below.

Building Credibility With Web Videos

While thousands of Web videos have made the world laugh with funny antics and viral concepts, many of today’s business owners are looking at video with fresh eyes. After all, Web video is a powerful platform that can help establish you or your company as an expert or industry leader. In short, Web videos are a terrific way to build credibility with new and existing customers.

Strong Production Values Build Credibility

In order to build credibility with viewers, Web videos must have strong production values. Today’s viewers may tolerate a guy with a webcam; however, the value of a well produced video with professional lighting, crystal clear sound, and excellent image quality cannot be stressed enough. Do this part well and your first impression will be a good one. Not only that, you won’t be giving your viewers any reason to doubt your professionalism because it will be readily apparent throughout the video.

Credible Content Builds Credibility

Next, a credible Web video should be filled with credible content, not opinion or sensational topics. Make sure that your script is well written with facts, supporting information, and useful information. Avoid “fluff” and give your audience relevant, useful information. Your viewers have limited time, so keep your Web video relatively short and tightly focused.

Credible People Build Credibility

In addition to strong production values and a well written script, the people featured throughout your video build credibility with online video audiences. This doesn’t mean you need to hire actors or pay big bucks for a celebrity endorsement. For example, a weight loss video could feature interviews with doctors and personal trainers while a do-it-yourself plumbing video could employ a plumber as the spokesperson. The presence of these professionals builds credibility.

Product Demonstrations Build Credibility

If you’re marketing a product, Web videos that show the product in action can build credibility. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words. . . In addition to demonstrating the product, consider “behind the scenes” videos that show the product in various stages of development. Your own research and development team brings its own layer of credibility to the process, so take advantage of it. As viewers see the behind-the-scenes commitment to quality, your product will become more credible to them.

Your Expertise Builds Credibility

Don’t overlook your own expertise and the events your company may be participating in, either. For example, have you recently participated in a seminar or conference as a speaker? Posting a Web video of your speech, or highlights from it, can immediately build credibility you’re your site’s visitors. You’re the expert, so show it with your online videos.

Well written, professionally produced videos that position you as an expert are an important part of the overall “video to lead funnel” strategy. Engage, convert, and nurture prospects and leads with credibility built into each video that you produce.

Conducting a Video-to-Lead Funnel Audit

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring the video-to-lead funnel and how you can use online videos to engage, convert, and nurture your site’s visitors. Your website may already have Web videos working diligently on these tasks. However, without first understanding how the video-to-lead funnel works, it’s possible that your current online video strategy doesn’t conform to the funnel’s structure. For example, your site may contain dozens of engaging videos but few designed to convert prospects into leads. Similarly, your site may have many nurturing videos, but few engaging ones. In either situation, gaps should be identified through a video-to-lead funnel audit.

Online Video Audit Step 1: Identify All Web Videos on Your Site

You’ll need a notebook and a block of uninterrupted time for this step. Go through your entire website and list each Web video featured. Watch all videos and identify which phase of the funnel (engage, convert, or nurture) the video falls under. Keep in mind that some videos may have elements from each phase. At this point, focus on the primary purpose of the video.

While you’re at it, write down where the video appears and how viewers get to it. For example, is the video on your home page? Is it on a landing page accessible from an advertisement? Is it on a page your email campaigns point to?

Online Video Audit Step 2: Identify Online Video Gaps

Now that you have a list of web videos and have identified each video’s purpose within the video-to-lead funnel, it’s time to see if any gaps exist. You should have a nice mix of engaging, conversion, and nurturing videos. If your site is filled with conversion and nurturing videos but lacks engaging videos, your online video strategy may not be effective because you haven’t earned the right to jump to those phases yet. Likewise, if your site lacks conversion videos and is heavy on those that engage, you could be missing an opportunity.

Online Video Audit Step 3: Analyze the Progression from One Online Video to the Next

Finally, consider how viewers interact with your online videos. Is there a natural progression leading from one phase of the funnel to the next? For example, after viewing an engaging video, is the user directed to additional options? Is there a call to action to view additional videos or sign up for a newsletter (where you can later send links to additional videos)? Are additional videos easy to locate and well organized?

The Web video audit should show you areas that could use improvement. Whether you need to produce additional Web videos or rearrange navigational elements so that users can easily move through the video-to-lead funnel, taking the time to audit your existing efforts can help you to optimize it for success.

The Nurture Phase of the Video-to-Lead Funnel: A Detailed Look

Okay, your prospects have moved through the video-to-lead funnel. Having first been engaged through informative Web videos and then converted after watching video overviews, demonstrations, and testimonials, they’re now ready to move into the final phase, the nurture phase.

When leads enter the nurture phase of the video-to-lead funnel, you’ve earned the opportunity to make a connection, send follow-ups, and show your solutions. At this point, you have positioned yourself as a knowledgeable expert that understands your leads’ problems.

Web videos in the nurture phase take many forms. For example, you can use Web video to introduce yourself to a lead and invite the lead to meet with you in person. A short video message emailed to a lead is a non-threatening way to introduce yourself and quickly reinforce the benefits of your offer. Your lead can quickly get a taste of your offer’s benefits without meeting with a salesperson just yet. This technique can also overcome a lead’s resistance to talking with a salesperson. After seeing you on video and understanding that you’re a real and caring person, objections to speaking with you on the phone or meeting in person may be eased. Web videos designed to make a connection are an excellent choice when you have accounts that have been previously impossible to penetrate.

Video demonstrations at this phase can be even more detailed than those presented during the convert phase. For example, video demos are effective at converting prospects during the convert phase while in-depth video tutorials further demonstrate the benefits of your product or service.

Following up with leads is crucial. Regular exposure to your message continues building trust, reinforcing benefits, and positioning your product or service as the solution. While there are many ways to follow up, consider using Web video. For example, you could send a video link in an email message when a lead requests information; you could send a video link in a thank you email after a lead has contacted you or ordered a sample; and you could use “special video reports” to encourage leads to sign up for a newsletter and then send regular newsletters (incorporating video links, of course) at specific intervals.

The nurture phase of the video-to-lead funnel provides you with the strongest opportunity yet to close the deal. After all, your prospects have been engaged and converted into qualified leads with a genuine interest in your offerings.

How have you used Web video in the nurture phase? What’s worked for you? What hasn’t worked? Share your thoughts below.

The Convert Phase of the Video-to-Lead Funnel: A Detailed Look

Continuing our discussion about the three phases of the video-to-lead funnel, let’s explore the second phase: convert. As you know, prospects move through the video-to-lead funnel from the top at the “engage” phase, move down through the “convert” phase, and finally enter the “nurture” phase.

Once you’ve engaged your prospects with videos that help solve your prospects’ problems, present tips and best practices, expand upon an event, or otherwise engage your prospects and build trust, the next step is to convert them from casual visitors with a passing interest into legitimate leads with a genuine interest in your offer.

The convert phase provides you with the perfect opportunity to showcase your company, product, or service as well as prove that you can deliver upon your promise. Videos well suited for this phase of the video-to-lead funnel fall into the following three general categories: overviews, demonstrations, and testimonials.

Video Overviews

Video overviews are short Web videos that show case your company, product, or service. Remember, your prospects have already been engaged by viewing earlier videos. At this point, you may have solved a problem, shared interesting ideas, or interviewed a key leader; in short, you’ve earned a degree of trust with your visitors. They’re now much more open to learning more about you and your offerings. A video overview showcasing your company, such as a company tour, or your products and services typically increase prospects’ time on a website by four times over baseline. Not only that, your customer is now much more informed when entering the sales cycle.

Video Demonstrations

Engaged prospects may actively seek additional information as they begin forming their buying decisions. For example, if you’ve discussed a problem in a Web video and mentioned that your product was designed as a solution to this problem, an engaged prospect may look for a demonstration video to see the product in action. Demonstration videos educate and inform prospects about the product or service, reinforce benefits, and serve as proof of concept. Sure, you can say that your widget sets up in less than 10 seconds, but the real proof is in actually seeing the widget being set up – in less than 10 seconds as promised. Web video can do that. These video demos also position you as an expert who understands the challenges and problems prospects face, and they show that you have the best solution.

Video Testimonials

Video testimonials are particularly powerful. Again, you say how wonderful your product is all day long but your word isn’t nearly as trustworthy as that of a prospect’s peers. Video testimonials show proof that your product or service has served others extremely well. For example, which of the following is more credible: “Our widget will save you $1000 per year in utility bills” or “This widget paid for itself in the first month and saved me over $1000 last year on my electric bills”? Video testimonials serve as an accelerated, and effective, form of word-of-mouth advertising.

The video-to-lead funnel’s convert phase is an important phase where you can build upon the trust you’ve already earned with your prospects.

The Engage Phase of the Video-to-Lead Funnel: A Detailed Look

Earlier, we talked about the “video-to-lead funnel” with its three phases:Engage, Convert, and Nurture. This funnel represents a strategy for using Web video to guide and convert prospects. The broadest part of the funnel is the Engage phase. In order for a prospect to convert, that prospect must first be engaged. How do you use video to engage prospects? Let’s explore.

In general, videos that add value engage your site’s visitors. Examples of engaging videos include:

  • Interviews with thought leaders on topics of interest to your site’s visitors. This type of video typically increases engagement by two and a half to three times over baseline.
  • Videos consisting of tips or best practices of interest to your site’s visitors. These videos typically increase engagement by two and a half to three times over baseline.
  • Videos that contain solutions to your prospects’ problems.

Promotional videos can also engage your site’s visitors. For example:

  • A video spokesperson that guides your visitors to specific Web pages is much more engaging than a text link.
  • Videos embedded in reports and white papers can bring the material to life and engage your prospects.
  • Video links in newsletters add interest while also driving your prospects to specific pages on your website. In addition, video links in newsletters have been shown to reduce opt-out rates.
  • Videos positioned on landing pages increase landing page conversion rates by one and a half to two times over baseline. They also encourage follow through on your call to action by reinforcing the benefits of your offer.

Videos related to an event are another terrific way to engage your prospects. In fact, you can use videos before, during, and after an event, adding value and engaging prospects each step along the way. For example:

  • Before the event – Use video to promote your event and increase attendance. This strategy typically results in an improvement of two to four times over baseline.
  • During the event – Video displays during the event engage attendees and add another dimension to your presentation while recording the event itself ensures that you have footage to share afterward.
  • After the event – The possibilities for using video after an event are vast. You could post highlights from the event on your website for those who couldn’t attend, thereby engaging prospects after the fact. You could edit the footage to include detailed excerpts from speakers and post it on your website. You could use excerpts from the event as you promote the next event in the series. You could create an event follow-up video with a special offer which typically results in a follow-up response of 22% to 35%. Each of these post-event videos allow you to keep the conversation going and reach attendees and non-attendees alike. They also strengthen your position as an expert.

What do all of the above videos have in common? They engage prospects.

How have you used Web video to engage your site’s visitors? Share your ideas in the comments section below.

Video-to-Lead Funnel: Guide Your Prospects to the Sale

Leveraging Web video to generate sales leads requires more than glitter and technology, you need a strategy to guide your visitors through the process. First, visitors must land on your website. Once, there, you’ll need to shape their buying decisions. One of the best ways to transform your prospects into qualified leads is to use the “video-to-lead funnel.” Here’s a look at what it is and how to leverage it.

video to lead funnelWhat is the Video-to-Lead Funnel?

Like a traditional funnel, the video-to-lead funnel is wide at the top, tapering down to a small spout.

Prospects fall into your video-to-lead funnel at the top where you’ll have the opportunity to engage them through informative videos, promotional videos, event videos, and other videos that add value. Video content that adds value, encourages follow through on calls to action, or adds interest is ideal in this phase of the funnel.

As prospects move down the funnel, you’ll need to convert them to qualified leads with videos that educate prospects about your company, products, and services. Typical videos that aid in the conversion process include demonstrations, product overviews, and testimonials. Because prospects have experienced engaging videos earlier, they know that you offer something of interest to them. Now, they need proof of concept in order to convert. Videos such as company overviews, product or service demonstrations, and video testimonials accomplish this vital task.

After going through the engagement and conversion processes, your prospects approach the spout of the funnel where the nurture process begins. At this point in the funnel, you have the opportunity to make a connection with your prospects, send follow-ups, and present solutions. All along, your videos have been preparing your prospects to get to this point: the point where they’re no long prospects who happened by your website but qualified leads who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer. Your videos at this point can arrive after requests for information, as email follow-ups, or through deeper links within your site.

What Can the Video-to-Lead Funnel Do for You?

When successfully implemented, a video-to-lead funnel improves conversion rates and shortens the sales cycle. At the top of the funnel, engaging videos can increase conversion by 20 to 200 percent. In the middle of the funnel, conversion videos increase engagement two to four times. As these prospects progress through the bottom of the funnel, you’ll likely see an increased close rate and a shorter sales cycle.

Putting the Video-to-Lead Funnel to Work

Simply embedding a few YouTube videos on your website or blog isn’t a strategy and knowing that the video-to-lead funnel exists isn’t enough. You must actively plan, implement, and manage your funnel. This involves the production of professional, well-crafted videos and effective calls to action for each section of the funnel. Like water moving through a funnel, prospects go through the video-to-lead funnel from the top to the bottom. Plan your strategy so that each section (Engage, Convert, and Nurture) logically leads to the next and you’re sure to see improvement in conversion rates.