As internet speeds get faster and it becomes easier to stream and download video content the quality and popularity of videos have increased. For businesses, online videos now represent an almost compulsory form of content, as if you aren’t tapping into their potential then you’re likely to be left behind.
For a business to truly leverage online videos to their full effect, however, it is important that they decide on how they intend to do so. Although the ultimate goal may be to ‘generate more sales’ – that can be achieved through some different means:
Using videos to generate traffic and attract customers
When videos are used to generate traffic they are normally uploaded onto platforms that have a wide audience (such as YouTube, Facebook and other types of social media), with a link that leads to the business’ website. To pull that off these videos need to be of interest to customers, and subsequently, include a strong call to action with a compelling reason for them to click the link.
Using videos to create interest in a business’ products or services
Although there is some overlap, these videos are intended to ‘get the word out’ about products or services that a business is offering. As such they may discuss its benefits, demonstrate its capabilities, or in some cases review or compare it against other similar products.
Using videos to convince customers to purchase
In contrast to other types of videos, some are more directly focused on convincing customers to make a purchase. As a result, they tend to be more promotional and endorse a product more directly in an attempt to convince customers that they want to buy it now rather than later. Often these videos include testimonials from past customers – due to the power of social proof.
Using videos to provide customer service
At first glance, it may appear as though these videos don’t generate more sales – but good customer service grows the reputation of a business and encourages repeat sales. Due to the visual nature of videos, they are an excellent way to provide customer service, either by acting as a knowledgebase or even directly responding to customer inquiries.
Essentially those are the ways how your business can tap into the potential of videos. While it may seem daunting at first due to the sheer number of options that exist, there is no need to pursue them all at once. Instead, you can start by first focusing on creating videos that generate traffic and interest, and will help build up your business’ online presence.
It is worth noting that there are many ways to create videos, and you don’t need a multimillion-dollar budget to do so. Whether you choose to record videos on your smartphone, record iPad screen, use a camcorder, or any other means – the important thing is that you create interesting and engaging content. If you can do that, everything else will fall into place.