How to Build an Audience Using Video
Video is a powerful, must-have tool for businesses to connect with their customers. It's a format millions of people consume each day. Whether you're a brand consultant, marketing agency, or offer web design services, video should be on your radar. If your clients aren’t already using video, it'll make connecting with their target audience much tougher.
Creating and sharing videos with prospective customers has various advantages. The question is, what type of business videos should they develop? Continue reading to learn why adding video to your brand-building services is key.
Why use video to market your brand and services?
Using video to market products and services isn’t new. Yet, some companies still aren’t using video or shy away from it. As your clients’ online presence expert, you can offer this as a service to help them build brand awareness and revenue.
Share these benefits to get them on board:
Attract, engage, and convert: When visitors land on your website, they want information, stimulation, and inspiration. Video content appeals to all three because it's eye-catching, informative, and promotes action. This makes it ideal for each stage of the buyer's journey.
Increase engagement: When's the last time you watched an online video? Odds are it was recently. People enjoy watching internet videos—and it's not just trending videos on social media.
Increase traffic: Roughly 86% of video marketers say online video drives traffic to their website. This is critical if you're looking to generate more leads for your business. The more eyes on your content, the higher the odds of getting conversions.
Increase sales: What's the point of traffic if it doesn't convert into tangible assets (aka money)? When done right, it can give your revenue a boost.
Increase page dwell times: The longer visitors stay on your page, the better your ranking will be. This shows search engines your content is relevant to the traffic you're attracting. Many video marketers agree that video increases the average time their visitors spend on the page.
Generate leads: It's not enough to attract a potential customer to your website. If you're not converting them into leads, then you risk losing them to competitors. With video, you can get your audience's attention and entice them to book a call or sign up for a newsletter.
Videos should be snack-sized, memorable, and interactive. Think of them like a secret sauce that hooks viewers, especially if the content is fresh, high-quality, and “edu-taining” (educational and entertaining). Make sure to add videos to your audience-building strategies for your clients.
How to build an audience using online video
Building an audience is easier today than ever before. All your clients need is the right platform, message, and content — and they already have the platform (their Squarespace website). Using video, you can help them identify the message and content they want to deliver.
We put together a list of ideas you can use to attract, engage, and convert website visitors. Let's review.
1. Create an introductory video to summarize the value prop
Filling a website with well-written copy helps visitors understand what your clients have to offer. But text is easily overlooked because it's not visual. So to bring home their value proposition, why not use an introductory video?
You can use their site as a platform to discuss the problems they help prospects resolve. Rather than laying out a list of features, discuss the top issues their customers face and how they can help.
Consider using the AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) formula and storytelling to make the video more engaging. For example, your client can:
Attract: Tell a story about a real or ideal customer with a problem similar to their audience’s pain points.
Interest: Discuss how they resolved their problem using your client’s solution.
Desire: Share how the client’s business improved because of their service.
Action: Ask the audience to act (sign up, book a call, fill out a form) — be sure to publish a link with the video.
Avoid using animation for the intro video. Make it more personal by having a representative of your client speak on camera and engage directly with viewers. The goal is to be approachable and relatable.
Strategically lacing your video is important to its success. Try embedding the video at the top of the web page — front and center. Don't hide it on the about page. Then to get even more eyes on it, you can share the video on the client’s social channels using Unfold.
Ready to upgrade your client’s Squarespace website? Here's how to add a video.
2. Share tutorial and demo videos to show knowledge and expertise
If your client is worried about giving away their trade secrets, assure them this isn’t necessary. Tutorial videos are meant to be short and simple, so focus on smaller quick tips that are valuable to their audience. Providing walkthroughs and hacks for small tasks to help their audience is what builds authority and trust for your client in the public eye.
So what are some ways to use an explainer video to build a brand? Here are some ideas:
Share quick and simple tips: Remember, keep it short but high-value.
Show your client’s unique process: Toot their horn while demonstrating their competitive advantage.
Create playlists: Curating content is useful for time-strapped audiences — and it eases your workload.
Once you develop the custom videos, it's time to get them in front of your clients’ prospects. Try these simple hacks:
Promote them via video and other social platforms
Embed them onto their website (on a dedicated page or video section)
Add them to other content (blog posts, guest articles, etc.)
Feeling like this could be an option for your brand consulting or web design business? Then here's how to add these types of video to your website.
3. Use advertising videos to highlight new product releases and special offers
Your client is on the verge of launching a new service or special offer. Either way, you need to create buzz to inform prospective customers. You know social media platforms are ideal for reach, but that’s if there’s already a decent sized following. If not, then the next best thing is to invest in social ads. Use a video ad maker to simplify the process and get your client’s campaign up and running quickly.
Now, you don't have to do anything fancy. Nor does the video have to be “salesy.” In fact, you want it to feel more like the social videos you see in your feed now, which are entertaining, informative, and actionable. For example, create a video informing your client’s audience about a common problem. Then offer a solution, such as a product, and a link to the product page.
Video advertising is a bit different from regular videos. They're shorter and straight to the point. You have a very small time frame (just a few seconds) to get viewers’ attention and incite action. This is particularly true if it's a video advertisement with a "Skip Now" button. In that case, the first five seconds are critical. When setting up your video ad campaigns, you'll need to set a budget. Social media platforms allow you to set daily limits. This ensures you don't overspend and can run the campaigns long (but lean).
Tip: Don't forget to use audience insights provided through the platforms to target their ideal customer base.
4. Show social proof using video testimonials
Does your client need more traffic? Better leads? Or maybe they just want visitors to convert into buyers. Whatever their marketing goals are, they need to gain the trust of their prospects. A great way to achieve this is to offer social proof. People tend to trust their peers more than they trust brands’ self-assessment. And that makes perfect sense. After all, there's usually no bias or conflict of interest when a fellow patron is reviewing a business. Use this to your advantage by adding customer stories and testimonials to your clients’ business videos.
Now, there are several ways to effectively use video testimonials. For example, you can embed them on your clients’ home page, service pages, or even develop a separate testimonials page. Why not go for all three? Keep in mind the customer's journey. Your client’s audience should be able to find customer reviews wherever they are in the sales funnel. So place them throughout your client’s website and external properties (social profiles and groups).
When creating video case studies, determine the format you'll use. Will it be a one-on-one interview with the customer speaking about their experience? Or will you do an off-screen question-and-answer format? If your client has the means and budget, they can even do a docu-style video. Whatever’s decided, develop a script template so all testimonial videos follow the same format.
5. Add background video to spice up your design
Embedding and sharing videos is an excellent way to drive traffic and boost conversion rates. But these formats aren't the only options available. Background videos are an excellent way to give a website design more pizzazz. It's eye-catching and when done right, it can capture and communicate the vibe of your client’s brand.
Maybe you've seen them before on the sites you visit. They typically have a short snippet that loops, showing a process, team environment, or office setting. You can get creative with the concept by adding more variations into the mix.
Select a video that resonates with your client’s brand, audience, and offering. Make it relevant to what they offer so it doesn't confuse visitors or deter them from checking out the rest of their website.
Here are a few quick tips to keep in mind:
Use contrasting colors for the background video and other site content so visitors can easily see any text.
Overlay the video with a dark or light screen (or color), so it's easy to read the content
Opt for short video snippets. Five to 10 seconds is ideal.
Go with silent videos and avoid autoplay sound, as it can be disruptive when unexpected.
Be mindful of website speed when adding video content to their site. If the background video bogs down page load speeds, then reconsider its format and length. If that doesn't help, then decide if it's better to go with embedded videos instead. As a rule of thumb, keep video files small. Use an app to compress it, so it's no larger than 10 MB. Then export it to 720p at around 24 frames per second.
Tip: If you want a longer or higher quality video, use a Video Lightbox and optimized video background.
Conclusion
Online video is captivating, influential, and engaging. But only if you use it strategically. Hopefully, the above tips give you some good ideas to get started helping your clients build their brand. Just remember, videos are best when short, sweet, and sensational. So make sure every second counts by adding value to their prospective customers who view them.
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