Video Marketing: How to Turn Prospects into Customers

Turning prospects into customers is an age-old problem that businessmen have had pretty much since the beginning of commerce. One of the most effective ways of bringing this about is to create short videos which can be used to guide prospects through the purchasing process, and convert them into actual paying customers.The reason that short videos are so effective at converting prospects is that the vast majority of people prefer to learn about products and services by watching videos. A recent survey found that 72% of all those polled considered brief, fact-based videos the most useful way of learning about any kind of product or service. To create one of these videos, you don't need any special props, locations, or actors, and that makes it a very cost-effective approach to achieving more conversions. Here's a good way to go about creating your video.

Step one – storyboard your video

When you storyboard your video, you're creating an outline for the flow of your narrative, and it helps you organize your presentation. As you're going through this process, figure out exactly what you're hoping to achieve with the video, for instance increasing brand awareness or generating leads. Once you have a definite goal established, it should come naturally to create your message, the script, the scenes you will be depicting, and a closing call to action.During this phase of the project, you should prepare your script elements, as well as the media components which you plan to use, and which will help progress your narrative. Make sure to choose visuals which complement your message and strengthen it. Add in whatever text elements you will need to enhance the visuals, and decide which specific words should be highlighted without using more than about 150 characters per frame, so viewers can easily read the information. Also make sure that any text you add is readable on all devices, so you don't lose any part of your audience.

Step two – pull your video together

Once you have gathered up all the elements you'll be using in your video, you need to arrange them in a video editor. Given the fact that at least 52% of all social media users are online via mobile devices, you'll need to create your videos to be mobile-friendly. Make sure the pace of your video is in sync with frame movement, and don't forget to keep your video as short and concise as possible. Attention spans of users are not getting longer, but are actually diminishing, so don't expect users to hang around for any longer than you can quickly relate important information to them. This means your video has to be no longer than 60 seconds if you expect the entire message to be viewed.

The beginning part of your video should use some kind of hook to get viewers' attention immediately. One way you can do this is by asking a question or by revealing some kind of startling fact. Whatever you use, make sure it's in sync with the title of your video, so that you're delivering content which was promised. The middle part of your video should introduce the problem or the product, then educate the viewer and provide some solution to the problem, and perhaps leave a question in the mind of your viewers which they can consider later.The ending part of your video should issue a clear and concise call to action, something which tells viewers exactly what you want them to do. Once you have finished your video, you should preview it to make sure it flows smoothly and that it adequately conveys the message you intended. If your purpose is to upload the video to multiple platforms, make sure that the video you've created is compatible with their unique specifications. By optimizing your video for each of the different platforms, you'll be providing a more engaging viewer experience, and you'll have a better chance of success on each platform.

Step three – publish your video

In order to get the most out of your videos, you need to promote them so that people can actually find them and then view them. You should also optimize your video so that you will get maximum engagement on each platform, and here are some ways you can do that. Using custom video thumbnails is a good way to convey information and to entice viewers to press Play. An effective thumbnail is one which is powerful, simple, and which is compatible with all the various screen sizes.

Secondly, you should make sure to customize your social media captions for each platform that you're uploading to. Hashtags will work very well on Twitter and Instagram, but you should try for longer captions when you're using Facebook. Make sure to include relevant keywords in your hashtags, your captions, and your title, so that the video can be optimized for search rankings and so that it can be found much easier.Finally, you should upload videos natively to whatever social media platforms you're working with. By native videos, we mean those which are uploaded directly to any given platform. These will always perform better than videos which are not native, because there is no interruption involved with the experience, and which causes users to be directed to another window.

Step four – retarget your ad campaigns

It's always a good idea to make note of the major platforms which your target audience hangs out on, so you can run ad campaigns which will produce a larger number of views. Re-targeting audiences which are aware of your product is one great tactic you can use, so that you make every effort to reach targeted individuals. As an example, you can post your teaser as a Story Ad on Instagram, which when scrolled up, will refer users to the chief video on your Twitter account or on your Facebook page.Keep in mind as you go about this whole process that there's no need to be intimidated by the video creation process and that it can achieve some fantastic results if you make a really good production. With a little practice, creating short, informative videos will become as easy for you to make as it is for viewers to watch them. Once you've published your videos, be sure to gather some metrics on viewership so that you have a good idea about the success of your project.