Posted by Catie Foertsch on Fri, Dec 04, 2009 @ 09:29 AM
By now, you understand that video on your website is a great option. But you may be wondering just exactly how you should use video. Here are six problems that video on your website can solve:
- You have a story to tell. If you do the exact same thing all of your competitors do, and if all of your potential customers understand exactly what you do, then you probably don't need to tell your story. But if there's anything about your company that's special, unique, different, unusual - that's the story you need to tell. Maybe it's your customer service. Maybe it's the fact that your software or your machine will save your customers money. Whatever it is, video will tell that story in a way people will get - immediately.
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You need to make a personal connection. If you interact personally with your clients and customers, then starting that interaction on your website gives you an advantage. Video lets you talk to everyone who comes to your website, so they can see that
you have the qualities they're looking for in a professional.
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You need to explain a complex idea. Visitors to your website probably won't take the time to read through and understand a lengthy text explanation of your complex idea. An upbeat, fun-to-watch video that
explains your complex idea simply and clearly is a much better solution.
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You have information you relay over and over and over. If people are always asking the same questions, or if you find yourself doing the same old presentation about your product or service, then it's time to create educational videos that will do the job for you, so you can spend your time doing something besides repeating yourself.
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You need to train your customers on how to use something. Whether it's a webinar that demonstrates your software, or a how-to video that shows customers how to install your faucet, video is the perfect medium for training.
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You have something people need to see before they buy. A
virtual tour is just one example. If you're a hotel or an office space provider, describing in text - and even showing photographs - just isn't enough. You need a video that allows people to see your space as though they were looking at it.
The original title of this article was "Three Problems Video Assets Will Solve." But the list just kept on growing. I'm sure you see the trend: video solves all kinds of communication problems. No matter which business you're in, you've got specific communication challenges for which video is the best solution.
Posted by Catie Foertsch on Mon, Jun 22, 2009 @ 10:17 AM
I met Stephen Melanson at a seminar a few weeks ago and was completely absorbed during his presentation on verbal branding. It's not something you hear much about but it ought to be. Verbal branding is the art of positioning your business during a conversation so that you can manage that interaction, present what differentiates your company, have an impact and be remembered.
Verbal branding is very different from an elevator pitch, which is often nothing more than speed talking. During the typical elevator pitch, people try to cram as much information about their company as possible into 60 seconds. Two problems: first, the information is all about their company. A complete violation of the WIIFM rule (What's In It For Me).
In video, it's important to follow the WIIFM rule because, if there's nothing in your business video about your customers - current and potential - then there's no reason for them to keep watching. In person, WIIFM is also crucial. If there's no WIIFM in what you're saying, it's really hard for your listeners to pay attention & absorb because it's about you, not about them. You're making it impossible for them to remember you and your company because talking about what you do has no impact. It's background noise. Because, as Seth Godin famously said, "I don't care about you. I care about me."
The second problem with an elevator pitch is that it's a fire hose of information. While you're rattling on about your company, what you do, what products you sell or services you provide, your listener is trying to take it all in, figure out how it's relevant, and come up with an intelligent response. No wonder there's usually a pause and a blank look after an elevator pitch. They're still trying to figure out what you just said.
Verbal branding, by contrast, makes what you say all about your listener. It's got loads of WIIFM. It's quick - just a few seconds - and simple, so your listener doesn't get confused. It has impact. The most common response is, "Tell me more."
Another important aspect of good verbal branding is that it allows every single person in your company, from bottom to top, to speak about what you do in a simple, compelling and coherent way. No more message muddling, no more frustration because your people don't seem to be able to communicate your core message. Here's the essence of verbal branding:
"Make sure everyone can describe your company's positioning - why you're different and better than the competition - with a simple, differentiated brand message that can be said in about five seconds." (excerpt from Jaw Branding, by Stephen Melanson)
If you'd like to learn more, click here to download the Jaw Branding e-book.
ATOMIC
Posted by Catie Foertsch on Thu, Jun 11, 2009 @ 06:30 AM
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There are many reasons to use video on your website - excellent communication, emotional connection, engagement, relationship-building, message-conveying, etc. But perhaps the most important reason, the one big over-arching reason, is this: video allows you to differentiate your company. It lets you tell your story. Video is the best medium on the planet |
for conveying story, and your story tells potential customers who you are and how you're different.
You'd think this is what your website does, but the problem with websites is that to someone who's looking for what you sell, they all look the same. If you're an accountant, they all have a CPA-ish look. If you're a marketing agency, they're all creative but in the same general way. Law firm? University? Hotel? Software firm? Your websites have the same menu buttons. Click the ‘services' button and they list the same services. You've spent hours and hours picking your color scheme and agonized over just the right logo, but to people who are out there on the web looking for what you sell, well, you've got services and menu buttons and colors and a logo, just like everybody else. Your website just doesn't communicate - in an easily-accessible way - how you're different. What you offer. Why you'd be a good match - or not.
So why does video do the job? Because by its very nature - by being a little movie that tells your story - it fulfills the differentiation formula:
A+B+C=D
A= Authenticity. When I watch a video of you explaining an aspect of your services, or a testimonial video with one of your customers talking about one of your products, or video of your employees operating your equipment and making your product, I'm watching real people and I know it. It's authentic, you're authentic, and I get that immediately.
B= Believability. Do you know what you're talking about? Are you knowledgeable? Are you an expert? These are qualities we pick up on right away when we watch someone speak. You can fake it in text, but not when you're speaking. Do we believe that the customer who's giving a testimonial is real, and is really enthusiastic about your product? Again, you can fake it in text but not in video.
C=Chemistry. Chemistry is, simply, a feeling of connection. We have chemistry when we talk to someone we like, or someone we feel we could do business with. Chemistry goes a long way toward initiating a buy decision if people are already looking for your product or service. And if you're a business that involves face-to-face interaction (accountant, attorney, etc.), then chemistry is essential. It tells your potential customers if they could indeed do business with you.
D= Differentiation. This is what happens when your potential customers see that you have Authenticity and Believability, and when they feel Chemistry. Now you're different - now you're no longer one of the crowd of generic companies that all offer the same thing. Now there's a connection, and your potential customer has a reason to stay on your website and dig deeper, to find out more about you, and to choose you.
So - if you're wondering if video is a good idea for your website, ask yourself if it's important that people who visit your website understand how you're different from your competitors. If the answer is yes, then you know what to do.