The Video Marketing Blog

The Role of Video in Lead Generation

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Earlier this week I attended a fascinating panel discussion - "Combining SEO and Video to Drive Awareness and Lead Generation Online" - featuring some heavy hitters in the world of online marketing.  A large part of the discussion centered on best practices for using video in lead generation and conversion, and how to measure success. A comment by Judy Gern, Director of Conversion Marketing for Constant Contact, captured the reason businesses need to use video in their lead gen programs:

"People who consume video tend to become customers at a much higher rate."

Goodbye to Viral Video

Joe Chernov, Global Director of Communications & Social Media for Eloqua, noted that there is less emphasis on ‘viral' videos than a few years ago. Gimmicky ideas like young men jumping into jeans, LED lights on sheep, mattress dominoes, etc., have given way to a new understanding of video as a practical, economical communications tool. Now companies are using video for sales, support, PR - all effective applications for video.  "We're seeing a smarter, more sensible use of video," said Chernov.

He noted in particular that video works especially well in press releases - those that include an embedded video receive 500% more views. Because of that remarkable effect, "we try to embed video in every press release," Chernov said.

What Works in Lead Gen

Constant Contact uses video as "an appetizer" for lead generation programs because of its ability to capture people's interest and draw them into the funnel.  The company conducts in-depth studies on performance of various video and key word combinations, and has found that videos with "do it yourself," "instructional," and "how-to" tend to perform the best.

Constant Contact has also found that video works best when it's given freely, before information is asked for, as opposed to holding out the promise of the video to get people to provide their information. "We give value when we ask for information, not after we get information," said Gern.

David Meerman Scott's Sales Funnel

Marketing superstar David Meerman Scott discussed the role of video in his sales funnel. At the top are short viral videos and excerpts from the informational interviews he conducts with his Flip camera - shorter videos that are casually made. Further down the funnel, where people are clearly interested in hiring him and are deciding whether to proceed, he uses video of a keynote speech he delivered previously. The production values are spectacular, he said, and rather than post short clips from the speech, he's posted the whole speech. He's found that at that point in his funnel - "right there when people are deciding to hire me or not" - people are really engaged and tend to watch the whole video.

Short, funny videos and short excerpts of interviews he's shot with his Flip camera work higher up in the funnel, he said, but near the bottom of the funnel the quality of his keynote video is important. "It really makes the difference," he said. "That video has helped me close $250,000 in speaking engagements in one year."

Measuring ROI

In lead gen programs, the number of email addresses gathered is usually the metric against which success is measured. But Meerman Scott disagreed with limiting ROI metrics to the traditional "collecting email addresses or business cards." He suggested that more meaningful metrics include view counts, and knowing through measurement what people do after they view the video.

Another metric for him is simply asking people when they hire him to speak how they made their decision. Often, he said, they tell him they watched his keynote video.

Tim Bradbury, president of New Media at American City Business Journals, suggested that instead of looking to ROI standard metrics, companies start with their expectations and then develop their own metrics to define success. It may be, he said, that the view counts and comments captured by YouTube are enough.

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