Did we hit our top three messages hard enough? Did we include enough mentions of our brand and/or product name? These are often among the first few questions marketers ask as they review a near-finished video.  But are they THE most important criteria for judging the conversion potential for video? We don’t think so.

If you want your video to convert, it must first engage, at least long enough for the prospect to receive your call to action or offer. And the more personal a video feels to the prospect, the greater the likelihood of engagement. So, does this mean your messages and brand/product mentions aren’t important.  Certainly not, but it does mean that if you fail to create a personal connection and engagement, those messages and mentions will likely go in one ear and out the other.

So how do you make a video more personal and engaging? After all, you’re only shooting one video, right?  Wrong, you should think about shooting multiple videos (very short segments) that, when stitched together, create a branching experience that will appeal to (feel personal to) multiple personas.  This doesn’t have to be highly complex or technical and can often be accomplished with some thoughtful up-front scripting and shot planning.

To get you started, here are three tips for creating more personal and engaging video:

Speak directly to your buyers – all of them. When you’re on a sales call, you don’t talk about IT infrastructure to the non-technical end user. Instead, you appeal to them by discussing their problem and how, in simple terms, your solution can solve it. When you shoot your video, create an inventory of short video segments that appeal to as many of the key constituents in an organization you’re hoping to convert.

Let the user control the experience. Once you’ve built an inventory of segments that will appeal to various viewer types, make it easy for them to control the experience. Non-linear branching, enabled by simple on-screen interactivity, accepts user input and gives the viewer a much more personal experience.

Create a social experience. Today, buyers are learning the ways of social media, which means they are accustomed to engaging with your brand and your employees in multiple ways. It’s how they validate their potential decision. So give them clickable elements on and around the video that allow them to fully engage. This could include links to supporting content online and links to social media profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. The more they connect with you and the person in the video the more personal the experience will feel to them.

In the end, messages are important, but meaning (to each potential online prospect) is even more important. By creating a more personal, interactive experience – one that mirrors a conversation instead of a mass market commercial – you’ll turn you video into a powerful conversion engine that pulls prospects all the way through to your offer and, ultimately, the sale.

To read about other tips for using video to convert online visitors to leads, please download our eBook, Best Practices for Using Video to Convert Visitors to Leads, here.

And be sure to come back to our blog for more tips and tricks.

Click here for a video intro to the event

Can online video turn press releases into SEO gold? We don’t have an answer to that question. At least not yet. But with your help – and an esteemed group of experts – we’re hoping to get closer to understanding the role that video will play in the press release of the future.

On April 27, we’re hosting an event with Business Wire and MediaMobz entitled Combining SEO and Video to Drive Awareness and Lead Generation Online. You can watch a video intro for the event or learn more here and, if you’re in Boston, we encourage you to attend. At its core, the event is designed for marketing and communications professionals who are looking for innovative ways to generate new business leads. If that sounds like you, please come.

If you can’t attend, we’d still like to represent you at the event. Cliff Pollan, our CEO, is moderating the panel, and he’d welcome your questions, concerns and opinions in advance. What would you ask Tim Bradbury about his print media enterprise or David Meerman Scott about his recent book? How about asking Judy Gern from Constant Contact about ways video plays into their strategy or Joe Chernov from Eloqua about ways to link all this to marketing automation?

If you’d like Cliff to pose a question or broach a particular topic, please add it as a comment to this post.

As the event invite explains, unique content such as video has tremendous power to attract and convert new leads online. Because video is SEO-friendly and dynamic, many companies are using it to help generate and convert leads. But many companies still have questions that range from concerns about cost to the real conversion value. The event will address some of these questions and provide best practices for effectively using video and SEO in the press releases you distribute, whether it’s via a wire or in some other way.

We hope you’ll join us on April 27 or that you’ll send along some questions and insights for Cliff.

Image Courtesy of djcodrin

In his recent USA Today column for small business, Steve Strauss suggests that “maximizing your web presence is key to building your small business.” We couldn’t agree more.  We especially like Steve’s point that “video is probably the top Web 2.0 tool out there right now.” He points out that if you have video on your homepage, upwards of 80% of your visitors will click on it first.

Steve isn’t talking to Fortune 1000 businesses here; instead he’s providing advice to small businesses looking for an edge. So, if you could get a video up on your web page in less than one day, for less than $500 (assuming you already have a decent camera), would you consider it? Of course you would.  Especially if that video – the first thing eight out of every ten visitors will click on – was proven to convert better than text alone.

Still not convinced? Here’s how you might get started.  Let’s say you’re an accountant and this season has been slow. Perhaps more people are doing their own taxes. You take your handy Cisco Flip Camera, place it on your desk (it will stay up, trust us) and you push play (one red button), covering your key points (you spent 30 minutes earlier today creating these).  “Hello, I’m John and I know many of you have put off tax preparation until the last minute….I have some good news…we have people standing by to help…please click on the button to my right if you’d like us to get started on your return within 24 hours and guarantee that it is filed before the IRS deadline.”

To stay with the simple theme, let’s say that because time is running out, you decide to do a simple email campaign. You add your newly created video into your HTML email, select your current mailing list and hit send.  Now, within minutes, you can see that potential tax filers are accessing your video. You’ve created a personal connection and made a clear appeal (I’ll get started within 24 hours) that is driving people to your offer.

The following example is simple, but it underscores how easy and cost-effective video creation can be. As you become more experienced, you’ll likely experiment more, but it’s unlikely you’ll need much more than your honest appeal to customers or clients, your simple, but compelling offer and a means to distribute or promote your campaign.

So go head and give it a try. Use it for new products, upcoming events or special offers.  And be sure to let us know how many new prospects you convert with video.

Once you’ve shot your video, you’re probably anxious about the next “hurdle,” editing it. But it doesn’t need to be a hurdle at all. In fact, unless you’re submitting the video to the Sundance Film Festival, too much fussing is not only unnecessary, it can also distract potential leads from your core message.

For most business-oriented video, you’re better off with simpler formats, basic editing software and a few best practices. Even if your boss’s kid is home from USC’s Film School, resist the temptation to add unnecessary complexity, and instead focus on the message and the messenger.

If you’re just getting started with your video initiative, here are three tips to help you avoid overkill and get started successfully and (relatively) pain free:

Garbage in=garbage out. Every editor has a story about being handed disjointed raw video and being asked to transform it into a great finished piece. Sure, the best editors can perform miracles, but the cost and time required is too steep. A script template (how to promote an upcoming webinar, for example) can help you produce clear, concise footage from the camera that requires very little post production. Planning in advance will save you editing time later.

Let the camera be your guide. There was a time when generating high-quality footage required expensive equipment. And even then much work was necessary in post production to correct lighting and audio problems. Today, many easy-to-use HD cameras are on the market that can deliver excellent results with little practice. In most cases, you can upload the video and prepare it for your email campaign or website with very little post production.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Although many finished video pieces require only a little extra editing, sometimes a bit more work can increase impact. Software programs such as Camtasia, Jing and Animoto can help you easily add static images and screen captures to your finished video for a more professional look. You’d be okay without them, but they’re so easy to use you might as well give them a shot.

There are certainly other tips that will help your videos get better over time, but these three are a great starting point. If you think before you shoot, shoot with a good HD camera and take advantage of inexpensive, easy-to-use software to add a professional look, you’ll be producing conversion-worthy video is less than one day.

To read about other tips for using video to convert online visitors to leads, please download our eBook, Best Practices for Using Video to Convert Visitors to Leads, here.

And be sure to come back to our blog for more tips and tricks.

Conventional wisdom has been that smooth and polished talent in videos is critical to success. This has kept many businesses from getting started with video since talent can be expensive. It has also set a high bar for finished video that prevents many others from tapping their own employees for video. The game is changing, however, and today we know that prospects actually relate more to displays of genuine passion and expressions of real knowledge than they do to acting precision. In fact, suspicion that you’re being pitched by an actor can be a real turn-off.

Another mistake businesses often make is to train an executive – perhaps the CEO – to be the official spokesperson even though that individual may be further removed from the product and the customer. If the CEO is hands-on and brings genuine product passion, that’s great. But putting them in front of customers in a launch video just because they’ll “stay on message” may sacrifice authenticity and decrease conversion. The key question isn’t whether the most senior person is available, but who can best convey passion, knowledge and a customer connection. A modicum of video experience/talent is, of course, important too.

While there is nothing wrong with putting compelling executives on camera, don’t simply go to them by default. Here are three things to consider as you source video talent within your organization:

Who has experience on camera or working with video? This doesn’t mean that experience trumps passion or knowledge, only that it will make your life easier if the person is somewhat comfortable in front of the camera.

Who has expressed interest in getting involved? The camera loves natural enthusiasm and desire. If you have outgoing staff who want to be part of your video initiative, embrace them.

Who is most closely connected to what we’re trying to communicate? Surprisingly, people with genuine passion see beyond the camera and, in effect, speak directly to the target audience. This is great when it happens. Don’t presume a person in your organization won’t be effective until you seen them riff on something about which they care deeply.

There may be more than one talented video subject within the walls of your organization. Don’t be afraid to look beyond the obvious, however, because the right balance of natural video skills and passion may exist within people you least expect. Perhaps the only way to know is to get out there with a camera and check it out.

To read about other tips for using video to convert online visitors to leads, please download our eBook, Best Practices for Using Video to Convert Visitors to Leads, here.

And be sure to come back to our blog for more tips and tricks.

Back on March 23, VisibleGains was featured on TheRiseToTheTop: RISE #60: Turning Your Videos Into Customers With Craig Daniel From Visible Gains.  We were really honored to be interviewed since David has had some killer guests on previous episodes.  In addition, David is a great interviewer and he uses a really cool technique for live interviews over Skype.  Check it out:

A few years ago, so-called “user-generated content” emerged. Today we now accept that blog posts, tweets and other nuggets of insight are trustworthy and, in some cases, highly entertaining. In the realm of video, YouTube not only made digital expression accessible to all, it forever changed the expectation for video content. YouTube proved that simply-produced and authentic video could be as, if not more, engaging than professional content.

Despite the popularity of social media (what is essentially evolved user-generated content), businesses were, until recently, reluctant to adopt the more freewheeling and often spontaneous sensibilities YouTube-style video. Today, however, erstwhile “corporate video,” often highly produced with b-roll, scripted actors and music, can seem disingenuous and inauthentic. Consumers – even buyers of technology and business services – have come to expect a more authentic dialogue. And this is good news for businesses that want to use video to engage and convert – authentic video can be easier and less costly to produce!

So, we are often asked, how much authenticity and simplicity is enough? After all, we’ve got we’ve got a valuable brand here, and we can’t risk undermining it. Although every company is different, we start with three simple rules for an effective video:

• Meet basic expectations for lighting and sound. Make sure that faces aren’t in shadow or direct sunlight, and be sure ambient noise won’t drown voices out. If you’re thinking of buying a digital video camera, consider one that has an external microphone jack.
• Feature real people from your business talking about subjects for which they are truly passionate. Don’t worry if they’re not Al Pacino. Do worry if they don’t convey authentic enthusiasm.
• Make the video more conversational and less scripted. Talking points are better than a formal script. Don’t let message perfection be the enemy of authenticity.

Some companies may have a budding Leonardo DiCaprio or a closet Apple Final Cut Pro editor, but you don’t need that level of talent to get started. You simply need to find your company’s comfort zone for quality versus expediency. It’s best to start small and experiment, proving to yourself – and your management team perhaps – that a simple, authentic video can actually convert online leads into sales. That’s reason enough to give it a try.

To read about other tips for using video to convert online visitors to leads, please download our eBook, Best Practices for Using Video to Convert Visitors to Leads, here.

And be sure to come back to our blog for more tips and tricks.

Video doesn’t have to be difficult or costly to produce.  Our mission of late has been to help businesses see this firsthand by starting slowly, measuring and then comparing BV (before video) and AV (after video). So, here’s a recently completed example to which many companies can relate: using a video app to drive higher webinar attendance.

Building Engines was eager to try the simple BV/AV test. They were looking for new ways to draw people into webinars and adding video seemed like a cost-effective solution. For them, the goal was simple and easily tested – add a short video promo to traditional webinar promotion (through email) and see if it converts more attendees. So, instead of just sending an HTML email with a registration button, Building Engines included a video promotion with the email.  See below.

By clicking on the video to the right (in the image above), the prospect would go to the following landing page to get a taste of the event:

See the video app for yourself here.

So, did it work? Yes. The campaign kicked off with the email distribution on February 17th, just one week prior to the webinar. The company sent 11,000 emails to their house list, which typically returned a click-through rate of approximately 7%. This time, however, the click-through rate was 13.8%, twice that of its BV distributions. So how did the video app perform in this case? It was quadruple the number of registrants over the prior month and was the second highest webinar ever done by Building Engines. In addition, more than 65% of the attendees were “highly interested” during the actual presentation itself as rated by GoToWebinar’s engagement tool. But don’t just take our word for it. Choose what you would like to hear from Sarah Fisher below as she talks about parts of her first successful BV to AV experience.

There was a time when companies would spend considerable time and dollars to produce long “talking head” videos. In fact, many businesses still think of this style of video when they hear “business video.” That thinking is old school.

Today, a new formula is emerging that is based on conversion numbers, not artistic experimentation. A five-minute video of executives talking, featuring slick transitions and impressive graphics, may look nice, but it often doesn’t convert as well as a 90-second video with a strong call to action.

So, want a simple formula for creating highly converting video? Here it is:

10- to 15-second intro + 30- to 45-second overview/teaser + 10- to 20-second offer/ call-to-action

Sure, many digital marketers will experiment and try a slightly longer teaser or call to action, but the general guidelines are still useful. We’ve seen them work for clients time and time again. Whether you’re using video to promote an event, such as a webinar, a whitepaper or a product/service demo or trial, keep the formula above in mind and see your conversion numbers grow.

To read about other tips for using video to convert online visitors to leads, please download our eBook, Best Practices for Using Video to Convert Visitors to Leads, here.

OR Watch the video below to see an overview of the eBook:

Be sure to come back to our blog for more tips and tricks.

One question we often get is “why do I need anything besides You Tube for my video?”  With the phenomenal success of You Tube, this is a natural reaction.  As with most marketing questions, however, the right answer really depends on your specific goals.

Digital marketers generally have three high-level goals  – create awareness, engage prospects and convert visitors to leads.  The good news is that video can dramatically increase your results in all three areas.

You Tube is a great channel for achieving the first goal – it’s built for generating awareness.  Millions of people go to You Tube to look for relevant videos. Posting your videos to You Tube is an easy, inexpensive way to be discovered.

But engaging and converting prospects requires a more considered approach. Digital marketers typically spend a great deal of time and money to attract visitors to their websites, as well as optimizing that experience for conversion. To maximize your investment, you want your video content to be a vital part of that overall experience and conversion process.  Keeping prospects engaged on your site gives you more time and opportunity to convert them.

If, on the other hand, you send those hard-earned prospects off to You Tube, you may risk degrading their experience and lose everything you’ve already gained.  Yes, they see your video, but they’re no longer on your site, and you have lost control of their experience.  The prospect is now open to presentation of irrelevant content or, even worse, to content from competitors.

Once a prospect reaches your site, your goal should be to give them an experience that is tuned to their needs and enables them to easily take action that converts them from a suspect to a lead.   At a basic level, this requires interactivity and integrated calls to action.

Finally, whenever you do engage prospects on your site, you want to measure those interactions so you can constantly tune your efforts and programs to maximize conversion. Leading marketers are now successfully integrating their overall tracking and individual user actions within marketing automation (e.g., Eloqua, Unica, HubSpot, Marketo) and sales automation (Salesforce.com) systems. This ensures that the process of creating awareness, engaging prospects and converting visitors is properly executed and measured from start to finish.