How your startup can use video to increase sales

by Startacus Admin

Video really matters for business these days - Rob Edmonds, Founder and Creative Director at visual communications agency, NRG Digital shares insights into the key video platforms and how to use video to best effect

Visual media has permeated every aspect of our work and social lives - from still images and infographics to adverts and videos. So how can your startup leverage the power of visual media to make your messaging as effective as possible and improve the success of your sales team? Video and animation are great at distilling complex products and ideas into clear and concise messaging. They also have the benefit of working across multiple platforms. Let’s review the key platforms and how your startup can use video to best effect.

Platforms

Website – your website is often the first point of contact that people have with your brand. Video and animation can have a real impact here:

• You need less written content 

• Website visitors stay on the site longer, as they watch the video

• Video content is shared far more frequently than written content

YouTube – As the second most popular search engine, globally, posting your content here when you can, makes total sense because it will help:

• Optimise your video

• Increase sharing opportunities

Social media – having a social media presence is very important for a new business and visual imaging can vastly increase your reach:

• Cut longer videos into 10 second snippets for social media use

• Tease longer content on your social media channels

• Direct users back to your website with links

Peer review

According to Edelman “Trust is now the make or break difference for brands”. There is a clear shift in trust away from advertising and towards personal experience and advocacy. 

Peer review is a fantastic way to build trust, unlocking deeper relationships between brands and their consumers, reducing friction and ultimately shortening the decision-making process.

Video testimonials are an unrivalled way for customers to endorse a brand. Most people aren’t that keen to be on camera, so if your customers are happy to put themselves in front of the lens, that is a massive endorsement of their trust in you. 

Tapping into shared experiences through the medium of video allows the viewer to connect their own experiences with the solutions that your brand can offer. People instinctively recognise in others what they themselves are looking for, making the video testimonial extremely powerful.

Trust is important, because if someone trusts your brand:

• They are more likely to buy your product, even if it is more expensive

• They are more likely to respond to your communications

• They are more likely to recommend your brand to other people

Video content

User Generated Content (UGC)

Some content really does need professional help to elevate it above and beyond, but UGC also has its place. With the improvements in technology that are happening all the time, you can still generate great content without the need for everything to be filmed on a movie set. This can be particularly useful with teams that are spread across the globe, or even based at home as many people will be for some time to come. UGC can also be great for social media and peer review to help in raising a brand’s profile or when building trust.

Explainer video

Video can also be a useful tool in terms of demonstrating products, explaining complex ideas or talking about changes. Often, we think about product demonstrations being on a one-to-one basis in a physical environment. Using video and animation can be an extremely effective way to demonstrate a complex idea or product to many people at the same time, in many different locations. You can, literally, show your customers how to use your product to solve a specific issue, including highlighting the end results. 

Case study

By teaming an explainer video with a customer testimonial, you can build a case study that marries up the benefits of a product demonstration with the trust you get from advocacy and endorsement. 

Onboarding

New customers, new suppliers, new staff. Every aspect of your business needs to have a streamlined and cohesive onboarding process, reducing friction at every level. Creating a set of cohesive assets across all of your onboarding processes, ensures consistency, alignment and elevates brand awareness.

Video and animation are particularly adept at achieving this - with the added bonus that by planning ahead, you can re-purpose and adapt them across many different situations.

Customer service

Great customer service improves brand loyalty and increases trust. It’s a win-win situation. You can help improve your ongoing customer experience by making your content easily accessible, not only when customers first access your product, but also further down the line when they are regular or returning customers. 

Particularly for a startup it can be challenging to increase sales and build trust in your brand. With the pandemic removing the opportunity to meet face to face, you need another way to connect with your audience and cut through the noise. Visual content, be it video or animation, is a highly effective way for your startup to do just that. 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rob Edmonds is Founder and Creative Director at NRG Digital, a visual communications agency with a passion for all things creative. Their clients treat them as a strategic partner, creating authentic content that inspires audiences and elevates brands. Formed in 2002, the team has grown significantly, winning an Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) award for Best Change/Transformation Communication in 2020. NRG Digital works across the UK, Europe and the US, supporting clients with their internal and external communications campaigns. 

Twitter: @NRG_Digital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nrgdigital1/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nrg_digital/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nrgdigital/ 

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Published on: 18th March 2021