If you want to create a lead generating video then here are some of the things to consider before doing so.
Your audience: Of course, you need to know who is going to (who you want to) watch your video. 3 key questions will help guide the creative process – who are they, what do they need and where do they frequent online?
Solving problem: By establishing who your audience are (see point 1), you can identify pain points they experience. The most successful B2B videos address these problems, this ensures that it resonates with the viewers and that they stay engaged throughout as they learn from it. After the problem is established then the video can progress to show your services or product as a solution and then, with the issue solved, how the viewer’s lives are easier as a result. This ‘3 act’ storyline effectively engages with the viewers and retains their attention throughout.
Educate: Video can not only tell (via narrative) your story, it can show it through the use of graphics, animation and infographics. This allows two compatible messages to be conveyed at the same time – don’t tell the viewer what they are watching is a key video tip. People visually assimilate information quickly and this often resonates more with them then when they just hear or read it. Share your knowledge and expertise, educate the viewer and you will find you create an audience base and one that values your video output.
CTA: Typically associated with written content, the use of video call-to-actions is increasingly common and popular. A CTA acts as the portal to take the viewer from an engaged viewer to a confirmed lead. Video has a much higher click-through rate than traditional content formats so to capitalise on this, ensure your video has a CTA so the viewer understands what the next action is once they have finished watching your video.
Collection gate: A ‘collection gate’ offers a viewer the opportunity to engage with your business and for you to capture their details. Emily Birden, Video Consultant at Hub – a London video agency – says, “Data collection gates are being increasingly used in video content. There has been some interesting research released recently by the team at Wistia that analysed over 15,000 gates and saw that they convert on average at a rate of 11%. That’s huge, but even more impressive is if you move the gate to the front of a video that number increases to 16%”. Apply an email gate to premium pieces of content to gather more information on the your audience. The more information you ask for, the more valuable the audience will expect the content to be.
So these steps, while not exhaustive, should give you food for thought before you start or commission the video production process for a lead generating piece of video content.
