Business Corner: The Power of Video as a Sales Tool

Power of Video

Many businesses and brands are turning to video as a useful tool for their marketing and advertising campaigns—as many as 86% of businesses, to be exact—and of those that already use it:

  • 93% say that it’s a cornerstone of their marketing strategy.
  • 80% say that they’ve noted a direct, positive impact on their sales.

Keep reading to learn more about the power of video as a sales tool, and how you can integrate it easily and effectively into your business with minimal cost and effort.

Why Video is Such a Powerful Selling Tool

Simply put, video is effective because it’s such a rich sensory tool that allows audiences to easily envision their aspirations.

  • It makes aspirations feel attainable in an emotional and visceral way.
  • It enables them to see their wants and needs manifested in “real life”.
  • They’re better able to imagine attaining that aspiration and establish an emotional connection to it.
  • When done right, it can elicit an emotional response from a potential customer.
  • The more they can connect with your video content, the more likely they are to buy into what you’re selling.

All these qualities have become even more useful during the COVID-19 pandemic. The vast majority of us are watching more videos online than ever before—providing people with this type of content can help make it easier for them to experience what you have to offer.

You’ll want to start by using videos as sales aids. You can always publish them online to generate views, but this is secondary. Sales aids are what will give you the most bang for your buck.

7 Ways to Create Effective Video Content on a Budget

Fortunately, creating sales aid videos on a budget isn’t difficult. Here are some tips on how to do it right.

  1. Plan it out. Start with a clear vision of what you’re trying to accomplish, or what question you’re trying to answer, with your video. This will make it easier to figure out how you want your video to look, feel, and sound. The clearer your vision is from the get-go, the less time and money you’ll spend on editing and reworking it down the road.
  2. Set a reasonable budget. Without a budget, you’ll likely end up spending more than you intended and wind up with a haphazard and ineffective video sales strategy. If possible, allow yourself a bit of a buffer in case you want to add more to your video later in the process.
  3. Start with stock footage. There are plenty of great websites that provide high-quality stock video with a reasonably priced subscription. You can always move to shooting your own video when comfort and budget allows. Click here for some useful sites with free stock video footage you can start with.
  4. Keep it short. People don’t have long attention spans anymore, so short and sweet is the way to go. Stick to a minute or less to keep your audience engaged. Plus, shorter equals cheaper.
  5. Use simple editing tools. You don’t need to source an expensive video editor—use an easy-to-use online platform to do it yourself instead. VEED is an online video editor that’s perfect for beginners. The basic plan only costs $12 USD per month, which allows you to create videos up to 25 minutes at 1080p export quality. Some other options for simple video editors include Filmora and Animoto, which are free.
  6. Get help from freelance experts. If you want to enlist help, consider a freelancer. These are people who have expertise and experience, and who are adept at parachuting in on projects to produce high-quality, engaging content. You can also present your budget to them and ask for specifics about what could be produced at that price point. Some great sites for hiring freelancers include Fiverr and Upwork. Like anything else you source online, be sure to read reviews from previous clients.
  7. Measure your success and adapt. Make sure you’re always tracking engagement and metrics on your videos so you can see which are the most successful. For sales aid videos, the measurement would be how it impacts sales, so make sure you’re listening to feedback at the kitchen table. Are your potential customers engaging with the video content? Do they still have questions? This can help you make future updates for even stronger video content.

Developing a plan for the number of videos you want and the subject matter they will cover is the best way to create a successful video sales and marketing strategy. Start small and gradually ramp up until your video marketing efforts really start showing their return on investment.

For more tips on using video or other marketing strategies, reach out to your Business Development Manager today!