[cs_content][cs_section parallax="false" style="margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;"][cs_row inner_container="true" marginless_columns="false" style="margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;"][cs_column fade="false" fade_animation="in" fade_animation_offset="45px" fade_duration="750" type="1/1" style="padding: 0px;"][x_image type="none" src="https://letsdevelop.tv/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/typesofvideo.jpg" alt="" link="false" href="#" title="" target="" info="none" info_place="top" info_trigger="hover" info_content=""][cs_text]So now you are convinced. You NEED video to market your business in New Orleans. But you don’t have a clue how to get started! The possibilities truly are endless – that is precisely what makes video so great! Rather than overwhelm you with the list of all the ways you can use promotional video (that’s another blog entry!), we are going to narrow it down to the top 3 types we produce – informational, testimonial, and educational. Take notes as you read to brainstorm how these ideas could apply to your specific business in the greater New Orleans area! We will use one of our recent clients – Encore Fitness of Covington, Louisiana – to provide examples of all three.[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level="h2" looks_like="h3" accent="false"]Informational[/x_custom_headline][x_video_embed no_container="true" type="16:9"][/x_video_embed][cs_text]Informational promotional video is simple – it provides information relative to your business. It’s the essentials your customers need to know, packaged more creatively and delivered more effectively. You can roll your FAQ page and your “About Us” link into one and give future customers everything they need to know in just a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, they get to see that you – your service or product – are real. There is a real person behind your business, and tangible benefits to your service or product. Sharing those aspects of your company is what we refer to as your “story” – it’s what creates that connection and makes a prospect your customer.
Your story may take the form of explaining your product – there is a reason why you created what you created and a journey from its conception to now. Maybe this product changed your life, and now you’re passionate about getting it into the hands of others who need it. Perhaps you made something everyone already uses simpler and more effective, and when people actually see it in action they know they need it. Your story captures your genius and moves hearers to respond. And telling the story of you and your business is not limited to products. New Orleans and the rest of southeast Louisiana are full of amazing restaurants and unique places to shop. An informational video allows you to show rather than explain why your place is so special – customers will be inside your business before they pass through your doors. When you’re selling a service, video lets you demonstrate what only you can accomplish. What you’re selling is the experience, and video allows you to share that experience with people in their spaces on their devices.
Getting future customers invested in and acquainted with your business can take several forms. For Encore Fitness, it was a “What to Expect” video. While telling prospects what their first and subsequent appointments will look like, they also create powerful buy-in. Viewers gain information about who they will be training with, where they will work-out, how to schedule appointments, and, most importantly, how their lives will improve as a result of choosing Encore. Before a client ever schedules their first training session, they know the faces of the people they will trust to improve their fitness and their overall lifestyle. Other informational videos may be the basic high-points of your company, a “How it Works” video, or an introduction of your team.
And if you don’t want to be the star in front of the camera, that doesn’t mean you can’t tell your story through video! Of course, there are actors for hire, but you can also create a huge impact with voice-overs and motion-graphics. A call to action is simply more effective when you have captured the attention of your viewer through video.
[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level="h2" looks_like="h3" accent="false"]Testimonials[/x_custom_headline][x_video_embed no_container="true" type="16:9"][/x_video_embed][cs_text]The only thing more powerful than you sharing your story is someone ELSE sharing your story! When your company makes a real difference for someone – whether they be a client, employee, or member of the New Orleans community – they are willing to testify. Testimonials give the people you impact the opportunity to speak the truth about your business. The structure is simple – what their life was like before, what their experience was like with your company, and lastly how their life is better now.
When choosing someone to provide a testimonial, look for someone whose life has truly been changed in a positive way. Our featured testimonial is from an Encore Fitness client named Leon. He shares his testimony in just over a minute with a focus on the biggest benefit he experienced – he beat diabetes! Before his fitness training experience, he was 30 pounds heavier and suffering from Type 2 diabetes. He then explains how he and his trainer developed a routine he was comfortable with over the course of a few months. At the end of his video, he summarizes all the benefits he has experienced – he lost weight, gained energy and stamina, feels better, and, most importantly, he is no longer diabetic.
Personal stories allow viewers to put themselves your client’s shoes. Leon is also a local, and he sounds like it. He has that “yat” and uses New Orleans vernacular that allows viewers to identify with him. When viewers relate to your testimonial, they trust in the experience this person had, and they believe you can make a difference for them as well. You won’t write the script for your testimonial, so it’s important to give some thought to who you will ask to speak on your behalf. Ask yourself, “What is the number one goal we want to achieve for our clients?” and “What sets our company apart from others in the greater New Orleans area?” Make a list of people who believe in your mission that you could ask to be featured in a testimonial. Express to them how appreciative you are for them and how they play a special role in accomplishing your vision! You may consider offering a special incentive to them if they feel uncomfortable in front of the camera. In the case of Encore Fitness, this may be in the form of a free training session. What could you offer your clients or employees to demonstrate their value to you?
When those you serve have faith in your company, they are an invaluable resource to help you grow. Chances are they are already talking about you – you just need to capitalize on it. Listen to what they have to say to gain direction for how you market your business. Clients can even come up with new slogans and catchphrases for you! For example, when speaking about the difference a fitness training program for seniors made in his life, one Encore client said, “They will carry you beyond what you’re comfortable with, but respect what you’re capable of.” This captures the essence of their mission – to help those over 50 develop their fitness and improve their health. [/cs_text][x_custom_headline level="h2" looks_like="h3" accent="false"]Educational[/x_custom_headline][x_video_embed no_container="true" type="16:9"][/x_video_embed][cs_text]One final type of promotional video for you to consider takes a different route – there is no direct selling of your company to the viewer. Educational promotional videos set you up as the expert in your field by teaching the viewer something. You could share case studies, present the latest research in your field, or give a review of a relevant resource. You give this information freely to those who view your video, but it is not without return. Educational videos demonstrate that you truly know what you’re talking about! This invites prospects to trust you before they meet you and sets you up as the company they can turn to when they have questions.
The most effective way to create an educational video is to choose the topic you are already comfortable discussing. If you feel that your industry is not inherently interesting to everyone, this is your opportunity to explain why it is relevant. One of our clients is a grain distributor. Sounds boring, right? You’ve probably never even considered where the grain that made your bread came from, or how it got from the field to kitchens around the world. But the process is actually a huge operation, and the expertise of our clients matters to American farmers. When they dove into their educational production, it morphed into a captivating documentary that impacts everyone who views it! No matter what your expertise, you have something to share that others can learn from.
Let’s back up though – you do not have to create a huge production to educate people. In the Encore Fitness video, Edgar shares some of the latest research about the way that movement affects aging bodies. He selected a book that was already a trustworthy source, and featured the information that was relevant to his potential clients. This information is applicable to his target audience and builds credibility for the services he offers. The formula is simple: Who are you trying to reach with this educational content? What topics are already significant to your target audience? What have you or your company mastered that allows you to speak on those topics? Educational videos allow you to give without asking for anything in return, while simultaneously building your reputation and belief in you and your product.
So let’s recap! When creating your first series of promotional videos for the New Orleans market, it can be overwhelming to decide where to start. We’ve just given you three basic ideas for developing content – informational, testimonial, and educational videos. Hopefully you now have some practical ideas about how you can begin YOUR journey with video marketing![/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]
