Effective Video Marketing Strategies For Lead Generation

Last updated: November 17, 2023 Written by: Karolina Niegłos
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    Have you ever created an amazing video, uploaded it, but couldn’t build any traction or engagement? Are you wondering how you can use video to direct people to a landing page that generates leads and converts?

    In this guide, we would like to present you several effective video marketing strategies for lead generation. Once you read this article you will get information about:

    Before we go into the strategies, let’s check out some statistics and reasons why you should implement a video marketing strategy.

    Interesting video marketing statistics

    • YouTube has over a billion users. This amounts to about a third of the users on the internet.
    • More than 500 million hours are spent on YouTube each day.
    • More video content is uploaded on the internet in 30 days than the amount created by major television networks in 30 years.
    • 87% percent of online marketers say that they use video in their marketing strategy.
    • One-third of the activity taking place on the internet is spent watching the video.
    • A report by Cisco shows that by 2021, every second, a million minutes of video content will cross global IP networks (via Forbes)
    • Marketers who use videos as part of their marketing strategy grow 49% faster than marketers that don’t use videos.
    Shows the rise of the mobile video
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      Reasons why video should be part of your marketing strategy

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      For instance, studies show that when you add an explainer video to your landing page, 74% of users are more likely to purchase the product.

      Video improves consumer trust for your brand

      One key step to excel with any kind of marketing is by building a relationship with your audience. When customers trust your brand, they are more likely to convert.

      The reason for this trust is because video is more likely to ignite emotions. When consumers can emotionally connect to your brand, they are more likely to make a purchase. 57% of consumers say that watching videos about a product before buying gives them more confidence to make the purchase.

      Google algorithm loves video content

      The Google algorithm is a big fan of videos. Video increases the amount of time people spend on your site. The more time spent on your site, the higher your trust factor. This signals Google that people love the content on your site and hence increases your ranking in the SERPs.

      Google prioritizes YouTube videos in the search engine, so embedding YouTube videos increase your reach on search engines.

      first-in-google-with-video-720x512

      Video generates social shares

      Most brand-focused content finds it difficult to generate shares and engagement on social media. I mentioned earlier that consumers react to content more when they are emotionally connected to it.

      Creating branded videos that are entertaining can cause an increase in engagement and social shares. 76% of users say that they would share a branded video to their friends and family as long as it is entertaining.

      Mobile users prefer to watch videos

      People are more likely to watch videos on the go using their mobile phones. 90% of mobile users watch videos on their mobile.

      A report from Google shows that smartphone users are 1.4 times more likely to feel a connection to brands that show video content or ads on their mobile devices than TV users.

      Image shows smartphone video viewer preferences

      We have seen reasons why video should be part of your marketing strategy, let’s check out video marketing strategies for lead generation.

      Gate your video content

      Gating means putting your video behind a metaphorical gate. Before users can have access to the video, they would have to offer some info. This info would most likely be an email address.

      This kind of method is a direct form of video lead generation.

      What is the difference between the direct and indirect video lead generation?

      In the direct form of lead generation, the video is what is offered to the prospect for some kind of information.

      In the indirect form of lead generation, the video would have to persuade the prospect to give their information.

      You can use a tool like Wistia’s Turnstile to create these gates. The gates would be a form that you set to pop up at the beginning of the video or in the middle. If the form appears in the middle before the prospect can continue with the rest of the video they would have to fill the form.

      To know which kind of gating method works best, check out this report by Brendan Schwartz from analyzing data from over 15,000 videos.

      • Turnstiles that appeared at the beginning of the video had a 16% conversion rate. The only con was that the video has a smaller number of views received.
      • Turnstiles that appeared in the middle of the video (around 10-20% after the prospect pressed play) had an amazing conversion rate of 43%.
      • Turnstiles that appeared at the end of the video had a poor conversion rate of 3%, although the video had more views than the other two formats.

      So according to the report, the most effective gating method is to hook the audience with a captivating intro showing what you have to offer before asking them to fill the form.

      Note that research from the report showed that required forms have higher conversion forms than optional ones. Don’t give them options. It’s either the prospect fills the form or stops watching the video.

      This graph shows that the highest conversion rates occur 20-30% or 60-70% through the video.

      Stick to a short video script

      For conversions to occur, you have to move the social media users from the social media platform to your landing page and onto your email list.

      When you are about to watch a new video, what is the first thing you check out for? My guess is that you look at the time first. The length of the video would help determine if the video is worth your time.

      After you click on the video, how long does it take before you decide to stop watching?

      People have low attention spans and they also face a lot of distractions. This infographic from Hubspot would give you an idea of the ideal video length depending on the social media platform.

      Click image to view full size

      Click image to view full size

      Make valuable and unique video content

      When a user decides to watch your video, a transaction occurs. They give you their time, and you offer them value and excitement in exchange. When a viewer feel like they are not receiving any value from your videos, they would stop watching.

      Do not try to copy trending videos and do something similar. What worked for them might not work for you. When you create videos, it is important that you locate your target audience so you can make sure that your videos fit your audience’s passion, interest, and your brand’s identity.

      Spark the attention of the audience immediately

      According to a report from Statistic Brain Research Institute, the average attention span of video users is 8.25 seconds. If you cannot attract the viewer in the first 8 seconds, you stand the chance of losing them.

      The first 2 – 8 seconds is the most important part of your video. If you can cause the audience to stick around after this, you stand a higher chance of keeping their attention.

      Tease the audience at the beginning of the video

      Use the system of open loops to increase the conversion rates of your videos. The system of open loops works after the Zeigarnik effect theory.

      The Zeigarnik effect states that people remember incomplete tasks better than completed tasks. You can use unanswered questions to grab the attention of the viewer until the end of the video.

      For example, you can tease a promotion code that you would reveal at the end of the video. The key is to find something enticing that the audience would want, discuss it briefly at the beginning of the video and save the remainder for the rest of the video.

      Add effective call to actions

      When you do not conclude your video with an effective call to action, you would be losing a lot of conversions. Your call to action would tell the viewers the next step to take after watching your video.

      Without a call to-action, the users would have to decide what action they want to take after watching your video. This is a risk you do not want to take. Most viewers would just watch the video and leave without taking any action.

      To create a video call to-action, you can use YouTube annotations or cards to add CTAs at different points in the video.

      To improve your chances of converting a lead, include a URL or phone number where the prospect can go to get more information.

      This screenshot from Instapage is an example of a good CTA that makes use of both annotations and texts.

      annotations

      Repurpose your video on multiple social platforms

      The main purpose of your marketing campaign is to drive viewers to a landing page. Repurposing your videos and sharing it on multiple social platforms would increase the amount of eyeballs to your videos and the number of people that would get to view your landing page.

      You can promote your videos on the major social media platforms in the following ways:

      For YouTube

      First, create an interesting video and upload it to YouTube. When you upload it, optimize the URL for SEO, create a great description, title and a visible call to action. In the description box, make sure that you include a call to action.

      Repurpose this video and share it on Twitter.

      For Twitter

      You can tweet the YouTube link and add a good description of the video.

      landingi_tweet

      A great thing about Twitter.com is that users can watch videos directly on the platform. No click-through is required.

      You can also share your YouTube videos on Pinterest,  Facebook as status updates, and use Instagram to improve discoverability of your video.

      Create a post-click landing page video

      A post-click landing page video is a great way to persuade your landing page visitors to take the desired action. Post-clicks landing pages are great for lead generation and improving conversions.

      The reason why post-click landing pages are great for lead generation is that they have fewer distractions. These kinds of videos are created strictly for conversions.

      A good example of a post-click landing page video is a video testimonial. Customer testimonials are videos that show a client talking about your product or service. These videos work great for the final stage of the customer journey.

      Testimonial videos help to build trust for your brand and show your audience how great your product.

      Other examples of post-click landing page videos include explainer videos, video case-studies, introductory videos, etc.

      Conclusion

      To increase the number of leads that you generate from video, ensure that you stick to short videos that are exciting and add values to the viewer. If you haven’t started using videos as one of your lead generation strategies mentioned in this article to get started.

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