Why you should be using explainer videos in your marketing strategy

In past decades, consumers didn’t have a great deal of control over the marketing materials they saw or how they encountered them. Whether they were slid under the front door, dished up in the middle of a TV show, or sandwiched in between that double-page feature story of a weekly newspaper or magazine, they took what was served – along with a huge side of apathy.

Of course, all this still happens, but technology has raised the bar when it comes to delivering a really effective marketing strategy. With a whopping 88% of Australians now said to be active internet users and as many as 91% of households using digital devices, we’re now empowered by choice – the choice to read, watch and listen to what we want, when we want, with one swipe or ‘click’. This is why it’s more important than ever to use tech to your best advantage and make your marketing content genuinely eye-catching, engaging, and entertaining – something people will actually want to pay attention to!

When it comes to achieving these objectives, explainer videos will hit the nail on the head – every time. This is because they appeal to our natural human senses by combining the pleasures of language, audio, and visuals for maximum entertainment and emotional effect. Did you know, shoppers who view video are said to be 1.81 times more likely to make a purchase than non-viewers, while some brands have reported over 50% increase in ecommerce sales as a result of using video content? Serious food for thought! Sure, you’ve got to be in it to win it, but this isn’t about taking a stab in the dark. To ensure you develop an explainer video that delivers great return on investment, it’ll be necessary to get a firm grip on where they fit into your marketing strategy.

A crucial part of the customer’s journey

Generally speaking, there are three stages in your customers’ journey: They become aware of your product, they consider the purchase, and they make a decision. Arguably the most important stage, an explainer video could be the “ace in the hole” when it comes to delivering potential customers the most persuasive experience at the consideration stage. Explainer videos are a highly-appealing and easily digestible form of content for addressing problems, solutions and delivering all the information potential customers need to make a decision in a short amount of time (recommended 90 seconds)! Here are a few ways explainer videos can be used as part of your marketing strategy to target and win over those diligent consumers as they’re knuckling down to do their research.

Close a sale

We all know there are some slow burners out there; in other words, not everyone is willing to make a snap buying decision, especially not when large sums of money are at stake. And that’s fair enough, right? Carefully crafted explainer videos can be a great sales tool for when you have a few pondering leads who crave that extra bit of encouragement, knowledge and surety. For example, why not send your video in an email or post it on social media – because if people have chosen to connect with your business already, you could be half way towards sealing the deal!

Connect with new markets

The internet sure is a global marketplace, and that’s great, but the chances are, many consumers interested in products from overseas will hit a mental block if the marketing content they discover doesn’t speak to their market or is badly translated. With explainer videos being much more about visual and aural language than the written or spoken word, they’re easy to translate and modify for new markets while ensuring the key messages remain consistent, strong and compelling.

Education, Education, Education

Depending on what your product or service is, you might have a tough challenge breaking down the barriers of complexity before anyone will spare a thought for “buying in”. For example, while an introductory video might be sufficient for a relatively self-explanatory ride-sharing service, this might not be the case for a new and innovative software solution. Here, an explainer video could be an effective way to showcase software features, present how to guides and deliver facts and figures to support a business case – all the things needed to ensure potential customers are familiar enough with your products to make that all-important decision.

Breathe life into your webpage (and other content)

Usually, after becoming aware of your products or services (that’s stage one of the customer journey) the very first place consumers go in search of a good first impression is your website – especially if all your marketing materials link through it! There’s no doubt, the appearance of your website and quality of content will be taken as a reflection of the quality of your products, credibility in the market, and customer service. By placing an explainer video in a prominent spot on your website, there’s greater chance visitors will remain on the page for long enough to find out everything they need to know to form a positive opinion about your business and make decisions. Why? Because it’s easy! In today’s competitive market, time poor consumers are less inclined to spend time digging around websites for information when a video can do it in a few seconds – and make it fun.

And with explainer videos said to increase conversion rates by as much as 30%, why stop there? Explainer videos could even be included in EDMs to make them much more expressive than your usual (and probably predictable) format. With our help, taking the plunge with a persuader video could be all you need to effectively qualify your products!

Have you ever wondered how Persuader Videos are made?

• We will get you started with the essential steps
• From Go to Wow, make a powerfully engaging Persuader Video
• Fail-safe framework to follow…