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If you’re following the Salesforce.com blog, then most likely you are either an executive or a marketing manager of your company… and as one, you are in charge of incoming leads.
And what’s more “sexy” to attract leads than with a focused landing page?
Your landing page isn’t there just for looks – it’s there to convert. Case study after case study show that adding videos to your website can increase conversion rates.
But why?
One reason is because of the new decision journey customers go through before they decide to buy. Videos help consumers make purchasing decisions, provide a counterbalanced voice to other media about your product, and reinforce brand loyalty.
Marketers used to assume that the path to purchase was like a funnel, but this is no longer true. In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Branding in the Digital Age, marketing expert David Edelstein shared some research on how consumers make their purchases. It turns out that consumers bounce around from brand websites, to Amazon for reviews, to Facebook pages, and back when making their purchasing decision.
In fact, the complexity of the decision journey means that giving your customers a consistent experience is even more important.
When the customer visits your brand page, they’re at an integral part of their decision journey and this is where you define your brand on your own terms. Including a video on your landing page gives the consumer the information that you want to give them, exactly how you want them to see it. Potential customers will watch videos, but will they watch yours? Do you want them to remember a quirky (and potentially critical) review on YouTube, or your company’s targeted messages?
So whether your web visitor will become a customer that moment, or their decision process will continue, providing a video allows your brand to define itself at a crucial moment. This strong impression will stay with your potential customers as they continue the evaluation process. Or it could provide the remaining details that help them complete their decision and make their purchase at that moment.
Videos can show the features of your product, how to use your product, satisfied customer testimonials, or just promote branding. All of these can help the decision journey end with a consumer purchasing your product or service.
Visiting your site is just one part of their decision process and can occur anytime during the decision journey. Not all customers will buy on their first visit, particularly in the digital age. As your potential customers make their way through their decision process, your site might not be the first stop. A video is a great way to counter the other media they may have come in touch with, softening potential buyers’ doubts that come from other sources.
For example, let’s stay you sell baby strollers. A potential buyer might see a review on Amazon that says that it’s really difficult to fold the stroller. But if your video shows how easy it is to fold, who do you think a potential customer will believe?
Read your product’s reviews, go on YouTube to see what reviewers are saying, and then address those issues in your video. Don’t tell customers that your product is better, show them.
Marketing videos increase conversion rates because they help consumers through the decision journey in a way that shows your company exactly how you would like them to see it.
Much like the difference between going to the cinema or reading a book, you’re providing them with an experience they cannot refuse: A stereophonic 3D experience that a few blocks of text could never provide.
Remember – engagement and impressions lead to revenue!
Daniel Glickman is CMO at PowToon. He Loves analyzing marketing data and building strategic and tactical plans which he can then analyze again. Daniel believes in combining marketing automation with human intuition to create a lean mean marketing machine. Proud father of 2 “perfect” kids.
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