Technology Marketing in the Digital Age: How to Use Your Company Videos to Improve Customer Engagement

Videos are all the rage. They are now easier than ever to produce, and you can even use your Smartphone to film on the spot.

There are many uses for a video in business—from filming a customer testimonial to talking about a service, hot topics, product demos and more. But once you’ve got them produced, what do you do with them? It’s a question that many sales/marketing folks have. The work is complete and the budget’s been approved—now what?

Sure you can post them on your website and social media sites, but that’s just scratching the surface. There are many more creative ways to distribute your videos to get a good bang for your buck.

Here are some ideas on how to use videos to accomplish that goal.

Create a Landing Page

Build a landing page around a particular vertical market or area of expertise. More than the video, it can also include links to your expert content and any other relevant material. Then use the power of your internal sales force to promote the page in their communications. This could be as simple as including a link to the landing page in their email signature.

Send an e-Blast

This is a particularly useful vehicle for distributing your informational videos. Email your opted-in customer database with a link to the video, and include a short introduction as to what they’ll be watching, why they’d want to watch it and what they’ll take away from it. As with all of your promotional activities, be sure to include a call to action so that viewers know what to do next.

Advertise

Consider purchasing advertising on a B2B relevant social platform that will likely drive potential customers to your video. Use the targeting features to choose your customer audience appropriately. An added bonus is that you will be able to track intelligence on was interested enough to click through to your video and begin a nurture campaign.

Optimize Social Media

It’s not enough to just post your content on your company social platforms; be sure you’re using each platform the right way. I can’t stress this point enough. To facilitate regular dissemination of content via social media, set up a posting schedule. For LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, be sure to include one posting with a link, as the “wall of information” stays up longer than the fast moving feed of Twitter. Twitter, on the other hand, will do better with multiple posts of any content due to the sheer volume and speed of information with which it runs.

Plan Before You Film

No matter what, make sure you have a plan in place for any video that you create. What is the goal of the video? Who is your audience? How will it be distributed? From there, you can segment your email database and strategic marketing activities accordingly.

Whatever method you choose to promote your video, be sure to use the description area of YouTube to provide viewers with not only a video summary containing keywords, but also a call to action and contact information.

Last but not least, keep in mind the main goal of building and maintaining a video library: to showcase your thought expertise. Nobody wants to be sold to in today’s business environment; so it’s important that you create and use your content to educate and build engagement. This is the first step in building trust, which will ultimately lead to the sale.

Comments? Feel free to tweet them to me @Leadarati

[Leadarati helps IT firms drive value and increase opportunities through social, digital and online communications. To subscribe to Anita O’Malley’s monthly social business tips news, SocialBiz 411, visit this website.]