Marketing experts have always pinned their hopes on print ads and television spots, and that has, for a long time been successful and always been a major part of any campaign, but of late things started to change a bit. It was clear that there is no one, set right way to go about it; rather, it is a combination of a number of things happening at the right time. Any explainer video will fall into one of two categories, one- videos that drive the consumer to action, and two- product information clips. Both are vital and equally important, to not only get new customers, but also keep the existing ones. Mobile video is also very important right now. Melty Cone is a professional mobile video production company in NYC.

How it ultimately translates into sales and profits can be measured and that is the real value addition that video brings to your content. To understand it better, Facebook ran a research on whether or not and how video/ sequenced photo campaigns made any significant contributions to transactions. 

Right material for the right impact

In November of 2014, Facebook, in collaboration with a marketing agency, ran some tests that sought to find out, with data, how video based advertising works. The study lasted eight days and a sequencing trial was run in batches of three strategies, over a set of two four day phases. For the study, Facebook mobile as well as desktop was taken into consideration and they were targeted with only one advert- either a static link ad or video. The three strategies, as mentioned earlier were: 

• Video first, then it was followed by a static advert, the display picture on the static ad was the same image that was used to thumbnail the video. 

• Static picture advert that was then followed by the related video, this too had the thumbnail match up with the image on the picture. The same video and picture was used, but in a different order.  

• A series of two ads, both sequenced in such a way that the first image was the same as the one used in the first two instances. 

There was also a third control group in place that got no ads, it would be a useful baseline and can be used to accurately measure the outcome and impact of the videos. The level of effectiveness of the videos was measured through comparison of those who visited the advertised website against the control group, which were not exposed to the campaign. 

The main measure of success was the rate of conversions, while the images and linked ads did bring in more people to the site, the videos converted them into customers. Videos drove them to commit to online transactions with the advertised website, which is a sale. The group that had the combination of video first, followed by the image was found to be a lot more likely to complete a transaction online, by 31%. Video therefore, plays a strong, measurable impact on your sales. 

How does this happen? 

Video especially the interactive video, like the ones possible on YouTube, makes things easy for the buyer. They can see it work, the size, shape, color and the person in the advert can hold it and use it, giving the viewer a detailed depiction of what they can expect when they buy it. Also, buttons on screen can take them directly to the website where they can purchase it, the time taken between deciding to buy a product and being able to buy it is almost nonexistent. A well-made commercial video will have several buying triggers and when done just right, the sale is as good as done. 

Streamlining the content and knowing when to use video can be as important as you using the video at all. Video, traditionally has been used only in the early stages, when the person is introduced to the product and the engagement has just started. If your explainer video has the right content, there is no reason as to why you should reduce or even shy away from using the video in every stage of the buyer's transaction and as long as you want to be in direct contact with them. Such videos can be product demos, testimonials from customers and personalized videos, which are directed at a demographic can further funnel your customers towards the product or service. 

Narrowcasting 

Sometimes going viral is less important than the video reaching the right people. While it is true that viral videos can bring in more interest to your product that need not be the case. Melty Cone is a professional viral video production company in NYC. For some markets, the market is just huge, like Burger King, for example, their target audience is anyone who likes to eat and that is one big market. Your target is a lot smaller, not because not many people need your product, but because you are yet to capture a large customer base. When you appeal to and service your niche well, your base gets strengthened. 

Use search histories to your advantage

When customers use your site, make sure you track their activities apart from just the things they buy. By keeping tabs on what they watch, you can get to know their interests. So target relevant videos directly to them. Send them a mail requesting them to see a new video which they may like or find interesting. There are chances for you to go overboard with this, so make sure you are not bogging your customer's mailboxes with updates either. Another effective way to get your video to the right people is to land them on a dedicated page where your videos are all posted, with playlists and descriptions to take them to the product directly. 

When you add video to your content, it undoubtedly increases the interest as well as spikes the level of engagement that you can expect from your customers. So finding a rhythm with your audience is detrimental to converting your visitors to actual sales volume and keeping them coming back.  

What is Melty Cone? Melty Cone is a full-service video production company in NYC. We make videos from start to finish; from creative idea conception to final video delivery.