Today we talked to Katie from Wistia. Wistia is a video hosting platform with a variety of capabilities for tracking and engaging with your prospects using video.
One of my favorite examples of a very well executed video strategy was a long-form landing page that, with the iPad, offered a paragraph of content followed by a video example and explanation. Brian Signorelli deems this the "White Video." I felt like I was going through her journey.
Lindsay: How critical is video going to be in the near future?
Katie: Whether you're engaging with it on a social media platform or on a web page, video has become a widely used tactic in the overall marketing strategy of many companies. Consider this: emails with a video in them perform 21 percent better than emails that do not have a video in them. It's more engaging. One of the most powerful tools at Wistia is Warm Capture. It can be placed anywhere inside of the video as a game or even at the end of the video to include a warm capture or a link in order for you to schedule an appointment or to lead to another piece of content.
Lindsay: What is Soapbox?
Katie: We never want to forget about our sales rep friends who may also want to utilize video. Wistia has created Soapbox, a unique tool that allows the sales rep to record themselves and have a split screen on the other side to show improvements they could make to a website page or to show anything they like on that other side of the street. It's very engaging for a prospect to receive a tip from a sales rep in a video and be able to see in real time what they can do.
Lindsay: Why do we sell in the way that we don't buy?
Brian Signorelli ponders this question: At work, we send out a mass email and think that is helpful. Then we go home and throw away a similar piece of junk mail because it's interrupted us and is not relevant at the time. Where is the engagement, where is the strategy?
Katie: Video can make you feel... awkward. So practice and get comfortable with turning on your video camera during online video calls so that you have that feeling of comfort when the time comes and you may need to record a video. Most importantly, be authentic. If you're recording a video for something and you stumble on a word, remember that you are human. The person watching the video will feel the same.
Lindsay: How can I build my own studio?
Kate talks about the $200 to $300 studio that you can create in order to have professional looking videos. In an article, "How To Make a Real Estate Video That Shines (and Sells)," Wistia recommends setting up a backdrop, using studio lights, controlling the sound, and leaving the equipment set up to make video production efficient and affordable.
Lindsay: What are the most common objections to incorporating video into your sales and marketing strategy?
Katie: Gisele is not selling your product, nor do your prospects expect someone who looks like that. It's about authenticity and being real. Sales reps are very competitive, so sending out a screenshot of a very positive response to a video sales email will really motivate others to do the same. Video will become the norm inside of the next decade.
Key Takeaways
Videos fully engage the viewer, unlike traditional copy-only media. Although many companies believe that video setups are costly, they can be done quite cheaply. Also, you don't have to be an expert to make effective videos. Do practice continually, but don't expect to be flawless. Customers like realistic presentations by "normal" people.
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