All posts in Digital video strategies

Whether you’re selling a product or marketing a service, successfully communicating how it benefits your customers will dramatically increase your chances of making a sale.

From yoga classes and organic superfoods to bio-tech blood markers and new smartphones, a product may have the most jaw-dropping features in the world, but until you master a benefits-based approach to your marketing strategy, you’re ignoring one of biggest tools in your sales arsenal.

So how are features and benefits different? Let’s take a closer look:

1) Features are factual statements that describe your product or service.

Since the iPhone 5 was recently released, let’s take a look at three of its new features: faster network speed, an improved camera, and improved speakers.

2) Benefits are what your customer gains from using your product or service.

Think about the new iPhone 5 again and make a second list that explains how each feature will help Apple customers:

I’m sure these benefits aren’t exactly what Apple is marketing to their customers, but you get the point, right?

Marketing with a list of features is an okay digital video strategy, but the “What’s in it for me” sales moment happens when you connect you personalize your products and services and connect them to your customers. Not only will it help them remember your brand, but it will also compel them to make a purchase.

This is where a great video marketing strategy comes in. There’s no better way to explain how a product or service feature will help your customers than by showing exactly how it will impact their lives.

In this product demonstration video for Eco Realty, the company’s core value proposition—the homebuyer has found her dream home using Ecorealty.ca—is revealed in the first five seconds of the video as a hook to keep the viewer watching for the next two minutes.

This video is effective because you see the homebuyer, see her dream property and then learn how to use Eco Realty while also learning what you gain from their services:

If you focus on a features-based approach to your marketing message, you’re leaving it up to your customers to figure our why they want your product or service.

With a benefits-based approach, you are making an emotional connection between your product and your customers as well as focusing your marketing message so it targets the right customer and generates a faster sale.

If you’re interested in learning more about a benefits-based video marketing strategy could benefit your company, please contact us here or at info@steamywindowproductions.com so we can learn more about your project and provide you with a quote.

These three creative strategies have the legs—and stamina—to reach your costumers on both a superficial and psychological depth

So here’s the good news: with an online marketing video, you have two minutes or less to imprint your brand on your customer’s mind. This may not seem very long at first, but when you compare it to a traditional, thirty-second television ad, a good strategy could double or even quadruple the time you have to make a strong, emotional connection with your customers and drive profitable customer action.

Now here’s your challenge: if you don’t deliver your creative ‘punchline’ in the first ten seconds of your video, anywhere from 20 to 40 per cent of your viewers are likely to click away to something else.

This rapid decrease in online audience engagement is called viewer abandonment. A recent study by Visible Measures Corporation suggests that there is “an equal likelihood that viewers will click away within the first 10 seconds of a 30 second clip or a two minute clip.”

Which means there’s still a lot to be said for a great, first impression, right?

Here are three, attention-grabbing content marketing strategies that can hook viewers in ten seconds or less:

1) attractive models doing provocative things (sex)
2) easy-to-understand, highly-sensory and instantly-gratifying humour (situational comedy)
3) baby animals (yes, kittens, puppies, and more puppies)

Sure, there’s no guaranteed recipe for a viral video, but one or a blend of these three strategies almost always deliver one or all of the following: online buzz, an increase in brand exposure and loyalty, and substantial viewer traffic growth.

For an excellent example of the “Sex, Situational Comedy, and Puppies” strategy at work, check out last year’s viral parody by Smartwater (Jennifer Aniston’s “Sex Tape”). This one-off campaign generated an impressive 400,000 views in one day and nearly seven million YouTube hits in its first week.

Scion IQ’s four-part, donut series from earlier this year skillfully blends another digital video strategy we discussed in a blog post earlier this year.

This is one of the best online video marketing campaigns we’ve seen this year. It really illustrates how brands can build brand awareness and brand loyalty using a “sex sells” strategy thanks to a more-than-meets-the-eye creative punchline.

On its most superficial level, this video features attractive models eating donuts and spilling milk all over themselves in a Scion (suggestive content, situational comedy).

On a deeper, more complex level, the models are eating donuts while driving donuts (clever product demo). Another video in the series features police officers eating donuts while driving donuts (a spoof on a classic stereotype). This extra layer of metaphorical complexity is what makes Scion’s online video marketing campaign so fresh and memorable.

If you’re interested in learning more about how capturing your audience in ten seconds or less could benefit your company, please contact us here or at info@steamywindowproductions.com so we can learn more about your project needs and provide you with a quote.

(Blog by Sean Horlor and Steve Adams)

An online video marketing strategy guide we wrote for Techvibes was released today. It explores creative strategies for online marketing campaigns and uses some of our favourite online videos to illustrate our points. We are covering these topics in greater depth here on the Steamy Window blog, so check back for updates. Thanks to Rob Lewis and his team for sharing our thoughts with companies across Canada.

From computer software and smartphones to furniture purchases or buying a new pair of shoes, “try it before you buy it” isn’t just common sense, it’s a way-of-life for most shoppers

Let’s face it. No one likes to spend money on an item or service that turns out to be something completely different than what was promised or presented at the time of purchase. Whether you’re booking an overseas vacation or buying a new mobile phone application, most shoppers now expect to see what they’re getting for their money and digital video is one of the best ways to convert an online lead into a sale.

A recent case study by Internet Retailer found that “customers who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than people who don’t view videos.” This is why businesses that use video to connect to their customers often see a massive return on investment for marketing dollars spent.

We’re sure you’ve seen or heard of at least one of the videos from Blendtec’s Will It Blend? campaign. If you haven’t, here is one of our favourites:

Launched in 2007, the video series, starring Blendtec CEO Tom Dickson, put a quirky and memorable human face to a blender company. It also helped position the brand as a fun, intertextual, online trendsetter.

Time after time, these videos prove that Blendtec blenders are so powerful that they can blend iPads, Justin Bieber merchandise, and Nike shoes. More importantly, these videos also transformed the company’s bottom line.

By 2009, Blendtec retail sales had increased by a reported 700 per cent over the course of a three-year campaign. And as of May 2012, the 119 videos featured on Blendtec’s YouTube channel have generated over 190 million views–incredible numbers for any type of viral success.

Whether you’re an emerging startup or an established corporation, online product demonstration videos are an incredible sales and brand awareness tool. YouTube is now the second largest search engine after Google and a carefully-planned video campaign has the potential to be shared by hundreds of millions of people.

If you’re interested in learning more about how a product demonstration videos could benefit your company, please contact us here or at info@steamywindowproductions.com so we can learn more about your project needs and provide you with a quote.

(Blog by Sean Horlor and Steve Adams)

Consumers are more likely to trust and do business with a company with whom they can identify

Whether you’re a new startup trying to build brand awareness or an established corporation looking to acquire new customers, putting a face to your company is one of the best ways to create memorable and effective online video marketing campaign.

Creating a mascot or establishing a new spokesperson or brand ambassador is something all businesses should consider.

When I drive past a McDonalds, the first thing that comes to mind isn’t hamburgers: it’s a giant red-haired clown. For me, the most memorable brands and campaigns almost always involve a person or mascot. From Mr. Clean and Aunt Jemima to the Lucky Charms leprechaun and the “Where’s the Beef?” lady, humanizing your company (when done strategically) can create the kind brand recognition and customer loyalty that lasts a lifetime.

The same principles are now being applied to online digital marketing campaigns as well. The massive success of Old Spice’s “The Man You Could Smell Like” campaign is a testament to the power of putting a face (or faces) to your company/customers. On a smaller/niche level, this quirky, wine industry-specific campaign by Gundlach Bundschu is an excellent example of the power of personification and giving a human face to an object or product.

A story we often tell new clients involves Airbnb.com. Back when the company launched in 2007, a close friend and colleague of mine in San Francisco recommended I try Airbnb on our next vacation or work trip. When considering that 90 per cent of online consumers trust recommendations from people they know (Econsultancy, July 2009, Erik Qualman, Socialnomics), my friend’s recommendation was excellent word-of-mouth for an early-stage tech startup.

At the time, a quick look at their site left me uninterested – which goes to show that no matter how impressive the product or service, compelling branding will almost always generate sales.

Four years later, it was their landing page video that converted me into an customer:

In this case: an online video campaign surpassed a close friend/tech industry expert’s personal recommendation. During the first six months of its launch, the video helped increase Airbnb’s nights booked to two million units. Since launching in 2011, the video has also garnered an impressive 1.3M views online.

What makes it so effective?

1) It features a knowledgeable, relatable, and believable host (good casting)
2) It explores the benefit of using Airbnb (emotional impact, convenience, customer experience) rather than the solely focusing on the technical features of the site
3) It allows the viewer to experience Airbnb (putting the host in typical Airbnb scenarios) before making a purchase–a concept which is expanded on in later videos by Airbnb.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to use digital video to add value to your brand, please contact us here or at info@steamywindowproductions.com so we can learn more about your project needs and provide you with a quote.