B2B lead generation has got harder over the years with buyers keen to do their own market research before they engage with any vendors. So getting your story out there and accessible is key. Websites, emails, brochures, webinars are all standards in the mix but what about video?

Well, let's look at the evidence...

100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and it’s not just amazing bike stunts, cute kids and cuddly animals... it's a resource that's being used by more and more time-starved executives to get a quick précis about potential vendors and their products and services. In fact, according to Forbes, 75% of executives watch a business-related video at least weekly. And their study showed that 45% of people under 50 years old had contacted the vendor after watching a video.

Adding a video link within an email can further increase the success of email as a popular lead-generation tool. In a Get Response study of 800,000 customer emails, those containing video received, on average, 5.6% higher open rates and 96.38% higher CTRs than non-video emails. Similarly, video in email can increase click-through rates by as much as three times, according to David Daniels, former principal analyst at Forrester Research and current principal at Relevancy Group.

Why? Curiosity is only a small part of the answer - your audience is mostly too busy to be simply curious.  The fact is that for many subject areas, video and audio are quicker and easier to absorb than text. But there are some dos and don'ts if you want to use video as a sales or lead-generation aid.

1. BE AS PERFECT AS YOU CAN BE

Ums, ahs, fidgeting, tongue-tied presenters are an obvious no-no, but that doesn't mean your video needs to be shot in an expensive studio with lights, music and action. Whether your budget is a home handi-cam or Hollywood, rehearse until it comes naturally perfect to you. And hiring a professional company to create your video needn't be as expensive as you think - a good company will guide you in terms of style, props and other things that will give your presentation some pizazz.

2. DON'T TELL THE WHOLE STORY

Leave them wanting more....and don't forget to them how to get more! In fact you should keep your clip to no more than 120 seconds - 30 to 60 are ideal.

3. USE PROPS

Write on a flip chart, use green screen techniques to mix screen shots or slides with footage of you. Think about TV news programs.  Each news item starts with the headline, gives some content and is often mixed with an interview, a video clip, a live shot or (particularly for financial news) charts and graphs to illustrate the point. It's far removed from the old BBC days of a head shot of a person staring out to camera reading the news in the Queen's English.

4. GET THE DETAIL RIGHT

Edit the video to ensure a smooth start and finish as well as the stuff in the middle. Use your logo throughout and have a clear call to action. Make sure the audio quality is good - whilst a home produced video is easy, the audio is often what lets it down.

Now you have your great video, use it....

5. TEST THE FORMAT

Consider converting to .gif format for videos less than 30 seconds in length as it loads and runs quickly.  Test it in YouTube and on different devices - mobile, iPad and desktop.

6. UPLOAD TO YOUTUBE

And make sure you add the following to help with SEO:

• A text transcript for Google to find
• Keywords in your title and description
• Appropriate content categories

7. DISTRIBUTE THE LINK

Use your LinkedIn groups and other social media channels as well as email to distribute links to your video.

8. CONSIDER AUTOMATED ACTIONS TO FOLLOW UP

You might want to think about a link at the end of the video to a white paper or other valuable document.  But ask them to enter their contact details before giving it away.  Try a link to request a call-back, or a link to a form to sign up to be alerted to future videos.  Send follow-up emails to those who click on the video link in a previous email, asking for feedback or providing more information.

9. MEASURE THE SUCCESS

Contact those who viewed it.  Get feedback to improve future videos as well as chasing up potential leads.

Want to know more?  Contact us to find out how we can help you to improve your success with video communications. Or send us a link to your latest video for a free critique. Call us on 01789 262656 or email: information@intellegentia.co.uk