Video marketing is relatively new and because of this, few business owners have fully harnessed the power of it. It’s partially because it’s still a mystery and no one really knows where to start. We’ve all heard that video is the future. Business owners are saying, “We need videos!” and Their first step is to hire any videographer.

What I find is that they go to Craigslist, they go to Yelp, they ask friends for referrals and they do very little to actually qualify the videographer. It’s like, “Oh good, we reached out to two or three people, “their price works and their stuff looks good “so they’re good to go.”

Now the thing about videographers is that typically videographers don’t want to be videographers, they want to be filmmakers. So they’re focused on their craft. Now when a business owner says, “We need to create tons “of videos, ” They’re going to see this as an opportunity to create the videos that they really want to create. Then, very quickly, the business owner will realize we’ve spent tons of money and achieved very little results.

Now at this point they have a couple of options. Some will sit down with their bookkeeper, CFO and they’re gonna say, “Okay, video does not “have a high ROI, does not return on investment”. “So, we’re gonna quit.” Now some people look at video and they say, “Okay, how can we become strategic about it? “So we’ve been creating all this content, “how can we apply a strategy “to actually make video work for us?” So what’s interesting about this strategic moment in time is the business owner can either own it or the videographer can own it.

So I started as a videographer about four years ago and I found that very quickly, well crap, if I can’t figure out how to get business owners the resultsthat they’re looking for, then all my clients are going to quit and then I have to find new clients. So I became a total nerd for marketing. So I took it upon myself to educate myself
on using video strategy. Now most videographers aren’t going to do this because remember they want to be filmmakers. So I actually think that in order to achieve the results that you want, we need to bridge the gap between videographers and business owners. And the way that we do that is by empowering business owners
and entrepreneurs to understand video strategy. And how to communicate that with their videographer.

So the trick to video marketing is that you choose one strategy and you put your blinders on until you’ve achieved that one strategy. This way you’re actually gonna be making progress and video will be working for you rather than feeling like you’re spinning your wheels and not accomplishing anything. So video can and will work for you, it just takes time.

So in today’s session we’re gonna walk through three video marketing strategies depending on different results that you’re looking to achieve in your business.
But first, we are Element3video and for the last twelve years, we have been running other people’s brands.
We operate a video marketing company here in Sacramento Ca. We’ve created over 2000 videos, we’ve tested hundreds of approaches and really figured out what works.

In addition to running a video marketing company, we recently launched our own YouTube channel where we create weekly tutorials for business owners and entrepreneurs to help get them up to speed on what’s working in video and how to implement it within their business. So we are all about empowering business owners
to leverage the power of video without breaking the bank or taking up tons of their time. We cover everything from DIY video to hiring videographers. So despite your budget, if you have one or you don’t have one, there’s gonna be value on this channel for you. So the reason I’m pointing this out is because we are only gonna be able to cover so much in this 30 article, so just know that there’s a library of knowledge for you
at any point in time. Alright, so let’s dive into the three strategies.

So strategy number one is for those looking to achieve the results of optimizing their website for conversions. If I were to visit your website right now, how long would it take for me to understand what it is that you do? If you aren’t confident in your website’s ability to convey your message, then focusing on fixing this issue should be your number one focus. So if this is speaking to you, then I highly recommend focusing your video efforts on creating the brand video first, followed by testimonial videos.

So the brand video is a video that lives on the homepage of your website, it takes someone from knowing nothing about you to knowing who you are and how to buy.
When you guys come across a video on a website, do you click to watch? You totally do and so does your audience. If you can convey your brand’s message
in a minute and a half to two minute video, then you’re going to see your website conversions increase drastically.

So these are a couple of different examples ranging from services, products and software. Just to show that despite whatever you’re selling, video will work for you.
Some people are going to want to take immediate action after watching your brand video. But some will want to do more research and those are the people that are gonna continue scrolling on your website. So that’s where the testimonials come in. So testimonials really paint the narrative of where your prospect could be if they buy from you. So you’re really selling your future state. And what’s great about this strategy is it only requires one shoot.

So whenever we shoot a brand video, we always do, we include testimonial interviews within that brand video,so all you have to do is repurpose that footage
and then edit it together into individual testimonial videos. So it’s a great affordable way to achieve both of these things with one shoot. Alright so if this is speaking to you, if you feel like oh I do need to focus on website conversions, then your first step is to write your script outline. So one of my first videos was how
to write a promotional video script for your business and it walks through the five step process that I use with all my clients. And just for you guys, while I was creating this article, I was like okay, I could give away my pre-production that I give to all of my clients, it’s like a 45 minute training and so I decided to do that. So literally it’s like a 45 minute training that will walk you through how to do everything and communicate that to your videographer for like what you need your video to include.
Because as a business owner, you’re the only one
that knows what your customers need to know before they buy.
Alright so strategy number two
is for those looking to achieve the result
of building you tribe via organic traffic.
So this might be your strategy if you don’t have a budget
for paid traffic or maybe you’re already doing a lot
of paid traffic and you want
to diversify your traffic sources.
In this case, I want you to focus
on creating “How To” videos.
So similar to blogging, like “How To” content performs best
when actually building an audience
’cause you’re providing value to your audience.
So it’s very similar to content marketing
and I know y’all are big into content marketing,
we’ve been talking about it all day,
but for those of you that aren’t totally aware
of what it is, it’s when you focus on creating content
that brings consistent value to your audience
and then you deliver that through social media
or your newsletter.
So video content is very much the same except for
there’s one differentiator between video and other forms
of content marketing
and that is a platform that is only available
to video creators.
Can anyone guess what it is, just yell it out?
YouTube. (laughs)
Yes.
So think about if your audience,
they’re searching for “How To” things online.
We all search for “How To”s online.
Now if you write an article on a “How To”,
the only reason that people are going to be able
to see that is because they’re on your newsletter,
they follow you on social media.
One way or another, they get sent that content.
Now YouTube.
People think that it’s a social media platform
when in reality it is not a social media platform.
We also think that it’s a platform just for YouTubers
and YouTube has gone a lot farther than that 13-year-old
in their room making makeup tutorials,
which is what we tend to think about it.
The reality is that YouTube
is the second largest search engine
and it’s owned by the first.
So we need to start shifting our perspective
and thinking about YouTube as a search engine.
So going back to that content
to creating an article.
Let’s step back here real quick.
To creating a “How To” article, imagine
if you created a “How To” video on that same topic
that you’ve already written an article about
and now you can get it ranked on the first page
of YouTube, which is significantly easier
than getting your article ranked on the first page
of Google.
So you can kind of see the power there.
Okay, so you might think, okay if I’m a small creator,
then I’m not gonna be able to do this.
But the reality is that YouTube,
unlike other social media platforms, there are rules
that if you follow them, YouTube does reward you.
And it’s, you have to be strategic, you have to know
what you’re doing, but it’s very possible.
So I just started my channel like 17 weeks ago
because I’ve released 17 videos. (laughs)
And I only have like, I started with zero subscribers,
I only have about 350 or something like that
and I’m already ranking on the first page
of YouTube for a couple of these key terms.
So it’s very possible.
And if I can do it, any of you guys can do it.
It’s just about really truly providing value
to your audience.
Okay so if this is speaking to you,
I know this is kind of like a big thing,
I’m not saying oh go create a YouTube channel
and create one video a week.
But there’s like steps to this process.
So if this is interesting to you, the first recommendation
that I have, maybe you’re not ready to take action
and film a video yet, just download the YouTube app
and start following people that you might find interesting
to see how people are interacting with YouTube.
So like what are people creating, what kind of content works
and what doesn’t work.
And then I also have a video for 10 reasons to use YouTube
to grow your brand, so this kind of dives
a little bit deeper into this topic.
And then the first step truly to creating YouTube videos
is keyword research.
So there’s a download that’s all about keyword research
that you guys can get off that video.
And it’s essentially all the keywords that I use,
or all the keyword tools that I use to find these terms
and the same ones that everyone is using
across the industry.
Alright, so that brings us to strategy number three.
So this is for people that are looking
to maximize their paid traffic conversions.
So essentially, sales. You want sales now.
Maybe you’re already running Facebook ads
and you’re killing it and you can optimize it further
by adding video content to your landing pages or video ads.
So there’s more and more ad platforms that are emerging.
So Imgur, even Amazon and Reddit
have ad platforms now.
So there’s more and more content that if you’re focused
on paid traffic and optimizing your paid traffic,
there’s plenty that you can be doing purely
within this one video strategy.
So this is going to be
the most experimental video creation process.
As you guys know, you don’t know what works
until you test it.
So the trick here is to just start creating tons
of content.
So your videographer is going to love you
because you’re not going to inhibit their creative process,
it’s just gonna be, “Hey, let’s start creating
“as many ads as possible and let’s just start testing.”
So you want to focus on creating multiple ads
to test to see what works.
And then also you want to focus on no sound needed ads.
Basically 80% of people on Facebook aren’t actually clicking
to listen to the audio of a video, they’re just watching it.
So it’s super important to be able to get your message
across visually so text is going to be massive
in these videos.
So motion graphics, you’ll want to insure
that you have a budget for motion graphics as well.
The first step if this is speaking to you for your strategy
is to really focus on Your sales funnel
as you probably already are and then communicate that.
Like take some time to sit your videographer down
and be like, “This is what the sales funnel looks like.
“This is the action that I want someone to take
“at every single section.”
And then from there create a video
that inspires that one action.
So you really want to start forming a relationship
with the videographer.
These two videos walk through the strategy
that I personally use to find talent here in Austin
to hire for my own video marketing company.
And I have some pretty high requirements
for people to work with me.
So I basically broke those down in these videos
so you can basically steal my strategy
and find a videographer using these, too.
And then I’m definitely gonna be creating more videos
in the future, breaking down different ads,
why they work so if you’re interested in that,
just follow along for that.
Alright, so let’s do a quick recap and then I want
to get kind of a feel for what stands out to you guys
in terms of strategy.
And depending on how much time we have, let’s see.
That’s not my phone, that’s the mic.
Okay we have not very much time, but enough.
If you don’t know what strategy you should do,
then I’m happy to answer any questions.
So the first strategy is to optimize your website.
And you’re gonna focus on brand video and testimonials.
Then the second strategy is to build your tribe
and you’ll focus on “How To” content.
And then the third strategy is to maximize paid traffic
and you want to focus
on creating several no sound needed ads.
So who feels like, well first off,
if you were a business owner this applies,
but it also applies if you have a side hustle.
So think about it that way, too.
So who in this room feels like strategy number one
would be their pick?
Awesome, okay cool.
And then strategy number two?
Nice.
And then strategy number three?
Okay, cool, so actually surprised, I had a feeling
that you guys would navigate towards strategy number two
being content marketers.
Alright so now we can open it up to any questions
that you guys have.
– [Man] I’m doing a podcast.
Okay I have a sentence three three going in my corn.
So why do I need a video? Tell me.
– Yep.
So I actually have started working with a lot of people
that have podcasts and the thing about podcasts
is depending on, like I am a big podcaster.
I love listening to podcasts.
But sometimes if I start falling off listening to a podcast,
if I got an email with a video from that same person
that I follow and now they have a video instead
of a podcast, it’s kind of a pattern interrupt.
So if I’ve fallen off of listening to the podcast,
I can now watch that video and reengage with that brand
and maybe even get back to the podcast.
And it’s an opportunity for people to find you,
cold traffic to find you.
So your podcast is very similar
to writing a “How To” article
in that the only people really listening to it
are the people that you are personally driving traffic to
or word of mouth referrals.
But if you can create a video that drives people
to your podcast, that is a new traffic strategy for you.
– So I’m working out, we have a company
which is spun off a second company for a product
in working technology.
So literally we’re giving educations for people
that don’t know what it is.
We’re off doing differentiation from companies
like Microsoft and Intel.
So what is a more important strategy there?
Brand recognition, which because there’s Microsoft
and Intel obviously not gonna win here.
Or really kind of doing content to educate coins?
– Do you tend to have a long sales cycle?
(sighs)
Like does it take a long time to get that yes?
– [Woman] At this point, yes.
I mean we’re still relatively early in that process.
– Yeah, yeah.
So I find that “How To” content,
when you have a long sales cycle,
because they’re having a hard time grasping
why they should go with your brand rather
than these big companies, if you have something
that is giving them “How To” answers that they need
and the other companies aren’t giving that to them
and while doing that process they’re getting a slow drip
into your process, then that’s gonna really make that,
it’s gonna shorten that sales cycle significantly.
(object falls)
(laughs)
– [Woman] That sounds really good.
– Yeah.
– [Person] Short of promotional costs,
what kind of budget would a small business need
to really get going and to begin to see some traction?
– Totally, so I’m really big into DIY videos.
So I think you should get started.
Any video is better than no video.
So depending on, when you say small business,
is it a one person business, is it like 10 people?
What’s your product?
– [Person] Most of my clients are going to be prior run.
Some they have a small stack, under a million dollars
or just over it a year in sales.
‘Cause as I’m hearing you talk about testimonials
and do it yourself and I have a vet client
that’s really struggling to stay alive
and running out of money to spend.
– Yep.
– [Person] With phenomenal products.
– Yeah and probably great testimonials.
– [Person] I’m wondering if there’s an easy
to use platform a smart man,
but obviously not a videographer person,
so is there any easy to use tools that let him pull
that together?
‘Cause I think he actually has enough great content
from his customers, for example, crate.
Something that’s got images and testimonials
that would promote his product.
– Totally.
So the thing with DIY videos, you have to look at,
does it makes sense for the business owner
to be spending their time doing video?
No matter how good you are with video,
it takes a lot of time.
So does it make sense for him to learn how to do editing
or should he maybe start outsourcing?
So I’m a big fan of outsourcing video editing.
You can pay $7 an hour to someone in the Philippines,
no joke.
You need processes for it and you need to be able
to depict your message to be able to have them do a good job
but that’s definitely a possibility.
“Hey, we have this testimonial, here’s a couple pictures
“that they have.
“Could you add some text
“and make it an interacting customer testimonial video?”
That’s plenty.
But also, if they just record a video of themselves talking
on selfie mode, upload that to your site.
Like that’s all you need.
So you can definitely…
– [Person] Well yeah, he probably won’t do that
because it’s mail order company with product
that primarily deals with women.
So he actually authors his articles under his wife’s name.
– Well he doesn’t have to be in the video
(audience laughs)
but his customers can record the videos of themselves
and send it to him, yeah.
Go ahead.
– [Woman] Is there a YouTube app search engine,
if YouTube’s sophisticated enough to understand the content
of the actual video outside the title and the search in
and would you suggest a transcript or is that old school?
– Not old school at all.
So if you’re looking to rank your videos,
like just as important as your title and the description
and your tags, is the transcription.
So there’s a company called Rev.com
and you just pay $1 per minute
and it’ll automatically send the subtitles back to YouTube.
But YouTube uses your transcript to index your video
to make sure that what you’re talking about actually fits.
Like they want relevant content for their audience.
So if your video, if it’s how to write a promotional script
and in the video I talk about promotional scripts,
promotional video scripts, small business, entrepreneur,
then I can use those tags
and those tags will mean a lot more.
So definitely really important to do that.
Awesome.
Well thanks guys for having me if there’s no more questions.
Appreciate it.
(audience applauds)