Video Tactics to Generate Qualified Leads

Video Tactics to Generate Qualified Leads

Reading Time: 5 minutes

It has never been more important to leverage the power of video. Videos take up more than 82% of online content. Consumers are 90% more likely to watch a video on a product than read about it, and are  significantly more likely to convert because of a video on social media. And then there’s the SEO benefits of including video on your website as well.  

Simply put, no longer can we look at brands who use video enviously yet helplessly. We have to figure out a way to make video if we want to survive. Take a videography class – Hire a freelancer if that’s what it takes. Every brand needs video content.

But you’re no award-winning film producer. And honestly, you don’t care to be. All you want to do is generate more qualified leads for your business.

The good news is, you don’t need to turn your office into a Hollywood Studio to take advantage of video content that generates leads. These five simple tactics can increase your brand reach and awareness without taking too much time away from what you do best.

1. Introduce Your Team

It’s okay to be human. More than ever, our customers want to learn about who we are as people – even see what our daily lives look like. Authenticity is still a trend, so why not just be you? You know those team members you have who do a lot of work behind the scenes, but rarely get noticed? Feature them on your social media accounts – get them on camera talking about why they love their job, sure, but also their families, dogs, favorite hockey team, whatever – have fun with it!

Do you really think another call or email reminding them who you are will push them over the edge and into conversion? Maybe, or it might push them over the edge into the “I’ve had enough of you” stage.  Social media account takeovers are great ways to incorporate content featuring your employees. Remember, stories and reels are especially effective here. A good rule of thumb to remember is that if you’re enjoying creating it – your audience will most likely enjoy watching it.

You do need to be sure to not take this strategy too far, of course. Sound marketing practices remind us that talking about ourselves is not always content our audience will care about. After all, we need to provide value to consumers. However, touching a little on the human side with introduction and employee spotlight videos are a good supplement to your everyday content. They bring the human side out a little, and we all love to see that.

 

2. Personalized Lead Generation

You’re relentlessly chasing your hot leads – convert them with personalized videos! You know you’re close with a lead – they’re very interested…. but they’re dragging their feet. Sound familiar?

Personalized videos are a great way to convert a lead who is near the bottom of the sales funnel. It doesn’t have to take an overwhelming amount of time or effort, and we suggest you have a template of sorts already saved. Provide a value proposition, present your pitch in a condensed way that forms a brief video, and begin to show why what you’re providing will work.

Sending a video that your lead knows was created specifically for them will absolutely get their attention in the midst of the constant stream of marketing calls and emails their getting daily.

3. User Generated Content

It sounds too good to be true for marketers who don’t want to spend a lot of time creating video. Video that’s created for you – it’s as simple as that!

User Generated Content is extremely shareable on social media. It is also minimal time and effort on your end. Focusing your social media strategy on sharing content rather than creating it is one way to engage with other social media users as well as keep your feeds fresh and interesting.

There’s a fine line here. You don’t want to just share everything and not have any content unique to your brand. However, what you can do it put others to work FOR your brand.

One of the best ways to do this is to solicit testimonial videos. Much like you ask for Google Reviews, identify some of your most satisfied clients and ask them to record a quick (doesn’t have to be longer than 20-30 seconds) testimonial video on their phone. Take that video, place some branding over it such as your logo or other information, and there you go! An efficient way to leverage your clients to create content for you that is also original to you.

4. Record Video at Every Company Gathering

Similar to our first tactic, giving your brand a personality and identity also scores you points in the authenticity game. Another simple way to take advantage of this trend is to record video at every office event. Having a company party? Doing community service together? It all brands you as a fun loving, giving company. (Within reason of course – don’t share anything that won’t make you proud of who you are or is off brand)

The benefits here include not only company branding but also saving your time and effort. You’re having the party anyway, so there’s no set up. If you don’t have the equipment or don’t feel proficient recording video on your phone, take some pictures and make a slideshow at the very least.

Don’t let another company event go by without taking advantage of the postable moments.

5. Link Everything Together

Videos don’t ultimately put money in your pocket. (Unless that’s your business, of course) However, a video is an engine to the next step in the funnel. So, make it as easy for your viewer as possible.

One effective way to do this is by placing a clickable link in your lead generation or pitch video to your sales rep’s calendar. While you cannot embed clickable links in .MOV or .MP4 files, you can through YouTube or on your social media channels.

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Events to Include in your Q1 Social Media Content Calendar

Events to Include in your Q1 Social Media Content Calendar

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Struggling to fill the gaps in your content calendar? Well, allow this complimentary Q1 content calendar to act as a foundation for all of your social media platforms. From here you’ll need to think about how you can highlight your company’s values and assets. This might mean featuring your employees on your pages, shouting out their birthdays, work anniversaries, or even an appreciation post for the people who go that much farther for you. Another great way to fill the gaps is featuring your best clients by highlighting them in your stories, reposting their testimonials, and sharing their products and services! Finally, if you’re holding or attending events, conferences, or meetings make sure to snap a photo to post on your social accounts; your followers and clients like to be updated and see that you’re networking and learning. And remember to include relevant hashtags in your posts to drive more traffic from profiles not yet following you.

January 2023 

  • January 1: New Year’s Day 
  • January 4: National Trivia Day 
  • January 10: Clean Off Your Desk Day 
  • January 15: National Hat Day 
  • January 17: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 
  • January 20: Get to Know Your Customers Day 
  • January 24: National Compliment Day 
  • January 24: Manager Appreciation Day 
  • January 25: Opposite Day 
  • January 28: Data Privacy Day 

February 2023 

  • February 1 – 28: Black History Month
  • February 1: Chinese New Year 
  • February 2: Groundhog Day 
  • February 4: World Cancer Day
  • February 8: Safer Internet Day 
  • February 9: National Pizza Day 
  • February 13: Super Bowl LV 
  • February 14: Valentine’s Day 
  • February 17: Random Acts of Kindness Day 
  • February 18: National Battery Day 
  • February 20: World Day of Social Justice 
  • February 20: Love Your Pet Day 
  • February 21: Presidents Day

March 2023 

  • March 1: Mardi Gras 
  • March 2: National Read Across America Day 
  • March 4: National Employee Appreciation Day 
  • March 4: National Day of Unplugging
  • March 8: International Women’s Day 
  • March 12: National Girl Scout Day 
  • March 14: Pi Day 
  • March 13: Daylight Savings 
  • March 17: St. Patrick’s Day 
  • March 19: National Let’s Laugh Day 
  • March 20: International Day of Happiness 
  • March 20: First Day of Spring 
  • March 26: National Purple Day

If you don’t have the time or patience for social media let YPC Media handle your posts! We offer custom and automated social media strategies with enhanced targeting options for multi-platform campaigns. And the best part is that all of our specialists are Facebook Blueprint Certified so you can trust your social media accounts with us!

How Listening to Podcasts Can Improve Your Business

How Listening to Podcasts Can Improve Your Business

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A lot of people are skeptical about listening to podcasts because they assume that they’re boring or that they’re too similar to audio books. Well, they couldn’t be any more wrong! Listening to podcasts is one of the more productive forms of learning about a new skill, what’s going on in the world, how your favorite celebrities live their lives, and even what changes are happening in your industry. Not to mention, most podcasts give you the information you’re looking for while also providing you with a mental break. Podcasts are really just a way for you to listen to other people joke around or share experiences.

So next time you’re in the car, cleaning your house, or going on a walk, skip the music and throw on a podcast. Included below are some of the best marketing podcasts, all of which are sprinkled with humor and tips on productivity! 

Give them a try, I promise they won’t disappoint!

The Harvard Business Review IdeaCast is a reliable source for advice and opinions for professionals in any business role. In this podcast, they discuss strategy, business philosophy, personal motivation, growth, marketing, and many other topics that entrepreneurs, managers, and CEO’s should always be thinking about. Not to mention, they sit down with some of the biggest and most successful names in the industry to share their business and life tips!

This podcast gets down to what it takes to get your business seen by potential customers. Duct Tape Marketing covers everything from branding, creating content, how to implement mobile targeting strategies, and even what landing pages are and how they can help you generate sales. If you want to grow your business using the same marketing techniques as some of the top practitioners in modern marketing this podcast is for you. There’s really only one obstacle that stops most people from becoming a great marketer, and that’s lack of knowledge. Marketing is about learning from experimentation, and this podcast will help you discover and understand the different techniques and approaches for your business.

A weekly podcast, where hosts, Natalie and Alex, walk you through one task to get done for your business that week. From updating your website to handling taxes and finances, getting your marketing in order to taking care of yourself as a business owner. One challenge a week? Perfect, because who needs to add more than one item to your already never ending to-do list as a small business owner.

This is a regularly published podcast featuring the wit and banter of Jim Hedger and Dave Davies. Webcology gets you up to date with the latest and most interesting developments in SEO and also features the industry’s best guests. Both Jim and Dave are industry veterans with years and years of experience.

Social Media Examiner offers two weekly audio podcasts and a weekly live video talk show to help boost your marketing skills and keep you up-to-date with the ever-changing world of social media. What changes should you expect from META this week? When and what should you be posting? What is the best platform for you? Social Media Marketing will answer it all.

How to Generate Reviews for Your Business!

How to Generate Reviews for Your Business!

Reading Time: 3 minutes

What is the first thing you do when you are looking into a new service, searching for a restaurant, or even applying for a job? You look at reviews, more specifically you look at Google Reviews. As a business owner, this is something you should be taking into consideration because you’re going to want to be the first name that pops up when potential clients search for you, and it will prove to be beneficial if you have an impressive number of 5-star reviews backing up your reputation! 

So, whether you’re just starting out or you’re a 25-year veteran in your industry, realizing the importance of your Google reputation should be a priority. Here are four steps to ensure that your business is being found, getting noticed, and generating leads. 

Step #1: Make sure that you are providing your clients with good and consistent work 

The first step to generate good reviews for your business is by ensuring that you and your employees are delivering both good and consistent products and services. But your business is about so much more than what you’re selling. These days, making an impression on customers means being personable, staying reachable, and communicating transparently. This will ensure long-term loyal customers, which   

Step #2: Set up your Google profiles and claim ownership of your business 

Is there already a Google Business profile that’s associated with your business, but you had nothing to do with creating it? Well, don’t worry, this happens a lot. People often do this to help businesses in their area, but it can often lead to inaccuracies on your business profile. So, the first step to reclaiming your business is to search for your business on Google and click “Claim this business.” From there, click “Manage now” and then “I own or manage another business.” It will then ask you to choose a verification option, and once you do follow the on-screen steps. Nowadays this usually involves submitting photos of your business’ physical location and receiving verification codes through the mail from Google. 

This may seem like a lengthy process, but it is a crucial step in ensuring your business is not only an accurate representation of you but also successful! 

Step #3: Identify you best and most loyal customers and ask them to leave you a review 

With Google reviews, you must remind yourself that even when doing your best not everyone you’ve done business with will be the best candidate to give you a 5-star review. So be selective about who you ask because it’s better to have 5 really good reviews than 10 average reviews. Also try to focus on those who not only had a good experience with you and your business, but those who’ll remember your name! 

For some of you reading this, you may be in a more transactional business such as salons, spas, or auto repair shops where you talk face-to-face with your clients all day. This gives you the luxury of being able to ask for a review more casually because you’re likely already engaging in conversation. But for those of you in businesses with longer sales cycles, such as real estate, mortgage, and insurance, you may have to be a bit more strategic in your approach asking for reviews. This may include cold calling, emailing, or briefly asking at the end of a sales call, all of which are acceptable practices if you’re asking the right people and explaining that great clients like them are what help you grow! The best advice is to not be scared and just ask! 

Step #4: From there, take control of your Google Reviews 

The reality of our current business atmosphere is that potential customers are going to decide whether to do business with you based on current customer testimonials that they see online. With this being said, learning how to generate reviews and then taking control of them is crucial. The good news is that YPC Media can walk you through every step of the process!