Increasing conversion rates even by a small percent can have a huge impact on sales.
The talk is normally about all lead generation… but as any good marketer knows, Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is where the gold is.
Lots of small incremental changes have a compounding effect, and a 5-10% increase in conversions from one channel to the next can create dramatic increases in the final output.
Furthermore, there’s no point spending all of your time and energy on lead generation if leads continue to fall out of the funnel and resist moving through your sales cycle.
Conversion rate optimisation is about maximising results, while expending as little energy (or budget) as possible.
Where are the opportunities to increase conversion?
With that in mind, where can we find these opportunities to increase conversion rates in the sales funnel? And how can you leverage video marketing to increase your conversion rates?
Increase web traffic
How are you driving traffic back to your site? We know that by using short snippets of informational and educational video blogs as teaser content, you can direct traffic back to a specific blog post which hosts the main video – giving you a new group of website users who are ready to take the next step to conversion.
Furthermore, you can use video ads to drive traffic to specific landing pages. YouTube advertising is brilliant for this, and will significantly increase your web traffic if you have the right video ad and offer to capture attention and push that conversion.
Increase sign ups
Increasing sign ups for email newsletters, or downloadable lead magnets like audits, guides and reports, is a crucial tactic for marketers looking to nurture leads over a longer period of time.
We have seen 2 video strategies that work incredibly well in this setting; the first is testimonial videos. This social proof helps to convert visitors to sign up because the videos increase trust, remove doubt and give the feeling of reduced risk.
The second strategy is the process video. Simply outlining the process of what the visitor can expect after signing up, and/or how to sign up, will increase your conversion rates by demystifying the process. Most of the friction present in the buying journey is caused by the ‘unknown’. Illuminate the pathway for your prospect and increase that conversion rate.
Increase open rates
Including a video in your email, and letting your reader know it’s there by using the word ‘video’ in the subject line, can increase open rates by up to 19%! [ref]. Make the video relevant, helpful and short. This is another way of driving traffic to your website, too.
Increase CTR
Whether you’re measuring the clickthrough rate of an email or on an advert, using video can increase your percentages. In an email, use an animated video thumbnail where possible – this is a great way of enticing the viewer to see more. In an advert, include a compelling offer. In both cases, get to the point immediately! Don’t waste time opening up with a nice drone shot or shot of your logo. Show the goods straight away or you’ll have a bored audience and an increased bounce rate.
Increase contact rates
Including a personalised video can increase conversion rates by increasing the contact and open rates of cold or old leads. Using a friendly, short, personal video to reach out to prospects can humanise both your brand and your communications. Adding a face to the communications makes it more likely that the receiver will connect with what’s being said, as thus more likely to respond – it puts your business in a good professional light, too.
Where do you start?
So what’s next? Well, to make the most of the video’s innate power to enhance your conversion rate, you’re going to need to analyse the current conversion rate at each step of you sales cycle.
From ad clicks, to web page views, to email sign ups, email opens and content downloads, track the proportion of people who made the jump from one step to the next, then see which jumps could do with a boost.
Next, you’re going to need a video! Once you’ve identified the points in your sales cycle that need a helping hand, get in touch with us and we can think up a smart, strategic video that will turn your marketing funnel into a well-oiled led machine.
