Wednesday 13 August 2014

Generate Leads With Video Marketing


Do you want to attract high-quality leads with social media?
Many business owners see a drop-off in new leads because they stop thinking strategically about conversions.
One way to enhance your social media marketing is to create a short, shareable social video—and implement a strategic “mini-campaign” around it to drive opt-ins.
In this article I’ll show 3 ways to supercharge your social media marketing with video.

#1: Create a Short Social Video

Converting social media fans into actual customers starts with getting fans off your social platforms and onto your email list.
First, you must move your fans from FacebookTwitterYouTube and Pinterestonto your landing page.
Use a short social video. Videos are quick, they’re visual, they’re personal, they work like gangbusters across multiple platforms and they’re very share-worthy!


Here’s an example.
To get the most out of your lead generation video, stick to a short script—2 minutes or less. Try this simple formula:
  • Get real. Start with a greeting that’s true to your personality and your brand. Be brief, but be real. And engage viewers quickly with a fun question or a thought-provoking statement.
  • Get their attention with your content giveaway. Think premium—ebooks, cheat sheets, book chapters, etc. Use storytelling techniques like sharing a personal anecdote or client story to KEEP their attention.
  • Get specific. What are 3-5 reasons that your fan simply cannot miss out on this giveaway? Lay them out, step by step. Always ask: “What’s in it for them?”
  • End on a clear call to action. Just one! And take care not to make your CTA platform-specific. You’ll use this on multiple social media channels.
Hint: Outline your script in advance so you’re comfortable ad-libbing on production day.

#2: Plan a Social Media “Mini-Campaign”

A mini-campaign on social media is exactly what it sounds like: a planned marketing effort across several different social media channels for a short period of time.
A few pointers on laying out yours for the best, most consistent results:
  • Use a theme to unite ALL of your content. For example, HGTV focuses oneye-catching photos and valuable blog posts showing off architectural touches to support their “Dream Home” giveaway. 
    dream homeCreate a theme around your promotion by using blog posts, images and videos as value-added content.
  • Prepare your irresistible offer (ebook, 3-part video series, teleclass, etc.) that solves one of your fans’ biggest pain points.
  • Create a professional landing page outlining benefits—the same benefits you highlighted in your video. Here’s an example of one I used: 
    spotlight the benefitsFor each of my webinars, I always spotlight the benefits so my followers know what’s in it for them.
Next, you’ll want to plan an editorial calendar with two types of supporting content:
1. Indirect Content (a.k.a. value-added, “barrier-free” content)
Indirect content is all about building trust, so that when you do ask for a name and an email on your opt-in page, fans have already had a good experience with your free content—and eagerly want more!
Examples: This is the kind of content you’re already creating weekly: blog posts, short teaching videos, images for Facebook and Pinterest, etc. During your mini-campaign,craft content that keeps your theme top of mind.
For example, HGTV uses this strategy by posting helpful content that easily ties to their “Dream Home” giveaway:
hgtv how to postsHGTV uses valuable “how-to” posts on their social media sites that do not directly highlight their “Dream Home” contest (to avoid over-promotion), but the posts always complement the “Dream Home” promotional posts.
2. Premium or Direct Content
Here’s where your lead generating video comes into play. Regularly post direct opportunities for your fans to sign up for your offer, using your video as the teaser.
Examples: Images, status updates and tweets work best when thematically tied together and implemented over a short time period. Fourteen days works great!

#3: Leverage Your Video Across Multiple Social Channels

With your video—and plan—in hand, it’s time to identify how you’re going to maximize its shareability and drive traffic to your landing page.
Here are a few specific ways to promote your video on the big four platforms:
YouTube
First things first: upload your video to YouTube and optimize it with a URL (in the description), a great title and a clear call to action. Also, consider adding a video overlay that links to your landing page for extra traction. These are basically clickable banner ads.
include call to actionMake sure to include a call to action and link in the description box.
Facebook
Share your video in a status update with a clear call to action. Then you can push additional traffic to it using Promoted Posts (set these up right on your post) and Page Post Ads (which also appear in the right-hand column and can be targeted to non-fans too).
Hint: With 60% of Facebook users now accessing Facebook from a mobile device, learn how to set up mobile-only ads in the Power Editor as well.
Twitter
Twitter is a platform we don’t associate strongly with video yet. So tweet your YouTube link (along with a link to your opt-in page) and stand out from the crowd!
Bonus: YouTube videos display right on Twitter.com; no click-through is needed.
video capabilities on twitterTo stand out from all of the noise, take advantage of the video capabilities on Twitter.
Pinterest
Adding YouTube videos to Pinterest is a great way to spark shares. Whenever someone comes across your pinned video, the PLAY button is featured over the image, so it stands apart from all of the static images around it.
Remember: Fill in your pin’s description with a URL and call to action.
pinterest videoMany people don’t know that you can pin your videos and that they play inside the Pinterest platform. Yet another place to spread the word!
Making Your Mini-Campaign a Success
Armed with a quarterly strategic plan and premium content (your video, your giveaway, plus all the indirect content that supports both), you can convert fans into quality leads and eventually, loyal customers.
And you can continue to do so all year by focusing on new campaigns, themes and content, giving structure (and measurability) to your editorial calendar.
Now it’s your turn. What’s one list-building tip that should be part of every “mini-campaign”? Share your experience in the comment box below.

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