Digital Marketing with Video for Industrial Manufacturers

Let’s face it: industrial manufacturers have had a harder time generating leads and new customers as competition has increased.

Digital marketing with video content can set your industrial sales and marketing apart from the rest and attract your target personas. The industrial manufacturers that are using video in their digital marketing have seen incredible results.

What we’re going to share with you today is a proven digital marketing formula on video for industrial companies. These videos should help attract, engage, and convert more leads.

IS VIDEO REALLY THAT IMPORTANT FOR INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES?

Video is powerful within the manufacturing industry in general because it helps achieve three primary goals that must be achieved in order to win over a new customer:

• Builds Trust
• Influences the Prospect’s Decisions
• Accelerates the Client Relationship

We have found that there are three main reasons people make decisions on who they want to work with. People want to know, like and trust the people from whom they are purchasing.

Think back to the last time you paid someone for their products or services. Odds are you knew them (or someone you know recommended them), you liked something about them, and you trusted them with your cold, hard, cash.

Why people watch video:

• Almost 50% of your brain is involved in visual processing. (Human Anatomy & Physiology 7th Edition)
• We can get the sense of a visual scene in less than 1/10 of a second. (Human Anatomy & Physiology 7th Edition)
• 67% of the audience were persuaded by the verbal presentation that had accompanying visuals. (Effectiveness of Visual Language)

FIVE ESSENTIAL VIDEOS EVERY MANUFACTURER NEEDS

When it comes to video for industrial manufacturers, there are five kinds in particular that you need in order to grow your sales pipeline. Each of these videos serves a specific purpose in attracting clients, engaging clients into becoming leads, and converting those leads into customers.

Some of the videos will have a certain amount of overlap in what they are helping you achieve with their video marketing efforts. They are in order of importance so you can priorities your production of each type.

1. Industrial Manufacturer Overview Video

People that are being introduced to your company for the first time need to know the reason why you exist. They want to know why you do what you do. Overview videos help you tell that story. Why?

Stories are how we connect with people. They transform mundane actions or experiences into something meaningful.

Videos help you tell your story in the best way possible. The prospect can see you on-screen, speaking to them. They can feel the passion you have for helping your customers achieve their goals through your products and related services.

What to include in your industrial overview video:

• Why your company does what it does.
• Tell stories from working with customers.
• Explain why the way your company does things are better.
• Give a brief history (super brief) of your company.
• Call to action – tell them why they need to contact you.

Tell a story for the best results. Remember, this video is not your sales pitch! This is an introduction to your company.

2. Customer Testimonial Videos

Did you know that 79% of consumers trust online reviews and testimonials? The same is for people tasked with B2B purchasing.

Customer testimonial videos leverage the hard work that your firm has done to have satisfied clients. Now you give the opportunity for your prospects to hear first hand from your current or past customers.

Here’s what you should ask your customers to talk about in customer testimonial videos:

• Why they recommend your company.
• What their experience was like working with you and your team.
• What were the results with your products and services applied.
• How likely they are to recommend your products and services to family, friends, and colleagues.

When this type of video is used within your sales process and in conjunction with your other premium content, it can dramatically improve conversion rates.

3. Landing Page Videos

There’s a reason why manufacturers with excellent conversion rates on their websites use landing page videos.

Sometimes called welcome videos or call-to-action videos, these videos are content created specifically to make people take action. The action that we want them to take on your website is to convert into a lead by completing a form or making a phone call.

When the visitor first arrives on your website, there is a very short period of time that they will stick around before they leave. That time is typically less than 6 seconds. That means that within the first 5 seconds, you need to engage them in a meaningful way. Using videos that automatically play are sometimes annoying, but they are highly effective.

What you need in your landing page videos:

• Introduce yourself or your company.
• Explain what they will find on this page.
• Tell them why they should be interested in your product/service or the content on that page.
• Tell them what to do at the end of the video (your call-to-action).

If you use autoplay on the video, ensure that the stop controls are available. These videos can vary in length from a short 30 seconds or even as long as 5 minutes. It’s best to try and keep it on the 1-2 minute range, though.

4. Educational Video Content

One of the most effective ways to build trust is to educate. When you are teaching someone or answering their questions, they view you as an authority on that subject. It has a powerful psychological effect on the person without them even realizing it.

One of my favorite moments was listening to someone share what I taught them in a video with someone else. That’s the kind of effect that you and your company can have on people.

Educational videos serve several purposes. First, they are content that is out on the internet which will attract visitors to your website. The content will answer a prospect’s questions enough for them to take the next step and contact you. As mentioned previously, these videos are relationship accelerators and can significantly influence the prospects decisions.

How to create educational video content:

• Answer the common questions that your prospects ask when you conduct free 30-minute consultations.
• Have a list of topics that you need to cover.
• Be specific. It’s better to have a short video that talks about one topic than a long video that covers several topics.
• Film two takes for each single topic if you answer the questions on the fly and do not read from a teleprompter. That way, you have backup in case there was a mistake.
• Reference other videos that you have filmed that go into detail about topics related to the video you’re filming at that moment.
• If you’re going to mention statistics, make sure you have the reference where you got those numbers.

Once you’ve created this video content, you’ll want to publish these videos on your blog. These are great pieces of video content that can be shared on social media channels, too.

You can even use these videos as part of your follow up strategy with prospects. For instance, if the prospect becomes a lead, you can send them additional videos related to the topics that they have previously viewed. Getting this data is possible when you use a marketing platform like HubSpot in conjunction with your video hosting platform like Wistia or Vidyard.

5. Industrial Case Study Videos

Prospects want to see that your products delivered results for your customers.

There are a lot of similarities between testimonial videos and cast study videos. The major difference is that a case study video is about one client in particular. In testimonials, your client tells the story: in case studies, you might be the storyteller, even though you’re focusing on the experience your client had.

When your firm is directed by a customer to resolve or prevent a problem, that gives your company the opportunity to deliver an amazing experience. Case study videos can help set your company apart from the rest and showcase your expertise. These videos have a great effect on how people make their final decisions on purchases.

What you need in your case study videos:

• The problem that your product solved.
• The challenges that your company faced in order to solve the problem.
• How the challenges were overcome by your company.
• The results of the product implementation that you handled.
• The reaction of your customer when you solved their problem.

Case study videos should be part of a greater presence on your website. They should be placed on a page that goes into detail that will support your case study.

IN CONCLUSION

Growing your industrial sales pipeline is an ongoing challenge. What is great about using video for industrial companies is that it makes all of your other marketing efforts more effective.

Videos have an enhanced effect on people, and these effects can’t be met or overcome by many other marketing tools and tactics. I’m looking forward to hearing the incredible results from leveraging this video marketing formula for industrial manufacturers.

 

 

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