Video is an amazing way to building relationships with both new customers and current customers. Short of them walking into your store or office, video is the best tool available for creating a personal connection, showing them your personality and what makes your company unique.
But so many companies put out bad videos that don’t build any connection. These videos feature someone droning on for 20 minutes straight about the company’s history, or they look just like one of the hundreds of commercials you fast-forward through every night with your DVR.
So what makes a powerful video?
Be YOU: Creating a personal connection with a customer requires being personal. A slick haired PR agent may say all of the right things, but to connect with viewers you need to give them something real. You talking candidly about your passion for what you do? Real connection. You stiffly reading from a script about how your product has more features than the competition? Try again.
Show behind the veil: To create a connection through video you need to “take down the veil” that separates customers from the production process. Let them get to know who works behind the scenes and how the magic happens. Many small businesses are concerned that this would leave them looking “inferior” to large corporations. But think about this: If they were the same price, same quality, and both delivered for free, then would buy your bread at the big-box grocery store or the local mom and pop bakery? The majority of people would say the local bakery because we trust that a smaller scale of production means higher quality and more attention to detail. Tell your true story in the video so that viewers can get to know and love your real company.
Be Funny-ish: Humor is great. It makes you likeable and keeps viewers engaged. But unless you moonlight as a standup comedian in real life, don’t pretend to be one on YouTube. Have fun with the video and – where you see a natural opportunity for humor – take it. But don’t think that every second sentence needs to be a joke. Be yourself and remember that a good natured smile goes much farther than a forced joke ever will.
Teach: Instructional videos are an amazing tool for simultaneously building relationships, educating your customer base, and branding yourself. Consider if you owned that local mom and pop bakery and put up a video on “how to make the best sourdough bread”. This shows your baking skills, places you in the viewers’ minds as the expert, and makes the viewer hungry for your bread. “How to” videos are some of the most often searched videos on YouTube and are an easy way to connect with your audience by giving them information that they value.
