¶ Video Strategy for Online Business
In this episode , you're going to get to hear me have a discussion with Ben , who is here right now and he is a video . Well , I guess you could say he's an ex-online video strategist , but that's because video is just online now and we don't say online video because it's redundant . He is a video strategist and not just any video strategist .
He has lots of clients from , as you say , the boring pharmaceutical brands in Australia to a myriad of other clients which you can share , and he's a video strategist and he's passionate about it . He's a video producer , an international speaker .
He actually just finished speaking at Social Media Marketing World for his second time and he's the host of the Engage Video Marketing Podcast and a coach to hundreds of video strategists globally .
And he's on a mission which that's to help other creatives , marketers and entrepreneurs and video producers better understand how to attract , engage and convert audiences online with video .
So if you're sleeping on your video strategy and would like to use video to make more sales in your online business , well then , listen up , stay with us and , before we get into that , if my voice is new to you , hi , I'm Quajo . I'm the new host of the podcast . I've been the new host of the podcast now for four or five months .
So I got two links in the show notes for you so you can see where in the show notes for you . So you can see where Rick went , because you're probably wondering that he's doing a really cool AI project by the way . That link is in the show notes below .
And another link where Rick interviewed me and kind of shared why he chose me or let me be the host , the new host of the Art of Online Business podcast . But we will remain largely the same as in .
You'll get tips and tricks and strategies and kind of behind the scenes looks and reviews of funnels and , of course , facebook ads goodness so that you can scale up your online business from , let's say , low six figures to high six figures . And with that , ben , it's good to have you back on the episode .
Minutes for us , right , but maybe longer for the listener .
Yeah , hey , quajo , I'm really looking forward to this . It should be fun .
Oh right , I didn't even tell the listener Like if you're curious what we're talking about .
Ben and I just finished recording another segment called Before we Hit Record , where we just get to know each other , because I feel like we don't really know that well the online entrepreneurs that we see on Instagram and follow and like and listen to , and so I decided to have that segment and if you really want to know , to get , if you want to get to know
Ben a bit , head down to the show notes below and there's a link to that episode and you can hear us talking about life and family and vacations to Fiji . Is how you say it , though I thought it was called Fiji , so I'm going to correct . Thank you for educating me . I'm going to correct that in my brain .
Oh man , I don't know , I just speak like an Australian . So I'll say I'll say whatever I want to say . Yeah , that was a great conversation , so definitely go listen to that because you know we talked about all sorts of stuff all sorts sorts of good stuff , but this time we're talking about online video strategy .
I kind of want to start backward with a big question , and this should be an easy one , but my question is is if somebody never heard from you again and this was the last time they listened to you , what would be the one thing that you would tell them about video strategy that would have the biggest impact positive impact on their sales ?
I think it's simple .
Stop doing video for video's sake .
Okay .
What does that mean ? So I think the problem for so many , so many businesses , whether they be , you know , traditional businesses or online businesses , is they see video as a tactic , so they see video as as another thing that they should be doing or another quiver in their bow , or whatever . That saying is right .
And if you're just looking at video as another thing that you should be doing , but you're not thinking of video as a strategy or as something to implement with a strategy behind it , then chances are it's probably just noise , right ?
So doing video for video sake is like okay , well , instagram's , you know going big into reels , well , I better be doing some reels , right ? Or , you know , youtube seems to be a thing . I guess I gotta start a youtube channel , right ? So video for video sake is doing it for the sake of the piece of content or the platform , right ?
instead of actually thinking in my business and this is the strategic way of thinking in my business . What do I need to achieve in order to move the needle in whatever way I need the needle to move in my business , and is video the right way to do that ?
If so , yes , what is the tactical execution of video that I need to execute on in order to make that difference in my business ? Right , that's the difference between strategy and tactics in my mind .
You know that's intriguing because I'm sure the listener heard that too . When you said what do I need to achieve in my business ? Is video the right way to do that ? I would have made an assumption that video is always the right way to do that . So can you break that down ? When would video not be the right way to achieve something ?
So video is a very powerful tool , you know , and it depends on exactly what you're wanting to achieve . But when you're looking at a content creation or you're looking at , you know , communication in your business , whatever it is , that you want to communicate to move someone to take some sort of action in your business .
Because is that you want to communicate to move someone to take some sort of action in your business ? Because , ultimately , marketing right is about , you know , connecting with an audience , connecting with someone , ideally , an ideal customer right , a prospect , and moving them closer towards making a sale right .
That's , that's where business is made right , when sales are made right . So , but there's a process to move someone towards making a sale . It's not just like slap them around the face with a piece of content and they're going oh my gosh trying to buy right and so many people do do it that way .
But you know , when you think about , you know , is video the right form of content ? Then you need to actually , like , take a step back and go well , you know , what do I actually want to communicate here to that person to move them to take the action that I want them to take ? And is video the right form of content for that ?
And often the answer to that is yes . But when you're thinking through that strategic lens , rather than just video is the bomb and I need to just be doing more video , then you're not really taking that step back and thinking who is the person I'm trying to reach ? What is the person I'm trying ?
to reach what is the message I'm trying to communicate to them and what is the action I want them to take . And then you know , from there you can be more strategic about whether it's video or whether it needs to be some other form of content . You know , does it need to be a long form sales page you know like , or does it need to be a ?
You know , post right it doesn't need to be , you know , audio . Does it need to just be a quick text message you ?
know they're all forms of content . Okay , that's making more sense to me . Is there like a tried and true way to like ? Let's say I decide okay , video is it for me . It's going to help move the needle and increase sales in the way I need to have sales increased . Or maybe I decide video is the way to bring in leads to my lead magnet .
But for my email list , is there a way to decide what platform it's going to be ? I mean , between Facebook business page and TikTok and YouTube and the other platforms like Instagram . Are there any other platforms ? But how do you decide ?
Yeah , it really . It all starts with your audience , right ? Really understanding your audience . So you know there are . There are seven in my mind . There are seven elements to an effective video strategy , right ? So ?
And the first one is audience right , and we can go through the other six if you like as well , but if you really know who your audience is , then you can know where to show up for them with the right message in order to communicate that .
So the simple answer of you know , should I be publishing on YouTube , or you know Instagram reels or TikTok or LinkedIn video is really comes down to you know fish , where the fish are . So you know , think where is my audience at and cast your net there , right , and start there .
You know there's obviously ways to be across multiple platforms and still be effective , but start by reaching the people that you need to reach where they're hanging out , right ? So you need to do that research into your audience and know where . Where do they want to consume content ?
Primarily and particularly , where do they want to consume the kinds of content that you want to share with them . So , if your content marketing approach is , you know more about education , right ? So , like teaching about facebook ads or whatever , and that's what leads people into your ecosystem and therefore closer towards buying from you .
Then you know , if's education content , then maybe long form content and a YouTube channel might make sense , or a video podcast or something like that .
But if it's more , you know , lighthearted and humor , then you know , maybe you want to go with more like short form platforms , maybe it's YouTube shorts , but potentially you know , instagram reels or TikTok for example . But there are certainly ways to educate in that short form way as well , but it depends on you know how you want to show up for people .
So that's the kind of strategic decision to make I've been wondering then you know , because my video admittedly could use some improvement .
If we're talking about video strategy , having chosen a platform now based on where the fish are , so to speak , where my audience is , I don't just want to throw up a video for the sake of oh , reels is the next best thing . I better get some reels out there and hope I go viral .
What's the process that you walk somebody through to on purpose , choose a video that actually could have a great chance of working for their business , to drive sales or leads .
Yeah , it's an important question and a good question , quajo . So you know the second element . I teased seven elements , right ?
So we talked about audience . The second element element is can't wait till I get to the fifth element , but yeah , well , number five there's a little teaser .
¶ Video Marketing Goals and Content Understanding
So the second element is goals . So when you understand your audience , you then need to understand what is . What are your goals for your video marketing or your video strategy ? And when you think about goals , it's really thinking about the customer journey , right ?
So you know to assume that the listeners or viewers of this understand in simple terms that everyone goes on a process to buy from you , whatever it is that you sell in your online business , and they don't wake up one day and just go . You know , here's my credit card .
They go through a process of you know , of awareness , consideration and then conversion or purchase . So that's the simple customer journey or funnel in marketing terms . So when we think about goals , we think , well , which of those goals do we need to move the needle in our business right now ? Do we need more awareness ?
Do we have a great product , you know , or service or course or whatever ? But the problem is not enough . People are aware that we even exist . So , that's an awareness goal that needs to be impacted .
Maybe it's , it's considerate in that consideration or that middle of the funnel , and I talk about the goal there being , you know , engagement , right , so that's about where you get people to actually connect , engage and build relationships with you over a period of time . Right , so , where you , you know , need to show up with content that adds value to people .
So , like this podcast , for example , most people spend most of their time in that middle of the funnel , in the customer journey perspective , so that's where you really need to nurture that prospect over time , you know .
And then , so , if you identify that that's a goal that you need to be impacting through video , then it's a different approach than if it's just an awareness goal , right . And then we get down to the bottom of the funnel , which is the conversion end , which is like about moving people just to take that action and buy from you .
And this is where , you know , from an online business perspective , it's typically about content designed to sell , right , so sales focused content and this is where you know , when you're talking about sales focused content , it , the types of content and the platforms that you use to distribute this content is much more rational , right ?
So it is about , like the facts and the figures , the specific details of the offer that you're making for someone . So you do need to get the rational stuff in there in order to make that sale .
But you're assuming , if you've considered that journey that people are going on , that they've already established some level of trust with you , that they already kind of know you , they've already got value from you through your other bits of content in the funnel there , and now you know it's just about okay . Well , what is this thing you're offering me ?
How much does it cost and is it going to suit what I'm looking for ? Okay , so when we think about goals in that way , then it can lead to the third element , number three , which is content .
Right , because if you have established , okay , so I've got different goals in my business and that's going to lead to different types of content that I need to create as part of a video strategy .
So , for example , if you're looking to you know , impact on that awareness goal , that top of funnel , then most people at that stage of the customer journey are thinking mostly about themselves . What's in it for me ? You know they're going about their daily life . They've got pain , they're frustrated , they're annoyed by something .
You know they want to achieve something , but it's about them . They don't care about you . So your content at that awareness phase needs to show up and be about them . It needs to connect on an emotional level with them and , you know , help them understand that I get you . I've been there and I can help you get to where you want to go right .
So the types of content you want to create for that first goal of awareness is more like storytelling content . You know you need to .
You know , tell success stories or tell your story , or tell it in a way that allows that person to be like okay , I need to know more about this , I need to go deeper into this person's world , follow their stuff , subscribe to their channels , listen to their podcast , whatever . So think of that awareness content as that ideal first point of contact .
And how can you show up and , you know , add value to that person's life in a way that connects on an emotional level ? First , I talk about that , that first goal , the type of content there . It really needs to get people to buy in to you , you know , as an , as an online expert example , before you ask them to buy .
And buying in is a heart thing , right , it's an emotional thing , whereas buying is a rational thing and it's a different part of your brain that's connecting with that .
So , you know , if we think about that first goal awareness , storytelling , emotional content that sort of content , you know , looks different , it sounds different , it you use that in a different way on , say , your youtube channel or your email list . And then , as we get to the middle of the funnel , then it's about helpful content .
I talked before about how you can add value to people . So it's education , it's inspiration , it's it's sharing , you know , tips and advice and establishing that important thing in sales of know , like and trust . You know , okay .
So you know , in order for a sale to take place , someone needs to know you and like you and trust you yeah so that middle of the funnel content . That's the sort of content that is really just solid content , marketing , right it's . It's , you know , helpful content .
It's answering frequently asked questions , it's educating on whatever it is that you're an expert in . That sort of content again looks a bit different than your top of funnel content , but it's very important to get that sort of content out there in the right way .
But because it's middle of the funnel content , quite joke yeah you shouldn't be doing a hard sell in that content . It shouldn't be backed up with like and buy my thing right because the goal of that middle of the funnel exactly . It should be moving people towards that bottom of the funnel . Content , which is again that sort of content , looks different .
So when we get down to the conversion end of that customer journey or that purchase end , this is now bottom of the funnel and this is where content , like I said before , needs to be rational . It still needs to tick all those boxes of good emotional connection and trust and things like that , but it's mostly .
This content is now designed to communicate what it is that you're actually offering someone . So this sort of content , for example , is maybe it's longer in duration because someone who's about to spend $2,000 on an online program , for example , they'll watch a 10 minute sales video .
Right , They'll watch something longer because it's actually telling them exactly what they want and it's overcoming their objections to purchase and it's doing that in a way that's moving them more confidently towards making that sale . But also that content from a distribution point yeah isn't going to be . That's not going to be on youtube as a public video .
That's going to be on a sales page .
Right , that's going to be right next to the add to cart button or the buy now or join .
Join the program button right , so bottom of the funnel is exactly not public , is what you're saying ?
well , yes , public , but not on a social media channel right , not on the social media channel exactly it needs to be . It needs to be on a page that is relevant to that purchase , on a sales page or on a checkout page or something like that so counterpoint .
Why do you think of businesses that sell directly with their public videos on social media ?
Well , I think that they're potentially shooting themselves in the foot right , because the problem is , when you're consuming content on a social media channel , is you're not in a purchase mindset . You're there to consume content . You're there to learn to , you know , to get some value or to be entertained or educated .
Right , all social media platforms are set up that way , you know . I mean , you know you can make an argument that maybe there's , you know , particularly with , you know , paid content on some of these platforms . You're able to , you know , have shoppable links and and that sort of thing , right , but ultimately , people are on these platforms not to buy .
But if you engage with a piece of content on a social media platform or youtube , for example , and you're encouraged to buy , then there's always another step , there's always a click through to a purchase page or click through to a sales page , and then that's where you can lose people , not only in them not taking that step , because they're distracted by the next
video content that pops up . Right , and then , all of a sudden they're like oh , I was going to take action on that , but now I'm watching a cat video , right ?
yeah , whatever else comes up right .
But you know , if that sales video is designed to be a sales tool , then it really should be on the page right next to a button that says I'm in .
You know click and buy right .
¶ Content Strategy and Book Announcement
This is intriguing to me because I guess I had the impression I don't know about the listener , but that helpful content and content that built the no like and trust factor , the very content that you described as the middle of the funnel I thought that was top of the funnel .
Stuff , as in even I was cranking out helpful content on social media like there's no tomorrow , but that's not top of the funnel .
No , I see that as middle of the funnel content .
So top of the funnel content can still be a YouTube video , for example , or an Instagram reel or , you know , a LinkedIn live , but it's what you put in that content Because ultimately , top of the funnel is really more around that sort of content that you know shares more of that emotional , so more hits on the pain point .
Right , yes , it might teach as well or add some education in there as well , but ultimately , you know that first point of contact at the top of the funnel .
This is assuming , obviously , that the funnel is very linear , right , and funnels are never linear , right , people don't always come in at the top of the funnel , right , right , and funnels are never linear , right , people don't always come in at the top of the funnel , right .
But you know , for example , if I was to stumble across this video , this podcast , this is middle of the funnel kind of content . This is , you know , consideration , middle of the funnel sort of stuff . Right , people get to know us and like us and you know they get some value .
They know we know our stuff , right , but if I was to follow someone through their middle of the funnel content and at some point .
I'm going to want to kind of move back up the funnel to kind of engage more at that awareness stage with that , with that online business right , and this is where you know I might want to , okay , know more about that person's story . So what is their background ? What is their story ?
You know , maybe I need you know , hear or understand more of their kind of success stories of their clients that they've worked with . That's more top of funnel content , because that's where it's more about the emotional connection that I'm making as I'm moving through to make a decision to buy from that person .
So ideally that's the first piece of content they see and they move linearly down the funnel . But that never works that way , you know it . For example , someone could come across your sales page , right ? and a sales video is the very first thing that they ever see from you .
You know , like , for example , if you're an online course creator and you are running ads to a cold audience and someone clicks on that ad and then they end up on your sales page , might they buy from that ad as the very first touch point that they've ever had with you ?
Maybe , but only probably if either your sales video on that page or your copywriting on that sales page kind of moves them quickly through the funnel . They go from awareness through consideration , through to purchase because of the , the layout of that sales page .
You know the , the long form sales page typically goes follows that same funnel of like let's hit on the pain , let's establish expertise , and then , as we go further down , it's like let's you know , help them understand that we know our stuff and build that trust . And then , as we go further down , then your details of the offer right .
So it's the same thing , but that's a much harder sale to make than if someone is kind of engaged more naturally through your funnel in a more natural way , right ?
It makes sense Before we get to the next element element you're almost a published author . Is that what's going on here ?
it is what's going on ?
yeah , so congratulations . I mean , this has been , this has been a journey .
Quajo , I don't know if you've written a book or your listeners have , but not me . This , this book , has been , you know , making its way out of me for years and uh , but really , you know , over the last six months I've really kind of knuckled down and I've been actively writing this book .
So it it will be out later this year , so , you know , in the final stages of finishing up the manuscript and you know . So , yeah , look forward to getting it out into the world .
And that's congratulations . So tell us about this book a little bit and then we'll go back into what . I don't think we're going to cover all the elements . We'll have to let somebody find the elements . Do you have those somewhere that somebody can get the rest of the elements , or are those in this book ?
Well , that's absolutely the framework of the book . The book is tentatively titled Engage the Definitive Guide to Video Strategy for Business . So it really is the framework that I'm touching on here and we will touch on each of the seven elements .
We won't go deep into them , but my little teaser here that the elements are we've talked about audience and goals and content , right . The next one's distribution , where you put that content out .
Then we talk about optimization , which is what you do to that content on the platform that you're distributing it on , in order to get the right eyeballs on your content right Optimization . Then we talk about metrics , so how you measure the success of that strategy .
And then we talk about production , production being how you actually physically make the piece of video . Content is the last element in those seven elements , because how you produce the content should be informed by the strategic decisions you make on those other six elements . Right , deeper into all of that .
So I do have an opportunity for people to jump in early before the book's released and to grab some free chapters of the book just as a bit of a teaser of what's coming , so you can go to engagevideomarketingcom , slash free chapters and grab that .
Right on , and I definitely will have that link . In the description below . I clued in on something you said . Step seven was production . Right Now , how does production change based on the previous Like ? What do you mean by produce a video differently ?
So you know that's where you make strategic decisions about . You know how you actually make the content . Is this the type of content that you need to hire a video production company with the top-end cameras to kind of come in and shoot ?
Or is this the kind of content that you need to hire a video production company with the top end cameras to kind of come in and shoot ? Or is this the kind of content that should be a live stream ?
Or is this the kind of content that should be a , you know , shoot on your phone , you know , while you're walking down the street kind of piece of content you know there's .
Those are the elements that you you make a decision on , or even if it should be an animated piece of content or should it be talking head or should it be an interview piece of content . You know . So those strategic decisions around you know how to make this content really should come from .
You know the decisions you've made on those previous six elements and you know I think you know for my audience we talked about my audience as being video producers
¶ Creating Effective Video Content Strategy
, right ? So the people who you know primarily kind of come through my program and my course are people who are producing high-end video content for their clients .
Their clients are coming to them to get videos made and they know how to swing their you know $50,000 video camera around and create some great content and fly their drones and all of that sort of beautiful cinematic content .
But if a video producer is approaching every piece of video content for a business from a video producer's point of view , which is like I want to make a stunning piece of video content for this client who's come to me to make a video you know it's going to have , you know , beautiful soundtrack . It's going to have a beautiful soundtrack .
It's going to have stunning visuals . It's going to be the it's going to be the duck's nuts or the bee's knees video , because I love making video Right . But if you're if you're creating all of your clients videos like that , then chances are you're actually making the wrong video for what they need in many cases .
Whoa , I bet you see a lot of clients that are using the wrong type of video or the wrong thing or the wrong type of video production ?
huh yeah , the wrong production approach , absolutely . So you know , and I've seen , I've heard countless stories from speaking to business owners themselves that have gone out and , you know , invested in creating a video content or hiring a video producer to make a video .
The video producer has made a video that you know , looks great , sounds great , but it doesn't achieve the results that they want it to achieve because you know it's the wrong video , it's being used in the wrong way .
You know for example and we talked about this example just before for example , creating a video that's designed to sell , so it's a sales video , but it's they've just uploaded it to youtube and you know , it's , you know , tells a great story and it's you know , you know , really it reflects the brand , it's like nice , a nice branded piece of content , but it
doesn't actually get to the get to the sale . Clearly enough , right , it doesn't respect the customer or the audience and where they are in that customer's journey in the right way . So those are the sorts of mistakes that can be made , right ? We want to avoid those mistakes wow .
so the listener who is sitting here and they've already started videos , because lots of our listeners are doing quite well for themselves and their business They've already started video , but they've heard short form videos where it's at . So I need to make video for reels and YouTube shorts and TikTok and maybe even put some on Facebook Reels too .
What level of production do they need ? Or should I say what is too much Like ? What do they need for their middle funnel and top of funnel videos ?
So the answer to that question really comes down to you know what is their brand and how do they want their brand to be perceived by their audience .
So you know , if you're speaking about specifically video content on those short form platforms , then it's important for your content to be what's known as platform native right , probably a term people are familiar with . You want that content to look and feel like it lives on that platform .
So you know , we see , even with platform native ad content or you know , paid content on these platforms , whether it's , you know , vertical content that's served through Reels platforms .
You know , if it's paid as well , the high production value ad content , even if it's customized for a vertical frame , does not perform as well as something that feels native to that content .
So an example of this in an ads perspective is we have an e-commerce client , for example , where we produce content , some content which is produced on our like , high-end video production cameras and you know nice lighting and all of that . But we also produce content on my iphone .
You know we go out and shoot content for our ads or for our e-commerce client there and we shoot it on the iphone and we shoot it deliberately , which is hard for me as a video producer to you shoot dodgy kind of looking video content on my phone .
Is iPhone content that dodgy ?
now , though I mean not in the quality of the content , but , you know , deliberately like not framing things as well as you would , you know so shooting weird angles or , or you know , being a bit handheld and kind of a bit shaky , you know , like , like , so those kinds of things makes it feel more native to the platform or more natural , and you know not an
ad right , so you're reproducing that kind of organic video on purpose . Your excuse for absolutely wow and that kind of answers your previous question of like if you're producing your content for yourself as a brand and not for ads , necessarily it just needs to be real , it needs to be authentic , it needs to still deliver the value that you want it to .
But you know , don't get bogged down by like oh , I haven't got a nice enough , you know , dslr camera or something like that for my home studio setup right just use your phone and deliver it naturally and and get it out there , particularly for those platforms what camera are you using to film this right now ?
just curious so this is a canon m50 mark ii , which is my webcam , which is permanently attached to the back of my monitor here and my desk . Yeah , it does a great job as a webcam they do do , don't you Like ?
you love the comments . Oh , your video looks so crispy . When somebody wants to get more detail about what you've shared , they can head down to the show notes in the description below right and get a link to the first chapter for free of your upcoming book . Where else can people connect with ?
you . So if you're into listening to podcasts which I assume you are , so the Eng so if you're into listening to podcasts , which I assume you are , so the engage video marketing podcast is is my podcast and I'm gonna have quite you on the show soon . We're gonna do that right so yeah so that's you know .
There's nearly 300 episodes there that you can go back and you can dive a lot deeper into all of this stuff , or engagevideomarketingcom . It's kind of my home for everything . You can link to everything from there okay , cool .
Well , thanks for being on the episode with me , by the way yeah , appreciate it's fun yeah , it was fun , and so head down to the show notes below . We got ways to connect with ben linked up there , including the first chapter of his book , which is titled engage the video strategy for business , business .
It's been cool having you on this episode and the previous episode , which is linked in the show notes below , too , and Ben , we got to stay in touch Absolutely . Yeah , cool , let's do it Well , and that's a wrap for this episode . Until the next time you see me or hear from me , be blessed , take care , and we'll see you later . Goodbye , see you , bye .