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How to Build a Sales Funnel with Video

March 30, 2022March 30, 2022 David Beauchamp

Sales are vital to any business. After all, it’s hard to make money if you don’t sell anything! But even though they may be critical, they can also be quite challenging if you don’t know what you’re doing. This sales funnel with video guide will walk you through the basics of building a sales funnel with OneMob so that you can take advantage of opportunities and make the most out of your marketing efforts. Here’s how to build a sales funnel with video in five easy steps.

Why Video

Your customers prefer video. In fact, 92% of consumers say they’ve watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. If you want to build trust and drive sales, you need high-quality videos that explain your value proposition and help users take action. Whether you’re working on building awareness, encouraging conversion or sending customers down your marketing funnel, creating videos is a great way to make an impact on your audience.

Step 1: Finding A Niche (and an email list)

Your niche (e.g., car insurance) is where you spend most of your time and energy. When you have enough traffic, you can focus on other niches (e.g., mortgage insurance). The key is finding an audience interested in what you have to say and then building that email list!

Step 2: Setting Goals and Objectives

It’s not enough to know what you want; in order to get it, you need SMART goals. They are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based (SMART). In other words, your goals must be clearly defined so that every step of your sales funnel contributes towards achieving them. This applies from top to bottom—from marketing campaign all the way down to each call-to-action on your page. A good goal is well-defined, quantifiable and actionable; but most importantly, it’s realistic—not too hard or easy for customers to achieve. Be sure that each element in your funnel is designed to lead people forward towards taking whatever next step gets them closer to completing their goal(s) before they leave without doing anything at all. This means better microsites, more effective calls-to-action and more targeted content throughout your campaign or microsite experience will help make sure they take those final steps toward converting visitors into leads into clients then repeat customers!

Step 3: Choosing The Right Format For Videos

The biggest challenge in creating sales videos is choosing what format is best. You have many choices, including live action video, animated or whiteboard videos, or even product demos done in PowerPoint or Keynote. It’s important to pick a format that tells your story most effectively. If you’re selling an e-book about weight loss for moms, for example, it makes sense to use an animated whiteboard video that’s easy on viewers’ eyes and keeps them engaged. After finding the right format, upload to your OneMob library and use it as your featured video on your microsite.

Step 4: Developing The Best Sales Copy And Microsite

If you want to create an effective sales funnel and convert your website visitors into leads and customers, it’s important that you understand how each piece of your online presence—from microsite, content selection, call-to-action and email copy—relates to one another. These elements must be complementary in order for people to take action. This means you need fully developed concepts that tie into each other so your prospects can follow through. The best OneMobs combine those elements within microsites. Follow best video practices for a good video that clearly shares what content you want your customer to interact with on the microsite and what action step you want them to take after engaging with the microsite.

Step 5: Build the top, middle and bottom of the funnel

Create Awareness at the Top of the Funnel

The awareness stage of your sales funnel is where you should establish brand loyalty and familiarize new prospects with your product or service. It’s essential that you do everything possible to get their attention, but also be sure that they can easily find out more information on their own if they choose. Your goal in these first moments of contact is simply to grab their attention—if people are interested enough in learning more about what you have to offer, they will take action. After all, one email address won’t put food on your table unless you start building relationships with others down in subsequent stages of your funnel. You need those people ready and waiting when it comes time for them to buy (or buy again). Your ultimate goal at this stage is simply getting people into contact with what you have to offer.

Put another way, they won’t know that your solution is ideal if they don’t fully understand what challenges they face. This stage is all about educating them about the problem. Here are some videos you can create to do that.

Educational Videos

Buyers lack information at the beginning of their journey to find a solution. This is where becoming their guide can pay off. And becoming a guide means creating videos that answer quick questions, as in the Watermelon Media video below. The video explains what content marketing is in a short, animated, easy-to-understand way.

Explainer Videos

Explainer videos are a staple in digital marketing. They discuss complex concepts in simple language, giving viewers a better understanding of what your solution offers and how it works.

Using visually interesting graphics and animations, this OneMob Video explains how OneMob can help businesses improve outreach by combining context, content and calls-to-action:

Short Video Ads Identifying Problems

Short ads can be highly effective when executed well. This 61 second ad reveals a problem truckers face and how much help Corinna is offering to solve the problem.

Drive Consideration at the Middle of the Funnel

Marketing works best when it leads people through a sales funnel, starting with awareness, then interest, then desire and finally action. Building your product messaging at each stage of that funnel is crucial. For example, in that first phase—awareness—potential customers should understand what your product does and why they need it. During interest you’ll want them to get more information about features and pricing. And in desire you’ll want them to sign up for early access or pre-sale offers. Each piece of your messaging should build on one another until you get someone all the way through your funnel so that you can then convert that visitor into a customer.

Here you want to focus on specifics, including how your product works, why it works in a certain way, and even the alternatives available and why they aren’t the ideal solution.

Product Intro Videos

Videos that introduce your product and how it works are critical for buyers. The goal of this OneMob Video is to show how helpful it is to use OneMob. If you’re a potential buyer who’s strapped for time, watching a 1.5 minute rundown of OneMob is a quick win.

Tutorials

Tutorials provide prospects with a more in-depth experience of your offering. This type of video is ideal for prospects who are considering their options and want to take a closer look at what your product can really do for them.

This OneMob Video is to peel back the curtain on what buyers need to know about using OneMob. The video teaches beginners how to create a campaign in OneMob and share with potential customers.

Influence Decision-Making at the Bottom of the Funnel

Prospects are most likely to make decisions that allow you to move them down your sales funnel. This is when they’re beginning to come around, so it’s important not only that you present valuable information, but also that your sales staff can convince prospects that they’re on their side. If you don’t have access to sales people, give prospects something of value in exchange for their contact information—something no one else is offering. Something as simple as free advice or a $100 coupon code might be enough. Be sure that whatever you provide demonstrates how much better off customers will be after working with you (better than what they had before). Provide good content and customers will decide where to spend their money by themselves. You just need to show them how worthwhile your offer is and what it offers beyond its obvious benefits.

The Relationship Gets Stronger at the Bottom of Your Funnel: Even if everything goes perfectly from top to bottom, some potential customers won’t convert because they either lack time or money (or both) or just aren’t interested at all—regardless of what you do or say. At least then, though, you know where you stand!

This is where you have an opportunity for the sale, so focus on content that will help convert leads into customers. This often involves reinforcing ideas shared at the middle of the funnel.

Demo Videos

OneMob’s abilities and functions are shown in this short demo that reveals the true benefits within the software.

Customer Testimonial Videos

According to social proof theory, a person who doesn’t know the proper behavior for a certain situation will imitate the behavior of others and look for guidance for their actions. Using video testimonials at the bottom of your funnel is a great way to inject some social proof into your buyer’s journey.

But don’t just scratch the surface or be vague in your video. Give specifics and create a story that’s worth watching, especially for buyers looking to be convinced that yours is indeed the right solution.

In this testimonial video, Kevin explains how OneMob helps him reach more customers.

Bonus Step:

Getting Traffic To The Funnel

There are three primary methods for generating traffic—viral, pay-per-click (PPC), and SEO. Viral traffic requires you to convince people you know, like and trust that your product/service is something they would want to share. This kind of traffic comes at a cost, however: It takes time and effort. You have to be willing to give away your products or services in order for others to spread word about them. PPC is like viral traffic except it doesn’t rely on personal connections, which makes it easier but also more expensive. SEO means using search engine optimization techniques to get found by search engines like Google and Bing. While these may not generate instant sales right away, they do drive qualified prospects through your sales funnel over time. Research each method thoroughly before deciding what works best for you. Each business has different goals, requirements and limits so you’ll need to find one that fits just right. Now let’s build a successful sales funnel with your OneMob’s filling the front end of the funnel!

Email us at sales@onemob.com to learn more about getting your OneMob account to build your next great sales funnel.

Betts Recruiter Increases Response Rates 100% with OneMob

May 20, 2019June 28, 2019 Neda Hillyer

We asked Hazel Koch (@HazelSKoch), Account Executive Recruiter at Betts Recruiting, about how OneMob has helped in her outreach to candidates. Here’s what she had to say:

As a recruiter, being able to develop and maintain meaningful relationships is a critical part of the job. In order to successfully match a candidate with the right client, you need to spend the time building genuine relationships to ensure you’re facilitating a long term match.

In such a competitive space, where job seekers are looking independently and talking to multiple recruiters, a big challenge is differentiation. How can you stand out from the rest of those hungry and driven recruiters to engage A-player candidates and convince them to respond and connect with YOU?

For Hazel, it was challenging to build a strong foundation with her candidates through traditional emails, cold calls and texting. She was hitting a big wall with outbound, with a low 3-4% response rate. A lot of effort for very little result.

So when Hazel decided to record and send personal videos with OneMob, she immediately saw a big uplift in engagement with a 12% response rate just in the first few days, resulting in more booked meetings. By making the extra effort to put a face to her name, she was able to elicit these types of responses:

With OneMob, Hazel now has more insight, like email open rates, something she couldn’t track before. She gained incredible momentum in the first week of using OneMob, with a 78% email open rate and 63% unique watch rate on her videos, so she’s truly set up for success.

Creating that personal touch doesn’t take much. With OneMob, you can record a professional and branded video in under 60 seconds. You’ll be able to respond promptly with real-time alerts on email opens, videos watched and responses. And, everything gets tracked back to Salesforce automatically so you can accurately measure the impact of videos to closed opportunities.

If you or anyone in your network are open to new opportunities, you can contact Hazel Koch or visit http://bettsrecruiting.com/.

Make the Most of Events with Video

October 14, 2018October 28, 2018 Sati Hillyer

Trade shows and conferences are one of the best ways for sales reps to meet new prospects and connect with existing clients. Conversations that go down in person are more meaningful and have lasting results, especially since face to face interactions are becoming rarer in this digital age. However, sponsoring events can be costly, making them fewer and farther in between. So when your company does sponsor that premier event and sends you cross-country, you better make it worth their while and score some big deals. No pressure. How can you ensure that you’re making the most of the experience, every step of the way? The answer is video.

Motion picture is a powerful medium that’s a game changer when it comes to events, and is applicable throughout every phase. Here are some tips on how best to use it:

Leading Up to the Show

Send an appealing invitation: a unique and unsolicited way to stand out to those prospects or clients, who are getting plagued by tons of other cold calls and templated emails.
Inform without being boring: highlight all the details of where you’ll be, what you’ll be showcasing, etc. Promote any special plans, such as prize giveaways or after parties.
Prepare prospects to meet you: attendees will recognise you at the show, taking out the initial awkward guessing game.

On the Floor

Entice and engage with attendees on the floor: Show live demos, conduct interviews and capture the action, all on your smartphone and without leaving your booth.
Record message with your new leads: By capturing your conversation on camera, you and your prospect will remember what you spoke about.

Following Up After

Stand out from the rest: While attendees are getting bombarded with follow up emails, video breaks through the mass of boring, plain text emails.
Revive the conversation: Sending your prospect the video that you recorded on the floor will refresh their mind of you and your conversation, keeping the post-show momentum going.

There are a million ways to get creative with video. Tell a good story, make it upbeat and incorporate calls to action. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to not get over complicated. Keep it short and sweet, because engaging viewers in those first few precious seconds is crucial. So what’s the easiest and most cost effective way to do this? With OneMob. Our mobile platform allows you to:

Capture prospect and customer feedback in the moment to leverage later
Share the experience with attendees in real time and post to Chatter & communities
Brand with your company or event logo

Want to know more about how OneMob can help you at events? Sign up now to try it for free.

OneMob’s Spring Sponsorships

February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 Sati Hillyer

At OneMob we’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of Spring. It’s our favorite season, because flowers aren’t the only thing that bloom. It’s a peak time for new ideas, partnerships and opportunities to blossom during the year. Events are a great opportunity for this, where we love to share the power of video messaging with Customer Success and Sales professionals in person, across the countru. Which is why we’re excited to start the season with some exciting events this March.

We’ll be at the Totango Customer Success Summit, right here in San Francisco on March 21 & 22. Soon after, we’ll be making the way to the Windy City for Salesforce World Tour Chicago on March 24.

So if you’re in either city this March, and want to learn more about how video messaging can impact your outreach, visit us. Or, contact us at hello@onemob.com.

Download Now- OneMob for Outlook is here!

February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 Sati Hillyer

Outlook users, we have good news for you! OneMob for Microsoft Outlook 365 and Outlook Client 2013 and 2016 is available now.

With the OneMob for Outlook app, you can access all your saved video and voice messages right inside Outlook and easily embed them in your email messages. For real-time tracking, select which Salesforce Lead(s) and Contact(s) you want to email and you’ll get real-time notifications when your video is played and responded to. The best part? It’s all automatically tracked back in Salesforce.

To download OneMob for Outlook, visit the Office Store. If you need more help with installation, visit our support page. Happy video messaging!

Video Games: The New Sales Contest

February 19, 2016February 19, 2016 Sati Hillyer

Video Gamification

What’s the fastest way to boost revenue and grow your business? The trick is to tap into a powerful resource that you already own- your sales force. But when your employees are disengaged in the workplace, as 32% of U.S. employees are, their full potential goes untapped. And as any manager knows, when their team lags drive, performance suffers. But in today’s data-rich, highly mobile and tech-savvy workplace, B2B representatives need unconventional and challenging training programs to motivate them, now more than ever.

As a team leader, it’s your job to keep your employees engaged. Maybe numbers are dipping or you need a way motivate CRM adoption, which is crucial in driving pipeline visibility and predictability. You’ve surely heard of or tried gamification, a concept which has gotten a lot of buzz lately. When reps get excited about competitions that align with their goals, that reward the right behavior and that set challenging but realistic benchmarks, gamification works wonders (inside sales), engagement and performance improves. By incorporating technology, leaderboards and metrics into their competitions, Sales leaders are finding success in reinvigorating their reps. A little friendly office rivalry in the already competitive sales pit helps take motivation up a few notches.

Benefits of Gamification

Increase engagement during a training program
Drive adoption of training resources, new programs, or CRM software
Gain better insight into practices that are effective and ineffective
Inspire collaboration when reps share best practices with each other
Grow revenue by encouraging competition and shared goals
Create a culture of recognition and praise within a team

While we’ve shown you how video is helpful in onboarding and educating employees, it can be a real game changer when it comes to gamification. We’ll show you not only how OneMob engages reps through video, but measures their performance as well- giving reps and managers alike actionable insights.

Run a Successful Sales Contest with OneMob

Recording the Best Video
- Video allows reps to try out different approaches, and really see how they look and sound. Challenge them to make the most creative introduction, or the compelling break-in video. See who makes the best follow up to a cold call, or see who can revive the most dead leads

Customizing Player Page
- Creating different video player page layouts lets reps figure out what — works best for them. Testing out different combinations of content types, external buttons, and CTA messaging let’s reps experiment to find what approach works best, and in what situation. Experimenting with different email subject lines and video thumbnail images helps reps determine what gives them that extra advantage.

Sending Internally & Externally
- By asking reps to send their best pitches, managers can instantly provide direct feedback with a response or a follow up example. Or, reps can send to their prospects, and A/B test their different video/layout combinations to see what resonated best.

Tracking & Analytics
- Managers can see how their reps are performing based on the metrics that matter most to them. Number of email opens, watches, button clicks and responses are all automatically written back into the rep’s individual Salesforce accounts, and tied to existing Opportunities. Over a longer period of time, managers can easily determine which accounts got (the most videos/ highest video watches) per rep, or who closed the most deals with video.

To be successful, contests must not only be motivational and moral boosting, but efficient and effective as well. Whatever your approach, make sure that it addresses key business objectives, is data-driven and can be managed in real-time within your CRM. With the OneMob platform, you can be sure all three of these requirements are met. To help your reps to embrace their full potential through video, contact us to get started.

How to Record a Killer Personal Video (On Your First Try!)

February 3, 2016February 9, 2016 Sati Hillyer

At OneMob, we know a thing or two about creating videos. We use them in all aspects of our business communication, and have had plenty of practice in front of the camera. But when it comes to making personal recordings, we know not everyone is privy to the selfie game. Here are our best practices for recording professional and flattering personal videos. Take it from us, the guys who know how to sell ourselves with video.

Preparation is Key

Know Your Audience: It’s important to know who you’re talking to, and what your message is. Whether it’s a cold video or a friendly follow up, adjust your tone accordingly. Keep in mind not only what you want to convey, but what you want action you want your recipient to take.
Practice Makes Perfect: Performing a practice run helps. Write a short script or make a list of talking points if you need help staying on track or a prone to rambling. OneMob’s script field in our web app recorder allows you to do just that, so you don’t have to look beyond your screen.
Dress for Success: Less is more. Stick to simple, sleek attire while avoiding logos and busy patterns.

*Insider Tip: “Avoid wearing the same colour as your surroundings, which are usually either black or white. For example, if you’re wearing a black shirt against a black backdrop, you run the risk of being a “floating head”. Stick to solid neutrals and blues. – Madeline, Marketing

Prepare Your Surroundings: Whether you’re in a studio or a cubicle, make sure your area is optimal for recording both from a lighting and sound standpoint. Reduce surrounding noise. Avoid backlighting, direct lighting or sunlight on the face, as that tends to wash/darket out the subject. For best results, have light diffuse from both sides of the subject, and not directly beating down

*Insider Tip: “Turn on “Do not Disturb” to disarm incoming notifications from distracting you while you’re recording.” – Sati, CEO

Action Time

Choose Your Equipment: The good news is that you no longer need professional equipment to produce great quality videos. With better resolutions and faster recording speeds, smartphone cameras are doing the job just fine. Set up a tripod, or take your recording on the go with a selfie stick. If you’re using your computer, choose a flat, stable surface.

*Insider Tip: “No tripod? No problem. Open your laptop, and stand your phone up on the keyboard, against the screen for a stable recording area. Tilt your computer screen to adjust the angle – and watch out for double chins! ” – Kyle, CSM Lead

Frame Your Shot: Next to lighting, framing is the most crucial step. When recording, 1) Set the camera about 16 inches in front of your face, directly at eye level, 2) Frame your shot medium to close-up, closing in on your head and shoulders and 3) Tap your phone screen to make sure you’re in focus.

Body Language: Even if it’s you’re just doing a head shot, body language is crucial. Sit or stand up straight and avoid any sudden hand movements. Speak clearly at a normal pace, enunciate your words and smile. Lastly, don’t forget to blink or breath!

Keep it Short : When it comes to a personal recording, keep it short and sweet. Nobody wants to look at a talking head for 10 minutes. The videos that get watched the longest are about 15-30 seconds long. Especially when viewers are watching their videos on mobile, brevity is key to keeping viewers attention.

Post Production

Edit the Length: If you’re recording on mobile, trim the beginning and end of your videos to cut out the awkward finger touches when pressing the recording button.
Choose a Thumbnail: Select a good frame for a compelling thumbnail image, which will be the first impression of your video.
Apply Special Effects: OneMob allows you to use Instagram-like filters with character and text overlay, so you can get creative and make your video as personal as you like.
Create a Custom Player Page: We know that it’s important to personalize beyond the video itself and into the viewing experience, which is why you can now customize the content of your video player pages in our web app.

*Insider Tip: “Hold a smile during the first few seconds and again the last few seconds of your recording. Then, when you go to select a thumbnail or title image for your video, you aren’t stuck with frames of blinking eyes or an open mouth.” – Nimesh, COO

As you can tell, there’s a lot of thought that goes into creating the perfect video. In addition, limited budgets, time and expertise have deterred marketing and sales professionals alike from producing more video content. However, the benefits that you reap; increased email opens, better quality replies, shorter sales cycles and stronger relationships, make the effort well worth your while, which is why 96% of B2B organizations are using video content (reelseo).

At OneMob, we’ve come up with a solution that takes the hassle out of producing videos, and helps you tie your effort to results by tracking activity back into Salesforce. We’ve had plenty of practice on both our laptops and our iOS and Android apps, which allow you to create, edit, send and track your videos, all from your mobile device. For ideas on how you can use personal videos in your outreach, check out our Ideas Gallery. To start creating your own videos, contact us today.

3 Ways to Better Engage, Right On the Page

January 25, 2016February 9, 2016 Sati Hillyer

Last year, we gave you all our best practices for creating and using video, which became an essential part of digital marketing in 2015. But we know that 2016 isn’t the year to start using video in your outreach- it’s the year to start engaging with and measuring its impact. Whether they be personal recordings or high quality productions doesn’t matter, since v ideo is already the most engaging form of content. What matters is how your viewers interact with your videos, beyond just a watch.

In the past, we’ve looked to views and watches to determine a video’s success. However, number of views is becoming more of an irrelevant metric, since watches don’t truly help you gauge the level of a viewer’s interest. What you need to know is if your videos are generating responses. Does your audience follow your call to action, register for your event or download a piece of content, and more importantly, have you given them the means to easily do so? That’s why we’ve created Engagement Pages, or customizable landing pages to host not your videos, but your other digital content. By combining multiple digital components onto one page, you not only create a viewing experience unique to you/your brand, but an interactive one as well that furthers interest and inspires action. So here are 3 parts of the OneMob player page that will help turn your watches into meaningful responses.

1) Response Form:

Tried and true, the response form is your viewers’ direct line to you. Whether you’re trying to set up a meeting or gather feedback, our form makes it easy to get the responses the you’re looking for. Your viewers can reply back with their own written or video message, and a date and time that’s convenient for them to meet. This ability to directly reply right on the page starts the conversation off, right away. Talk about efficiency. Here are a few examples:
- Recruiter asking a hiring candidate to create an introduction video
- Real estate agent booking appointments with interested buyers
- Sales person getting a first meeting/call

Click the page to hear how OneMob Customer Success Lead, Kyle, begins account activation.

2) Iframe:

If a direct response isn’t what you’re looking for, there are more ways to engage. With our new Iframe, you can replace the response form with any additional content of your choosing. Whatever you include, just having that side by side view of your video and supplemental content creates a more interactive experience for your viewer. Amp up your custom pages with:
- Informational content, such as one sheeters or articles
- Downloadable applications, contracts & proposals
- External web pages or links to support articles
- Interactive maps or virtual tours

See how this agent provides a 3D home tour to go with her own listing video.

3) Custom Button:

By adding a supplemental button below your video, you can direct viewers to whatever that next step may be. Label your custom button with proven CTA’s:
- Download the latest case study, report or whitepaper
- Sign up to see a demo or start a free trial
- Read more or get the latest news from a featured article
- Visit your website’s homepage to learn more

Here’s an support video that provides instructions and a link to live assistance.

We know that video should inspire and attract viewers to go beyond a watch. That’s why we’ve built all these features to inspire not only more views, but more actions. And to help you measure the results of your efforts, OneMob brings you the analytics to prove it, with not only the number of watches, but the viewer information, shares, clicks, replies, etc. By giving you both more opportunities to engage and greater insights, OneMob shows you how your digital content is performing and making your profitable.

OneMob Sponsors Inman Connect, Helping Realtors Sell With Video

January 19, 2016February 9, 2016 Sati Hillyer

OneMob is excited to sponsor Inman Connect, a 4-day conference that brings together the best of real estate and technology in New York City later this month. Produced by Inman, the leading source for real estate news and technology, the event will feature some of the biggest names in the industry to discuss the future of real estate and the latest trends in sales, marketing and customer outreach.

OneMob will be there to show real estate agents how they can sell more properties with video. With the OneMob platform, brokers and agents can record or upload videos of listing, send to clients and then track engagement. Instead of sending YouTube videos, agents can build a custom video player page tailored to their clients, which are fully branded and trackable. Companies such as RE/MAX, Wells Fargo, and Meritage Homes use OneMob to leverage video with their clients more effectively. To learn more, read here on Inman, or visit www.onemob.com to get started.

4 Reasons Why You Absolutely Need Video In 2016

January 15, 2016August 30, 2016 Sati Hillyer

Marketing gurus predicted 2015 to be the year of video marketing, and they were right. With 96% of B2B marketers using video in their marketing strategy, video has proven to be the most engaging form of content. So engaging, that it has made it’s way into email marketing, content marketing, social SEO and demand-generation programs to help marketers improve results, increase brand awareness and strengthen customer relationships. But video is not just for marketers. Quickly catching on in the sales, customer success, support and human resources sectors, the momentum behind video is quickly picking up in 2016. So if you aren’t using video now, you sure as hell should be.

Here are 3 reasons why you need to make video a part of your arsenal this year, no matter who you are.

1. Video is THE Most Engaging form of Content

With nearly 200 million internet users now consuming online video each day, one thing is obvious- that video is the most engaging form of content. While YouTube has been the long standing dominator of digital video, consumption has extended into social media, with channels like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat creating their own audiences. That’s why in 2015 we saw Facebook hit 8 billion daily video views and Snapchat earn another 6 billion views. With each platform racing to innovate with new ad formats and attractive features, video is now omnipresent in our digital experience. Regardless of the nature of their content; whether they be high quality productions or personally recorded messages, video is clearly capturing audience’s attentions.

To no surprise, video has made its way into the world of B2B, with 93% of marketers using video for online marketing, sales or communication. Not only is visual content more engaging, but it’s provenly profitable- in fact, 52% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with best ROI. But the success isn’t limited to marketing, as video is quickly becoming an instrumental part in sales and customer experience in 2016.

2. Enter Into the Next Phase of Digital Sales

In very recent years, we’ve seen social media take its place in the sales space. Twitter and LinkedIn have proven valuable for sales reps to connect in non-traditional ways; cue the typical break in scenario in which the sales rep finds that he and his prospect share the same alma mater. While those channels help to facilitate a connection before the first email is sent, the opportunity to share diverse forms of content is even more prominent. Call it “sales enablement 4.0” or whatever you want, but in the next wave of social selling, video will be a major game changer by increasing the value of your content and your efforts. This is already underway, with 56% of B2B sellers indicating that sales results have been positively impacted by using video.

3. Deliver and Capture a Great Customer Experience

With buyers gaining more autonomy and knowledge of a product on their own, buying on complete viewability will become the norm in 2016. Buyers will make decisions based on their knowledge and perception of not only a company’s product, but of their experience with it as well. Take Uber for example. Instead of taking a taxi, most people now would rather wait longer for their car to arrive and even pay more. Why? Because they know what their experience and transaction will be like based on previous experiences, and are willing to pay for convenience. In fact, 55% of customers would pay extra to guarantee better service. This knowledge has become a major motivation, with Gartner predicting that 89% of companies will compete mainly on experience, and that the experience itself is now part of decision-making criteria.

So how can companies best capture this experience, and be sure that they are delivering a seamless one to their prospects and clients? How can they be better at answering questions, offering support, on boarding, etc? When it comes to making a choice, what will make customers think about their experience with you and your product? Video will help deliver that great customer experience and ultimately build relationships, reminding clients why they want to keep coming back, year after year.

4. Tie Effort to Results

In the past, the majority of brands looked to free sites like YouTube and Vimeo to host their digital content. We’ve cautioned against this for a few reasons, the first being that these free hosting sites are impersonal. YouTube is better suited to entertain the masses, not to deliver an individual message. Remember what we said about the importance of providing an optimal customer experience? The same idea applies when watching and interacting with a video. The type of video doesn’t matter- the medium itself has already proven effective. What matters now is the viewing experience. When you turn your digital assets to Youtube, all control on your end is vanquished. Unsupported content, comments and the inability to add additional content make it more of an open forum then a one-on-one conversation. Even when hosted privately, the only data that is supplied to you is the number views or watches, which is why Marketing professionals predicted 2016 to be the year that “views” becomes an irrelevant statistic.

While the use of video for B2B sales and marketing is prevalent, the inability to accurately measure results, whether it be engagement or ROI, is a major reason why companies struggle to justify making a greater investment in video. Since video has traditionally been used in content marketing and generating brand awareness, measuring the actual ROI that video marketing efforts deliver has been cited as the biggest challenge by marketers. But with 73% of marketers saying video has positively impacted their results, and another 56% seeing the impact in sales, the benefits are undeniable. Ultimately, what we need to know is not how many watches our videos are getting, but if those videos are actually helping close deals and make renewals.

Conclusion

In 2015, we saw the influence of online video skyrocket, both in our personal and professional lives. Video found crazy success in marketing, with sales and customer support quickly catching up. No, we’re not saying that reps are going to start Snapchatting their prospects in 2016, but even that doesn’t sound entirely impossible. While we looked to video to help us engage in 2015, 2016 will be the year where we’ll measure engagement, and its impact on our business. And as video’s influence continues to grow in the coming years, professionals will look beyond the content itself, and into the experience surrounding it.

With these ideas in mind; engaging with video, creating optimal user experiences and measuring analytics, businesses will look beyond free video hosting sites to maintain their digital assets. With OneMob, reps can host, distribute and track all their videos with complete control. So stop turning over your video assets to the Wild Web, and contact us to see how you can control the way you connect.