The Next Video You Need – But Don’t Just Take Our Word For It…
Whenever I click on a video to watch before buying a product or a service, I ask myself… “What am I looking for in this video? What is going to convince me?”
For me, the thing I’m looking for most is assurance. How can I be sure that this company is trustworthy? That’s easy. I want to listen to others who are like me share their own story of what they experienced from purchasing these products or services. And the more that’s shared, the more I will learn to trust.
That’s why the second type of video we’re going to discuss is so important: Testimonial Videos.
Here are the Top 5 things every good testimonial video should aim to include:
- Tell the Before & After Story. Whether it’s a testimonial or a blockbuster movie, the best stories give us a transformational experience. Quite simply, it’s: “This was my life BEFORE I became a customer, and now this is my life AFTER.” Testimonials show us you’ve got something that can literally be life-changing.
- Present your Product as the Solution. The two biggest question we always ask is, “What problem are you solving?” and “What makes you different?” This is really the key to a good Before & After testimony – it’s the story of how your product came along and changed everything.
- Show the Product in Action. We talked about this last time – just because we’re hearing from a satisfied customer, but ideally we still want a visual. Talking head videos are great, but the best testimonials let us experience the magic with our own eyes.
- Be Honest. This sounds obvious, but authenticity is essential. Sure, we want to hear from your most passionate customers, but not if what they share off as fake. Look for customers who have had a great experience, and can genuinely translate that when on camera.
- Give Potential Customers a Next Step. By the end of the video, hopefully the viewer is ready to buy! Make it easy for them by offering a clear way to connect, whether it’s contact details or product purchase information.
I hope this helps you spread the word about the great work you are doing. Kind of like that old saying about a tree falling in the forest – you’ve helped so many customers, here’s to creating an opportunity for them to make a sound!
A Video That’s Gonna Move You (And Your Business)
One of my favorite commercials growing up was this ad for Juicy Fruit:
The 80s vibes are so strong, and it’s very funny to see how the mere act of opening a pack of gum can instantly change your life. You might be one stick of Juicy Fruit away from being the coolest person in town who everyone is attracted to when they see you on water skis – who knew chewing gum could be this fun??
Last week, we talked about the importance of incorporating videos on your website and in your digital marketing strategy. If you do it right, using videos will:
- build trust in your company
- clarify your product or services
- help generate more business
There are four different types of videos that businesses can use to make this happen: Explainer/Demo Video, Testimonial Video, Behind-the-scenes Video, and a Helpful Blog Video. Over the next few weeks, we’ll go into more detail about each one so you can answer:
What kind of video makes the most sense for your business?
For today, let’s talk about the Explainer/Demonstration video.
Like the Juicy Fruit commercial, this type of video shows your product or service in action. This is especially helpful if you offer something that might require a little more explanation. Your goal is to take the mystery out of the equation, so your customer has even more confidence to make a purchase.
This is especially important in today’s marketplace. Most customers will make their first impression of you ONLINE. It doesn’t matter how friendly you are in person, or how amazing your product is to use – if you can’t make that translate online, people aren’t buying it.
Demonstration videos are a great solution – you can show people exactly how things work, and give them the opportunity to see how they would experience it themselves. They are significantly more effective than text alone ––
Research says people are 3x more likely to watch a video than to read the same information, with a much higher retention rate.
So don’t just talk about it.
Open up that pack of gum, get on your jet ski and SHOW THEM what you can do.
By recording a demonstration video, you’ll have something that lives online and engages customers 24 hours a day. That’s a simple way to amplify your sales.
Chew on that!
How To Bring Your Business To Life
I always carry around jumper cables in the trunk of my car just in case. Just in case my battery dies, or if someone else’s battery dies and I want to help. A couple of years ago, I ran into a situation that I was 50% prepared for. I had my jumper cables. But the 50% I wasn’t prepared for was trying to figure out how to jump a hybrid. Do I connect the cables like a normal car? If so, where’s the battery? Is there more than one battery? If so, which battery do I jump? Where do the cables go? I don’t see any positive or negative terminals. I am so lost. The truth is, the hybrid car had the owner’s manual in the glove department. But, I needed answers quickly and visually…so, what did I do? I quickly searched YouTube and found a 1-minute video that told me everything I needed to know. And voila, I became an instant expert and an instant hero. Thanks, YouTube.
The other day, I was looking for a drawer organizer online. There are hundreds of them. I found the one that I liked but wasn’t sure if it was the right fit, size, or function that I was looking for…until I saw that this product had a video. A quick 45-second video that showed someone putting the organizer in a drawer and placing utensils in it to show how it would simplify and beautify my life. Yup, exactly what I was looking for. Thanks, YouTube.
Today, I watched a video on YouTube to stretch and relieve my lower back pain. Thanks, YouTube.
Do you see a pattern here? We are watching more videos online than we ever have before. In fact, we watch an average of 16 hours of online video per week, which is a 52% increase in the last two years. It’s also known that we retain around 90% of a message when we watch it in a video compared to only about 10% when we are reading it in text.
This has major implications for your business. According to research:
- 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
- 86% of people would like to see more videos from brands.
- 64% of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos.
- 68% of consumers prefer watching videos to learn about new products or services, as compared to articles, infographics, ebooks, and presentations.
- Consumers who end up on an e-commerce site through a user-generated video are 184% more likely to purchase and spend 45% more.
- Google shows a video thumbnail next to a search result about 26% of the time, and users are more likely to click that listing.
So, are you thinking what I am thinking? Why don’t you have a video? I honestly believe every business website should have one. For this next series, I want to go through the different types of videos you need and how they will not only help generate more business but also truly help those who are seeking a solution, build trust in your company, and clarify your product or services. Videos create higher engagement and increase traffic. It’s a win-win all the way around.
Looking forward to introducing and explaining a new video category each week. Also, I would love to hear from you on what type of video you think will best engage with your customers and ultimately, help you grow. Let’s talk about it!
Your Online Review Solution
All month long, we’ve been talking about the importance of online reviews. Hopefully it’s helped you be more strategic about how you establish trust with people online, and ultimately ends up growing your business.
But here’s the problem.
Even as I’ve been sharing these insights with you, and I KNOW this is exactly what we all need to do… there’s a part of me that resists implementing it myself.
Why??
Because I hate asking for reviews!
It almost feels like telling everyone to wish me a happy birthday on my birthday. hahaha! Doesn’t it kind of seem unnatural to ask people how awesome they think you are??
For anyone out there who can relate to that, good news: there is a solution.
We’ve partnered with a company called Fireworx Reputation. The owner is actually a good friend of mine, and their whole business is helping manage all the aspects of online reviews that people like us are so reluctant to do.
Fireworx does it all – for example:
- Automated Review Requests. After a purchase or appointment, automatically send an email/text message for a review request and/or reminder.
- Promote Positive Reviews. When you receive a positive review, it will automatically be shared to your social media and custom reviews page.
- Negative Review Notifications. Receive an email when a negative review is posted, so you can respond and work through a solution before it creates a bigger problem.
- Custom Email Campaigns. Thank customers for positive reviews, survey customers with negative reviews and much more!
- Dedicated Reviews Page. Our platform’s widget automatically updates your website’s custom reviews page. This gives an incredible boost to your SEO!
- Multi-Location Management. See statistics of how your business is performing as a whole & how each location is performing on its own.
- Employee Specific Recognition. Allow reviewers to give feedback on specific employees they interacted with (don’t worry, only you can see this). You’ll know where your team is excelling, and where extra training might be in order.
I believe in this so much that I personally just became a Fireworx client myself! I really think this can work for you as well.
Click on the Learn More button below that explains everything – be sure to scroll down to the bottom and schedule a free demo of what they can do for you!
The Fireworx team is ready to walk you through this and work on your behalf. As it says on their site, “You know you’re good at what you do. Now make sure others know it too!”
Please email me if you have any questions. Our heart at BOS Media is doing everything we can to make your business look good – I hope this helps you shine!
What Is A Good, Quality Review And How Do We Get Them?
Have you ever read an online review that was so vague and generic that you wondered if it was even real? It almost sounds like the reviewer was their cousin’s friend, and in return for watching their dog over the weekend while they were on vacation, they put something nice on the dog-sitter’s Google business page. Not knowing anything about what they do, they could only speak in generalities. Something like, ”Johnny was awesome! He was super friendly and got everything done on time” – words that could literally apply to any business.
They offered no details, no stories, no specifics…just vague words. It might sound positive, but this actually has very little effect on a potential customer.
A good, quality review should provide useful, constructive feedback, with specific details that cover a full range of the customer’s experience.
Why is it important to get these types of reviews?
Because good, quality reviews make you feel something. It gives others a sense of what it’s really like to do business with you, and the factors that have contributed to someone’s positive, negative, or just an “eh” kind of experience. And for the readers who haven’t yet decided whether or not to do business with you, those details build TRUST.
So, how do we get good, quality reviews? Here are three pieces of advice from the experts:
1. Actively ask for reviews. We talked about this last week and how much impact it can make. The reality is, most people don’t bother leaving you reviews unless they have a complaint. You don’t want to leave your online reputation in the hands of angry customers – give happy people a chance to tell your story too.
2. Make it easy. Which leads to the second point – once the satisfied customers are willing to do you the service of leaving a review, make it easy! Tell them exactly where to go, and make reviews available on as many platforms as possible.
3. Ask good questions. If you do this right, you’re actually helping the customer write the review and say nice things about you. Be clear about what you’re looking for in the specific questions that you ask – for example:
- What did you enjoy most about using our service/product?
- What’s the biggest benefit/result you got from going with us?
- Would you be willing to recommend us to your friends?
Bottom line: it doesn’t matter how good you think you are. What matters is how good your customers think you are. Give them a voice and be ready to listen. Best case scenario, they’ll brag about you to the world; worst case scenario, you’ll have some valuable feedback that will help you get better.
And that’s worth a lot more than empty flattery from your cousin’s friend (Side note: I’m starting to think he’s just using me for free doggy day care…I may need to talk to my cousin about this).
Does The Quantity Of The Reviews Even Matter?
As you may have heard, the BOS Media podcast is called “Make it Matter.” So when the subject line asks, “does something matter?” it’s kind of a big deal in our world. Mattering matters to us. (not to mention, what’s the entire physical universe made of? That’s right, MATTER.)
The more we talk about reviews, the more I’m struck by the subconscious effect they have on me. If I’m comparing two options – whether it’s a restaurant, or a product on Amazon – if one has like 7 reviews, and the other has 1,400, I’m almost always going to go with the one that has more… but why?
I heard an awesome quote from a business owner on Reddit about this:
How do reviews change the way you look at a movie, product, or place?
“I kind of have some deeper understanding of reviews from the restaurant and hospitality business. Once you get past the BS filter, then you can see the real reviews. What you are looking for are the true positives and the true negatives. Consistency gives you the answer.”
The key word here is consistency, and how it helps lead us to “true” positives and “true” negatives. The more reviews you have, the more truth you can derive from it. That’s a strong statement but I really believe: Consistency gives you the truth.
No offense to the 7-review company, but how much truth can we really derive from that? (especially when everyone’s first couple reviews are usually from family members haha). The more consistency we see, the more credibility we give.
Consistency = Credibility
With all that said, let’s talk about what really matters to the entrepreneurs we work with: growing your business. I just heard an amazing case study about the transformative power of reviews.
Eagle Beaver Moving is a small business who started a campaign of asking every single customer they got for reviews – the results blew me away:
Before: 4 reviews, 4.2 rating, 20 leads/month
After: 528 reviews, 4.9 rating, 350 leads/month
I know some of us might feel reluctant to ask customers for reviews – you may not want to bother them, or maybe you’re afraid of getting negative feedback we discussed last week. But I think we can all agree: if you care about consistency, credibility and growth, this does matter.
Next time, we’ll talk about how you can get more quality reviews. Our hope is that it helps you establish trust with people searching online, and ultimately ends up growing your business. Why is this so important?
Because YOU MATTER to us.
How Do I Deal With Negative Reviews?
Let’s talk about 100% 5-star reviews… Do they feel suspicious to you? If I see a business with all 5-star reviews, part of me gets super excited for them. How cool is it that they are that awesome? And I usually don’t doubt that they are… but, I also want to know more.
Someone told me that in order to really know how great a company is, you need to see what happens when something goes wrong. Because inevitably, something will. How will they address it? How will they remedy it? Will they offer empathy? Will they understand the other side? Will they defend? Will they be kind?
Whatever we believe about this gets put to the test when someone posts a negative review about our business. How will we respond?
Here are a few tips for how to prepare yourself for when that moment comes, starting with…
What NOT to do:
- Don’t ignore it. Kind of like when your car makes a funny noise – you can’t just turn the radio on, or put a piece of black tape over the “check engine” light. Negative reviews aren’t fun, but pretending that they’re not there is not a solution, and may cause people to assume that the criticism is accurate.
- Don’t get defensive. The customer may not always be right, but you gain nothing by proving them wrong. Getting defensive often triggers a similar response in the other person. Online they call this a “flame war” (and if you’ve ever seen one in the comment section, you know that no one wins). Try to avoid that and look for ways to be more solution-oriented, responding calmly no matter how out of line you think the customer is.
- Don’t dismiss legitimate criticism. Before responding, take a minute to do a little self-examination – maybe the customer actually has a valid point. If you’re open to it, their feedback could help you address an area that needs improvement, in which case it’s better to just admit that you were wrong rather than to argue.
What to do:
- Own your responsibility. Success in business is not about avoiding mistakes – it’s more about what happens next. If you did something wrong, do your best to make it right – let the customer know you’re sorry they had a bad experience and that you hope they’ll give you another chance. Ideally your kind response (plus the offer of a refund or exchange if needed) will be what they remember most.
- Address complicated issues privately. While you do want to respond, the entire interaction doesn’t have to be on the review site (especially as you keep the customer’s privacy in mind). If you don’t have the customer’s contact information, invite them to reach you by phone or email.
- Beware of fake reviews. The review site might be willing to take it down (especially if it’s clearly a troll), but if not, let the reviewer know that you value all feedback and are committed to customer service, then politely inquire about the claim, and invite them to contact you directly to resolve the issue.
This whole conversation takes me back to a BOS Media podcast we did about “making negatives into a positive“. One of the quotes we highlighted was from Danny Meyer: “The road to success is paved with mistakes well-handled.” Just remember when negative reviews come, it doesn’t have to be the end of the story – show your company’s true colors in a gracious response, and be ready for lots more to discuss about reviews in the coming weeks!
Online Reviews and a Bunny
My daughter wanted a bunny. Christmas was coming up and she just couldn’t stop talking about it. She was doing some intense research on what type of bunny she wanted and where to get it. We were very hesitant. We didn’t know anything about bunnies and we knew eventually, we’d be taking care of it. So, we acted as though we weren’t interested in getting her a bunny for Christmas. We were so believable that she eventually stopped talking about it and moved on. She was sad.
Well, Christmas came and the last present left under the tree was a large gift bag. My daughter slowly walked over to it in her PJ’s and looked in. She screamed and immediately cried. Tears of joy flowed down her cheeks, she picked up and showed us the most adorable, furry bunny you’ve ever seen. It was a lop-eared bunny that she wanted and she named her…wait for it…Bunny.
I wanted to share that story before I got to what happened next. The Bunny loved our carpet. It had no flavor but she just loved chewing it up. Not sure why – is this what Bunnies do? Well, to make the long story somewhat short, we went online to look for a carpet repair company.
I don’t know about you but I know nothing about carpet repair. I don’t know what it takes, how much it costs and how they even do it. Where do they get the matching carpet to patch? How in the world do they repair what a cute little lop-eared bunny called Bunny has destroyed? So I immediately clicked on different carpet repair companies and started reading the reviews.
Do you do that too or is it just me? I clicked on companies with the most reviews and somehow felt that they seem to have social proof that they actually know what they are doing and are doing it well. They must be better than others since they have more reviews! Do you think like that too? I know having a lot of reviews doesn’t tell the whole story but they kinda do for me. Also, reading the reviews reveals so much about the company. How they work, their customer service, their culture, punctuality, friendliness, even what types of mistakes they make and what to look out for. Personal, legit reviews that people took time to write gave me enough confidence to make a call for carpet repair.
The company I chose was very responsive to my inquiry and answered all my questions quickly. When the repair was complete, he did something that I’ve never had anyone do. He sent me a before and after photo that he took of the repair. And then, he kindly asked me to write him a review if I was satisfied with his work. I told him Yes, since I am an entrepreneur myself and I know how important Marketing is. Of course, I would!
But then, I forgot. Life got busy and I quickly forgot my assignment. Something I actually would have loved to have done since I know the value of the reviews and that he did a great job…and I wanted to help him grow his business.
I got a text from him a week later gently reminding me of the review request. It wasn’t annoying, it was actually perfect timing and prompted me to write him an awesome review with the before and after a photo he sent me.
So, what did I learn? Two very important things about Marketing:
- Reviews matter. It matters a lot. Social proof is king. In fact, last year, 93% of customer read online reviews before hiring a service or buying a product. I know this is true because I do it myself. And I know you do too.
- Reviews don’t just happen by chance. There needs to be an internal process and flow that prompts your customers to write and makes it easy for them. If they are like me, they’ll also need to be reminded.
So, back to the Bunny. Was she the cutest bunny ever? Yes. Was my daughter the luckiest and the happiest little girl? Yes. Were we the best parents ever? Yes. Did we end up taking care of the bunny? Yes.
The real moral of my bunny story is, I honestly think this online review thing has got some bite to it. I think if we do it right, it can truly affect the way we engage with customers and exponentially grow our business at the same time. Journey with me with this online review series, I have so much more to share.
From Ordinary To Extraordinary
For this final installment in our leadership series, we wanted to highlight a leader who embodies all the leadership qualities we’ve discussed. Great leadership is not just about being in charge and having success – the real job of a leader is “moving from being responsible for the job to being responsible for the people,” even when that requires great personal sacrifice. The world desperately needs leaders like that right now.
As I think about the leaders who have impacted me – from teachers, to bosses, to all my heroes – there was one that stood out this week, someone who definitely belongs in the BOS Media Hall of Fame. His name is Jim Valvano.
If you have some time, the best way to learn about Jim Valvano’s leadership is through the movie Survive and Advance through ESPN+. It takes his experience as a college basketball coach, in particular in an unbelievably March Madness tournament run in 1982, and maps it with his own personal battle with cancer. “Survive and advance” became the story of his life both on and off the court.
If you don’t have ESPN+, you can get a glimpse into his story from this speech, when he was presented the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage on this exact date 29 years ago.
When I think about that speech, I always remember the simple advice he said would make every day successful. It’s summed up in three things:
- Number one is laugh.
- Number two is think – spend some time in thought.
- Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. “If you laugh, think and cry, that’s a heck of a day.”
Hearing this again, I thought about the BOS Media meetings we had this week, and the times our team got to laugh, think and cry together. It made me so proud to think of how we’re actually getting to live this out. This type of success really is so simple if we give ourselves time to make it a priority.
Which leads to my favorite story about Jim Valvano, which summarizes so much of who he was as a leader, as well as some of the most important values in my own life and work. It was a quote he heard at age 16 from Olympic Champion Bob Richards that shaped everything about who he would become:
“God must love ordinary people, because he made so many of us. Yet every single day, in every walk of life, ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things.”
Looking back at all the people Jim Valvano impacted, and his legacy as a leader, I think it all came down to one thing: he actually believed those words. He instilled that belief into people every time he walked into the room. As he said throughout his life, “the greatest gift you can give to someone is to believe in them.”
I hope you do something extraordinary today. But most importantly, I hope you’re a leader who believes the ordinary people around you really can be extraordinary.
What I Never Knew About Leadership
I always thought that in order to be an amazing leader and a successful entrepreneur, you have to be driven, ambitious, extremely creative, and charismatic. While some of that might be true and can definitely help…I am now convinced that great leadership and entrepreneurship rely on a very different set of skills:
People skills.
That’s the takeaway we’ve learned over and over as we listen to the best business leaders: Leadership is no longer about you – it’s about serving someone else. It’s not about how great you are or how well you get the job done. You are now measured by how great your team is and how well they are thriving and doing the work.
So let’s get practical. If you want to be a great leader in your organization, your title needs to change. From now on, think of yourself as:
Chief Goal Officer.
Instead of pushing to be that charismatic, driven, creative person who’s trying to get everyone on board your mission, think about THEIR mission. How can you help the people you work with find the best path for THEM, for what THEY want to accomplish?
The worst advice you can give someone is what YOU would do, not what they should do. You’re not them. The thing that works for you might now work for everyone. In fact, it could actually screw them up really badly.
So what does it mean to step into a new role as Chief Goal Officer? Here are three key elements:
- ONE WORD. It starts by getting to know your people – how are they wired? I’m not saying you’re going to understand everything about them, but start with this: What is their One Word? What is the core value that drives them?
- FIND THEIR AMBITION, If you know what’s motivating them, from there you can look to the future. What is the dream that they’re pursuing down the road? How can you help them get there?
- RUN A PARALLEL PATH. How can you connect their current work to the goal ahead? Make that path visible for them, and be a stepping stone toward their success. So many of us operate like we’re afraid to lose people when we should actually be celebrating – if we do this right, we get to be part of seeing a lot of dreams become reality.
As we wrap up, I would love to hear about what you think great leadership is.
- Who’s a great leader in your life?
- What skills do they possess?
- Why does that make you thrive in what you do?
Please share your thoughts with me and let’s keep learning together!
