Masterclass: How to Use Video to Share Stories that Drive Sales

Have you ever come across a post or an article that caught your attention by the title, only to lose interest once you had a look at it because it merely consisted of several long blocks of text and not much else?

Have you ever experienced opening a seemingly interesting email among a thousand others in your crowded inbox, only to be disappointed or disinterested because of its lack of value and authenticity?

These things happen to both consumers and entrepreneurs alike.

For consumers, their inboxes and social media feeds are often made more and more crowded by countless emails and posts from brands or companies looking to sell their products in the marketplace. The problem is, these emails or posts typically consist of the same sales and advertising pitch that we normally hear, which is primarily the reason why in most instances they just get lost in the vast sea of unread posts and unopened messages.

And more often than not, the same is true for entrepreneurs trying to do business or form partnerships with other business owners. They tend to lose interest when presented with just the usual monotonous black-on-white text with excessively long paragraphs that often fail to effectively communicate and connect on personal level.

Let’s be real here. People are looking to do business with people. And no matter how you look at it, flooding prospective clients or other business owners with the same overused, trite, and even insincere words and phrases isn’t going to work.

What then is the best way to grow your business and drive sales?

Video.

But not simply video. You have to figure out how to tell stories that add value to people through your videos. You need to learn the art of storytelling if you want to become an effective and successful content marketer.

Video marketing is the best marketing strategy you can use in order to solve the problem of disengagement. It is also the best way to make genuine and intentional human connections.

To speak on these particular topics, it is with great pleasure that we present to you this webinar that Dubb recently conducted with Paige Battcher.

Paige is an international speaker and accomplished TV host. In 2013, she founded Kismet Ideas, a website design and digital marketing agency that helps entrepreneurs in setting up, designing, and growing their businesses by creating authentic web and marketing experiences.

The webinar touched on a number of relevant matters. We talked about sales funnels and the importance of accountability in reaching your goals, among others, but the webinar primarily talked about how to leverage Dubb and the art of visual storytelling to create meaningful revenue for your business.

If you have been wanting to incorporate video into your marketing strategies and efforts but are not quite sure how to do it yet, know that you’re in the right place. Because Dubb offers the most unique, efficient, and uncomplicated video marketing tools you will need to get started on your video marketing journey.

We learned a whole lot of valuable pointers from Paige during the webinar. Paige’s aspiration for the webinar was for us to be empowered with an incredibly effective formula for generating more leads and sales, and she did precisely that.

Paige showed us a three-step method to building mini sales funnels using the power of video and storytelling. Here are some of her pointers:

 

First, simplify the tech.

By now, you have probably already heard of the term sales funnels. The sales funnel refers to the steps that a prospect has to take in order to join in on your business as a valued client. They generally take the form of a sequence of landing pages that help walk your prospective clients through the buying process.

As Paige has shown during the webinar, marketers usually take their ideal clients through the sales funnel by sending them to busy websites. This practice is not exactly the most ideal because a busy website can get tedious and overwhelming for the client, which may eventually cause them to give less attention and lose all interest.

There are also various types of sales funnels to choose from, but most of them are quite complex. While making use of these funnel designs is not necessarily wrong, you have to keep in mind that complexity has the tendency to slow down or even completely disrupt efficiency.

Thus, being intentional is key. You have to be more intentional in leading your clients through the buying journey—set up sales funnels that are easy to take on, ideally one step at a time. This is especially important for digital marketers or entrepreneurs who are still relatively new to constructing sales funnels.

It is for these reasons that the mini video funnels that Dubb allows you to make are probably the most effective. Simple sales funnels like these are far more likely to generate success than complicated and advanced ones. The only things you need are a dash of creativity, some tincture of consistency, and a whole lot of meaningful stories to tell. This way, you’re getting the most out of your efforts. You’re building your confidence, establishing clarity, and having fun all at the same time. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice fun and ease for complex sales methods just to increase client engagement and close deals. After you have firmly established your niche, then you can start venturing out into more elaborate sales funnels.

 

Second, let’s amplify conversions and sales.

“Facts tell, stories sell.”

Paige reminded us of this saying from the world of sales. It’s true—a well-crafted marketing strategy that is driven by narrative and visual storytelling can help boost your sales.

Storytelling allows for emotional connection, telling us that humans are hardwired for connection. We look for it in our family, friends, and sometimes even in strangers. Our desire to connect is also the main reason why we love watching films, listening to music, and why we appreciate art.

What do these things have in common? Stories. Film and music and every other form of art make us feel connected to other human beings through the stories that they bring—may they be the writers, the actors, the painters, or the musicians. As Paige has said, we converse through stories and we remember things through stories. Stories have the ability to resonate within us.

That being so, if you’re only going to present your prospective clients with the usual advertising materials like brochures, flyers, and the routine sales talk without at least attempting to tell valuable stories, it’s highly likely that your efforts will not bear much fruit.

This doesn’t mean that you’re only going to tell hundreds of stories to your clients without showing them the actual facts and the necessary details about your products and services. It doesn’t have to be one or the other—you can choose to show them the facts through the arc of a story.

Now, in telling your stories, it’s extremely important that you value authenticity and transparency. This is what most people fail to do. No journey to success is ever smooth-sailing from the outset until the very end. There are always valleys and lows to be overcome and to be dealt with. If you value authenticity, you would choose to tell people about the breakthroughs and setbacks just the same. No matter how many wins any of us get, at the end of the day, we are still human and we occasionally stumble upon roadblocks.

Remember, you’re inviting and bringing others along with you on a journey. If you’re intentional in moving your clients through your sales funnel, you would have to establish trust and to initiate meaningful, engaging, and genuine conversations with them. You can do that by being real.

This may all sound challenging, but hear us out. Each and every one of these practices can be done with a conversational video. Yes, even a video that is less than a minute. Dubb gives you the ability to tell your stories through videos, whether long or short. Because Dubb already has all the tools and features that you need to create and distribute your videos, you can maximize your time, energy, and resources to perform other tasks that also need accomplishing.

So why use video as a medium to tell your stories?

It’s simple; video has the power to communicate you—the real you.

Video has so much to do with gaining your target clients’ trust. By using video, you are associating a face to your brand and showing your prospects that you are human.

Like we have said before, people are looking to do business with people. When you incorporate video, you are adding great value to your clients. It shows that you genuinely care about them enough to actually communicate with them on a very personal level.

Not only is video the ideal medium for storytelling; it simply is the future of marketing. Videos in emails can dramatically increase click-through and conversion rates. Video is also immensely beneficial for clients because it helps them digest and retain significant information much easier than plain text. Also, research has shown that consumers gain a better understanding of products and services when these things are presented to them in the form of video.

If you’re not finding these facts convincing enough yet, take a look at these statistics:

• Some 83% of businesses say that video provides good return on investment (ROI).
• Mobile users are fond of video. 90% of consumers watch video content on their mobile devices.
• 76% of users say they would share a branded video with their friends if they find it entertaining.
• By 2021, video will make up over 80% of all web traffic.
• In the U.S., there 75 million people who watch online videos daily.

Sound good?

Paige mentioned “analysis paralysis” during the webinar. If you have never encountered this terminology before, it’s the process or state of over-analyzing or over-thinking a situation, a plan, or a concept. It paralyzes decision-making to the point that the desired outcome is hindered from being successfully achieved.

Within the context of digital marketing, analysis paralysis can undermine any advertising effort and content marketing strategy. Often, there are times when consumers are presented with too much information, causing them to over-analyze. By the time they are finished with their over-analysis, the inactivity has already rendered irrelevant whatever it was that was being analyzed.

But here’s the thing: Even you yourself as a content marketer can experience analysis paralysis when trying to use the most professional video editing software.

See, analysis paralysis is quite destructive to any business. The best way to prevent your prospects (and even yourself) from ever experiencing it is by switching to video with the help of Dubb.

But how do you use Dubb? What can you do with Dubb?

Dubb is an all-in-one video messaging tool. Everything that video requires is everything that Dubb offers. With Dubb, you have the power to create and edit videos, package your videos in such a way that is consistent with and true to your brand, and distribute your videos with maximum ease and functionality.

Let’s talk about these things further:

1. Create your videos with ease.

Creating videos for video marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. It also doesn’t need to be done using high-end and expensive equipment. Whether you already have extensive experience in filmmaking or you’re just starting out on video production, we really believe that Dubb is for you.

For one, running a business already demands a considerable amount of your time and energy, and so, content production should not be taking too much of them. A huge amount of time spent on producing your videos and other assets doesn’t necessarily warrant the greatest possible quality. By taking out a large chunk of time, energy, and other valuable resources from your arsenal, you are also taking them away from other important things like developing your confidence, participating in relevant conversations, and communicating with people on an authentic level. Even minimum production can produce maximum results. That’s why it’s best to use a video messaging platform like Dubb, which lets you record videos with little to no effort.

As you may have seen in the webinar recording, Dubb Chrome Extension allows you to record videos as easy and as fast as clicking a button. You have the option to record a video via webcam, capture your screen activity, or even produce just an audio recording of your voice—all of which can be done with the simple click of a button.

Aside from the Dubb Chrome Extension, Dubb also has direct integration with LinkedIn, Gmail, Salesforce, Hubspot, and various other CRM platforms. This way, you can instantly create video messages with extreme efficiency and convenience regardless of which platform you’re using.

In addition to instant video recording, you can just as easily edit your videos by using Dubb, either from your desktop or through a mobile app. Dubb provides you with the ability to add text and emojis, insert music, splice parts together seamlessly, and you can even upload media files or clips from your camera roll onto your video message. This can all be done on your computer, phone, or tablet—whichever device you’re most comfortable with.

You see, video content production can be easy. It’s time you let go of your limiting beliefs that tell you otherwise. They’re only holding you back from reaching the success that’s right ahead of you.

Like we have said, Dubb has it all. It’s the complete package. There really isn’t any need to switch over to other video-editing applications when you’re already using Dubb.

Now that you’ve got your videos recorded and edited, you might be asking yourself, what’s the ideal and most effective way to present my videos to my prospects?

 

2. Customize your video landing pages for functionality

Branding is super important when you’re presenting your business to your target clients. You must see to it that your brand is strongly established and make sure that consumers are able to recognize your brand as distinct from others.

If you have ever tried publishing your content on YouTube, you may have noticed how other videos and brands are always competing against each other for the viewer’s attention.

Take the recommended section that suggests a long list of content from other brands, for example. While your viewers may initially take interest in your videos and start watching them, you will never really be able to capture their undivided attention because they are also being shown a ton of other brands as they are being introduced to yours.

You must therefore make sure that your brand is the only one your clients’ focus is set on. What better way to do exactly that than by using Dubb’s customizable video landing pages?

With Dubb, you can lead your clients to a landing page that’s dedicated to your brand and your brand alone. You have the ability to include your logo, choose your own background image and colors, and add necessary watermarks. The customizable landing page guarantees that no other business or company will be competing for your viewers’ attention, allowing for a better understanding of your brand and a cohesive packaging that communicates everything that you stand for.

Dubb’s landing page also gives you the option to arrange a number of videos into a playlist that automatically plays the next video as soon as the previous one ends. This feature allows you to add explainer videos, testimonials, social proof videos, and other custom video content that can add value to the client’s experience.

Creating a landing page from scratch is not a very easy thing to do. If that’s what you’re planning on doing, you might find yourself with too much responsibility on your hands and not much space to take on any more. Coding your own landing page will consume most of your time and resources when you could have been spending them on other more productive tasks instead.

And clearly, Dubb’s customizable video landing page is simple, cohesive, and user-friendly. Its straightforward interface guarantees that your contacts will not experience analysis paralysis or have trouble deciding on their next step.

On top of everything else, there is also the option to add customized call-to-action (CTA) buttons for your prospective clients to respond to your content with.

What are CTAs, you ask? CTAs are buttons that are built to generate responses from your video recipients. They allow your prospects to engage with your material instead of merely being passive viewers, and it gives them the opportunity to participate in the business as valued clients.

Apart from eliciting responses from your prospects, CTAs also assist you in preemptively attending to their needs. Practical CTAs grant you the ability to anticipate their needs or demands before they even know it.

It’s extremely important that your CTAs are actual clickable, interactive, actionable, and trackable links that you can have your prospects take place with. If you want to get the best responses from them, you must go way beyond verbal cues, call-outs, or just plain old link redirections. You have to give them options that will in turn serve a significant purpose.

Dubb gives you the means to create customized CTA buttons. These are links to internal or external forms for prospects to fill out, a video reply button, links for attachment and file downloads, redirections for new account registration, a direct calendar integration for booking appointments and consultations, and just about anything you can think of.

Now, that’s not where the customization magic ends. There is also the handy preset feature. You can set up multiple presets for your video landing pages with Dubb so that they will appear different and customized for each client. By utilizing this feature, you can assure that your prospects are getting the best experience because you are catering to their specific needs according to the particular industry or field of expertise that they belong in.

You now have your videos recorded, edited, polished, compiled, and arranged into playlists. What’s next?

3. Publish and distribute your videos with great efficiency

Your videos are done and are now ready to see the light of day. How do you send them out?

Remember, Dubb is not just a video recording and editing tool. Dubb also has exclusive features for distributing your videos to your prospective clients.

As we have already mentioned, Dubb is directly integrated with various CRM and email platforms like Gmail, Outlook, Mailchimp, Salesforce, and many others. This direct integration allows you to access Dubb’s features directly inside any of these platforms. All you have to do is look for the Dubb icon and you’re good to go.

If you’re using a platform that doesn’t have direct integration with Dubb, that shouldn’t be a problem. Dubb has a universal share-and-send method that allows you to copy the video into basically any CRM platform, email service, social media channel, or text message. Once you paste the link into your platform of choice, the thumbnail for your personalized video message is displayed as an engaging animated GIF preview. All of these helpful features increase the chance of your video message being clicked on and actually being watched and listened to by your clients.

Upon clicking on the thumbnail, your recipients will be redirected to your fully customized video landing page, complete with your logo, custom background image, your brand’s colors, call-to-action buttons, and your video playlist. No distractions.

Last but surely not least, Dubb can provide you with the ability to send out your video messages either in large bulk campaigns or through automation.

Before we get the concepts of email drip campaigns and email automation all mixed up, let us first determine what differentiates them from one another.

Email drip campaigns are a sequential set of emails and are essentially static. They are structured and scheduled one-off messages that consist of a predetermined content and are sent out to a list of contacts who opted in for your service. It requires work to form and organize content in advance, but once the campaign is in motion, the system will no longer require any further action from your end.

Drip campaigns allow you to send follow up messages to your customers. They help increase your response rates from your leads and prospects as they are prompted to engage with your material.

While email drip campaigns are static, email automation is dynamic. Automated emails are dynamic in the sense that they change based on the user’s behavior or actions. Email automation primarily makes use of a list of triggers. Each of these triggers has a corresponding messaging content that is specifically sent out to the recipient based on their actions.

Compared to drip campaigns, email automation is timely and naturally more personalized. They work best for nurturing leads and guiding them through the buyer’s journey.

Now that we’ve got those definitions out of the way, let’s talk about Dubb’s campaign and automation features.

With Dubb, you have the ability to send out your bulk campaigns regardless of your SMTP provider. Not only that, but you’re also provided with the very important tracking and analytics data. This feature is unique to Dubb.

Why are they important?

You have to be able to monitor the performance of your distributed videos. Dubb’s tracking and analytics show you who among your recipients clicked on your video, who among them actually watched, and how much of the video they watched.

Knowledge of these pieces of information can help you determine the effectiveness of your content, find prospective clients, and improve your marketing techniques by letting you see the extent of your business’ reach.

If you were to send your video messages as downloadable files or attachments, you’re losing the opportunity to gather tracking and analytics data. The same goes for uploading your videos on YouTube. The most you can get from YouTube is the number of views and that’s pretty much it. YouTube may be a great vehicle for discovery, but it’s not the best platform for digital marketing.

Building the most effective custom automation workflows is also possible with Dubb. You can have a sequence of emails or text messages with timely and targeted information delivered to your contacts based on the rules that you set. Your workflows would begin with triggers that will automatically set the email sending in motion, depending on the actions of your contacts.

These are only some of what you can do with Dubb.

Going back to Paige’s webinar session, here’s the last pointer that we can learn: Make it repeatable.

If you really are determined on making your video marketing endeavor work, you have to make your process repeatable. The key to reaching your goals is accountability.

According to Paige, research has found that people are 65% more likely to meet a goal after committing to another person. It was discovered that our chances of success can increase by over 95% when we build in regular meetings with our partners to check in on our progress.

If you believe that you already are doing the best you can do and giving the best you can give and yet still not making progress, maybe you should start asking yourself: could lack of accountability be the reason for your limited success?

Surround yourself with people who will inspire you to show up every day, and who are willing to encourage and help you reach your goals.

So, there you have it. That is how you use video to share stories that connect to people and generate meaningful revenue.

With Dubb, the entire video marketing process is made easy—from shoot to production, from production to branding, and from branding to distribution.