Most companies invest in video marketing. According to a recent report by Social Media Today, 64% of customers feel compelled to make a purchase after watching a product tutorial/demo video. Unbounce reports that featuring a video on a landing page can boost conversions by 80% on average. In fact, users tend to spend 88% more time on site when there’s video content available. When it comes to SaaS and IT products, a whooping 96% of decision-makers admitted to watching product videos before making a purchase.
The attraction of video marketing is undeniable, however, when it comes to development costs, the average price tag for demo video production rounds up to $10.000 per 1-2 minute video. However, to harness the power of video marketing, you don’t need to make a massive investment — just adopt the right principles. Simple videos often have the same power as professional commercial reels. Check out a few tips for how to implement this money-making practice correctly.
Start With A Script
One of the most common mistakes companies make with product demo videos is making the whole story about them. An “all about us” video press release will not score you high engagement rates, nor will it result into more sales or virality. When it comes to your script, focus on your customers’ biggest pain points, how you plan to solve those problems and what is going to make them sign up for a trial.
A compelling script order looks like this:
- Quick intro about your product
- Introduce the problem.
- Address the problem with your solution.
- Include a call-to-action.
- Wrap it up with your trust signals (press coverage, well-known clients, awards etc.)
There are some additional points that are worthy of mentioning for a quality product demo video. The ideal length is 90 seconds. But don’t waste time — make your value proposition within the first 30 seconds. Use simple language and keep it in the second person (“you” and “your”). After all, the focus needs to be on the customer, not your company.
Focus On The Opening
You have around 8-12 seconds to win your viewer’s attention. If you manage to keep them hooked up for 12 seconds, 80% of viewers will continue watching till the 70-second mark.
Squeeze the max out of this time by creating a solid opener and an enticing cover image, which states the exact problem your product will solve for the customer. No one is going to click on something that doesn’t bring them in. A good opener could be the difference between viral and zero views.
Reduce The Production Costs By Using The Right Tools
For bootstrapping startups, the costs of hiring a professional agency may seem too expensive to stomach. But that doesn’t mean you should give up on video marketing. Instead, use the right kind of affordable tools, like:
- Camtasia – shoot your video screen and make some light editing
- iMovie for Mac – great editing functionality and a tons of great templates to use. If you are not on Mac, there’s an alternative iMovie for Windows available too.
- GoAnimate – a great drag & drop tool to create animated videos for cheap.
- Sparkle – a freemium tool to create attractive whiteboard and doodle videos even if you have zero experience.
Wrap it Up With A Voice Over
Once you have a draft version of your video, it’s time to get a voice over. You can find a great selection of actors for affordable prices on Voices or Fiverr.
To get the best results, ask the VO artists to record alternative lines that may be used in the future. The last thing you want to do is start from scratch when you need to make an edit. It’s always better to have to cut voices than find new ones.