At Plum, we’ve shot and edited several manufacturers product videos to help them market their products to retailers and end users. While most manufacturers use a wide range of techniques to market and sell their products, only a few use video as a driver for business. We believe in creating high quality video that tells a story about the manufacturing process and the benefits of the finished product. For the purpose of this blog, we’re sharing a few ways a manufacturer should be using video to show what their product is, how it’s produced, and how it’s used.
Process Video. This type of video is created to illustrate the full production and manufacturing process is completed. Usually this means showing manufacturing from start to finish and how the product is put together. This is also where you’d highlight that your products are made in the USA or illustrate how the production line works together to create a high quality product. We recommend this video be approximately 90-seconds in length to ensure you show all the important qualities of your process and product. Keep in mind, the best marketing campaign videos tend to be shorter in nature, yet adequately inform the viewer.
Social Media. Manufacturing companies also need to feed their social media funnel. Plum will work with the marketing team, sales team, and management to ensure the messaging matches the appropriate branding components for consistency. Most manufacturers don’t think of social media as a way to sell, but by selling to the end user about their unique selling proposition and the benefits of their product, manufacturers can pull sales through the distribution channel without relying on retailers or distributors. By using social media, manufacturers can create a strong first impression and increase engagement.
Hiring? Whether the company is just starting out or has been around for awhile, capturing and retaining the best employees is critical to its success. Whether the company finds new employees through email marketing or various hiring websites, it’s critical to craft the perfect message to the target audience. We recommend featuring a career video on the company’s career page that can differentiate you from other manufacturers.
Demos. If you’ve already shown the production process, the next step is to show how the product works. That’s where manufacturing marketing works best. We recommend creating a video marketing campaign that illustrates how the product works and the benefits it solves. We also recommend that it highlights the pain points that relate to the end user, even at a high level. By digging into the pain and costs of not purchasing the product, a video can help the buyer know whether the product is right for them. If possible, when seeking any type of video production services, we recommend you ask to see how they’ve helped other manufacturers describe the most important pain points the buyer might face and show how each one is solved after purchase. This can be shown on a website, direct marketing, emailing, or trade shows. Here’s an interesting example of a demo video.
Video Reviews. Our clients have shared with us that there seems to be a point of differentiation when someone buys. When a product has a supporting video, they tell us that sales are greater than those products without video. On the other hand, when a product has a testimonial video, sales increase even more. What they tell us is that video helps a buyer understand what a product is and how it works, but a testimonial will help a buyer know that someone was happy after their purchase and was comfortable sharing their experience with others via video. While we’d love to shoot that testimonial professionally, it can be just as powerful when shot by the customer him- or her-self on their phone or webcam. The results are positive either way… it’s just a matter of how professional the manufacturer wishes to appear. Below is a nice video review for a legal office…but same rules apply for any manufacturer.
Referral Requests. Many times it’s helpful to ask an existing client for a referral. Why not ask via video? As a manufacturer, you could shoot a short video asking an existing client for a referral. It might sound something like, “Hi there! You recently shared with us that you felt your purchase was a positive experience. Why not share that experience with others? We love referrals! In fact, great referrals are someone like…(describe who). If you can think of anyone who fits this description, would you mind emailing me their contact information? I can mention your name, or go without mentioning it, just let me know.” This is a simple, consistent message that can be sent out after every positive customer experience.
561.800.2105