Nobody sees more variety on the sales floor than a solutions consultant (SC). They’re the person to whom all new and exciting edge-cases flock—where salespeople bring the deals that are unusual, fascinating, and sometimes, prophetic. You see, because we aren’t direct sellers, we have a fundamentally different relationship with customers and we touch so many deals that we get a great pulse on what’s happening across the market. Lately, in four particular industries, I’m watching industries using video so much that it’s worth writing about. But before I say which, let me explain why.
Video Is Personal and Powerful
We’re coming out of a communication dark age. You can see it in the faces of marketers and sellers—they feel battered by the increase in channels and interactions but a decline in engagement. They seek out video as a way to break through people’s inboxes, at which it excels, but what’s really driving its adoption is that video is personal. I see this for myself on a daily basis.
I visited a customer’s office and the first thing they told me was, “We feel like we already know you because we’ve watched your videos.” I get that reaction a lot. At trade shows, events, and on demos, our reputation precedes our team via the micro-demos we send. We’re instant acquaintances with everyone.
Video is also powerful. It goes far deeper than clicks to track individuals by what they watched and rewatched, on what devices, and where. It analyzes each video player by channel, trends, traffic, and multi-touch ROI. With this data, marketers and salespeople can see and automate practically everything.
To be an instant acquaintance and able to automate and optimize your outreach is a remarkable advantage. And nowhere is that more true than in these four industries using video.
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4 Industries Using Video to Their Advantage
1. Video for Financial Services
The financial services industry is up against a generational cliff. The average age of a financial advisor is 51, and only five percent are under 30. As a whole, advisors and younger generations struggle to relate to each other, and this is especially problematic because the whole operation is based on trust and relationships.
All that considered, the financial services industry has seen some of the biggest gains in video adoption—with video creation up 129% year-over-year. Video is helping firms and individual advisors to build more transparent relationships and explain complex financial products simply.
Virtual selling best practices for financial services dictates that organizations use an enterprise video platform to make sure that all videos shared are secure and compliant with industry standards.
Different Ways Financial Advisors Can Use Video
Here are a few of the ways that advisors and wholesalers can use video for financial services:
Client outreach videosAnnual portfolio review videosContract explainer videosEducational videosOrganizational brand marketing videos
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2. Real Estate Video Marketing
Video hits home in real estate too (pun intended) because it’s also deeply personal. Whether it’s commercial or residential, property is often the biggest purchase most people ever make and there area lot of emotions involved. People feel exposed by having to shine a light on their finances and choose between their budget and their dream space.
For the real estate market, 84 is the average number of videos created per organization last year. Almost two-thirds were personal one-to-one outreach videos.
With video, real estate agents can build an early relationship the same way my Vidyard account executives and I do before trade shows. They can easily personalize video walk-throughs where they talk about features of interest and then, as an organization, measure the effectiveness of each approach. Agents can get real-time alerts when buyers watch the video and can help buyers feel comfortable picturing themselves in the new home. (And if it’s powerful now, just imagine when 360-degree house tours are a widespread thing.)
Different Ways Real Estate Agents Can Use Video
Here are just a handful of the many ways realtors can use video for real estate:
Cold outreach videosSocial media videosCustomer follow-upsProperty video tours
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3. Video for Healthcare
Healthcare organizations published an average of 268 videos last year—up 87% year-over-year. So there’s no denying this is a hot industry for leveraging video.
In particular, if we look at personal health, which requires a personal approach. The megatrend of self-care and the increased awareness around individual diets and exercise have forced health and wellness companies to get to know their consumers intimately. Yet most of their mailings are still hampered by non-personalized 20th-century outreach methods. On demos, I’m seeing these marketers unable to contain themselves about the idea of mass-individualized videos. Corporate fitness providers and health management firms can use these to easily talk to both employers and consumers about precisely the right routines and dietary restrictions.
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4. Video in Education
Education and public service organizations created an average of 433 videos last year. That’s an increase of over 200% year-over-year. It’s not surprising given that many had to go virtual with the onset of the pandemic. More than half of those videos were asynchronous videos used to support on-demand conversations with students and parents. Video is also a popular recruitment tool as we discuss in more detail below.
Using Personalized Video in Higher Education
To compete for students, institutions of higher education must keep up with what students want to see. Video is that channel, at least for now, and I’m seeing even smaller universities coming up with libraries of hundreds of personalized videos on culture, alumni, and non-academic interests that really strike an emotional chord. Just take a look at this one by the University of Waterloo:
University videos attract views, engagement, and data which university recruitment teams can analyze to test and improve their messaging.
synchronous Video Messages in Education
With the rise of remote learning, asynchronous or recorded video messaging is on the rise in both K-12 and higher education. Both teachers and school boards are adopting asynchronous messaging to connect with students, parents, and each other.
Here are five ways educators can use recorded video messaging:
Record lessons to share with studentsProvide assignment instructions to provide extra clarityUse video messaging to answer questionsSend out class announcements via videoUse video to provide students with
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nd That’s Not Even the Half of It
Where else is video surging? Really, anywhere that marketers and salespeople are besieged by too many channels and whose prospects have a need to create a personal and powerful connection. Regardless of industry or role, video is a powerful way to save time, add personality, and connect when we can’t be there in person.
This post was originally published on December 14, 2017. It was updated on October 20, 2021.
4 Industries Where Video is Surging .
