Don’t Make This Mistake When Creating Q&A Videos
Q&A marketing or question and answer videos are an excellent way to drive customer engagement, bring more views to a website, and gain more leads. But, they do need to be done right.
These videos do need to focus on common questions your customers are likely to have. They must then go on to answer those questions in a straightforward, helpful, and trustworthy manner, and all without being promotional.
If you’re working on creating a video for your website, you may want to hold off on another commercial for your company and instead focus on the answers your customers will most value.
Don’t Make Viewers Lose Interest
The biggest issue someone can make when creating a Q&A video is focusing too much on branding and conversion. While there are many types of videos where this can and should be the focus, a Q&A video is not the right time.
Even though the company wants to share information about how amazing their business is, this can cause viewers to lose interest and stop watching, especially when they are expecting information relevant to their interests and inquiries.
Customers expect commercial videos from companies, but when they have questions and are looking for answers, they’re not going to want to watch a commercial. They simply want to get the information they’re looking for.
Rarely is that information how great the company is with little other substance. If they don’t get the answers they need because there is too much of a focus on branding, they’ll likely look elsewhere for the information, and that may be on a competitor’s website.
Other Reasons To Avoid The Commercial Approach
The commercial approach is also ineffective because customers have learned to tune out advertising automatically. They may not even realize they’re not really paying attention to the video anymore.
This why leading with brand-centric details may result in a viewer missing the information they’ve sought out.
Today, customers are inundated with advertisements on TV, as well as all across the internet: on websites, their social feeds, in videos they watch, and elsewhere. Many people have learned to just ignore most of the advertising as a result.
When a Q&A video delves too much into an advertising format, and the questions and answers are just an afterthought, the customer may not pay attention to the video as a whole, even if they let it play through its runtime.
Another reason to avoid this approach is that it will either lengthen the overall video or become disjointed and unfocused. Shorter videos have been proven to be more effective, which means there’s little time to spare if there are a lot of questions and answers to cover.
If the video is too commercial, something else will need to give. Either the video will be too long, and customers won’t finish watching it, or customers will not get the answer they’re looking for because too little focus has been given to the topic.
Why Are Q&A Videos Popular Today?
Question and answer videos are gaining popularity fast, which is why many companies are starting to create them for their business. The reason behind this is simple: people rely on these types of videos for more information and they get it faster than they would when perusing text.
Many people don’t have time to sort through a long FAQ document, and they don’t want to wait for someone to email them back if they have a question. They’d rather watch a short video to get the answers they need.
Properly scripted and produced Q&A videos put this information in an effective, useful, and even entertaining format—enabling customers to find what they need without wasting any time.
Can They Be Used For Marketing Without A Sales Pitch?
Today’s marketing focus is on branding and conversion. Everything on a website is designed to bring in more visitors and to convert them to leads and customers.
All marketing strategies help push the company’s branding, get more visitors to the website, and encourage more purchases. Yet, focusing on a sales pitch during a Q&A video is not a good idea.
So, can they still be used in a marketing strategy even without the sales pitch?
Branding can be used in the video without being a focus. If there’s someone on screen talking, for instance, the company logo can be unobtrusively in the background.
This helps boost brand awareness without taking anything away from the video. Branding can appear on products being shown in the video or in any images that might be used in the video.
Keywords can be used in the video description as well as many other places, helping it get more views without anything stealing the focus.
As for sales pitches, they generally aren’t needed in a Q&A video. Those watching the video are likely already interested in the products or services; they just need answers to their questions.
Simply providing the answer can encourage customers to go ahead and make the purchase, even without telling them to “call now” or “contact us to learn more.” They’re already ready to take the next step; they just need the information first.
The Correct Focus For A Q&A Video
Whether a video is used in a marketing strategy or just to add content to the website and help customers, the focus needs to be on giving customers the information they need. Too much of a focus on the brand without answering questions properly is a huge mistake and one that could cost the company views or customers.
If the focus is on branding and the customer doesn’t get the answer they need from the video, they’ll lose interest. If they’re on the cusp of making a purchase, this could be a lost sale.
Another issue is that a focus on branding over answering questions can cause mistrust with customers. The customers expect to have their questions answered when they watch a Q&A video.
If the company focuses on branding and provides only a brief answer or doesn’t answer the question at all, the customer is likely to lose trust. After all, they didn’t get what they were promised from the video.
Mistrust generally leads to the customer opting for a competitor’s products instead of the company that created the video.
What To Do When Creating A Good Q&A Video
If you’re planning on creating a Q&A video, there are a few things you can do to make the video great. During the production of the video, keep the following in mind.
- Stay on Topic – Always stay on topic and avoid straying. Don’t spend the majority of talking about how great the company is or trying to accomplish too much in the brief runtime. Your viewers will lose interest.
- State Questions Clearly – Make sure the customers know what question you’re answering. If they don’t know what the question is, they might not realize when an answer applies to them.
- Answer Questions Simply but Thoroughly – It’s best to keep the answers simple. That doesn’t, however, mean just glancing over a topic. Make sure the question is thoroughly answered so the viewer is more informed than when they first hit the play button.
- Keep the Video Short – Viewers aren’t going to want to watch 10 minutes of video before they get the answer to their specific question. Keep the video short, answering the most common questions a customer might have. Around two minutes is generally the recommended length for this type of video.
- Add Branding Appropriately – Branding can be used, but it shouldn’t take priority over providing helpful information or interfere with the video. Incorporate branding in the graphics used, the title, or the description of the video instead of focusing on the branding in the video.
Options For Creating A Q&A Video
When you’re ready to create a Q&A video, you have the option of doing it on your own, by using apps and software, or by hiring a professional to handle it for you. DIY options are plentiful and it’s possible to create a great video using the apps or software available today, especially if you’re willing to pay for the software you need.
However, the DIY option does mean the outcome is limited to your skills, experience, and time. For companies that are focused on selling and serving their customers, this can be a tall order.
Hiring a professional is often more expensive than DIY options, but it could be well worth the cost. A professional is going to create a video that looks amazing and really captures the viewers’ attention.
On top of that, the professionals know what they’re doing and how to avoid mistakes. They understand what a good Q&A video should have, as well as how to create the perfect video for your website.
In most cases, hiring a professional is the best option if you want to avoid any mistakes and let someone else spend the time.
A question and answer video is a fantastic way to gain more leads, but it does need to be done carefully. Avoid making a commercial with a sales pitch instead of simply answering questions your customers might have.
If you’re thinking about creating a Q&A video, talk to a professional about the options available today. They can help you create an amazing video that includes branding without it stealing the focus.
With the right help, you can create a Q&A video that’s effective and a successful addition to your marketing plan.
