Conversations among friends, family and followers are an everyday occurrence in our digital world. Of the apps most downloaded in 2021, reports show that WhatsApp, an instant messaging platform, is the fourth most popular. In second and third place are Instagram and Facebook, also widely used for instant messaging.
It’s obvious we want conversations to play a part in our online experiences, and businesses are taking notice. Savvy marketers are turning to conversational marketing — the strategy of having dialogue-based interactions in real time with your customers.
Sound like chatbots? It’s more than that.
To have a conversation with your customer that’s both helpful and engaging, it’s not enough to use only text. Today’s customers want brands to communicate with video. In fact, 68% of consumers would prefer to watch a video to learn about a new product, rather than read about it.
We know video is superior when it comes to communication. But how can digital marketers go about adding video to their strategy? Read on to learn how to leverage interactive video for effective and engaging conversational marketing.
What Is Conversational Marketing?
Conversational marketing is all about, well, conversations. But it’s also more than that.
Conversational marketing leverages meaningful dialogue in real time to engage leads. Think about the flow of a conversation in person. When you ask someone how they’re doing, you get a response right away, not hours later.
And it’s possible with today’s technology. Rather than staffing customer service centres around the clock, brands use digital tools to speak with prospective and current customers, whenever needed.
You’ve likely seen it already. Some typical conversational marketing use cases include:
- An AI chatbot asking your interests upon entering a homepage
- Troubleshooting a software issue with a support rep via live chat
- Receiving automated texts that you can reply to
- Ordering a product through a bot on Messenger
Rather than filling out a form, waiting for an email and then speaking with a brand representative, conversational marketing quickly — and effectively — moves customers through the funnel. A meaningful, personalised conversation gives them the answers they need instantly.
And brands that use this strategy often see a boost in their bottom line. Reports show that 79% of companies see positive results in their sales, revenue and customer loyalty from their live chat feature.
The Case for Adding Interactive Video
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Today’s conversational marketing efforts are primarily delivered through text. But today’s consumers are using more than text messages to connect with one another and brands.
Video chat has become increasingly popular. While emojis are expressive, nothing captures our gestures, facial expressions and other human nuances like video. Notably, dating apps, where conversations are critical, have added video chat features.
But when it comes to conversing with your customers, it’s not enough to send out a generic video. Conversational marketing is all about 1:1 conversations. A video that speaks at the customer, rather than with them, is unlikely to engage the viewer.
Interactive Living Video, on the other hand, is perfect for enabling a two-way conversation. Take a look at how it’s leveraged by Teijin, a technology-driven Japanese company, when welcoming visitors to their website.
It’s contextualized. The video knows the viewer’s location, weather, time and more.
It’s interactive. The viewer can navigate through clickable elements, skip ahead, share feedback in a survey and more.
Here’s why interactive video is perfect for conversations with your prospective customers.
Two-Way Conversations With Interactive Video
Conversations are all about interactivity. Listening to someone for a few minutes is more like a lecture — and that’s not what customers want. An engaging, productive conversation requires participation from everyone.
Thanks to interactive capabilities, video is part of the conversation. In the example from Teijin, viewers can click on a subject to learn more about it. This determines the next step of the video, simulating an in-person dialogue between the brand and consumer.
Because viewers can pick what they want, rather than passively listen to details about subjects they don’t care about, they get relevant information faster. And the right information, presented at the right time, lays the foundation for a happy customer.
Learn About Your Leads
Conversational marketing is primarily used for generating leads. But because the individuals who make up this audience have yet to extensively interact with the brand, there’s little to no data available.
So how do marketers collect data for customer acquisition? A text-based form can only ask so many questions before a potential lead becomes disinterested and drops off — 68% of those asked to fill out a form, to be exact.
Interactive video, on the other hand, feels much more organic and engaging when it comes to answering questions.
For instance, in many industries, a customer would have to fill out a form asking what their interests are, their requirements for a product or service, etc., and then wait to receive relevant information hours or days later.
But an interactive video changes this, driving deeper engagement.
Even more immersive, viewers can customise their video to generate a new one in real time based on data they provided. Try it yourself with the car payments calculator below.
It’s a win-win. Customers get an enjoyable, personalised experience, and companies receive useful customer data they can leverage for future interactions.
Conversations at Scale
Conversational marketing leverages the latest technology to allow for millions of conversations at once. Living Video can handle the same volume without compromising quality.
With robust APIs and 100x real-time rendering capabilities, customers receive responses almost instantly, just as they would speaking to someone over the phone. And it’s all done at scale — the Next Generation Video Platform can handle an audience of any size at any time.
Interactive Video for Better Conversations
Among the ways to generate leads and make more meaningful connections with your potential customers, conversations are essential. But marketers who use text only are doing themselves a disservice. Conversations go way beyond written messages.
Our Next Generation Video Platform takes dialogue to the next level with dynamic, data-driven videos. What’s more, interactive capabilities allow for a two-way conversation, essential for engaging customers.
If you’re ready to wow your customers with a video-driven conversation, we’re here to help you get started. Speak with one of our team members today.
