We were retained by a client who runs an international business training program for affluent private investors. This client is an excellent public speaker with a wealth of valuable knowledge. They have successfully engaged hotel ballrooms packed full of investors and business owners paying $7,500 a seat for a 3-day training program. Needless to say, we were excited to have them as a client.
After optimizing their search and display ad campaigns, we began looking at the surprisingly weak performance of their YouTube video campaigns.
Problems with YouTube Video Conversions: Not Always Obvious…
To fully understand the problem we registered for their free online course and watched videos over a 2-week period. After watching as a consumer, we went into product marketing mode to ask, “why aren’t the video campaigns converting well?”. Then, suddenly the problem became clear.
Sorry – That’s Not Worth Trying
We asked if changes could be made to the videos, but given the nature of the material, it would have cost them a small fortune to have redone.
So We Just Did It Ourselves
So with the client’s permission, we downloaded the videos and made the edits we requested. Here’s what we changed:
We moved the introductory material to the end of the video and shortened it by 75%. Then, we took the core of the content, where the meat of the valuable information was being taught, and cut all the introductory and extraneous material out. The updated videos literally “start in the middle”.
Now the videos start immediately showcasing the consultant communicating valuable investing strategies to 500+ attendees. The material is amazing and the audience is clearly fully engaged. We also featured the speaker warmly interacting with attendees during the breaks to further sell the experience.
What were the results?
After reaching a statistically significant level of clicks and conversions, our new approach delivered a 1,100% increase in conversion rate! At the same time, cost per conversion dropped by over 80%, and the average view time went from 117 seconds to 283 seconds, even though the new version is a 1/3 shorter. The bounce rate also declined by 23%.
Moral of the Story: YouTube Can Be A Home Run If You Get The Video Right.
The best way to convert this type of high-end business seminar is with video ads. But as we figured out they have to be well-sequenced, engaging and contain valuable material.
