Everything you need to know about personalized video

Imagine you are a consumer and have logged in to your favorite apparel store’s website. They welcome you with clothes of your size and display your previous search content when you last logged in. You would feel special, wouldn't you? Extrapolate the same to video content that is specifically designed to address your needs. We guarantee your viewing experience would floor you. 

Videos are the rage these days, with faster internet connections becoming a given. With a speck of personalization integrated into your videos, they become even more powerful.  

This article looks at personalized videos, their benefits, types, the data that you can use for personalizing the video, how to make videos more personalized, and where to host them. 

What is a personalized video?

Videos customized to suit an individual user’s requirements based on their previous search history, website/tool usage, and other attributes are called personalized videos. It is an excellent way to catch your audience’s attention as it doesn’t follow a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Benefits of personalized videos:

The main objective of marketing campaigns is to generate new leads for your business. Once you collect critical details of your users, such as their name, email address, contact details, motivations to purchase, and spending habits, a good marketer would personalize all communications to users by taking into account the various inputs.

Personalized videos are relevant to your customers as they are based on their requirements and product usage. It helps you communicate the right offer to the right person at the right time. Videos have suggestive power and have the capacity to capture your audience’s emotions. 

• Since personalized videos are tailored based on the needs and preferences of your customers, they are excellent at increasing conversions.
• Personalized videos engage people more than non-targeted videos do. 
• It reaches customers at a personal level and helps drive your sales. 
• They help deepen your relationships with prospective customers since the content aligns with what they are looking for. 
• With so many generic videos floating around, creating highly personalized videos for different customer segments helps you break through the noise. 

Types of personalized videos:

Landing page videos:

Every landing page should have a video that tells the visitor what will happen if they fill out the visitor form. People are more likely to click on it because they want to know if the video will address their concerns. 

Pricing videos:

One of the biggest concerns for B2B decision-makers is the product’s pricing. Create a video where you explain the pricing and how you arrived at the number. Educate the visitor about the value that they will get from your product. 

Hero’s journey:

Create a video where you explain a customer's journey from the time they discovered the problem to how they solved it using your product. It should include their struggles, the journey with which they found your product, and how they extensively benefited from it. 

Claim-based videos:

You want to tell your audience that you are “the best at X” or explain how you’ve “reduced the issue of Y by 30%.” Claims like these should be based on solid facts. Each claim should be catered to people of different segments so that it addresses their pain points. Create deeply personalized claim-based videos that have visually appealing elements to them. 

One-to-one videos:

If a B2B decision maker gets a personalized video that is only addressed to them, they are likely to go deeper into the sales funnel. In the video, you can share how your product will help them specifically. It creates an impact that no other type of content can. 

Data types that can be used for personalization:

• Demographic factors such as city, country, region, gender, etc.
• The type of device that they use–iPhone, iPad, Android phone/tablet, Windows, Mac, and Linux.
• Search keywords that they use. 
• The number of times they have visited your home page or a certain landing page. 
• Date and time of the day when they visit. 
• Identifying the referral URL from which they come.
• Data from their purchasing history.
• Navigation clicks, page views, session duration, heatmaps, etc. 

How to make a personalized video “personal”?

There are several ways you can add personalization to videos. Let’s look at some of them.

Use their name:

If it is a one-to-one video, starting your video using the customer’s name initially has a tremendous impact. It catches their attention since hearing your name on someone else’s lips is a powerful trigger. 

Be empathetic:

There is no substitute for a friendly face speaking directly to you. No animated video can take its place. Show that you understand your prospect’s concerns. The presenter should have a pleasant smile, move their hands around, and emphasize every point they say. All of these factors increase trust. 

To come across as authentic, you can even use relevant personal data of the decision maker or their company. It could include business wins, career or revenue milestones, shared interests, and experiences. 

Tailored call-to-action (CTA) buttons:

Ensure that you add tailored CTAs on the landing pages. It will increase a prospect's chances to move further deeper into the customer journey. 

Where should you host personalized videos?

Even though there are several ways to host personalized videos, your decision should be based on factors such as budget and technical requirements. 

Embed on the website: 

Create a functionality that allows you to add unique landing pages for each recipient. You will need a developer’s help to make changes, which can be frustrating.

Add them to free sites like YouTube:

The problem with hosting on free platforms is that you don’t have total control over how your video is viewed. It can also distract the viewer as they can get swayed by other videos they find on the platform. You want their complete attention, especially when you’ve created a personalized video. 

Private video hosting site: 

The best thing a business should do with its personalized video library is to use a dedicated private hosting platform like GetShow. It increases the chances of your video’s success, thanks to the plethora of features such as total customization, in-built video growth tools, integration capabilities, and an infrastructure that supports videos from 480p to 8K. 

Wrapping up:

Video personalization with the right mix of analytics capabilities can be one of your most ROI-generating marketing strategies. They can create a unique experience for your customers and increase conversions by providing engaging and targeted communication. It also helps build trust and loyalty, since you show your audience that you care about their unique preferences and requirements.