Video is Key to Customer Engagement

May 16, 2018 | Blog

If your utility is focused on customer satisfaction it is imperative to not only communicate relevant information but engage customers as well.  One of the best ways to do that is through video, thanks to its rapid, and still growing, consumption.

Click Image to View Personal Video Bill Explanation

According to statistics from WordStream:

• 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week.
• 1/3 of online activity is spent watching videos.
• 51% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI.
• Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.
• An initial email with a video receives an increased click-through rate by 96%.
• Viewers retain 95% of a message watching a video compared to 10 percent reading.
• Videos 2 minutes or less get the most engagement.

Video is a major component in reaching today’s consumers. They welcome it when it provides value, education, or even entertainment. How does this translate to your utility?

Consider how client Jackson EMC created consumer education videos featuring home energy expert and television personality Ty Pennington. The series of videos feature Pennington sharing his knowledge of residential energy efficiency topics. In addition, Jackson EMC sends personalized Video Bill Explanations to members who have seen an increase in their bill. This not only reduces calls to the call center but, 93% of members want to see more and they are seeing sustained open rates 43% higher than the overall industry average.

“We knew that video was a growing platform for reaching consumers, and we wanted a way to reach them while providing relevant, timely, and useful information,” said Amy Bryant with Jackson EMC. “We wanted to ensure that we were able to share our knowledge while helping them become more energy efficient. Our goal is to provide additional value to our customers above and beyond just their electrical service. These videos were the perfect tool to do just that, and we’ve seen a great response since launching them.”

Many utilities are seeing success increasing participation demand response programs like Beat the Peak. Apogee offers a series of videos that send customers video notifications of peak time of use, and follow up messaging that thanks them for taking part or to say sorry you missed it.

Once you create videos, it’s important to determine the best outlets for using them! One option is to share the videos through email marketing, on social media, newsletters, your website, and in blogs. Shorter videos can even be added to social platforms like Instagram or Twitter, and incorporated into advertising campaigns. We have several clients that have seen remarkable success by incorporating short, 10- to 30-second videos in their Facebook or Instagram ads!

Video attracts two to three times as many monthly visitors, and the average user spends 88% more time on a website with video! Including video in the communications mix is engaging and fun. What could be more relevant, and proactive, for your customers? Share with us the ways you’ve seen success by incorporating videos into your marketing strategy!

About The Author

Karen Morris, Marketing Manager, Apogee Interactive, Inc.

Karen manages Apogee’s marketing resources service as well as Apogee’s own corporate marketing efforts. For the past 17 years, she’s worked closely with utilities across the country to help them better market their energy efficiency programs through online initiatives. She brings timely and informative webinars to energy professionals through Apogee Institute as well as directs Apogee’s user groups.