At almost every networking event and meetings I attend, I have start-ups and SME’s decision makers ask me questions like “what video can do for my business?”, ‘How can a video generate leads?’, ‘Will I get my return on investment back from a video?’ or ‘Can you measure the success of a video?’

Well, I’ve seen first-hand the huge benefits that video inbound marketing can help businesses large and small generate leads. In this guide, I’ll share with you five quick tips and reasons why that’s the case, as well as address those pressing questions that I’m often asked.

• Share it on social media.

Not only is online video extremely popular, it’s extremely popular with a demographic which are typically resistant to marketing – young people. Even better, those young people are the ones most likely to share your video. Research by the tech company Unruly found that 18-34 year olds are 112% more likely to share video ads compared to other age groups. Imagine an advertising campaign that not only boasts high lead generation, but also spreads itself – that’s online marketing.

• Include it in B2B marketing.

A study conducted by Forbes revealed that over 75% of Fortune 500 executives are viewing online video, which is a big sign that that businesses are using video as a way to determine which companies to partner with. Indeed, Forbes also revealed that 65% of senior executives have visited a vendor’s web page after viewing a video, and 72% research an organisation after viewing a B2B video marketing campaign. Speaking personally, I can confirm that businesses we’ve helped with video production have seen spikes in B2B deals.

ReelSEO recently performed a study which showed 96% of B2B organisations used online video in some capacity during their marketing campaigns, of which 73% reported a positive ROI – a pretty astonishing statistic, and one that puts to bed any questions you might have about return on investment.

• Put it in your email blasts.

The stats don’t lie on this one, video inbound marketing is very effective when put into email blasts. Research has shown that including video in an email leads to between 200-300% increases in click-through rates. Additionally, combining video with a full page advertisement boosts engagement by 22% and after watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online.

• Have it on your homepage.

When a visitor lands on your homepage, what are you going to present them with – a wall of text, or a video that introduces them to your product or business? Research has found that the latter is much more effective at generating leads. Most effective of all are videos which tell prospective customers what they’ll get when they sign up for your service or buy your brand. We’ve seen a big demand in these conversion videos. Indeed, videos on your landing page also ensure customers stay there for longer, maximising their exposure to your brand.

• Collect leads direct from the video.

There are tools on the market which allow you to add email capture to your videos as a fast and simple way to generate leads, as well as measure the success of your video. By adding a call to action inside your video, you’ll see lead generation jump instantly. Videos are also much more likely to appear inside Google’s search results - 53x more likely to appear on the first page of Google, to be precise. So, whilst your website might not be sitting on the front page of Google, your video could be up there and generating leads for your business.