Machines4U Academy
13-Part Series To Help You Get The Most Out Of Machines4U
Module 8
How To Increase Buyer Engagement With Quality Video Content
Do you prefer to watch a video or read an article? If video is your preference, you’re not alone. According to HubSpot, 78% of people watch online videos every week and 55% view online videos every day.
The same research suggests 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. So, it’s likely potential buyers looking at your machinery would rather watch a video before engaging with any other content.
With that in mind, this article will show you:
- How our checklist will help you complete your photo and video shoot in no time
- What to shoot to get the best engagement from your content
- How to take your video to the next level by talking to the camera
- What to focus on when shooting new vs used machinery
- How you can easily upload content to your listings from your mobile
Machines4U Checklist For The Perfect Machinery Listing
At Machines4U, we’ve made it easy for you to create the perfect machinery listing with a checklist that outlines all of the photos required and the videos you should take of your machinery.
What To Shoot For The Best Engagement
The photos and video content you upload to your Machines4U listing will do almost all your heavy lifting. It’s the foundation for how you sell your machinery online and requires minimal effort to see your engagement skyrocket!
All you need to do is grab your mobile phone, your Machines4U listing checklist and away you go. Here’s the basics for what to cover to drive buyers and increase your engagement.
Photos
Photos are a key aspect of any marketplace listings. You should aim to have 20 photos on all your listings, which might sound like a lot but as you’ll see it’s really easy to achieve:
- Take a 360-degree set of photos of the exterior of your machine—8 photos should do it
- Interior shots—focus on the seat, controls, dash, pedals or anything unique to your machine
- Close ups—show the engine and particular features like the hydraulics
- Attachments—if your machine takes front and rear attachments, highlight its versatility
Remember, your photos are what get people interested but a video is what will really help sell your machinery!
Video Content
Videos transform machinery from a lump of steel to a live machine that buyers can see and hear working. Most buyers want to hear the engine running, see the wheels moving properly and the blade or attachment lifting, all of these things help to educate your buyer and will result in a higher quality lead contacting you or walking through your door.
To create quality video content all you need to do is:
- Shoot in landscape
- Start the machine, step off and take a 360 video walking around the machine
- Have someone operate the machine and raise any attachments, move backwards, move forwards, drop the attachment, turn off the machine
Your video never needs to be more complicated than that and ideally should be between 90 seconds and 2 minutes long.
How To Take Your Video To The Next Level
While a quick video of your machine is great for potential buyers, the thing that can really make a difference is talking to the camera. So, get the expert in the room or your best salesperson to talk through 3 to 5 main features or selling points of the machine. And have them tell your buyers why this model is the one to purchase over similar competitors.
Now, the reason this is so valuable is that it answers more questions your potential buyers might have. Not only that, but you’ll also give those potential buyers a bit of an introduction to the person they’re going to see when they walk in to see you.
Why It’s Important To Show Your Machinery Moving
Starting the engine on any machine allows the potential buyer to hear the engine running. Remember, a lot of these buyers have been working with this type of equipment for decades, so they can tell by listening to a motor whether or not there’s something wrong with it.
It’s also important to show the use of the attachments on your machinery. This gives the buyer some insight into how well the hydraulics will work, or if it’s a mechanical based machine, it will show them how well it lifts and drops.
When shooting video footage, keep the buyer in mind at all times and make sure you’re answering as many questions as possible. This will help bring you more qualified leads and educated buyers who are ready to buy right now!
Shooting New vs Used Machinery
The difference between filming a new machine versus a used machine is which aspects of the machine you’ll focus on.
On a used machine you’re going to focus on things like:
- Hours the machine has performed
- Kilometres the machine might have gone over
- Quality or current condition of the seat and controls
- Any wear and tear on the machine
- Anything that’s taken a bit of wear, but still works really well
Whereas when it comes to a new machine, you’re going to focus on all of the machine as a whole. You’ll want to make sure you get high-quality shots of anything that looks brand new, or any new features you want to show off on the new model.
There you have it! It is pretty quick and simple to get all of the photos and videos you need to create the perfect listing for Machines4U. All up this process will take maybe 5 minutes, start to finish. In the next module, you’ll learn some tips and tricks for managing your MyMachines4U dashboard.
Sources:
HubSpot “The Ultimate Guide To Video Marketing”, 2019