Interview with Martyna Goździuk

Damian: For five, if not ten years, we have been seeing in annual marketing trends that it will be the "year of video". Do you think there has been a clear breakthrough yet, or is it still ahead of us?

Martyna: A trend is something new that is just emerging. Video is no longer a trend, it is a new reality.

YouTube turned 19 this year. Video has gained a lot of popularity. It is estimated that Internet users watch an average of 3 hours of video material every day on various streaming platforms. So what trend is this? It's like saying that reading books is a trend.

There was a moment when interest in video content significantly accelerated. During the pandemic, the digitization process in companies gained momentum. We couldn't physically meet.

Covid circumstances forced us to close shops and communicate via the internet. The question arose, how to show the product in the new reality? The answer to this became video. This was a plus of this time.

I don't know if we would have switched to this type of communication so quickly without the pandemic. However, I see that in the B2B world there are still big concerns in this area. Despite the lack of trade fairs and conferences at this time, many companies felt blocked in reaching for video messages.

Currently, content marketing is often seen as writing a blog or posts. I believe that recording should be one of the formats we use in our communication.

Should your marketing be video-first?

The pandemic kind of ricocheted and gave us video. People massively met online, looked at each other through webcams, and the world did not cease to exist.

At what point can a company be sure that video is the best or one of the best forms for their customers, for their target group that they can use primarily in their marketing?

The statistics are merciless - people prefer to watch, not read.

Every report you read about how much time we spend on TikTok, how much watching reels on Instagram, these are all video content. This is clear evidence from Internet users that they consume video.

If we as a company want someone to want to consume our content, we have to serve it in the format the user wants.

We can blindly assume that video always makes sense. However, we need to answer the question of what and where video materials should we publish.

We already know that we need to.

We see reels, but we don't quite know how, where and what to publish. There is chaos in all of this. From my perspective, when I look from zero at the communication of some stores just starting their business, I am convinced that they should go towards the "video first" philosophy.

You can convert a movie into all formats - text, ebook, article, and other short formats. When you start with video, it will also be easier for you to translate it into other fields later.

In case of strong resistance to the video format, I recommend doing a reconnaissance among current clients. Check if and what content they like to consume. Of course, the Internet is one thing, and our client is another. It may be that our clients only read ebooks.

However, I do not recommend listening to the president, who claims that since he does not watch YouTube, clients also do not watch it. This is the worst thing you can do. In such a case, you should definitely listen to the clients.

It can also happen that the client does not admit that he passionately watches YouTube for hours. You have to remember that. However, I believe that investing in video will not result in a loss for the company.

YouTube or TikTok?

I will play the devil's advocate for a moment. You gave an example of reels on Instagram and TikTok. We consume content there to relax, laugh, rest, pretend we're busy and can't take care of other things we should focus on. How does this style of consumption fit into smuggling marketing messages?

First the message, then the format. The most important is the content we want to convey, to this we select the appropriate format.

If we want to smuggle educational content about our product, about what problem we solve, I bet that the customer will find it much easier to watch a movie that lasts 3 minutes than to read an article that will take him exactly the same time.

Film is an easier form than text.

I agree that Instagram and TikTok are mainly for entertainment, but not only. There is also education there. In the B2B industry, YouTube is a much more interesting platform than Instagram or TikTok. Here you can do everything! Especially in the sales process, I see how it translates into sales.

Depending on whether I provide the client with content in PDF format, or PDF plus video message - the reaction is diametrically different.

When does video quality matter?

I'll share with you an idea that a certain marketer on LinkedIn or Twitter inspired me. It concerns the reuse of carousels, or what LinkedIn calls documents.

The idea is this: You upload a document to Linkedn. The PDF appears as a carousel of graphics. Then you start Loom, turn on this carousel, and discuss it for 15 minutes. In the end, you download this video and use it as a paid product.

Brilliant, right? There are many possible ways to use video!

Depending on where in the sales funnel we place the video, the recipient will have a greater or lesser tolerance for a drop in quality.

Companies do not always understand this and therefore make mistakes.

They claim that good quality doesn't matter at all. They record themselves with poor cameras and upload boring, 15-minute mini-webinars to the network. They believe this is the beginning of the funnel.

The truth is, if I don't know you and haven't built up trust in you, an uninteresting, poor-quality movie will discourage me from you.

The top of the funnel must be done well. Quality always attracts.

If you have good video materials, you have cool graphics, it means that you are doing good things. This is how the halo effect or exposure works. All marketing is based on this. Let's not deprive ourselves of a weapon to play. The further down the funnel, the lower the quality can be, but at the beginning it is extremely important.

When preparing a webinar for interested people, we do not necessarily have to record it in a professional studio on a green screen, the world does not have to whirl. If someone is interested, he will forgive you some shortcomings, but only if you give him value.

It is worth considering where and in what content you want to invest in this quality, and where you can let go a bit. I see a certain spread here. Either we do everything, or nothing.

There is also a theory that everything must be super and mega quality. Only then is it very expensive. The budget can be a challenge.

I'll sell you a cool tip.

You can cut a long film or conversation into 10-15 shorts, add a transcript, and upload it to social media. This is a great thing.

Video in Ecommerce?

How do you think e-commerce should use video in their store?

There is a lot of potential in the store.

First - on the main page to attract attention. If something moves, something happens, it automatically draws us more to it. It does not have to be long material. These can be short film elements showing the product.

Second - product card. We have a field for creativity here. This is a huge space to use and unfortunately very underestimated by stores. Usually it is limited to a gallery of photos. But what if you add a short film showing the product?

Buying online, we cannot touch the product. The relationship with the goods does not exist.

If someone sells clothes or another product, the fabric of which is an important element, the film on which you show your hand touching something... it's pure gold!

The human brain does not completely distinguish things that happen online from what happens offline. It seems to us that we are the heroes. We fall under the illusion that it is our hand that touches this material.

This is psychology and it is quite simple. Why not take advantage of it?

Selling ordinary kitchen cabinets, the fact that someone opens drawers, closes doors, touches door handles serves to catch the viewer, so that he also wants to touch, feel the product under his hand and want to use it.

It's like pretending senses, affecting them.

You provide the client with sensations that he cannot experience through the screen.

I remember such an urban legend that the Japanese are working on technology that allows scents to be released from the computer. So far it is only a legend and we have to manage otherwise.

The message with the human element, that is, this touching, twisting, doing what a person would do in direct contact with the product, is a great way to influence the senses of the client.

Use this in your business

For decades, we've known about mirror neurons. We recently did a project for a specialty coffee shop. I see a video showing grinding, brewing process and sniffing this coffee...

This is it! These are very simple procedures that work on us. Currently, there is no second format that affects emotions and senses as much as film.

Another thing that stores can do is show mini instructions such as assembly or use. Video how to fold and unfold e.g. the famous beach tent. It's incredibly easy to spread it out, but no one knows how to fold it.

And a travel cot?

If someone has children, they have certainly seen many memes and movies on this subject. Are you selling such cots? Show that it folds and unfolds with two movements. You will become the hero of thousands of parents!

By showing on the product card that something is not complicated, you will make the purchase decision easier. The customer already knows that he can handle it. He knows this is the cot for him.

I remember perfectly well that I installed our car seats with the help of a YouTube video and not on the manufacturer's channel, but some store. The manufacturer only gave a PDF made up of a leaflet folded into eight in A3 format. He did not even bother to scroll through the version.

You deal with UX, so your life consists of making life easier for users and eliminating obstacles. A film with instructions is exactly that. It fully fits into UX assumptions.

Video in unusual places

I am wondering about ideas for other stages of the path than homepage or the product page.

So, for example, on the category page there is a doubt "which product should I choose?", "how to filter it?", "what should I pay attention to, choosing these products?".

Or on the cart page. Do you have any ideas on how to use video at these stages of the sales path in ecommerce?

At the end of the path, when someone was initially interested, put something in the basket but did not buy, we have a classic bottom of the funnel.

The moment when there are still some last objections. Is this really for me? Does it work? Money is a secondary issue in buying.

If someone is only looking at the price, he will probably put this product on Allegro for himself. Look for the cheapest delivery for tomorrow. We do not claim here. If someone makes a purchase in this way, we have no chance. In this place, in the basket you can show that it works for someone else.

Case study - a movie that I rarely see in e-commerce. Showing a customer who uses this product, which can really change life.

Apple is great at this!

A cool story can be written with most products. Look for comments left on your social media and show how the product helped them.

There is a ready story to use. Invite such a client to participate in the film and if the product or business model does not change for you, you have a film that will work for you for years.

The client sometimes does not trust the product enough to buy it. Ratings on the store can increase the level of trust, but because they can be bought, people are a bit prejudiced.

Show the store, warehouse, people creating the company, that your store is not any dropshipping from China. You will thus authenticate yourself and your business. Show that you really exist.

Viking Catering diet recently did a nice thing. He gave his clients to order a cinema invitation, popcorn and a link to a YouTube movie broadcast. They released a movie about them, about how and why this company was created.

This is a nod to customers who have already used their services. It is easier to acquire such a client to continue buying and recommending us than a new one.

There are many of these methods.

You just need to start creativity and above all step into the client's shoes. Think about what is important to him? What information and where placed? How to make a choice? What to be guided by?

You can also work on post-purchase customer loyalty, attract in email queues using video...

You don't have to do this very often. It's not about having a movie in the newsletter email every week. For example, the famous Patagonia... super environment and earth. They produce documentary films about people who climb, do outdoor things. They know their target group well and make such content that their clients want to watch.

The hit for me is the agricultural industry in Poland.

They use films on YouTube to sell their products - agricultural machines, fertilizers, etc. What they do!

They know that the farmer sits and watches movies and they provide them with these videos.

One of the companies made a crime series on YouTube using the products of a certain company, e.g. shovels and other tools. I think it's called "Farmer with a gang".

Products in this series appear with a logo, but it absolutely does not interfere with the reception of this content. There is entertainment, there is laughter, there is joy. And between the lines, we serve our products.

Is video expensive?

What about the thought that "our product can't be shown on video."?

There is no such product that can't be shown on video.

It will be more difficult to show digital products. We have to work harder then.

I do not accept the argument that our industry is not suitable for films, or that our product is not suitable.

Speaking of this argument - the three most common myths you see about video among companies?

First myth - All films have to be short. Due to the era of TikTok and reels, everyone thinks it has to be up to a minute. This is absolutely untrue. The film lasts as long as it should.

If we are telling a certain story and it takes 5 minutes to tell it, then the film should last 5 minutes. Then it just won't be on TikTok.

This is one of those myths that everything has to be short today. People do not watch weak things. If they don't want to watch your long forms, it means they are weak.

The second myth - Long content is dying.

Look at podcasts, for example. Joe Rogan talks to people for 3 hours and people listen and watch. It has to be good and valuable material. Then it can last a few hours.

The advantage of long content is also that it lives longer than these short forms.

Third myth - Making films is expensive.

I'll say this - it has never been as cheap as it is today. There has never been a time in history when making films was as cheap as it is now.

Even 10-15 years ago, to make a promotional film, you had to go to a production house. Today, if you have the desire and skills, you have a toy in your pocket. Phones already have such parameters that miracles can be done.

For everyday matters, it is completely sufficient.

Thanks to this technological change and the availability of equipment, companies like mine have also appeared. Thanks to them, a better quality film is really much more accessible than it used to be.

Need a video partner?

Finally, in two words, tell us what you do and for whom, and how to find you if someone wanted to test video with you.

We are a company that creates videos for business and we don't like to make beautiful films. However, we like to make films that actually solve problems and work for the customer.

Sometimes these won't be just "nice product films" that run somewhere on Instagram, but they will also be instructions, various kinds of explainers - films that show how the service works, what it's all about, what it's for.

We mainly work with the B2B world, i.e. specialist services, production, this is our world. Ecommerce as well, but also B2B. This is a novelty. Companies that have always believed that a salesperson is necessary are opening up to the idea that their products can be sold online.

We have a studio in Gdańsk and if someone wanted to get more involved with video and for example run a YouTube channel, they could use our studio. We can also help here.

Where to find us? The best place is on LinkedIn, or on YouTube.

Co-founder of ViBRAND, a company engaged in creating films and video marketing for B2B companies.

Specializes in building trust. Helps small and medium-sized companies step ahead of the competition and attract the attention of potential customers, employees or partners, using video for this. Considers himself a creative detective who looks for what is unique and distinctive in companies, in order to increase sales results and recognition of their company among potential customers.