Rev & Reach Episode 29 Transcript
Nobody Wants Your About Page

[0:00] Hello, I’m Lori Jo Vest. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Rev and Reach, where PopSpeed Digital Marketing shares our behind-the-scenes tactics and strategies that we use to get more ROI for our clients in the digital marketing space. When was the last time you read any company’s About Us page before buying? Nobody does that anymore. Meanwhile, when was the last time you watched a 20-second video of somebody using a product and it convinced you instantly to buy? It happens—a lot.

As the internet has grown and video has become so prevalent, customers don’t want to read five paragraphs about why they should trust you. I remember going to a marketing association workshop about 20 years ago where a futurist—I love futurists—talked about how headlines were getting shorter and shorter because  attention spans were getting shorter. Back then it wasn’t quite as extreme, because we didn’t have the incredible number of things coming at us like we do today. All your social media feeds, your television shows, your news, people calling, emailing, texting you all day long. It’s a whole different way of living than 30 years ago.

People don’t necessarily want to read anymore. They want to see real people, real results, fast. Short-form video outperforms almost every other format—especially for local and service-based businesses—because trust is the biggest conversion barrier.

Take an eyebrow aesthetician as an example. You can put a ton of great before-and- after photos on your social and website—but so can everyone else. How do you differentiate? You do videos that position you as competent, likable, maybe entertaining. You show the consumer that what happens when they get to your studio will be amazing. The gap we’re seeing with a lot of small businesses is that they’re still leading with words—websites and bios—while their audience is making decisions based on short-form video. Don’t lead with words.

And a polished commercial is not what we’re recommending. Proof looks like a quick clip mid-job, mid-consult, mid-transformation. A customer walking out of your shop thrilled with their new eyebrows. The plumbing customer so relieved the guy got there fast and solved the problem for $300. A quick 15-second clip of that customer saying, “Oh my god, John was here this morning, he’s amazing—I highly recommend Krieger Plumbing”—that enthusiasm will sell more plumbing jobs than any About page on a website.

[4:59] The formula is: show the work, show the person, show the result. Skip the logo animation, skip the intro music. Photos, a quick video clip, more photos—without a lot of fancy effects. It has to be less than perfect to be truly authentic.

There are easy tools for everyone. CapCut on your phone is a great option. If you are not doing video clips in your digital marketing right now, you are missing out on incredible opportunities.

Beyond social proof, what types of short-form video work? Preemptive FAQ content. How long does this take? What does it cost? Is it messy? Answer the questions people have before they even contact you. A customer can say it. One of your team members can say it—on the job, rolling paint on a wall: “We got here this morning, we’ve got two big rooms, we expect to be out by Thursday.” That clip tells the consumer your painters are efficient and personable. One clip can replace an entire About page of copy.

When you’re revamping or building a new website, think about how you can use video clips on it. A lot of people will go to your website, hit play, and watch before they ever read a word. Look at the three questions your customers ask most, turn each into a 15–30 second video, post it everywhere—social, website, YouTube—and see what happens.

We are biologically driven to connect with other human beings. We’re tribal. We are drawn to faces—and in marketing right now, faces sell better than anything. The production lift is really low. I come from a couple of decades in video production, and we used to nitpick over every detail. Jump cuts were the kiss of death—you would never do one. Not anymore. You don’t need a videographer. You need your phone, some good natural light, and 20–30 seconds.

If you want to be efficient, batch-record five proof clips in one afternoon—at your job site, in your office, at the salon, at the customer’s house (with their permission, of course). Pin those clips to the top of your social profiles so when people visit, they’re getting information that helps them decide to work with you.

[9:34] On your About page, instead of a wall of copy, push visitors to watch a video. It’s more engaging and creates a much stronger connection than written words on a page. Use it for ad creative too. Here’s my challenge for you this week: film one 20-second proof clip of your actual work. No script, no editing. Take it all the way through, then watch it back as if you were someone who didn’t know your company or product. What impression would you be left with? Nine times out of 10, you’re going to want to use it. Perfect video is not good.

Authentic video is what people are drawn to right now—and that makes it so much easier for you if you’re not a video professional.

Nobody wants your About page. They want to watch you do your thing. They want to know what it looks like behind the scenes. They want answers to their questions. They will not read 10 paragraphs. So if you’re not doing video because you’re afraid, push through that discomfort and make it happen.

Bonus tip to close out: I have a client right now who is launching a new online service— you fill out information, and it generates a document that would normally cost a couple thousand dollars to have someone create. The challenge is he can’t legally be the face of the product, and there’s no person naturally represented in the service.

What we’re doing is finding micro-influencers in his space, offering them the service, paying them an influencer rate—a micro-influencer rate could be around $350 to $750—and having them create content. Have them review the product, record their own videos about what they loved, and use that content to sell the service. You get faces (which we’re biologically drawn to), proof reviews of your product, and video content. Micro- influencers are very easy to work with. If you find one who’s too challenging, pick the next one—there are plenty who fit your demographic.

If you’re watching on YouTube, please give us a like, share, and subscribe. We share what actually works for us and our clients. Thank you for being here—I’ll see you again in a few weeks.