Why you should be using video for your FAQs
Video for FAQs is invaluable. I’m stating that up front. I’m also stating it as someone who produces videos. Given that last part, I’m going to justify why I can say it with such confidence.
Video is an undeniable and fast-growing part of our lives. I’ll take YouTube as an example, because for a vast array of brands it’s the go-to place to push video content to consumers. In December of 2021 YouTube had “…over 2 billion monthly logged-in users – and every day, people watch over a billion hours of video”(1). That’s not a typo… we’re looking at global reach on one video platform into the billions. There are, of course, many other platforms which will push those figures even higher into the stratosphere.
What do consumers think?
That tells us that consumers are choosing to watch video at an immense rate. Key point there - choosing to. Given this, it’s a no-brainer that we should be talking to consumers through this medium.
What people are choosing to watch is also interesting. In a survey of 12 thousand YouTube viewers(2) Google offered respondents 20 different reasons why they watched video. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most people were watching to relax. Importantly for us though, the second most popular was ‘Teaches me something new’. Now… this wasn’t qualified in the study. That could mean people are looking to learn a new language, discover something from history, or get tips on beating level 68 of that new game they’re playing. What it does show is that people learn from video content and they like to learn from video content. It’s a compelling reason to be delivering information as explainer and how-to style videos.
The other lesson to draw from this is that people actively seek out relevant information in video form. Think about that in terms of your FAQs. You’ve got a whole lot of relevant information that your customers keep asking you about. Information that you want them to seek out and take in. What better way could there be, than to offer it to them in the format they want?
But is it effective?
That format, by the way, is also very effective. Educational research “…shows that 83% of human learning occurs visually…”(3) and you can’t get much more visual than video. So research supports the old axiom that a picture really is worth a thousand words. On that point, Dr James McQuivey worked out an interesting formula for what video is worth. In his study for Forrester(4) he suggests the following: Assume a picture is indeed worth a thousand words and times that by a typical 30 frames per second for video. That gives you 30,000 words. Then assume you’re talking about a 60 second video. 60 times 30,000 is 1.8 million. So, on that basis, a video is worth 1.8 million words.
That might be tough to get your head round, and to be fair Dr McQuivey was using it to illustrate a point, given that his study was entitled “How video will take over the world”. The power he alludes to, that video is better than text is supported though, especially regarding retention of information. One study found that when you put images and information together “…people retain 65% of the information three days later, as opposed to just 10% with text alone.”(5) Not quite 1.8 million words worth, but certainly a step-change in effectiveness.
Where is video's place in the contact centre?
Apply all of this to your text heavy FAQ pages and you can see why changing them to (or adding) video will lift them into another world. You’re making those sections of your website or socials more attractive and interactive. You’re delivering information the way your customers want to receive it, in a way that they’re far more likely to learn from, and in a way that even days later, they’re more likely to remember. All this means fewer repeat calls and fewer calls in the first place.
The effects can then knock-on positively with agents dealing with fewer simple queries, allowing them to concentrate on the complex ones that they should be tackling. The same videos can also be referenced during calls, and sent to callers via SMS, simplifying calls and reducing Average Handling Time.
There is an immense amount to gain. So, I say again, as I said at the top of this article: Video for FAQ’s is invaluable. Mic drop… exit left…
We’d love to talk to you about it, answer your questions and most importantly – discover together how it could deliver on your challenges and targets.
If you would like to know more, check out our Video Services page, or give us a call at Premier CX.
Sources:
1: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/marketing-strategies/video/2021-youtube-video-trends/
2: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/feature/youtube-video-data-watching-habits/
3: https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014winter/index.php?startid=24#/p/26
4: https://www.forrester.com/report/How-video-Will-Take-Over-The-World/RES44199
