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<p>At ConvertKit, we believe that it’s just as important to show as it is to tell. That’s why we’re so intentional about our visuals, <a href="https://medium.com/work-in-public-by-convertkit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">working in public</a>, and mastering video with our customers.</p>
<p>There are a myriad of ways you can use video to serve your customers of all types, and in this article I’ll share how we use video in five distinct customer cases to help them succeed.</p>
<h2>5 ways to use video customer support</h2>
<p>Not every single case study we mention today will fit for you and your business. And that&#8217;s okay! We just want to help you to start thinking out of the box when it comes to your customer support. So read through these give examples and see if you can start applying one or two of them to your business.</p>
<h3>Case 1: Explaining complicated support questions</h3>
<p>When you’re dealing with a software service like ConvertKit, especially one that integrates with many other services (like WordPress), you’re dealing with a lot of moving parts.</p>
<p>We’ve all written long emails explaining how something works or the steps to troubleshoot an issue, but even an exceptional email is still missing visual cues that help the customer.</p>
<p>For these questions we use a service called <a href="https://www.useloom.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Loom</a>, a Chrome extension that makes it easy to record your screen and share with customers. The reason we use Loom over many other screencasting services is because it allows timestamped comments on the video!</p>
<p>So let’s say the customer needs to clarify something on the video, they can simply pause the video and the “Add Comment” section will automatically add the timestamp. They’ve recently released emoji reactions in the timeline for even faster feedback.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11841 wp-image--border lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/02/Kd1iW1HV-video-support-1.png?auto=format&#038;ixlib=php-3.3.1" alt="" width="1500" height="729" /></p>
<p>This makes it really easy to have context on what specifically the customer needs more help on. I’ve also used it to further clarify something in the video that I said!</p>
<p>Another tool I’ll use in these instances is <a href="https://my.cl.ly/r/45450l3d180W0x3F" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CloudApp</a>. It’s one of my favorite new tools of 2017 (for me). I can grab screenshots, annotate, screen record, and create gifs for customers all in one.</p>
<p>A customer could also comment on any file created, but I do miss the timestamped comments from Loom. But I do consider CloudApp to be an essential part of my success toolkit.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.useloom.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign up for Loom</a></p>
<p><a href="https://getcloudapp.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign up for CloudApp</a></p>
<h3>Case 2: Reviewing customer websites</h3>
<p>We’ll often receive emails from customers asking for a quick overview of their website– like a 5 minute makeover! Loom can work really well for this also, but I do like using a different tool for this, <a href="https://wistia.com/soapbox" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Soapbox</a> by Wistia. You’ll hear more about Wistia in the next case, but Soapbox is another screencasting service that makes the recording video much larger and clearer. It also clears out a lot of the extra functionality of comments and sharing that Loom has.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11842 wp-image--border lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/02/uzJzTmGv-video-support-2.png?auto=format&#038;ixlib=php-3.3.1" alt="" width="1500" height="1005" /></p>
<p>The reason I like Soapbox here instead of Loom (because let’s be honest, Loom works fine for this too) is because of the straightforward simplicity of the app both for the advisor and the customer. I also prefer for my face to be a bigger part of the recording in this type of video. There’s a better personal connection when I look like a part of the video instead of a thumbnail.</p>
<p><a href="https://wistia.com/soapbox" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign up for Soapbox here</a></p>
<p><em>Want me to send you a 5 minute website critique? Let me know in the comments!</em></p>
<h3>Case 3: Best practices and common mistakes</h3>
<p>If you’re in tune with your customers, you know the common mistakes they make when starting and the best practices they can use to be successful. For these videos we want to create a recording that’s a little more polished, has tons of customization options, and great stats.</p>
<p>That’s <a href="https://wistia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wistia</a>!</p>
<p>At ConvertKit, Wistia is all we use for our <a href="https://convertkit.com/guides/freelance" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a> and <a href="https://help.convertkit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">knowledge base </a>videos. It gives us a slick looking player with custom colors, great stats, and the ability to link different videos together with annotations and calls to action at the end.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11843 wp-image--border lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/02/ukwBGbVz-video-support-3.png?auto=format&#038;ixlib=php-3.3.1" alt="" width="1500" height="778" /></p>
<p>These are all excellent reasons to use Wistia instead of YouTube for your website and knowledge base videos. If they are on your website, do you really want YouTube’s algorithm telling a customer where to go next? I don’t.</p>
<h5>Pro tip: That being said, I do think it’s important to cross publish these videos to YouTube so they can be found by customers searching for answers. By now everyone searches YouTube and your videos should be the ones they are finding. But if they are already on your website or knowledge base, let’s keep them there with a custom player like Wistia.</h5>
<p><a href="https://wistia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign up for Wistia here</a></p>
<h3>Case 4: Welcoming customers</h3>
<p>There’s something special about seeing someone’s face. While we rapidly build tools that make face-to-face encounters less necessary, it’s pretty special to create a personal welcome for customers. That’s where <a href="https://www.bonjoro.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bonjoro</a> comes in…</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11844 wp-image--border lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/02/hcOInUii-video-support-4.png?auto=format&#038;ixlib=php-3.3.1" alt="" width="1500" height="905" /></p>
<p>Our team sends out these welcome videos whenever we get the chance, and the responses are amazing. Customers are so thankful to have something just for them.</p>
<p>In the video, I simply say hi, say his or her name, welcome them to ConvertKit, and give them a quick tip based off their site, platform, or ESP.</p>
<p>It all takes about 30 seconds, but the effect is much bigger than that. Forgive me for being a bit philosophical here, but as we build an automated digital world, the one-to-one connections we make become even more valuable.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bonjoro.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign up for Bonjoro here</a></p>
<h3>Case 5: Quick tips &amp; QA in facebook groups</h3>
<p>This year we’ve also been making heavy use of Facebook Live in our groups. It’s a great place to talk about new features and answer questions, or do a “Top Tips” series for brand-new users.</p>
<p>To get you started with topics, here’s a quick list of videos that have created the most engagement for us. Just change them up for your own use!</p>
<ul>
<li>How to use X feature in ConvertKit</li>
<li>Weekly Q&amp;A: What do you need to know?</li>
<li>The #1 mistake I see new customers make</li>
<li>How to set up your first automated funnel</li>
<li>If you are a writer, you need this workflow</li>
<li>10 ideas to get more email subscribers</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11845 wp-image--border lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/02/uQpPRCjI-video-support-5.png?auto=format&#038;ixlib=php-3.3.1" alt="" width="1500" height="705" /></p>
<p>There’s lots of different ways to broadcast to Facebook Live now, including going straight from the desktop with a screen share! You can also schedule your videos and broadcast directly to Facebook with <a href="https://zoom.us" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Zoom Webinar</a>, <a href="http://www.ecamm.com/mac/ecammlive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ecamm Live,</a> <a href="https://belive.tv" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BeLive.tv,</a> and <a href="https://www.bluejeans.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BlueJeans</a>. I’ve used all of them and each one has pros and cons. Check them all out and see which is best for you!</p>
<h2>Video customer support best practices</h2>
<p>There are a few simple steps you can take to improve the quality of your video without getting bogged down in equipment.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Lighting</strong>: If you are going to be on video yourself, you owe it to the viewer to have some decent lighting. The best way to get a clean natural light is to set the computer near a window so you have that nice daylight illuminating your face.</li>
<li><strong>Audio:</strong> At a minimum, just wear headphones. It’s better than shouting at your computer. If you create these videos with any regularity, the <a href="http://amzn.to/2iYd3pb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ATR 2100 usb microphon</a>e is the first upgrade you should make,<a href="https://soundcloud.com/mattragland/podcast-microphone-comparison" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> the vast difference in quality is apparent</a>!</li>
<li><strong>Pace:</strong> Speaking clearly is best, even if it’s a little slower. I had to learn this as a naturally fast talker, just remember that the viewer is trying to process your voice and the actions on the screen. It makes a powerful connection, but if you’re zipping past the content it can be hard to keep up with.</li>
</ul>


5 ways to create raving fans with video customer support

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