Winemaking videos - growing sales through education

A great example of powerful use of online video comes from 4th Pixel's work with Fine Vine Wines. Since 2008 we have been producing a series of videos with them that teach viewers the process of home winemaking. To date, it totals almost 4 hours of education, and we hear that it.

The key to how Fine Vine Wines gets maximum marketing benefit from these videos comes from how they support the company's brand values. finevinewines.com is one of the largest online retailers of home winemaking and brewing supplies, and it's a company that the founder, George Cornelius, successfully grew our of his own love of the craft of winemaking.  His brand is built with an emphasis on customer service and education about his products, which is why the in-depth training videos that he makes avaliable for free online (and also sends as DVD's to new customers) are a perfect tool. 

At 4th Pixel we believe that video is an excellent tool for converting an uninformed viewer into a customer through education. The videos on finevinewines.com, and also shared through youtube, demonstrate this by how they benefit finevinewines.com.

First, they help out with customer support. They give George's customers a way to learn the process and find out the answers to questions before they call or email him directly (which he still gets a lot of.)

Secondly, they educate the public in a rather niche craft. Home winemaking seems like a complicated hobby, but often enough once a person tries it or just sees how simple it can be, they tend to stick with it. This is increasing the number of people in general who are home brewers, and thereby increasing the total base that the brand could possibly serve.

And when customers are educated about good products, you get a loyal customer.  The videos of course have their own inherent call to action and reinforce the brand, so once people are interested in the hobby, they know where to go form more information and supplies.

That leads us up to a final point about instructional video and online video in general, which is you don't have to break the bank to produce effective videos. Knowing your target market, having valuable content, and beig smart about your marketing goes a long way.  You can see on our instructional video page, or at finevinewines.com that we produced a clean, professional product, but stayed within a budget.  You don't always need a flashy, fast-paced hollywood production... and indeed we hear compliments from George's customers all the time, because these videos have great substance.

Wondering how educational video could benefit your brand?