How a Simple Video Can Double Your Enquiries

Why Most Brisbane Business Websites Are Ignored

I was talking to a landscaper in Carindale last week. He’d spent a small fortune on a new website, but his phone wasn't ringing. When I looked at his site, I saw the same thing I see on hundreds of Brisbane business pages: walls of text.

Lists of services, blocks of 'About Us' copy, and generic photos of tools.

Here’s the cold, hard truth: Your potential customers are busy. They are looking at your site on their lunch break or while sitting on the couch after a long day. They don’t want to read your life story. They want to know three things: 1. Can you do the job? 2. Are you a cowboy or a professional? 3. How do I get a quote?

If you make them work too hard to find those answers, they’ll leave. In fact, most people decide to stay or go in under five seconds. If you don't grab them immediately, you are losing customers before they scroll down the page.

This is where video changes the game. A simple, honest video can do more work in 60 seconds than 2,000 words of text ever could. It’s the fastest way to turn a 'tyre kicker' into a paying customer.

The "Trust Factor": Why Video Makes You Money

In business, especially in trades or professional services, people buy from people. They want to see who is going to show up at their front door.

When you put your face on camera, you aren't just a logo anymore. You're a real person. This builds massive trust. I’ve seen Brisbane businesses double their enquiries just by adding a short video to their main page. Why? Because the customer feels like they already know you.

It removes the fear of the unknown. If they see you speaking clearly, looking professional, and showing off your work, the 'risk' of hiring you disappears.

You Don't Need a Hollywood Budget

Most business owners I talk to think they need a film crew and a $5,000 budget to do video. They think it needs to be a polished 'corporate' production with dramatic music.

Actually, that’s a waste of money.

In my experience, 'over-produced' videos often perform worse because they look like TV commercials. People skip commercials. They want authenticity.

You can get incredible results using the phone in your pocket. A modern iPhone or Samsung shoots better video than professional cameras did ten years ago.

The "Quick Win" Video Formula

1. The Greeting: "G'day, I'm [Name] from [Business Name] here in Brisbane." 2. The Problem: "Are you struggling with [Problem you solve]?" 3. The Proof: Show a quick 5-second clip of a finished job or you in action. 4. The Call to Action: "Give us a buzz or fill out the form below for a free quote."

Keep it under 90 seconds. Anything longer and people start dropping off.

Where to Put the Video (And Where Not To)

Location is everything. If you bury your video at the bottom of your 'Contact Us' page, nobody will see it. It needs to be front and centre.

I recommend putting it right near the top of your main page. It should be one of the first things a visitor sees. However, don't let it distract from the most important goal: getting the lead. You need to make sure your phone number is easy to find right next to or just below that video.

A big mistake to avoid: Do not set the video to 'Autoplay' with sound. There is nothing more annoying than opening a website in a quiet office or late at night and having someone start shouting about plumbing services. Let the user click play when they are ready.

Real Results: The Morningside Plumber Story

We worked with a plumber over in Morningside who was getting plenty of visitors to his site from Google, but very few people were actually calling. He had a great reputation, but his website looked just like every other plumber in the Southside.

We had him record a 60-second video on his job site. He was in his high-vis, standing next to his van, explaining how he guarantees his work and shows up on time.

Within two weeks of putting that video on his site, his 'Request a Quote' form submissions went up by 40%. The visitors were the same, but more of them were becoming customers because they trusted him more than the guy with the text-only website.

Common Pitfalls That Kill Results

I’ve seen plenty of businesses get this wrong. If you’re going to do it, avoid these three traps:

1. Worrying about being 'perfect': You aren't an actor. It’s okay if you stumble on a word or if there’s some background noise. It makes you look real. If you try to be too perfect, you’ll never post the video, and you’ll keep losing money to competitors who are braver than you. 2. Using a cheap hosting service that slows your site down: If your video takes 10 seconds to load, people will leave before it starts. Use a service like YouTube or Vimeo to host the video and 'embed' it. This ensures your site stays fast. Google loves fast sites, and so do your customers. 3. Forgetting the 'Next Step': A video is useless if the customer doesn't know what to do next. Always tell them exactly what action to take. If you don't, you might find that customers can't find the order button or the next step to hire you.

How Long Until You See More Money?

This is the best part. Unlike some marketing strategies that take six months to kick in, a video can start working the minute you upload it.

If you currently get 100 people a week to your site and only 2 call you, adding a video could easily bump that to 4 or 5 calls. That’s a 100% increase in leads for the cost of 20 minutes of your time and $0 in extra advertising spend.

Your Action Plan for This Week

If you’re serious about growing your Brisbane business, here is what I’d tell my mate to do if they asked for advice:

Step 1: Tomorrow morning, when you're at a job site or in your office, grab your phone. Step 2: Stand in front of a window (natural light makes you look better) or outdoors. Step 3: Record a 60-second introduction. Introduce yourself, tell them what you do, and tell them to call you. Step 4: Send that video to your web person and tell them to put it at the top of your homepage.

If you don’t have a web person, or you’re worried your current site is so clunky it’s not worth putting a video on, we can help. At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in making sure Brisbane small businesses actually make money from their websites.

Stop letting your competitors take the leads that should be yours. A simple video is the fastest way to stand out in a crowded market.

Ready to turn your website into a customer-generating machine? Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s get your phone ringing.