Online content managers often find themselves with clients who need support on several of their online platforms, however, those clients don’t always know how to add an admin person to their account. Another scenario is when businesses offering VA type work and set up platforms on their client’s behalf and need to hand over the handling of those platforms to the clients.
Those clients won’t necessarily know how to take ownership of those platforms and maintain managing them themselves. Emails and phone calls back and forth, finding online tutorials that may or may not be up-to-date can be a solution. Imagine the time spent on sorting something like this out.
Email threads on how to do this or that for each client can run on and on and on. Or you can produce a library of short videos with instructions, demonstrating a specific task on a specific platform. Put them into a playlist, public or private and keep it at the ready for your clients to access as needed. Doesn’t that sound infinitely better than trying to keep track of email threads that can go on for weeks.
There are three main areas of your business where you can utilise instructional videos such as the ones I am talking about.
You set up a platform and now you’re handing it back to your client
Your client just wants to understand how their new platform works or they want to manage it partially or entirely by themselves. It’s a good idea to give them access to short how-to videos that will introduce them to that platform.
A client may hire you to set up a YouTube channel from scratch with the first few videos uploaded but they want to be able to do their uploading themselves. A short video that shows them where they can find what and explaining basic terms might just be the things to save you from having to take a series of frantic phone calls at after 10pm on a Saturday from a frustrated client who can’t find the upload video button on their channel.
The same applies to any platform. Having a few videos with instructions on the basics that your client has access to is just good old-fashioned customer service.
You’re taking over the management of your client’s existing platforms
Just because the platform is already set up, it doesn’t mean that your client knows how to add additional users, admins or managers to their account. Some platforms, such as LinkedIn only allow one user to manage any particular account. YouTube, however, allows several people to contribute to the maintenance of an account or channel.
Have some videos ready for each platform you’re offering management of. Cover topics such as how to add users, admin or managers to an account and what the differences are between different user types. Mailchimp has several user levels with different management access and so does Facebook for managing business pages.
Discuss with your client what type of platform management it is that you’re providing them and what account access you will need to be able to carry out tasks associated with that service level.
You’re handing over the management of your client’s platforms to a third party
On occasion, you will need to pass on the responsibility of managing your client’s platforms to someone else. This may be because you stop offering that service or maybe the client decided to hire someone else to look after that part of their business for them.
As a courtesy, you may choose to do a handover to the new person or business. Prepare a cache of videos with some instructions on how the accounts have been managed so far. This will give the new content manager an opportunity for a smooth transition, without your client’ customers knowing that there had been a handover. It also allows for space and time for the new manager and your client to review the process and make changes to it before the handover process is finished.
This is good customer service and a handover that flows well will ensure a pleasant ongoing relationship.
Here are some things to keep in mind when you produce videos for your client communications:
- Make videos generic, not client specific.
- Make videos short with one type of activity per video.
- Explain the actions you’re recording click by click.
- Assume that your client knows nothing of the platform you’re setting up for them.
- Specify if you’re using a PC or Mac.
- Have videos that are for more complicated tasks.
- Put your videos into categories, so your clients don’t have to spend time on sorting through them.
- Keep your videos up-to-date because platforms change.
- These videos don’t have to be professional quality.
Here are a few free tools you can use to record your videos:
Do you want to create a video library for your customers? Not sure how to tackle the task? Let’s chat!
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