You know why some industries are so special and unmatchable? It is their ability to influence our daily lives so much that we cannot imagine a life without them! Take a look around. Energy is what drives the world. From electrical power to fuels, gas, coals, wind and solar powers, they play a big role in shaping our day to day life. As per the latest report published by the United States Energy Information Administration, the world energy consumption for primary energy resources was 157,481 terawatt hour in 2013! No prize in guessing the figure is on a substantial rise since then. So, if you are into power and energy industry, you will not want to be left behind in the high demanding and competitive modern era. These smart marketing techniques can help you stay afloat in your business.

Explainer Videos

Your business might involve so many complicated technical procedures that a layman will not be aware of. The success of business is when every common man starts identifying your brand. They may not be aware they need you, but it is upto you to convince them. So, how will you make your business easily recognizable? Explainer videos is one smart solution. Everyone loves listening to stories. That is one trait present in human beings right from the age of childhood. So, if you can tell an interesting story about your business, it will go a long way in improving your reachability and likeability. The storytelling in most explainer videos begin by establishing a common and well known problem. Then, the brand is introduced as the lifesaver and they showcase their skills in tackling the problem. In the end, a good explainer video should convince a viewer that they really need your help. Most explainer videos also conclude with a call to action that prompts viewers to associate with the brand.

You can draw inspiration from these explainer videos by IDT Energy, SwellEnergy and BackHomeSolar. Each of these videos address a problem that we are all familiar with. The characters and settings are light hearted and humorous. Keep an eye on the running time. All these videos are just around one and a half minutes! Shorter duration doesn’t mean shorter impact.

IDT Energy

Corporate Videos

What is the starting point of a business? The one with which it is laid upon? Quite interestingly, your business begins even before you actually start doing it! It is your core principles, ethics and vision that actually gives shape to the business. Now, why would you want to stay back from letting the world know your unique virtue. This is where Corporate Videos can be of help. On a simple note, if a customer has to do business with you, he or she has to know how qualified and eligible you are. Consider corporate videos as your high end portfolio where you can describe your legacy and success stories as if you are telling a story. A corporate video can be your visual spokesperson and it ultimately improves your brand’s reputation.

You can have a look at these videos from FIAMM, Eniram and ClaroEnergy. With carefully chosen visuals and narrative style, these videos showcase how the respective brands are changing the world we live in.

Fiamm

Awareness Videos

We saw how energy influences our day to day life. When something becomes so common, there are chances that we take them for granted and become less cautious while using them. How many times have you plugged in your mobile phone even after the battery was full. How often have you forgotten to switch off the fan or light as you leave the room? Yeah, it happens for everyone of us. It is a responsible business person’s duty to apprise the world the importance of efficient energy usage. And awareness is not just meant for end users alone. Take the case of oil, gas or chemical industries. They have several substances that may even threaten the life of the person handling it if they are not careful. So, you will have to educate them on how to handle these substances properly. And what better way to do that than videos! The best part of awareness videos is that it is not just a business promotion material, but your contribution in making the world a better place.

Check out these awareness videos from Direct Energy, SchneiderElectric, and Raytheon. Though a bit old, this video from iGoVision is still wonderful and relevant.

Direct Energy

Apps

So it’s a weekend and you are hanging out with your friends. You decide to have lunch but you are not sure what is a good place nearby. What do you do? Yeah take out one of your mobile apps and search for restaurants nearby. Similarly, if you want to get a quick ride to somewhere you take out your smartphone app and book a ride instantly. So what all this shows is that, there is an app for anything! Your energy business shouldn’t be any exception.

‘Tendril’ launched their ‘MyHome’ app with an aim to integrate all the key energy devices. Based on the features of one’s home, the app provides suggestions based on energy identity. They also notifies the customer about blackouts and high usages. Furthermore, it serves as an intelligent chat bot and you can even ask questions regarding your electricity bill!

‘PlotWatt’ is another app that helps you keep track of your energy usage and ‘Alternative Fuelling Station Locator’ app from National Renewable Energy Laboratory lets you find the nearest stations that offer electricity, natural gas, biodiesel, E85, propane or hydrogen.

Blogs

The business of energy is vast. There is so much happening at any given moment of the day. You want to keep your customers aware of the latest developments within the industry and how you are adapting or rather pioneering them. Videos and apps are great tools but you cannot use it to describe each and every information regarding your business. This is where blogs come in. Blogs are easy and inexpensive to maintain and more than anything else it adds a human touch to your brand. While going through a well written blog, a reader gets the impression that he or she is interacting with a person at the other end. They are also a great tool to make your social media presence felt as you can share them across multiple social platforms. The more quality content you create, the more leads you get.

Suncor, Drillinginfo and Schneider Electric blogs are some of the best examples you can refer.

Interactive Presentations

Suppose you have a sensational idea for a project. Or you want to communicate how effectively you carried out a certain program. Videos are great but one cannot use that to put every idea across. Plus it calls for comparatively higher storage space or bandwidth capabilities for the viewer. Also, for a video to be effective you will have to form a little story around it. So, when your intention is to directly state the market facts and figures, videos may not be the smartest solution. Here comes the need for Interactive Presentations that make smart use of texts and images. They can communicate complex ideas or proposals in the simplest and easiest of forms. If your aim is to quickly catch the attention of a potential investor or customer by directly conveying the market scenario, then, this is definitely your go to.

Have a look at these presentations from Suncor, Rosneft, and Statoil.

Games

As we saw before, it is not very easy for a novice to understand the practices for efficient usage of power and energy. Or it could simply be that they are unaware. You want your customers to be aware of what their energy consumption is doing to the world. Nothing works for business than a well informed customer! We have already seen some techniques that you could use to educate them. And we cannot complete that list without adding Games. Games have this immaculate power to simplify things. Learning works best when you are relaxed and when it is installed in a lighter tone. And that is exactly what games can do!

Maersk Oil’s Online Game ‘Quest for Oil’, is so challenging and interesting that its own CEO lost at it! ExxonMobil, the American multinational oil and gas corporation has an array of games that test your energy knowledge.

Quest for Oil

This was a brief analysis about the various modern day marketing techniques that could help fuel your energy industry. If you would like to have a detailed discussion, please get in touch with us at hello@pixelsutra.com. We would be glad to assist you.