How To Make Videos Work Effectively For Your Small Business
Video marketing has become increasingly powerful in the past few years, mainly because of the rise in popularity of social media and technology. Fortunately, the cost of using video to promote your business today is reduced, making it more affordable for small business owners. Videos can work wonders for your business, if you know how to harness their power.
Video marketing statistics show that 85 percent of Internet users in the US watch video on various devices, including mobile, and that 54 percent of buyers are interested in seeing more video content from the businesses or brands that they like.
YouTube is considered as the world’s second biggest search engine after Google, whose search engine index algorithm is likely to give video 50 times more boost than a page with plain text and images. The closer you rank at the top of Google search results, the more traffic and leads you can get from people who are actually looking for your product.
People want to shop with you and want to give you their business. Help them know you are still there and ready to serve them in a video and you’ll be one step ahead of your competition.
Three main reasons why many small businesses miss out on the benefits that come with using videos in marketing are:
- They think they are not financially capable of producing videos,
- They may have a hard time developing creative ideas,
- They believe they do not have time or equipment for making videos
This mentality is completely understandable as resources and trying new things as a business can be intimidating – especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is all the more reason to pursue new ideas and methods for reaching your customers. Fortunately, you don’t have to have an expensive production studio today if you have access to a current mobile device, and by making video a priority in your marketing plan, you’ll be able to adapt and find the time you need.
Here are some ideas and suggestions you can start with to get past these obstacles and reach your marketing goals.
See also: Executive Insight: Our Finest Hour
Make Video Bios for Employees and Customers
Customers love to see the people behind the company that is serving them. Introduce your small team to them through a short video bio. Let your employees talk to your customers about their professional role in the team, their expertise, and a few personal details to help the audience feel more familiar with your business and the team behind it.
Video bios are also a great way to introduce a human factor into the relationship between the customers and sales account managers. For instance, if both parties don’t get to meet in person, your sales rep can send a video bio to your customers as a part of a follow-up email after generating a lead. It can leave a potential customer with a positive first impression and possibly lead to closing a deal.
Produce Video Ads
Brands that are already making video ads are a few steps ahead of their competitors. The fact that video is growing nonstop, with some people logging more than five hours on YouTube daily, means the sooner you get into the game, the better.
Videos are also more effective than images or words. They can convey more emotions than any other type of content. A two-minute product explanation video is more efficient at delivering your message than an article, especially if it contains eye-catching animations, shows your store or product, among others.
When making an ad, simple is best. Stay focused on what you are promoting, and who you are promoting to. For example, if you are wanting your customers to know how the store showroom is open during quarantine – stay focused on letting them know some of the precautions you are taking, what you expect from them (masks, schedule a personal appointment) and your hours. Don’t forget to smile!
Create Videos for Brand and Product Announcements
Videos can be effective tools in launching your brand, a new product, or promoting your website. Videos make it easier to explain what your product is all about and build potential customers’ interest. Videos should do more than enumerate your product’s features, though. Customers love to see demonstrations!
Some ideas of how to showcase a product include:
- Show how your product solves your customers’ problems,
- What experience they can expect from using it,
- How your product can help in general
You can also make videos that answer common questions (Yes, we our store is open!) or address the hesitations of some people about the new product.
Create launch videos that provide in-depth detail about the product, ones that demonstrate how it works, or that answer commonly asked questions.
If you love watching videos yourself, you might have also seen launch videos going viral, those that rack up millions of views in just a few days. There is no secret sauce to viral videos – they just happen. But what you can do is consistently produce videos that are short and shareable, something that could keep people talking about it online for days. If you create enough buzz about your new offer, people would be curious enough to try it, creating sales for you in the process. But remember – stay on task with the fun, or you’re just entertaining!
Always Use A Call to Action (CTA)
When it comes to call-to-action (CTA), be clear about what you want your audience to do. It could be to visit your website, give you a call, share your content, watch a related video, or click on a link to buy the product. Incorporate both visual and verbal CTAs to encourage the audience to take action.
The number one rule: Don’t make it complicated! A CTA should be simple to follow for it to work.
Forget all the infomercials you’ve ever seen, CTAs don’t have to be placed at the end of the video. Since you cannot be 100% sure that your viewers will finish watching the video, putting a CTA towards the start of the video is a great strategy. How many videos have you watched recently that reminded you to like and subscribe before diving into the real content?
For a visual CTA, such as a logo or link, make it stand out by bolding or changing the color of the text. This helps draw the attention of the customer. Additionally, you can add in links and such to the section below the video if you are posting on YouTube. This is the perfect place to put information such as your store hours, address and of course, the website address link.
By capitalizing now on the power of video marketing for your small business, you’ll be able to find greater success, increase your potential customer reach and put yourself ahead of the competition. Remember to take things a step at a time – you’re learning a new skill and it will become easier as you create more content. Our final tip is to include your employees. You may be surprised by how much experience with video they have and are willing to help advance the business! Good luck and have fun!
Lidia S. Hovhan is the co-founder of Fennix, an SEO company that helps business owners to meet their online goals by integrating digital marketing strategy with traditional marketing.