Video has massive appeal. Unlike text, video works on many different levels and when used properly, it is a very powerful marketing tool. Good marketing videos entertain as well as educate. They put their message across in a way that is so subtle you are often unaware of the subliminal message and unlike traditional forms of marketing – blogs, newsletters and emails – video can reach a far wider demographic. So what do you need to include in your video marketing strategy?
No Special Equipment Needed
Most small businesses don’t have much in the way of sophisticated video conferencing equipment, so producing a slick marketing video may be problematic. However, whilst a digital video camera is certainly desirable, it is possible to produce half-decent film clips using something as simple as a decent smartphone. There is plenty of video editing software applications available online – try Windows Movie Maker for starters – so even someone with rudimentary video editing skills can produce a reasonable marketing film
Video Marketing and SEO
Video content attracts more clicks than purely textual content, so by including video in your website and posting video clips online, you should see more traffic and consequently higher conversions. Producing useful informational video ‘how to’ films is also a great strategy from an SEO perspective. People like to feel they are getting something for nothing, so if you tell them how to do something, they are more likely to buy the product.
Focus on Brand Awareness
Irrespective of how much money you have to create a marketing video, it is important that you stay true to your brand. Your video doesn’t need to be a super slick production with glamorous models and flash sports cars (unless you are a high-end jeweller or luxury hotel group), but it does need to accurately reflect the image your business wants to portray to its customers.
Make Sure Your Content is Relevant
It helps if you have a good idea of who your potential audience is. If you know the audience demographic you are marketing to, it should be easier to come up with content that is appealing to your intended audience. For example, informational videos are perfect for businesses that want to explain how a technical product or service works, but a company selling tour tickets for indie bands would be better off producing a hip, funky piece of film.
Do You Want to Star in the Video?
Not everyone has the face (or the self-confidence) to feel comfortable in front of the camera. If this is you, be honest and find someone else to take a starring role or stick to doing voiceover instead. There is nothing worse than a video featuring someone who is obviously very uncomfortable on screen, so why put yourself (and your audience) through that kind of pain?
Choose Your Marketing Channel
YouTube is the best known video marketing platform. It contains millions of videos and is ranked second only to Google as a search engine. However, despite the fact that it attracts a huge amount of traffic, YouTube isn’t necessarily the right place for a small business to market itself through video. Vimeo is well worth considering. It isn’t as big as YouTube, but by virtue of its smaller size your business is more likely to gain some visibility if you pick the right category.
The other option is to post your content on Facebook or your own website. ‘How To’ videos are a good choice for small business websites; alternatively produce some informational films about the products you sell. As long as your videos are not deathly boring, they should reach an interested audience and gain social shares over time.