Why Every Small Business Should Be Doing Video Marketing
If you are a small business owner and not incorporating video into your marketing strategy, you are missing out on a big opportunity. The fact is that video is exploding as a content medium. Most brands and large companies are focusing their efforts on video when it comes to online marketing. But for the average small business owner, most of them are not using video.
Why is that?
I think there is an apprehension to get in front of a camera if you never have before. Speaking into a camera is a bit like being on stage speaking to a crowd, it's easy to get stage fright if you are not used to doing it. This fear can keep many small business owners away from video even though you don't need to be in front of a camera in order to create videos for your business. Just look at all of the videos on social media and you'll see what I mean.
The other reason is the myth that it is too expensive and technical to create videos. This may have been the case a decade ago but nothing could be farther from the truth today. Today, you can create high quality video using your phone and an inexpensive microphone. There are even mobile apps that let you edit and publish video directly on your phone. Creating great videos has never been cheaper or easier to do.
Here are a few good reasons to start using video as part of your marketing strategy:
People Love Watching Video
72% of consumers would like to learn about a new product or service via video according to a Hubspot survey. A 30 second video can do more to demonstrate what your product or service can do than a 1000+ word blog post. Video is a such a visual medium that you can literally “show” people what it is rather than try to explain it. And video can be used multiple ways, you can place a video on your product or service page and also use it on Youtube as a marketing tool for your business.
A recent survey from Google shows that 60% of consumers would rather watch a video than TV. People are watching less and less TV. The same with radio. These traditional outlets are being replaced with Youtube, Netflix and podcasts, where you can watch what you want when you want it.
Reach a New Audience
Research has shown that there is very little crossover when it comes to audiences that consume written content, watch video, and listen to audio programs. All of us have a preferred method of learning, some are visual learners, others are auditory learners and others are kinetic learners. People tend to stick with the medium they are most comfortable with when it comes to consuming content. So by not doing video, you are missing out on an entire market of people who choose to watch video over other mediums when it comes to consuming content.
It's Faster & Easier Than Blogging
This blog post took me about 2 hours to write, and that is fast compared to some of my other blog posts that are much longer. The video below was created for Youtube on the same topic took me about 25 minutes to create, and that included editing and uploading the video to Youtube.
Once you get comfortable with video, content creation is a breeze compared to traditional blogging. While I love blogging and it is how most people still find my website, creating a video is just so much faster and easier than writing a 1000+ long blog post. Online marketing today is very competitive, having the ability to push out quality content quickly and on a regular basis can give you an advantage over your competitors.
Less Competition
While most big brands have embraced video, the majority of small businesses are still not doing it. Just think of the huge marketing advantage you could have in your local area if you embraced video. You could be one of the only businesses for your industry and in your local market using video as a marketing medium.
You know the audience is there, people love to consume video content. Yet, most small businesses are still apprehensive to use it. Youtube is the second largest website and allows you to market your videos for free…..take advantage of that.
How To Use Video In Your Marketing
Educate
The ultimate way to use video is to educate and inform your customers. Educating your audience on your industry as well as your specific product or service gives value to the consumer and also positions you as an expert in your industry. Giving value on a consistent basis is the fastest way to build trust with your audience and will make them much more comfortable choosing you when it comes time for them to make a purchase decision.
Create How-To videos delivering valuable information they will need in order to make an informed purchase decision. Teach your audience best practices on using your product or service and ways they can get the most value out of it. You have a wealth of information about your industry that your audience does not have, share it with them and become a trusted expert if their eyes.
Social Proof – Testimonials
Demonstrating social proof in the form of video testimonials is a great way to show your audience real people benefiting from your product or service. When it comes to testimonials, most business owners make the same mistake of placing all of their testimonials on a “Testimonials” page. I bet if you check your Google Analytics you will see nobody every visits this page.
Spreading out your testimonials on important conversion pages, like your product or service page, is where testimonials should go. Testimonials should also be related to the product or service they are being displayed with. Testimonials that come from people you can see and hear are much more powerful and convincing than a generic text based testimonial.
Learn
Give people access to your business. Let them learn more about you and your business. Do you have new products or services you are offering? Did you recently hire a new team member? Make a short video and let your audience know about it. I can bet that most of your customers, even older ones, do not know about all of the products and services you offer or know much about the people that work there.
Bring out the human side of your business. Show your audience all of the hard work that goes into your product or service and the steps you take to ensure they receive a great experience from you.
Entertain
This one can be harder to pull off, but providing entertaining videos for your audience can help get your business on their radar as well as start the relationship building process. There are lots of fun ways you can entertain your audience, from sharing funny videos of your team or creating your own collages of funny stuff that goes on in your industry to share with your audience.
Getting Started With Video Marketing
Like I said earlier in this article, there is very little in terms of technical know how standing in the way of you and awesome videos. If you are not sure where to start, below are a few things to help get you started.
Video
All you really need here is a decent smartphone. Most modern smartphones shoot in 1080 quality video, which is all you need. Lighting will actually effect your video much more than the actual camera, make sure you have lots of natural light when you are recording or enough natural light and/or artificial light to properly lighten your videos.
If you have the budget, you can invest in an inexpensive DLSR camera to record your videos, though a quality smartphone and good lighting will do almost just as good.
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera Bundle – Amazon
Video Stand
Don't try and record by having a friend hold the camera for you. No matter how still they are it will be obvious someone is holding it from the camera shake. Invest in a tripod for your camera. If you use a smartphone, you can get an attachment that will hold your phone.
Kobratech Phone Tripod Adapter – Amazon
Audio
When it comes to creating a quality video, audio quality is actually more important than video quality. Try watching any video where you are struggling to hear/understand the person speaking and you'll instantly see what I mean. People will forgive less than stellar video quality but will give up in an instant if they cannot hear you properly.
Comica Smartphone Video Kit – Amazon
Software
If you go to social media, you will see tons of short videos made up of different video clips and/or images. These are actually super simple to make and there is software specifically made for creating social videos like these.
There is also beginner friendly video editing software out there that makes video editing easy.
Invideo – Great for social media videos. Free and paid plans.
Filmora – Easy to use video and inexpensive editing software
Video Hosting
Video files are very large and most website hosting plans are not made to host and stream video. Fortunately, there are plenty of free places where you can host your videos as well as inexpensive paid ones.
Get Started
My last tip for you is to just get started. You may be apprehensive to start but I know from experience once you record a few videos you will instantly start to feel more comfortable and confidant. Your first few videos will most likely stink, don't worry, all of our first videos stink. But guess what, you'll get better and better and more confidant with each video you create.
Video can open up an entirely new marketing channel for your business. It's worth taking a shot at it.
Gary
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