Video Marketing: Easy Tips for Small Business

Did you know that a majority of businesses produce video marketing? From filming commercials to short Instagram stories, we’ll take you through the proper steps to get started with video marketing. 

Why Should Small Businesses Try Video Marketing?

Video is a powerful way to promote your business. Whether you want to show off your services or simply to get your message out, video can help you get attention. Wyzowl reports that 90% of businesses use video marketing. This means if you’re not doing it, you may be behind your competition.

There’s a wide variety of advantages to video marketing:

Improve your ranking on Google

Video is a great way to engage visitors. This increases the amount of time visitors spend on your website. Google takes visit duration into account when determining page ranks. This shows the impact of video on SEO ranking.

Showcase your brand’s personality

Video introduces your brand to newcomers, answers potential customers questions, or creates an emotional bond. When you pair these video elements with professional branding, the best videos can create a favorable and lasting impression.

Improve website results

If you include video on your website, you can see higher engagement rates, higher click-through rates, and higher conversion rates.

Connect with customers

By showing the personality behind your business, you can generate goodwill and connections with your customers.

Video Marketing Ideas to Get You Started

Informational Videos

Informational videos are a chance for you to flex your knowledge of your field. Different types of informational videos might be tutorials, guides, or Q&As with product experts. Better yet, get your employees involved to showcase your company culture and attract new talent.

This video may not sell products, but it can help build trust with customers and establish expertise in your field.

Product Videos

Show off what makes your product special. Videos can be a great way to present what your product looks like better than a picture. Displaying your product being used, especially on social media, can convince potential customers to make a purchase.

Testimonial Videos

According to Nielsen, 88% of consumers trusted word-of-mouth recommendations over other marketing messages. Testimonial videos can be your video form of word-of-mouth. Featuring real customers and their experiences using your product can be far more powerful than carefully crafted marketing messages.

To increase trust in your message, consider using a testimonial video.

Video Advertising

Video advertising for small businesses can be scary for many owners. You may be worrying about how much money to spend, and how you’ll see return on your investment. So long as you’re strategic, video advertising can be crucial to the success of your business.

Consider using product videos in your ads to encourage customers to buy off your website or social media.

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Video Production for Small Business

Understand Your Goals

The first thing you need to consider is: what are the goals for your video? This will help you decide what type of video you want to create.

Think about when in your sales cycle you want the customer to see this video. Is this an intro video to your company? In this case, you will want to consider an informational video or testimonial video.

Is this a video that you want to convert the viewer directly into a customer? Consider using a product video or an ad.

Brainstorm Ideas

Once you’ve decided what your goal is and what type of video to use, it’s time to brainstorm. In this phase, there are no wrong answers. This is where you get to be creative and figure out what you want the video to be about.

Write down your ideas on a piece of paper or a whiteboard and let the creative juices flow. Your ideas don’t have to be perfect. In the next step you can start narrowing your focus on filtering out unrealistic ideas.

If you don’t have a marketing team, ask employees, family, or other business owners nearby for feedback on your ideas. Getting input from other people is an important part of the brainstorming process and can help you get the best video you can.

Put Together a Script / Plan Your Video

Now that you’re done brainstorming, it’s time to start making your video. By now you should know what type of video you’re making and have a general idea of what you want it to look like. This is when you start trimming any bad or unrealistic ideas and start the filming process.

Not all great videos have a script, but you should still plan them carefully. Having a clear plan for your video can help you get the best final product. It can also limit how long it takes you to film your video, saving you time to run your business.

Below are a few quick tips for video planning:

  • Prepare with the right equipment. For quick social videos, your smartphone camera will work great!*
  • Keep your target audience in mind. Where will this be posted? Who are you talking to?
  • Pick out a location before filming. How will the sound be? Will you be allowed to film there?
  • Be mindful of your background.
  • Limit rambling. Stick to a script or key points before filming. Don’t make it too long!
  • Be flexible when opportunities happen. Don’t be afraid to pivot if inspiration calls!

Putting Your Vision into Action

Now it’s time to record your video. While filming, it’s important to pay attention to your lighting and sound. Try to avoid filming in a loud environment or a dark space. Good lighting is your friend when you film videos.

Also keep in mind where your video will be posted at this stage. If you’re using your smartphone, know when to do a vertical video or a horizontal video. If you’re posting stories on social media, vertical will be best. For anything else, keep your phone horizontal!

Edit Your Video

A little bit of editing can go a long way to take your video from amateur to professional looking. Some videos, like quick social media videos, may not need editing. But if you want to take your video marketing up a notch, consider adding things like voice overs, title card graphics, and transition effects. These can make your video more engaging and professional-looking.

Post it

Once you finish your video, it’s time to post it online. Before posting, it’s important to think about your video and where it makes sense to post it. Not every video is going to work for every channel. What works great on a website may not be the best fit for Instagram.

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4 Quick Tips to Make Small Business Video Marketing Easy

Keep it Simple

Don’t overthink your videos when you have a good idea. It’s best to keep your video ideas straightforward, especially if you’re just starting. As you get more experienced, you’ll find your brand voice.

Share Your Video on Social Media

Social media presence is important for all businesses. Video content can spice up your social presence and be more interesting than static images.

If it’s a long informational video, it might not be the best to post on social media. In these cases, consider editing it down into 30 second or less clips. This will make it more digestible for a social media audience.

Understand Video SEO Best Practices

Using video SEO best practices can help make sure that your video gets seen. It won’t matter how good your video is if you don’t give yourself the best shot to be seen by your audience. Below are a couple tips to help your video rank better:

  • Optimize your HTML tags for videos
  • Create high-quality thumbnails for videos.
  • Embed your content on webpages with relevant content.
  • Track your video results on channels like YouTube Analytics or track the pages with videos on Google Analytics.

Utilize AI and Other Resources

Not all business owners have the time to work on video marketing themselves. If you’re a small business and don’t have the ability to do your own video marketing, consider outsourcing video content to a company or using AI tools.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it’s hard to understate the importance of video marketing for small businesses. Recognizing the advantages of video marketing can put your business ahead by improving brand image, and engaging customers.

You have so many different types of video marketing to choose from and they can all put you ahead. Simple, well-planned video marketing is an important part of creating success for your small business.

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