Are you looking to increase your marketing visibility? Try incorporating video content into your marketing mix. For small businesses, video marketing can set your business apart from the competition, and boost your business profile across channels. Let’s learn how to maximize results from marketing videos.

Video consumption is sky rocketing

Video content is irresistible. Nearly 80 million Americans watch online videos on a daily basis, with Facebook video views now averaging upwards of eight billion views a day. For small businesses, using video is a golden opportunity to lift their profile and boost sales. Here are some key ways that video content can help your business:

• Promote your business: Shooting a weekly video to highlight your company’s specials, company happenings or discount offerings can go a long way to drawing new customers.
• Build brand recognition: A memorable character, a colorful look, and a cool design can make your videos memorable to viewers. Over time, this recognition adds up in the win column.
• Build trust with your audience: Sharing video of how your product is made, or showing another inside look at the company, can build trust with your customers.
• Attract new employees: Video content is good for your company and employees, as it can help attract talented potential hires, a big plus for any small business.

So how can you get started with video marketing for your business? A certain brave attitude helps, as you’ll be putting yourself and your business ‘out there’ by using video. Small businesses should think through how to start, move forward and capitalize on using video in marketing a business.

Let’s have a look at some of the more tactical ways to start marketing your small business using video.

1. Know your business goals for video

   Before shooting any videos, know your business goals. Are you aiming to boost your company’s local profile? Are you looking to educate customers about certain products? Figure this step out first. Clearly, any spending of your marketing dollars should be tied to the business plans, and should serve those goals.

2. Determine how to start

   You can start small, by shooting a video of your store or work space using your smartphone. Or you can hire a professional video crew locally for bigger video needs. There are different business considerations for every business owner. Small Business Trends has some great examples of small business video ideas to get you started.

3. Create your videos

   Take a deep breath, relax and start shooting! Steady your smartphone in your hand, or use a phone selfie stick. Introduce yourself, your business, your position in the community and why your company fills a local or regional need. Be compelling and persuasive. Before you know it, you’ll be skilled enough to make other videos that announce new products, highlight certain employees, include customer testimonials or more.

4. Develop videos around your business calendar

   Use your business calendar to help plan your video shoots. Will you be speaking at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon next month? If so, have a member of your team record it on video for later use. Maybe you’re getting a new sign installed at your shop or medical office. Create video of the workers putting the new signage up. Keep tabs on business happenings for your video shoots.

5. Use engaging video techniques

   Engaging video techniques can help to liven up your video content for more engagement with your customers. Say your business wants to create video for Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) or a special 4th of July promotion. You could film your team getting ready with preparations for Small Business Saturday, or video your employees at the 4th of July parade, wishing customers a happy holiday. There are many ways to call increased attention to your particular theme, sale or community event using video. And make sure you’re having fun! Smile and act friendly on camera – it works!

6. Stick to a single message per video

   If you’re promoting the opening of a new location, keep the video focused on that message. Are you offering a discount for this weekend only? Then create your video to amplify that one message. Mixing multiple messages (“…and that’s not all!”) can distract the viewer from the one thing that drew them to your video.

7. Develop tutorial videos

   Many people go to YouTube to search for videos that show how to do something (cook a meal, raise a pet, buy a car, etc.). Can your business make a video that shows multiple ways to enjoy your product? Maybe your cleaning product has multiple uses. Then why not shoot a video that shows the viewer different ways to use your product, and you’ll help to raise the product’s overall profile.

8. Use a call to action

   Include a call to action in your videos. It’s a way of asking viewers to click on a link to your website, or call the number, or do another directive. Calls to action in your videos are proven techniques to boost your return on investment.

9. Distribute your video

   Sharing is the name of the game for video content. After uploading your video with a strong title and description to YouTube, make sure to share the link on your website, your Facebook Business page, your email newsletter and any relevant social media pages. Don’t be shy to ask followers to re-share the video to their feeds, too! You’ll be surprised how many will do so.

All of these practices above will help you to get started on marketing your business with video. Have fun and start shooting.