Are you using videos to showcase your small business? Video marketing can boost your small business website in many unique ways. If you dislike writing, producing videos is an great alternative to writing blogs. Videos will boost your analytics, especially if you use a brief written description. It's a quick way to get information across in lieu of reading. Here are 7 proven tips to use videos for your small business:
1. Video Testimonials are Pure Gold
Leverage video in your customer testimonials on your website. Let your customers do the marketing for you. Be sure to get them to talk about how your brand has helped them. Also ask them to highlight the specific results you have delivered so that visitors to your site can get a better sense of your value. If done right you can turn your customers into an unpaid sales force for your business.
Tip: Make the testimonial valuable to your customers by making the video a mini commercial for them. Let them tell their story, and highlight how your business helped them grow for double the benefit.
2. Create Useful Content
Your customers have questions. Maybe they want to better understand how to use your product, or are interested in different ways to use it. By creating a series of how-to or informational videos, you cannot only provide value to your customers, but you can also provide another layer of customer service. Using video will allow you to free up your customer service phone line by giving customers answers to frequently asked questions.
Tip: Make sure to keep your videos brief, two minutes or less is plenty.
3. Support Your Marketing Campaigns
You can also enhance any marketing effort with a well-produced video. Review the marketing campaigns you're currently running. They will always be enhanced by including a demonstration or testimonial video with them. This works whether it be a pop-up on your website to attract more email subscribers or a landing page to encourage people to buy your core product(s). Video adds an extra boost of energy and attracts different people to your campaign.
Tip: Always close the videos with a call to action.
4. Establish Yourself as an Expert
You know a lot about your industry. Why not create a series of videos where you share your expertise. You can always share where you think the future of the industry is going, or any technology that will impact your business or focus on your customer with short, actionable tips. For example, if you run a hair salon, you could create a series of videos illustrating how to create the latest hair trends or hair care techniques.
Tip: Once you create the videos, share them across all your social media channels, and make them available on your website.
5. Enhance Your Email
If you use email marketing to reach your target audience or want to extend the relationship with existing customers, consider send a video email. You never know how including a video could boost your open rate and your results. Studies show that including the word "video" in an email subject line can increase the open and click-through rates as much as 65%.
Tip: Pay attention to the analytics on your emails so you know which topics attract the most clicks.
6. Interview Other People in Your Industry
You can build relationships with key people in your field by interviewing them. You reap three major benefits by doing this: First, you give your audience new perspective and information beyond what you can provide. Second, you always elevate your expertise to the level of the person that you are interviewing. Third, the person you interview will help you promote the video, which will help your brand reach a wider audience. This is especially helpful if they have a bigger social media footprint than you do.
Tip: Consider making your interviews a series so that leading experts are excited about being your guest. Plan plenty of promotion around each interview.
7. Leverage Livestreaming
Social media is currently riding the video wave, with free tools such as Google Hangout and new tools like Periscope and Blab. These services are creating raving fans of livestreaming. It's still in the early days for these tools, so be an early adopter and establish yourself as a livestreaming pro.
Tip: Develop a regular series around a single topic, and schedule your live event at the same time each week or month to build a loyal fan base.
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1. Video Testimonials are Pure Gold
Leverage video in your customer testimonials on your website. Let your customers do the marketing for you. Be sure to get them to talk about how your brand has helped them. Also ask them to highlight the specific results you have delivered so that visitors to your site can get a better sense of your value. If done right you can turn your customers into an unpaid sales force for your business.
Tip: Make the testimonial valuable to your customers by making the video a mini commercial for them. Let them tell their story, and highlight how your business helped them grow for double the benefit.
2. Create Useful Content
Your customers have questions. Maybe they want to better understand how to use your product, or are interested in different ways to use it. By creating a series of how-to or informational videos, you cannot only provide value to your customers, but you can also provide another layer of customer service. Using video will allow you to free up your customer service phone line by giving customers answers to frequently asked questions.
Tip: Make sure to keep your videos brief, two minutes or less is plenty.
3. Support Your Marketing Campaigns
You can also enhance any marketing effort with a well-produced video. Review the marketing campaigns you're currently running. They will always be enhanced by including a demonstration or testimonial video with them. This works whether it be a pop-up on your website to attract more email subscribers or a landing page to encourage people to buy your core product(s). Video adds an extra boost of energy and attracts different people to your campaign.
Tip: Always close the videos with a call to action.
4. Establish Yourself as an Expert
You know a lot about your industry. Why not create a series of videos where you share your expertise. You can always share where you think the future of the industry is going, or any technology that will impact your business or focus on your customer with short, actionable tips. For example, if you run a hair salon, you could create a series of videos illustrating how to create the latest hair trends or hair care techniques.
Tip: Once you create the videos, share them across all your social media channels, and make them available on your website.
5. Enhance Your Email
If you use email marketing to reach your target audience or want to extend the relationship with existing customers, consider send a video email. You never know how including a video could boost your open rate and your results. Studies show that including the word "video" in an email subject line can increase the open and click-through rates as much as 65%.
Tip: Pay attention to the analytics on your emails so you know which topics attract the most clicks.
6. Interview Other People in Your Industry
You can build relationships with key people in your field by interviewing them. You reap three major benefits by doing this: First, you give your audience new perspective and information beyond what you can provide. Second, you always elevate your expertise to the level of the person that you are interviewing. Third, the person you interview will help you promote the video, which will help your brand reach a wider audience. This is especially helpful if they have a bigger social media footprint than you do.
Tip: Consider making your interviews a series so that leading experts are excited about being your guest. Plan plenty of promotion around each interview.
7. Leverage Livestreaming
Social media is currently riding the video wave, with free tools such as Google Hangout and new tools like Periscope and Blab. These services are creating raving fans of livestreaming. It's still in the early days for these tools, so be an early adopter and establish yourself as a livestreaming pro.
Tip: Develop a regular series around a single topic, and schedule your live event at the same time each week or month to build a loyal fan base.
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