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Running a small business can be much harder than operating a multinational corporation. Why? Because, even though there are fewer moving parts and the company is usually less complex as a whole, there’s more risk.
It’s far easier for an SMB to go bankrupt than it is for a tech giant with a multibillion-dollar war chest. Furthermore, you also don’t have the luxury of an army of executives, a regional director in each area, and the world’s top marketing agencies by your side.
That said, whatever you lack in scale and funding can easily be compensated for with proper strategy. Video marketing is known for leveling the playing field since creativity can go a long way in getting you incredible results, regardless of your company’s current size.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at a few ways video marketing can help small businesses!
Video marketing ideas for small businesses
Animated videos for small businesses
With animated edutainment videos getting massive traction in the online world, it should come as no surprise that animation has become a tool for many small businesses who are trying to get their name out there.
Whether you go with a serious format like Kurzgesagt and RealLifeLore or take the more casual approach you see in channels such as TheOdd1sOut, Jaiden Animations, and TheAMaazing, there’s no question that animation makes videos more approachable to viewers.
Explainer videos for small businesses
Of course, you can still capitalize on the edutainment buzz even if you don’t want to commit to the lengthy production time of animation. Explainer videos are a tried-and-tested method of getting lots of views in a short amount of time, largely due to humanity’s unwavering curiosity.
You see them in pioneer channels like Techquickie from Linus Media Group and even newer adopters like the Insights series that GetVoIP has recently launched on YouTube. Regardless of your niche, there’ll always be things to explain that are worth a watch.
Promotional videos for small businesses
Finally, if you want to prioritize sales from the getgo, then you can make promotional videos. These could be previews into a course that you sell, a feature overview of your software platform, or a demo video of an upcoming product.
October 13th, 2020 marked the first time that an iPhone (four to be exact) was launched through video rather than at a physical event due to obvious reasons that involve public health. Even Apple, a multitrillion-dollar company, recognizes the benefits of promotional videos.
How do I make a business video?
When making videos for small businesses, there are three main things you need to do.
Pick your topic
The first thing that you’ll need to do is find a topic that A) you’re qualified to talk about and B) will be interesting enough for viewers to click on — not to mention watch all the way through. During topic selection, try to think about the future.
You should focus on a theme that’s diverse enough to publish multiple topics so you don’t run out of ideas after five or six uploads. The key is maintaining a consistent area of coverage throughout all your marketing videos to ensure you don’t alienate any segment of the audience.
However, all rules are meant to be broken. There are instances where you don’t have to stick to a single thing. This holds true if the majority of your uploads are centered around breaking news or product launches. Ultimately, pick something that you’d enjoy producing and watching.
Find your software
The next and arguably the trickiest part of creating a business video is choosing your video software. This is because the market is widely flooded with options so it can be hard to figure out which ones are worthwhile.
Pricing should certainly come into play since signing up for a subscription service that cuts too deep into your marketing budget would be ill-advised. Still, try not to avoid paid software altogether since they’re generally better than free options.
Other important aspects to consider is how comfortable the UI makes you feel, whether or not it’s compatible with your file formats, and whether or not it has the necessary functionality. Refer to online reviews and utilize free trials to narrow down your options.
Review and improve
The video marketing process shouldn’t end at publishing. Reviewing your existing content and finding areas to improve is crucial to getting the best results out of your campaigns. There are a few metrics that you can use to gauge the efficacy of each upload.
If you’re using YouTube or a similar platform, then you can take a look at the total views for each video to see which ones generate the most attention from your target audience. YouTube analytics are pretty detailed, dividing viewers into national and even state regions.
Views aren’t everything, though, so also take a look at engagement metrics such as likes. Small businesses that are using video marketing to drive leads to a company website or limited-time offer should look at the raw inbound traffic as well as the overarching conversion rate.
For more information on how to build your video marketing strategy check out this video marketing guide.
What should a corporate video include?
Below are three things that your video should include to maximize yield:
Evergreen information
Using information in your videos that will still be reasonably representative of reality in two, three, or even five years and beyond is paramount to getting long-term results. Making sure your videos are evergreen is a great way to accumulate views over time even from old uploads.
Taking this approach to your marketing strategy essentially creates a passive lead magnet once your following is at the point that even older videos still get watched on a fairly regular basis. This doesn’t apply to news-centric campaigns but it’s otherwise a good thing to keep in mind.
Call to action
Most video marketing campaigns will need a strong CTA at the end unless you’re doing it purely for brand awareness. Placing a CTA at the end of a video for small business marketing will increase the likelihood that your viewer becomes a paying customer.
CTAs that offer free access to a webinar, discounts on a new product, or announce giveaways are all compelling because they provide direct value to the viewer. This incentivizes them to click the link in the description.
Pro tip: You should also recommend another video you’ve uploaded to increase reach.
Location
Finally, if you’re using video marketing for small local businesses, then telling viewers where you are is an absolute must. Failing to do so would negate the lead generation aspect altogether since most people won’t go through the “hassle” of searching for the location themselves.
Mentioning it in the video is a start but you should also have it clearly listed in the description, pinned comments, and the “about” section of your channel if you’re uploading to YouTube. Why not take it up a notch by using your business address as a watermark in the corner of the video?
Conclusion
As you can see, video production for small businesses is a worthwhile investment. It’s a form of marketing that leans heavily on creativity rather than the brute force of being backed by a giant budget. This makes it possible for SMBs to stay competitive against larger competitors.
Don’t take our word for it, though. 92% of marketers that use video marketing say it’s an important part of their overall strategy. This stands in contrast to social media marketing, which is sometimes seen as supplementary rather than integral.
In summary, there’s no doubt that video marketing also offers unmatched potential seeing as the average person watches roughly 100 minutes of videos online each day. That’s all for now, stay safe, and keep uploading!
