If you have ever dropped onto a social networking site, you’ve undoubtedly asked yourself if your small business should use video in its marketing plan. We have yet to meet a business that the right video couldn’t help, because video is powerful and has the ability to share lots and lots of information. A simple, brief video can communicate emotion, historical facts, product information, answer questions and generally communicate in a manner other methods cannot.
The way people process your marketing message differs, and this has been well researched. Most experts suggest that there are four different ways that the people you want to communicate with assimilate information. They are:
- Visual- Many people memorize and learn from seeing images and pictures, and dread long, drawn out spoken or written verbiage
- Auditory- These people learn best through listening, and they are sensitive to tone and vocal quality
- Auditory digital- people who like to memorize and learn in steps, procedures and sequences.
- Kinesthetic- This group of people is oriented by feelings.
Since approximately 40% of our population are visual learners, the use of video as a tool for improved marketing is also well documented. But since the widespread acceptance of social networking (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) the importance of video has become gigantic. Social media lends itself to faster interactions, more scanning and less actual reading, and the use of video aligns with that beautifully.
By itself, YouTube has more than 4 billion views every day. It has become the second most utilized search engine, trailing only Google (who happen to own YouTube).
It is estimated that over half the population watch a YouTube video every day! And this demand profile isn’t limited to only consumers. One report suggests that 92% of business to business customers regularly watch online video.
Is Video Helping your Competition?
If you are in a traditional services business, tree care for this example, check out the video here. Imagine if you are a competitor of this company. They have masterfully introduced themselves and properly provide their value proposition to anyone who see it… and that means distribution through email, social networking, and even direct mail.
Your small business should use video because, perhaps more importantly, this also means expanded marketing reach for years to come. Video provides an almost unlimited lifespan and the right video will be shared again and again. Plus video is mobile and can easily been viewed on any device, from smartphone to tablet to desktop. Imagine your video being viewed on one of the new 4K “smart” televisions!
Don’t Dismember Your Marketing Plan
Your small business should use video, as the use of video naturally reinforces an existing marketing plan. You won’t even have to redesign your website. A video can be sized and coded to work on landing pages and blog posts on nearly any website hosting platform.
And while we are on the subject of websites, are you aware that the use of video can actually enhance the organic search engine results of your website? Bing, Yahoo, Google and other search engines constantly modify their search algorithms and video has been elevated in terms of their search formulas.
Social Networking Sharing
Perhaps no other channel has been as greatly impacted through the use of video than social media. Facebook displays 500 years’ worth of content through video… daily! YouTube is equally as impressive and other sites are also seeing the use of video growing. Video is a great way to get your message delivered, shared and enjoyed.
What you post on your YouTube channel will get shared on other social media platforms, where it can potentially reach hundreds and thousands of people who might not even be familiar with your company.
In February Facebook announced that people are posting 75% more videos to the platform than they did just one year ago. Overall, U.S. users are posting a whopping 94% more videos.
And since success in social networking marketing is often dependent on the trust that you build, the use of video can accelerate the process of trust building. Think about the challenges of building trust using text only content? With the right video you can educate your audience, enhance your credibility, and perhaps even be entertaining.
According to Hubspot® images on Facebook result in 53% more likes than the average post does. Imagine how many more likes your posts containing video will get!
Your small business should use video in its inbound marketing (aka content marketing) campaigns. The use of embedded video to support a blog post will make the page more visually exciting, more engaging improve the likelihood of it being shared, and improve its SEO quotient.
Your small business should use video
The process of crafting the right video for your business doesn’t have to be daunting. Nor does it have the break the bank, either. But like many marketing tactics doing it right should trump doing it cheaply, as good marketing has the capability of enhancing your brand but bad marketing tends to destroy it. Speak with a marketing agency that specializes in working with small business and has experience with the different video tactics that are available (more on that can be viewed here) and you’ll quickly find video helping your business thrive.
