Video marketing
Video marketing involves incorporating videos into your small business marketing campaigns and strategy. Its purpose is to engage with customers, increase brand awareness, introduce products and services, and so forth.
Wyzowl’s survey on the State of Video Marketing in 2018 presents intriguing findings regarding the influence of videos on marketing endeavors. The following are a few of the survey’s most captivating statistics.
- 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.
- The average person watches more than an hour and a half of online video content per day. (In other words, people love watching and engaging with video online.)
- 76% of marketers say video has helped them increase sales and traffic.
If you have been avoiding video marketing, it is hard to deny that some of these statistics are quite convincing. By integrating video into your marketing strategies, it can enhance your current efforts.
Types of video marketing
There are various ways in which video marketing can be employed to educate, inform, and gain new customers. The following are a few examples of the typical kinds of videos that businesses utilize to promote their products or services.
Films that are associated with a particular brand.
Brand videos are often employed to generate and enhance brand recognition. Generally, these videos offer insight into the essence of a brand and elucidate why individuals should consider it important.
Videos that have an educational purpose.
As a digital marketing agency, we might create an educational video about content marketing, which typically aims to provide information on a particular topic, enabling the viewer to acquire knowledge and increase their understanding of the subject.
Videos that provide a 360-degree experience.
These videos are highly impressive. Local businesses opt for them to include in their Google My Business listings, allowing potential customers to have a comprehensive view of their entire premises through a 360-degree video. Realtors utilize them for virtual tours to provide potential buyers with a complete glimpse of a house.
Videos showcasing products.
Typically, product videos provide an introduction to a particular product for potential buyers. They depict the appearance of the product, outline its advantages, and explain its functionality.
Videos about company culture.
These films are akin to brand films, but their emphasis lies on company culture. Numerous companies utilize these films to attract potential employees by offering them a deeper understanding of the company and the work environment.
Testimonials should be rephrased while maintaining the same meaning.
Written customer testimonials are beneficial, but video testimonials are more advantageous. There is no comparison to witnessing someone on video sharing the advantages of your product or their experience with your company.
Videos that answer frequently asked questions.
Many companies find it beneficial to utilize FAQ videos in order to respond to frequently asked questions that people may have. This approach proves effective in addressing potential objections beforehand and also enhances engagement with the audience.
Instruction videos should be thought through step by step, ensuring that the same meaning is maintained without adding or removing any information.
How can you effectively utilize or assemble the recently purchased product? Although written instructions are available, some companies are going beyond that by creating instructional videos to assist as well.
Benefits of video marketing for small businesses
1. Increase brand awareness
On average, Facebook’s video content receives 8 billion views per day, indicating a significant positive response from people.
Compared to other forms of content, videos have a higher level of engagement and appeal that can attract people. They excel at establishing connections with individuals, allowing them to become acquainted with your brand. When combined with suitable video content and marketing tactics, your brand can rapidly gain popularity.
Are you searching for alternative branding ideas? This article on business branding ideas that will help you differentiate yourself is essential reading.
2. Increase online presence
Without a presence on the internet, it is challenging for many businesses to survive and achieve success. By utilizing video marketing, your online presence can be enhanced as it will create more captivating and accessible content.
Viewers are prompted to click on a subscription link or visit a website through videos. Upon liking the content, people increase the reach by clicking the share button. Employing effective video marketing content will aid in establishing your small business as a notable online presence.
3. Reveals personality
The dislike for interacting with robots is a common trait in humans. It is often difficult for us to identify a brand because of the lack of human presence. However, video content helps to overcome this obstacle by providing a visual representation of the brand. This allows customers to put a face or faces to the name, which is generally more appealing to them. Additionally, video content provides an opportunity for people to hear and see you, establishing a deeper connection compared to other forms of content.
4. Get on the second-largest search engine in the world
YouTube, being the second-largest search engine worldwide, has a user base of over a billion individuals who collectively spend more than 250 million hours watching videos daily. It is imperative for businesses to establish a presence on this platform as it is where potential customers actively search for information. Notably, educational content has significant potential in YouTube’s environment, given the popularity of “how-to” searches.
To make the most of the platform, it is important to understand how YouTube content aligns with the buyers’ journey.
5. Rank higher in search
YouTube is the second largest search engine, whereas Google takes the first place. Incorporating videos on your website can greatly enhance your search rankings on Google, as well as other search engines such as Bing and Yahoo.
Adding a video to your website increases your chances of appearing on the first page of Google results. This is valuable because the majority of people, around 75%, do not go beyond the first page.
6. Increase the understanding of your product
It is crucial for your audience to comprehend the complexity of your products before making a purchase. Fortunately, there is a 64 to 85% higher likelihood of website visitors making a purchase after viewing a product video.
If you haven’t already, consider creating an explainer video as your first choice for video marketing for small businesses. This type of video allows you to demonstrate the value of your offering and how it addresses a problem, rather than simply describing it.
7. Build stronger brand affiliation and connection
Viewers who watch a video are exposed to audio and visual stimulation, leading to increased engagement and a stronger sense of affiliation and interest in the content being consumed.
For a small business focused on brand recognition and reliant on repeat customers, it is essential to consider the following: In 2020, a significant 94% of marketers acknowledged that video content converted as well as, if not better than, other forms of content. This valuable finding should be the basis for further development.
8. Increase conversions
Websites that incorporate video experience a twofold increase in conversion rates. A significant majority, approximately 90%, of sales professionals emphasize the significance of utilizing video viewing data to evaluate leads, captivate potential customers, or impact business transactions. Adding a play button to your website is vital for its success.
9. Track potential buyer consumption patterns
As video progresses, video metrics also progress. It has become both feasible and effortless to monitor the duration of viewership as well as identify specific sections of your video that are being replayed or ignored.
If you are using a video platform that is integrated with your marketing automation platform, such as Hubspot, you can wait to see this information for each of your potential buyers as it improves.
By thinking in a systematic manner, you can rephrase the given text as follows, while retaining its original meaning: With a step-by-step approach, you are able to generate specific follow-up activities and gain a better understanding of individuals who are interested and have a higher probability of making a purchase. If you are a HubSpot user, discover the process of integrating videos into your campaigns directly within your account.
10. Get more ‘bang for your buck’
Up to 40% of consumers claim that having video on their mobile device enhances the likelihood of purchasing a product. Businesses that incorporate video are experiencing a 49% faster increase in revenue compared to those that do not. The statistics are self-explanatory, but we want to emphasize it regardless: Video is necessary for you.
After understanding the reasons behind the necessity of video content for small businesses, it is important to acknowledge that it is not solely the presence of video that contributes to business growth, but rather the manner in which it is utilized. To gain further insight into the appropriate implementation of video, please refer to our video buyer’s journey infographic.
11. Show up more in social feeds
Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, effectively display content that aligns with users’ preferences. Due to algorithms analyzing users’ past activity, small businesses face difficulties in gaining exposure to new audiences.
In 2020, 93% of businesses were able to attract new customers by using videos on social media. Video content that catches people’s attention is more likely to make them pause while scrolling, and these interactions will consistently assist in expanding your audience. Therefore, when it comes to social media, videos are the most effective way to ensure visibility.
12. Boost social media engagement
In the world of digital marketing, it is crucial to stand out from the crowd when using social media platforms such as posting images or writing articles. To achieve this, one effective method is to create captivating videos. Without generating engagement, the effectiveness of your content in terms of attracting traffic and driving conversions will be negatively impacted. Therefore, videos play a significant role in promoting engagement on social media.
13. It builds trust
After establishing that customers are more inclined to purchase a product subsequent to viewing a video, the key factor behind this behavior is trust. Unlike other forms of content, videos create a more personal connection between you and your audience. By allowing individuals to familiarize themselves with and develop a liking towards you, videos ultimately foster trust. It is common knowledge that people prefer conducting business with individuals they know, like, and have confidence in.