Any casual Google search for “video marketing” brings up a plethora of results extolling countless virtues of using video to promote your business.
But many small businesses are not joining in with the online video revolution. Many cite the expense and time taken to produce video, or feel that they don’t have the equipment and schedule to allow for a professional looking result. Some may even be sceptical that video is as powerful as it is.
However, I’m here to tell you that video can be easy and super affordable – not to mention effective!
The Human Touch
It’s important to note that videos hold people’s interest far better than a long swathe of text. When we are learning new things, many of us would rather have something explained to us than be given the text to read ourselves. According to a Forbes study, when senior executives were asked whether they would like a piece of detailed information presented as text or in video form, 59% said that they would opt for the video. Additionally, many video platforms telegraph the duration of their videos before you click “play,” informing viewers exactly how much time they’ll have to invest. You don’t get that with a blog post.
Derek Halpern of Social Triggers writes about the innate “human-ness” of video in this short anecdote.
If you’re in business, you’ve probably heard this old chestnut – “people do business with people.” It’s cheesy, but it’s true. If you and/or your team feature in a video, it provides an undeniable human touch. It’s as if you are speaking directly to the person and imparting your wisdom; giving a more personal and genuine feel than text usually does. We all like to put a name to a face, and to feel that we’re working with someone who confidently knows their stuff, so get that lovely face of yours out there!
The Tech-Sphere-Web-O-Verse
This fact frankly boggles my mind. YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Internet. Let that sink in for a second; YouTube – a site that only searches content uploaded to its own platform – is second only to Google, and is ahead of Bing, Yahoo and other search engines who crawl the entire web. More than 1 billion users visit YouTube each month. That’s a lot of people searching for video. It’s worth asking yourself – how many of those people are after what you’re selling?
Video marketing also provides a massive boon to social media marketing. Simple, text-only social posts are fine, but it’s visual content that attracts eyeballs. Look at it this way: a text post means you’re likely to be one amongst the crowd, holding a short amount of attention before the reader scrolls to the next post. An image post may hold attention for a short while longer; but video has the potential to hold people’s attention for its entire duration.
As paid video advertising becomes more and more prevalent, it may also be worth considering investing in a high quality video to use as a paid pre-roll ad on YouTube, or in a PPC campaign on your social media platform of choice.
Video Marketing Stats
Still not convinced? Let’s take a look at a few video marketing statistics…
- It’s hypothesized that by 2019 video will account for 80% of all web traffic. (Cisco)
- It has been shown that using embedded video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80%. (EyeViewDigital)
- YouTube report that mobile video consumption through their platform increases by 100% every year. (YouTube)
- Visuals are processed by the brain 60,000 times faster than text, and visual content accounts for 93% of all human communication. (HubSpot)
- 51.9% of marketing professionals around the world cite video as the type of content with the best return on investment. (HubSpot)
HubSpot featured this great infographic with a number of interesting video marketing statistics that may be worth a look if you’re still on the fence.
Where To Start?
Getting involved with video marketing is incredibly easy and thankfully becoming more and more affordable. It’s always advisable with any new marketing effort to put a bit of research in, so take a look at video content that is already out there relating to your industry. See what topics are being discussed and how they’re being presented.
Chances are you’ll see more than a few talking head videos – chiefly because they’re incredibly easy to make, and they’re the format I would encourage you to start with. These videos involve the expert simply sat in front of a camera imparting useful information for the audience to take away and use. You could be among these experts! Just get in front of the camera, don’t be overly promotional, just impart useful knowledge that is likely to help your ideal client – you can always promote your services briefly near the end.
If you have a smartphone with a decent camera then you’re already halfway there. You can obtain a small phone tripod cheaply online or from a number of high street stores. Use the phone with the tripod, sit in front of it and get recording! The fab Jon Penberthy explains how easy it is here:
And the awesome Heather Ramirez from Sharespark Media shares her tips for creating great videos on your phone:
In conclusion, you really don’t need to be some marketing whiz with Spielberg-esque directing skills, a £600 camera and fancy editing software in order to provide something valuable to those who need it. Just a camera, yourself, and your expertise. Speak openly and genuinely about your topics of expertise, share genuine help and information, and above all – have fun!
[bctt tweet=”Not only does your business need video marketing, but you can start it today…” username=”yellbusiness”]
Yell can create a video for your business from just £15 a month – find out more here: https://business.yell.com/video/
