There used to be a time when marketing your business involved advertising, media relations and special events – full stop. Social media changed all that. Now not only is advertising less relevant, however “owner” produced videos are part of the mix – and they really work at attracting a target market.
What is Video Marketing
As a small business owner you want to get out in front of your target market as often as possible. The way to do that is to be in those places where your target market spends their time. Video marketing is the promotion of your product or service using short videos that are placed in those places where your market can be found.
With millions of users every day, those places include the very popular social media video network “YouTube.”
By placing your video in a high traffic network like YouTube, it can be found by your target market and easily shared. Millions of users watch 2 billion videos a day on YouTube. That’s an astounding amount of people in one network.
Considering access to posting videos on YouTube is absolutely free, there is no reason why your business should not be utilizing this opportunity to market your services or products. Remember this is *free* marketplace exposure that would have cost millions in advertising dollars during the not too distant pre-social media days.
How do I get Started?
Take a look at videos that are currently being produced in your niche. For example, if you sell tutorial programs for young children, search a video network like YouTube using keywords that describe this niche. Then view the results of your search.
How are other childrens’ tutorial businesses promoting their services with video marketing? You may find some videos featuring the consultant speaking for 2-3 minutes about their services, or it could even be a product demo video. Other consultants may use graphics to highlight how their program can help children.
If you’re not comfortable speaking to the camera you can hire someone to do a voice over for you. In fact you can hire someone to create the entire video for you.
It doesn’t matter if you have the latest software or a top-of-the-line camcorder. You can start with something as simple as a Flip camera which you can get new for under $200 and refurbished for about $100.
Here are four guiding principles to creating a video that will grab the attention of your target market in social media networks:
- Keep your tone conversational and clear. Video created for marketing purposes in social media platforms has to attract an audience–not bore or confuse them. Know your audience’s motivational points. Speak their language, show them what they are looking for and create a sense of trust by being more personable and less commercial.
- Keep it short. An 8-minute video is much too long. For marketing purposes a 2-3 minute is plenty!
- Promote it. Create a buzz. When you respond to questions or comments in your favourite discussion forums add a link to your video in your signature line. Search out guest blogging opportunities at high traffic blogs in your niche. Include in your contact information a link to your video. Share the link to your video on Twitter and Facebook.
- Make it interesting. Use compelling graphics and even background music to get the attention of your audience. Just ensure your message is clear and the product or service you are selling is clearly highlighted.
Windows Movie Maker or iMovie for Mac users are free with your operating systems and will allow you to edit video and have a very small learning curve.
Top Tip For Making a Successful Video – First Time
Use a storyboard or rough script. A storyboard is a visual depiction of what you want to feature in each frame. For example, if you produce jewelry you might start off with yourself speaking to your audience.
Then you might zoom in some of your products. Each of these scenes would be sketched out on your story board so you’ll be able to envision how you’d like your video to be put together.
A rough script is indispensable with video marketing projects, especially if you’ve never done a video before. With a script you’ll be less inclined to ramble on, using up precious seconds. Using a storyboard or rough script will help you:
- Stay on message (say what you planned to say to your audience and include your call to action, URL, etc.)
- Produce a video that is engaging (not boring)
The BEST possible advice I can give you regarding your first video is to dive in and DO IT. You’ll improve with practice. Just shoot your video, edit, upload to YouTube – and promote.
