Oh! Show Productions produced a series of videos documenting the construction of the “Chop Shop BBQ” restaurant now open at the Indian Creek Plaza in downtown Caldwell, Id.
Blog
10 Reasons Why Small Businesses Need Video Marketing
In his recent CES keynote address, Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s Vice President of Global Content, projected that video would soon drive 90% of all Internet traffic.
It sounds crazy, but for small businesses, video opens the doors to opportunities to both educate and entertain your customers.
Yet, despite its growing prevalence, many small company operators still seem to shy away from this powerful marketing tool. In my experience, those who pass on video do so for one of the following three reasons:
- They don’t believe they have the budget to create ongoing videos.
- They don’t have any ideas on what to produce.
- They don’t have the necessary equipment and/or time.
Fortunately, we live in a brave new world. These excuses don’t hold as much weight as they once did.
High-quality video is no longer reserved for large corporate businesses. Everyone – everywhere – has the ability to create or access powerful video footage that engages their customers.
Here are ten reasons your small business must take advantage of these new opportunities by harnessing the energy and excitement of video marketing:
(source)
1. Help Customers Understand your Offering
When you’re in a store, it’s easy to sell a prospect on the value of your product or service. You’ve been doing that for years, and it’s worked pretty well so far.
But things are different online, where losing that potent face-to-face interaction can make selling much more difficult.
That’s where video comes into play, as it gives you the opportunity to explain things the same way you would in the store. So, go ahead and show off that winning smile and personality. Video gives you the time to shine.
2. Create Something That People Will Remember
Did you know that 80% of people remember the video ads that they see online? Can you say the same thing about every blog post and social media update you read? Chances are, the answer is no.
We’re working in a very crowded and noisy online world. Finding ways to stand out and showcase your creativity can seem like a daunting task. But statistics like this show us that there’s still a way to make a difference.
Get your message heard by investing in video marketing.
3. Entice People to Purchase from You
The power of the internet may give us access to more prospective customers than ever before, but it’s still hard to make sales online. Just because you’re working with a larger pool of prospects doesn’t mean it’s as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.
You’ll need a strong marketing plan – and you’ll want to include video in that strategy.
According to data gathered by Video Brewery, about 50% of all people that viewed an online video went on to make a purchase. If that statistic doesn’t capture your attention, I don’t know what will.
What better reason than that is there to use video marketing than to increase your sales?
(source)
4. Reach Every Demographic
When it comes to most online marketing methods, you have to cater your strategy based on the age demographic you’re trying to reach. Younger users, for example, spend more of their time on Instagram and Snapchat, while middle-aged women have claimed dominance on Pinterest.
That simply isn’t the case with video marketing.
Everyone loves video – from the youngest to oldest Internet user. With this tactic, your small business can reach its audience, whatever its demographics.
Even if you pivot your business and your target market shifts, you don’t have to worry about building your presence on an entirely new platform. Chances are, your new demographic will respond to video, just like your old one.
5. Engage With Mobile Users
I never thought I’d see the day when mobile users had a longer average attention span than desktop users. But it seems that day has come.
Desktop users tend to only stick with a video for about two minutes or less. Mobile users, on the other hand, have an attention span of 2.4 to 5 minutes, depending on the device.
As a result, local small business owners should always have a mobile-first mentality. After all, the best time to woo a new prospect is when they’re actively looking for a nearby business in your industry. And a heightened video attention span is just another advantage you can use to accomplish that goal.
(source)
6. Get a Higher Click-Through Rate in Emails
Reel SEO data shows that 60% of marketers claim video marketing has drastically increased their conversion rates – sometimes even as high as 2-3x. How would you like to see the same click-through rate improvements in your email marketing efforts?
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most small business owners reading this article would love to see that kind of increased engagement.
You can do that through the simple power of video.
The videos you introduce to your email marketing messages don’t have to be complicated. They don’t need to feature some elaborate plot or expensive special effects. A simple video of you saying thank you to your audience could do far more than you think.
7. Create a More Personalized Experience
Emotions are contagious. Think about it – when you’re feeling full of energy and happiness, it naturally radiates to the people around you. That’s why it’s usually the small business owners that feel passionate about their work that become so well-known in their communities.
You don’t want that infectious passion to get lost in translation, do you? That’s what happens when your online marketing campaigns don’t accurately reflect your brand and personality.
In the online world, video makes that happen.
8. Rank Higher in Search Engines
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. And even better? It’s owned by the largest search engine in the world, Google.
Your videos can help your website get ranked highly for keywords that you’d never be able to achieve through traditional SEO. Although marketers have known about this powerful perk for years, it’s an avenue that many aren’t yet fully exploring. If you start now, you’ll be ahead of the game.
All you need to do is incorporate a bit of video SEO into each video you create and publish.
9. Educate Customers on Various Topics
The best marketing campaigns don’t sell products and services 100% of the time. Nobody wants to feel like they’re being sold to, which is why great small business website feature articles on topics that actually interest the audience.
It works the same way with video.
You can become well known in your industry by simply educating your audience on a range of topics. Let’s say, for example, that you sell surfboards. It would be easy to get stuck in a rut of making product review videos, but you could also branch out and create how-to videos that reach into the broader topics of surfing.
Doing so will give your audience the content they crave in a low-pressure environment.
10. Build a Relatable Brand That People Love
When people see your face, it activates the fusiform facial area of the brain. This section of the mind controls facial recognition using the faces it sees as a centralized point of information and believability.
If you show your face to your audience, they become accustomed to it. Scientifically, that builds trust with your audience. And when you can get your customers to trust you, it’s much easier to sell them on your products.
When it comes down to it, video marketing is all about branding. You can certainly build a strong brand using other methods online, but once you make the decision to harness the power of video marketing, you’ll find that you’re facing a much easier journey to small business success.
Article written by: Tim Ryan of TAR Productions
The Growth Of Video Marketing And Why Your Business Needs It.
You may have noticed in the past few years that online content marketing has shifted to video streaming. In 2005 YouTube came onto the online scene and opened video sharing to everyone, and as the company grew, more people and businesses jumped on the video band wagon.
From fashionistas to singers, stars are born on YouTube. Other platforms arose and soared from the prevalence of video marketing and presentation, such as Snapchat and Vine. Facebook and Instagram stories make sharing video clips of one’s life effortless and let audiences share the experience as if they are there, too.
This presents opportunities for businesses to inspire, evoke emotion in and appeal to needs of their audiences in a real and authentic way. Here’s what you need to know about the growth of video marketing and why your business needs it.
Video Content Represents Pure Connectivity Your brand is not a stagnant strategy on a piece of paper — you must bring it to life. Video lends electroshock therapy to flatlining marketing strategies and generates pulse. Your brand evolves continually, and telling that story is important to keep your audience connected and bring in new viewers — which could eventually become loyal customers.
Video does what text doesn’t. It creates an immediate, real and authentic route of interaction and connectivity with audience members, who can often provide reactions and comments in real time.
Word-of-mouth is an age-old marketing tool because trust remains intrinsic among consumers. Consumers trust the experiences of others. Build that trust from the start by speaking directly to consumers through video to establish pure connectivity.
Around the world, 91 percent of consumers are likely to reward brands for authenticity and share the brand with friends and family, and 62 percent are likely to purchase from or show greater interest in purchasing from a brand that authentically expresses itself. Interestingly, U.S. consumers were less likely to build trust with new brands as compared to others globally, particularly the openness expressed by Asian consumers. For U.S.-based businesses marketing domestically, video content is the key to building trust.
Most of Content Marketing Will Be Video
Businesses must evolve with the times or die out. By 2019, online content will consist of 80 percent video marketing, and mobile consumption of video content continually rises by 100 percent annually. Consider the following statistics:
- 90 percent of consumers indicate product videos directly inform purchase decisions.
- 92 percent of videos viewed via mobile are shared compared to other modes of access.
- 95 percent of consumers retain communicated information through video, while only 10 percent retain information from reading.
- Companies utilizing video content experience a 41 percent increase in traffic through web searches compared to others who don’t include video in their content strategies.
- Video offers the best return on investment, as 51.9 percent of marketing experts agree.
How do you take this information and utilize it in your content marketing? Which social platforms should you target? Consumers connect with these percentages of branded videos daily: 49 percent on Facebook, 32 percent on YouTube, 24 percent on Instagram, 22 percent on Snapchat and 22 percent on Twitter.
Where Are Your Consumers?
Though video marketing grows exponentially, classic marketing techniques and questions remain relevant. Where do your customers hang out online? Which platform allows you to best express yourself via video?
Will your business grow interest through stories on Instagram or teasing reveals of a new product on Snapchat?
Will you publish a miniseries about wine-making as you start your own micro-vineyard on YouTube? Users publish over 300 hours of video content hourly on the platform — often hailed as the granddaddy of video platforms. However, Facebook is on the rise with its video streaming. Remember that 49 percent of consumers connect with video streaming on Facebook.
Don’t discount which platform fits with your brand the best. Your consumers will also resonate with this fact, and you will fish in the right pond for the customers you designed your products and services for in the first place. Keep growing, and don’t be afraid to experiment. Just do it with honesty and transparency.
Your brand’s authenticity is what makes you stand out and draws in consumers. Go where they are, and share what you know through video — they will connect.
William Craig – Forbes.com
