Video marketing is one of the most powerful tools that small businesses can use to grow their brand. Not only is it a useful way to connect with customers and create a personal connection with your audience, but it’s also a very effective way to promote your products and services. In this article, we will discuss several video marketing ideas that will help you to grow your business.
We’ll also provide tips for creating videos for use on multiple social media platforms, as well as information on using SFX and royalty-free music to give your videos that professional edge. Let’s begin!
Start With a Plan
As with any marketing effort, it’s an important first step to start with a plan. What are your goals for video marketing? Is it your ultimate goal to increase brand awareness, drive more traffic to your website, or generate leads? All of the above? Once you’re aware of what you want to achieve, you can create videos that are designed to meet those objectives.
For instance, if you’re looking to increase brand awareness, you might create videos that tell your brand’s story or introduce customers to your products and services. If you’re trying to drive traffic to your website, on the other hand, you’ll want to create videos that are fun, attention-grabbing, and shareable, such as product demonstrations or helpful tips and tricks.
Create Engaging Videos
No matter what your goals are, it’s important to create videos that are engaging, entertaining, and enjoyable to watch. After all, people are more likely to watch a video that they actually want to see, as opposed to something that feels like a chore. To make your videos more engaging, try incorporating elements of humor, personal stories, or even just helpful information that your audience will likely find useful.
Don’t Forget About SEO
Just because your videos are hosted on YouTube or another social media platform doesn’t mean they’ll be easy to find. In order to ensure that your videos are seen by as many people as possible, you’ll need to optimize them for search engines.
This means including the relevant keywords in your titles and descriptions, as well as tagging your videos with relevant keywords. Also, keep in mind that video content already gives you an edge in this department. Search engine results pages (SERPs) already give SEO preference to pages with video content.
Take a Multiple-Platform Approach
In today’s social media-driven world, it’s not enough to post your videos on just YouTube or Instagram and call it a day. To get what you want out of video marketing, you need to take a multi-platform approach. In addition to YouTube, you should also be posting your videos on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and any other social media platforms that your target audience is using.
This will help to ensure that your videos are seen by as many people as possible.
Keep Your Videos Short
While there’s no hard, black-and-white rule about video length, it’s generally a good idea to keep your videos on the shorter side. In today’s attention-deficit world, people are more likely to watch a video that’s two minutes or less than something that’s five minutes or longer. According to HootSuite, Facebook recommends video lengths of less than one minute.
Of course, this will vary depending on your goals and your target audience. For instance, if you’re creating a video tutorial, it’s likely that your audience will be willing to watch a longer video. But for many other types of videos, shorter is better. 30 to 60 seconds is just about the sweet spot for these.
Include a Call to Action
If you want people to take action after watching your videos (such as subscribing to your channel or visiting your website), you need to include a CTA (call to action). This can be as simple as including a link to your website in the video description or telling viewers to like and subscribe at the end of the video.
However, if you really want people to take action, it’s best to incorporate a call to action into the actual video. For example, you might say something like, “Click the link below to learn more about our products and services.”
Add Captions or Subtitles
Did you know that 85% of Facebook users watch videos with the sound off? This is why it’s important to add captions or subtitles to your videos. Most viewers aren’t in a place where the audio is appropriate, such as an elevator, the workplace, or a crowded subway train. By adding captions or subtitles, you’re ensuring that your videos can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of spatial situation.
Utilize SFX and Royalty-Free Music
Adding sound effects (SFX) or a royalty-free song to your videos can give them a more professional edge, making them more enjoyable to watch and more likely to be shared. SFX can be anything from the sound of a car driving by to a door slamming shut. And royalty-free music is just that: music that you can use without having to pay royalties.
There are many websites where you can purchase sound effects and royalty-free music, such as Soundstripe, which offers a wide variety of tracks for any number of media projects that you can download for a small monthly fee. Adding the perfect sound or perfect song adds another level of professionalism and enjoyment to your videos.
Best of all, these sites allow you to use all the music you need without having to be concerned about copyright infringement.
The Bottom Line
Video marketing is an excellent and relatively inexpensive way to grow your small business. By taking a multi-platform approach, keeping your videos short, and utilizing SFX and royalty-free music, you can create videos that are both professional and enjoyable to watch.
Just make sure to post fairly regularly so that each social media platform recognizes that you’re an active and engaging user and brand. This will help to ensure that your videos are seen by as many people as possible. Now’s the time to get motivated and start creating videos that will help grow your business!
