If we are talking about building rapport with a potential customer, the most effective way always was and remains face-to-face interaction. However, even for small businesses nowadays this approach is not always a feasible option. Video marketing for small local businesses can be a great option and we live in the age where everyone now can do it.
We’ve talked already about creating your video marketing strategy in the previous article. And one of the key points mentioned was determining what type of video your business will produce. Most local small businesses are in no position to blow out an immense budget on visually stunning ads with beautiful cinematography, so they have to resort to a more personal approach.
Video Marketing for Your Business: Best Practices
There are many cost-effective campaigns with videos that can be shot on a tight budget while still being very engaging and (this is important) authentic. In this article, we’ll give you 5 cool marketing ideas on video marketing for local businesses.
1. Staff Intrоduсtіоn
Staff introduction is a great way to introduce your team to the audience even before they encounter your team for the first time. This type of video content can help you to establish a connection with a prospect way in advance. And it shows that your brand isn’t simply a logo and a product, but rather a team of dedicated people that customers can relate to.
2. Whiteboard Videos
Most people will tell that a tutorial video is one of the most engaging and effective forms of marketing. And it’s true to a certain extent, but most viewed videos of such kind usually involve high-quality animation, which is not that cheap, and if done poorly can even hurt your brand.
But whiteboard videos are as simple as you can get. All you need is, well… a whiteboard, simple lighting equipment and a charismatic person who can walk customers through the process, preferably in one take (although this is optional).
The nice thing about whiteboard videos is they are great for a variety of other types such as how-to, process, useful tips and tutorials videos. You can adjust the level of technical details, depending on what exactly you are trying to cover, which makes this idea a perfect option for small businesses.
3. Cover Local Events
Yet another, very popular marketing idea for small business. Some sort of conference or other events are a great opportunity for a brand to get exposure and network with potential business contacts. But there is no need to fly across the country to attend one. Just watch closely for any events that are coming to your area. Just because you didn’t hear about an upcoming expo doesn’t mean it’s not happening. You will be surprised to find out how many opportunities you are missing.
And it doesn’t have to be a conference or an expo necessary. You can still attend festivals, holiday celebrations and cover some local events. This is a definition of video marketing for local businesses. This is a definition of video marketing for small local businesses.
4. Testimonial Videos
There are no better video marketing ideas for small business than getting a satisfied customer. That is exactly why testimonial videos are so huge today. The only technical aspect that you really need to work on is audio. It should be flawless. Even if your customer agrees to give you a 15 seconds testimonial, it’s more than enough. Actually, short testimonials are always better, because they seem more believable.
People very rarely go on describing a restaurant for a couple of minutes nonstop, otherwise it may look staged. While an honest “I liked it a lot” can really make a difference for a potential buyer, this is especially true for small business video marketing. The social proof of your service’s quality makes a huge impact on the audience’s trust.
5. Action Videos
Sometimes simplicity is the best option for your small business video marketing campaign. Plain and simple, show your company in action. This will give viewers a good idea what to expect from your business and it lets you be far more transparent, which improves customer loyalty. This, of course, works great if you have a product to showcase, but even if you are a B2B service provider this doesn’t mean that your company cannot utilize such type of content.
A great example of action video for a service provider would be a 1 day of work at your company. Give viewers a quick tour of the office/building and make it casual. This is an excellent opportunity to show your unique corporate culture and let people see exactly what’s happening behind the scenes.
Extra Tip – Don’t Be Afraid of Imperfection.
If you’ve been researching video marketing, then you might feel a bit overwhelmed with all the information and requirements. From technical application to behavior on camera, there is an immense amount of things to consider.
And many businesses simply drop the idea of this type of marketing because they feel like “it’s too much”, especially when considering budget, learning curve and equipment. The fear of imperfection stops many companies from even attempting at producing a single video.
The benefits of video marketing for small businesses are that it shouldn’t be perfect and you can learn to be better in time. Some of the hit campaigns were filmed on a low budget and cannot be considered a professional video, by any stretch of the imagination. Set the right expectations for yourself and simply try it.
Video Marketing Solutions by OMI
Regardless of the type, video marketing for small local businesses is an emerging trend and it is here to stay. In order to launch it successfully, you will need marketing tools to monitor, analyze and execute your strategy. At OMI we’ve developed an application specifically designed for this purpose. 366 Degrees is a powerful and robust marketing automation platform that can be fully integrated with Vidyard.
Contact us now to find out more about 366 Degrees and other marketing automation services available at OMI.