After video killed the radio star, has it been plotting its domination of the internet ever since? In the world of internet marketing the power of video is becoming a key player. Online video is effective, easy to do, and can elevate your business in front of potential customers.
Today’s internet marketing tips are all about video content.
So why should your small business care about online video in your internet marketing strategy? Online video helps you:
- Reach a larger audience through multiple channels
- Has the potential to increase your marketing message if done right
- Convert fans to leads and ultimately clients
Here are some stats from Social Media Today to help convince you:
- Did you know that just in September 2012 alone 85% of U.S. internet users viewed some type of online video content?
- Each day, over 100 million Americans watch online video, an increase of 43% since 2010.
- By 2014, online video could account for 50% of all internet traffic!
That's less than a year away, but you have plenty of time to start thinking about integrating online video into your internet marketing strategy.
Are you wondering what to make a video about?
Before you start trying to create the next Gangnam Style or Harlem Shake, make sure you set the right expectations. Your goal isn’t to go viral – nobody even really knows the mysterious formula of what makes a video go viral – your goal is to get in front of your target audience. So create something they will find valuable. For example:
- Provide educational content by sharing tips from your industry, commentary about a new product or topic in the news, or your ideas about industry trends.
- Promote your products and services by highlighting special features, but be authentic – potential customers these days don’t want something pretty and shiny, they want something helpful that they can trust.
- Play while you’re at it. You want your online videos to be entertaining, so don’t be afraid to use humor and have fun!
Do you have the skills to make an online video?
YouTube has become the second largest search engine because anyone can make a video and stick it online. So, YES! You have the skills to make an online video. If you get stage fright, you can be the director and get someone else in your business to get on camera. It’s easy to get started.
You could hire an internet marketing company like us to help you (and we love to make videos!) but we also understand you have a limited amount of time and resources. So if you aren’t in a position to hire someone to make a video you can do something as simple as recording a video with your mobile device and uploading it to YouTube. You’ll want to create a YouTube channel for your business, because you’re going to see how fabulous you really look on camera and start doing videos all the time.
Videos are a good use of time and resources because they are easy to use on multiple channels. For example:
- They can be easily embedded in blog posts, on web pages, and on web forms.
- Studies suggest that using videos in email marketing and putting “video” in the subject line can increase click-through-rates by as much as 13%.
- They can be easily shared on social media platforms
How does video help your small business get more clients?
Online video can be used in more than one aspect of your internet marketing strategy. First though, you want to make sure that you have created an engaging video by including these components:
- Be authentic by letting your own personality and brand shine through.
- Keep things short and sweet, but just long enough to establish a connection.
- Relate to your viewers by telling a brief story, either about yourself or one of your client’s success stories. Draw viewers in with a fun fact, thoughtful questions or bold statement.
- Offer something of value, like a high-quality e-book or helpful guide related to your industry.
- End with a call-to-action so the viewer doesn’t have to think about what to do next.
You can strengthen your video’s “shareability” by sharing it on multiple social media platforms. This will help drive traffic to your targeted landing page, website or blog. This kind of cross-channel promotion does take some coordination. If you’re going to be promoting on social media, make sure your business is set up on the three main social media channels, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. If you don’t already have a following on social media, then just stick to the other channels we talked about earlier, but start setting up your social media channels as soon as you can. One other component worth mentioning here is online paid ads. You can actually purchase paid video ads to appear before, during or around YouTube content that relates to your business.
Google is also starting to pay more attention to online video content. You have a better opportunity of jumping to the first page of results by creating video content and using it across your different channels. This takes strategic planning though because Google does like it to be done a certain way. If you’re interested in SEO services for small business, we can help you!
Of course, there’s more to it than just creating, editing and uploading. Online video only works by being an integrated part of your internet marketing strategy.
I hope today’s internet marketing tip was helpful! Now lights, camera, action!
