Why small businesses should use video marketing

Promoting a company on a popular social site – whether it’s Twitter or Tumblr – is a great way for companies to easily spread their message to a large audience of followers. While these sites provide the perfect platform on which businesses can post text updates, website links and promotional giveaways, they can also be a great place on which companies can take advantage of one of the most popular new marketing tactics: video.

Uploading videos, whether they’re high-budget advertisements or simple testimonies recorded from a smartphone, is a great way for companies to quickly and effectively reach a wide audience of current and potential consumers. Businesses should consider incorporating video marketing within their operations, keeping the following in mind:

Video marketing is perfect for companies with small budgets
Instead of purchasing air time to play an expensive advertisement, businesses that do not have large marketing budgets can post snippets on the Internet for free. Video-sharing sites typically do not cost money to join or upload, so the only financial cost for companies would be those associated with the production of the video. Denise Graziano, the president of Graziano Associates, explained that videos are a great, low-budget way for businesses to teach consumers about the company mission.

“Video is an accelerator,” Graziano explained in a press release. “It enables people to introduce themselves and develop a personal connection with prospects, before they enter an office or business.”

Companies have an array of options to consider when planning for online videos. Forums, such as YouTube, allow users to upload and categorize their different videos based on the type. For example, businesses searching to promote a particular product could create a series of videos dedicated to company offerings. Alternatively, brands that seek to educate consumers about corporate culture or their mission could upload more personal videos, such as employee testimonies.

YouTube reaches millions of visitors each day
According to the site’s statistics, YouTube reaches more than 1 billion unique visitors each month, meaning that companies that join the site could spread their brand to that many people for free. Additionally, the site reported that nearly 40 percent of its viewership watches videos via mobile devices. Since the platform is available on a myriad of devices, reaches hundreds of millions of viewers in the U.S. alone and provides easy means by which videos can be shared, the site serves as an ideal forum on which businesses can promote their brands.

Several companies have already taken advantage of YouTube to promote their brands and offerings. Best Buy, for example, is one of the most popular companies on the site. Known for its creative approach to video marketing, the electronics retailer uploads videos that teach visitors about technological trends, popular products featured in the store and information about company contests. Brands looking to copy common video strategies should examine the practices of the site’s most active companies, including Twitter, Apple and Google.

Good videos can go viral
While any videos posted on the Internet can lead to great brand exposure, videos that go viral have the opportunity to increase awareness exponentially. Companies have seen great success in the past with funny videos that have been shared, linked to and watched by millions of viewers. Creating a video along these lines can help not only to reach a wider consumer base, but to also inform a number of viewers about the business’ operations.

One of the most popular viral videos from 2013 was produced by Dove. Titled “Real Beauty Sketches,” the three-minute clip followed a group of women as they described how they perceived their physical appearance to a sketch artist. Then, a stranger would detail the same person’s features to the artist, which created a drawing that was displayed next to the individual’s own description. While the concept was simple, the video garnered more than 62 million views and more than 4 million shares, illustrating the power of the viral video.

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