You will likely have seen us talk about video marketing a lot. The reality is it’s so important to be part of an organisation’s comms activities, due to the growing demand for video content, even video marketing for small businesses can’t be overlooked.
Utilising video where possible can bring benefits to all facets of your marketing strategy. YouTube, typically the first port of call for any video content whether you’re producing it or consuming it, reports that mobile video consumption rises 100% every year. TikTok is also the fastest growing social media platform and has now surpassed more than one billion users worldwide, with a significant proportion of its audience being under 25.
Start small
If you’re a small business owner, the perceived cost and time consumption required for video marketing may be off-putting. The reality is, though, that now is as good a time as ever to start exploring it. The rise of TikTok with its raw, bitesize style of content has influenced the way video is produced and consumed on other platforms dramatically. You don’t have to go all out with high production values and nifty editing, all you have to do is keep abreast of what is trending and topical. The features for editing video in mobile apps nowadays means you always have a prime tool for generating reach and engagement at your fingertips. As a small business, it’s often your personality and what makes you different that drives your growth, as much as the service you’re offering. Video marketing for small businesses in this fashion is a fantastic way of getting this character across.
I wouldn’t say I’m a habitual TikTok user. If anything, most of the TikTok content I see is when it’s been reshared on other platforms. When I do venture on to the platform, I can’t help but find myself going down a rabbit hole, and before I know it, hours of my time have elapsed. The content is so compelling and in no time at all, the content you’re seeing will be relevant to your interests. If you can make time in the evenings to scroll through TikTok, you will no doubt be inspired with ideas for content around your business’ offering. TikTok may not even be your target audience, but given its format has been replicated with Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, it’s a straightforward process to repurpose your content for these platforms, and you can also share these posts across your other channels.
The vision of video marketing for small businesses
Let’s fast forward. Your business has grown, you have extra resource and marketing spend has become available. You’ll now likely be starting to think about some more sophisticated video content.
So you should be, too. Video marketing for small businesses can see a range of improvements, from landing page conversions increasing by as much as 80%, email click-through rates vastly improving, and you can even gazump the bigger players in your industry on search engines if your videos on YouTube are thoroughly optimised.
By this time, you will have built up a notable engaged following, putting you in advantageous position as you’ll have some degree of an engaged follower base and you won’t just be talking into a void. The TikTok-style content discussed above should not become an afterthought at this point, though. Momentum is key when it comes to growing your reach and engagement on these platforms and you don’t want to lose this way of attracting younger audiences.
Depending on the type of business, you might not even need a significant cost or time outlay to deliver this. If you sell software, for example, it’s relatively simple to record yourself delivering demonstrations of it, which can be very effective for educating your audience.
Beyond videos showcasing your product or service, there’s a wide variety of ways video marketing for small businesses can get audiences to buy in and achieve a range of goals. Company culture videos, for instance, portray the character and values of a company and while these are primarily beneficial when it comes to attracting new staff, it can show the personality of the people in the business and make it a more attractive proposition for customers.
Testimonials are another avenue to explore. Written feedback is good, but video testimonials are even better! If you’re conscious about cost, you should consider booking out a filming day with a client, where you can generate these testimonials and spend some time producing additional video that can promote you both. A good example in this case would be industry discussion in the style of a podcast that can be shared on your social media channels.
No matter the budget, the possibilities of video marketing for small businesses are endless. There has never been a more pertinent time to dip your toes into the world of video content and if you’d like support with making video marketing work for your organisation, get in touch with the Nifty team today.
