Online videos aren’t going anywhere any time soon. You know that one video your relatives keep sharing on Facebook, the one with the keyboard-playing cat, or someone jumping from a moving vehicle? People love watching videos. They like sharing them with their friends and family through their social media sites, and they like finding something new to entertain them. YouTube is the biggest and most popular video sharing site, and if you learn how to utilize it properly, your videos might be the next big thing to go viral. More importantly, you’ll be able to drive in more business with a well-planned video marketing campaign, in addition to your marketing strategy.
Video marketing for your business might not be as exciting as producing videos made for pure entertainment purposes, but despite this, big companies have still been able to reach millions through their YouTube marketing campaigns. Even if your videos don’t become insanely popular, you may still be reaching an audience you weren’t reaching before. As long as you identify your target audience, using YouTube for video marketing will boost your company’s social media presence, which will bring in business and keep your potential or existing customers up-to-date about your products and services.
Video content is an under-utilized marketing resource for small businesses, because many people don’t understand how producing and sharing short videos could be beneficial, or they don’t know how to get started. Having video content can sometimes cause search engines to rank your site higher, so video marketing can contribute to your SEO efforts. Having different types of content on different marketing channels helps people find you easier, and spreads the word about your business. Adding video marketing to your marketing campaign is a cheap and easy way to produce content and reach more potential buyers.
Since YouTube is free, you don’t need a big budget to produce a video for marketing purposes. You can upload your own content whenever you want and you can be as creative as you want. As long as you make sure to keep your videos short, since people don’t usually have the patience or time for longer videos, there aren’t many constraints you need to worry about.
Videos uploaded through YouTube are easily shared content that could possibly go viral. This means that something gets very popular in a short amount of time and is watched and shared by a large number of people. Having a video go viral might be rare for small businesses, because you’re appealing to a very specific audience and the videos are more likely going to be informative rather than entertaining. However, if you’re willing to get creative, you never know! Some people are more engaged by video content, as opposed to written content, which will allow you to reach even more potential customers through video marketing.
You might be thinking, “But how do I make these videos?! I’m no filmmaker!” Don’t worry—making a short video isn’t as complicated as you might think! Here are a few tips to get you started:
Acquire a digital camera or a smart phone to film your video. Since most phones come with video cameras, shooting your own video is extremely simple nowadays. Your videos don’t have to be incredibly high-quality, but your viewers should be able to tell what’s going on.
Take the time to develop what you want to say. Are you informing potential customers about your products and services? Are you passing on useful marketing tips? Jot your ideas down or write up a short script before you start filming. Make sure you know what you want to talk about, so your videos look organized and thoughtful. Remember to remain professional.
Find the appropriate place to film. Filming in an office might be the perfect place to give customers an insider’s look at your company. Set up the “star” of your film in front of your company’s banner for a film that requires little-to-no editing. For an informative video, this is good way to pass along information.
Transfer your video to Youtube. Many smart phones allow you to directly upload your videos to YouTube. If your video needs editing, you can transfer the video to your computer and then upload to YouTube.
After your video goes live on YouTube, it can be easily shared through all your social media sites, and will help form your video marketing content. They will add something new and interesting to your company’s content and you’ll be free to get creative. Since YouTube videos can inform your customers on the products and services you provide, along with any new developments about your company, videos are a good way to quickly inform your customers by providing them with helpful tips. You can also include links back to your company’s website to increase your traffic, and hopefully your business.
Video marketing is a great addition to any marketing campaign and YouTube is a great way to switch up your marketing strategy and try something new. Video marketing can help you share information, show off your business expertise, connect with your customers, and market your products or services.
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