I’m often asked whether video for social media marketing really makes that much of a difference for small businesses. Short answer: if done right, it can make a very big difference.
In fact, I’ve seen many small businesses—all with great potential in their respective markets—both lose momentum and gain that extra push needed to go to the next level because of the choice they made about including video in their marketing efforts.
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Given the choice, would you rather read a blog or watch a video? Personal preference aside, many would choose the video because it provides neatly packaged, concise information that is engaging and fun. People are busy, and that means you only have a limited amount of time to get them hooked.
While promoting your brand through blogging alone can provide your business with enough leads to be competitive in your market, video has a few benefits that basic text blogs don’t. Don’t get me wrong—you absolutely need quality blog posts and web content to promote your brand, product, or service. But adding video to your online marketing approach could be the final push your business needs to go from merely sustainable to a top competitor in your market.
Here are two reasons you should add video to your online marketing approach:
Video In Search Rankings
Having interesting written content is a great way to attract new people to your website, but how do you keep them there? After all, SEO improves when you can keep people clicking on different pages of your site. If the only thing you offer your audience is written content, you are less likely to encourage full interaction.
Video content will help keep your audience engaged, which will keep them from clicking away, which is great for your search rankings. And, if increased engagement isn’t enough to convince you, YouTube, the platform that hosts a large portion of the internet’s video content is owned by the number-one search engine: Google. Combine this fact with the proper description and keywords, and your video could boost your search ranking significantly.
Complement Your Web Content and Blog
Search rankings are great for attracting new customers and clients. However, to get people to come back to your site repeatedly and buy what you’re selling, you’ve got to give them a quality online experience. With your website and blog in place, you’ve already got great content for your audience to peruse, but you need something more to motivate them to keep searching your site. Providing a multimedia experience for viewers gives them more reason to keep browsing your site.
You might think you don’t have anything to talk about on video. That’s a pretty common reason that many small business owners avoid getting in front of the camera.
But, no matter what product or service you offer, you’re the expert that people come to when they have a problem. Maybe you just need some help coming up with ideas for video. Here are a few:
- Create a “How to” solution video for a common problem in your niche
- Get some client testimonials on video to promote the quality of your work. Consider a business vignette that your clients will also likely want to share, and will appreciate the focus on their business
- Promote a charity that you support
Your options for what to include in your video are endless. With an experienced marketing firm like ZenChange guiding you through the process, your expertise will come across effortlessly on the screen.
Check out our social media video page for some great examples.