How to Use Video Marketing to Grow Your Business

Photo by Mark Cruz on Unsplash

Online videos have now become a must-consumed type of content for many of today’s internet users. We jump into YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or any other social media platforms just to watch tutorials or vlogs for entertainment. With the demand for videos at an all-time high, video marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses to expand their reach and engage more audiences-- hopefully can convert them into loyal customers.

According to the stats, at least 86% of businesses are currently using video marketing strategies to boost their overall marketing campaigns. It means if your business hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon, you’re getting left behind. We’ll break down some handy ways to utilize video marketing so you can get your business off the ground smoothly.

1. Tell Brand Stories

Instead of relying too much on text to tell your customers what your brand is all about and make them read it, you can use videos to make all your storytelling more engaging and effective. After all, who has time to read text-heavy business descriptions nowadays?

Videos allow you to add animations, transitions, even intriguing voice-overs to make your story come alive. You can use a tone of voice even take a stab of humor that matches your audience's preferences. This way, they can absorb the message better and remember what you said for a longer period of time, helping you increase brand recall and create more top-in-mind awareness.

2. Leverage Video Platforms

In a winning video marketing strategy, you need to leverage the right video platform so that your videos get the exposure they deserve. And when we talk about video platforms, most of us think of YouTube, right? Of course, with more than 2 billion active users worldwide, YouTube can be such a potent platform to host your marketing videos and increase your online presence using it.

That said, there are other video platforms you can also leverage to make your videos more discoverable, such as Vidyard, Wistia, Brightcove, etc. All of these video platforms are specifically designed for video marketing so it comes with advanced features like customizable CTA, video SEO optimization, audience targeting, and more.

3. Create a Video for Homepage

You can create a homepage video to introduce your brand, business, and what you do. So, once a visitor lands on your website, they can get a clear idea of what your business is all about. Plus, having a homepage video will give your site the added visual appeal that text-heavy websites simply cannot offer.

A short and straightforward video type would make a great homepage video. You can consider creating explainer videos or product demos. Also, you don’t have to hire Hollywood directors to create such videos either because there are plenty of affordable tools out there where anyone can get them.

4. Capitalize on Social Media

With the rising popularity of video marketing, almost all social media pages are now showing a fair amount of video content on their newsfeeds. you can create videos and make them available on popular social media platforms (i.e., Instagram, Facebook, etc.) to interact and build your audience base better.

Take advantage of this opportunity by uploading some fun behind-the-scenes clips or product promotional videos that will engage your audience and make them curious about what’s happening in the business.

The beauty of social videos is that you don't have to invest in fancy, expensive equipment. You can simply shoot a video using your smartphone camera and upload them to Instagram Stories, or even do live-stream using Instagram Live or Facebook Live.

5. Use Videos for Your Sales Pitch

Videos can also be a perfect addition to your sales strategy. You can utilize this engaging medium to send your sales pitches to your prospects. Remember that your prospects receive a bunch of emails every single day and it's easy for yours to get buried.

Videos can make your sales email stand out. It also helps you to visualize your offers, show your unique selling points, and give them solid reasons why it is worth investing in your business.

When you make it much easier for prospects to understand what you offer, it would be much easier for you to encourage them to take action. This way, you’ll be able to pull in more leads and increase your sales conversion rate.

6. Use One Video for One Single Purpose

No marketing videos are created the same. One video can appeal to one specific marketing objective better than others. For instance, customer testimonial videos are perfect for generating trust while explainer videos can be a powerful tool to increase your brand awareness.

Make sure you create a video to achieve one marketing goal. It will help you to focus on one single objective, measure the ROI easier, and make your video marketing much more effective.

Final Thoughts

In today's digital world, video marketing is an essential element of your online presence whether you’re a small business owner or an agency. For beginners, it might be intimidating, but looking at the handy best practices mentioned above, now you understand that utilizing video marketing for your business doesn’t need to be that hard.

Author

Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).

Twitter: @breadnbeyond

Email: andre@breadnbeyond.com

LinkedIn: Andre Oentoro