A massive 6 billion hours of video content gets watched on YouTube every month. That’s without even considering the amount of video that gets viewed on other platforms! With Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest users all consuming video, there are infinite possibilities to create video to engage with customers. That means that businesses who neglect to create video content are missing out on potential profits. Over half of consumers questioned said they would like to see more videos from their favourite brands. That means it’s time to get involved if you’re not already.
There really isn’t any reason that businesses have to use a professional with expensive equipment though. There’s so many different types of videos, and many can be made just using a smartphone they’ve already got. And for many videos, there might be no cash investment required at all! Free video editing software is widely available, so the only investment that might be needed is learning how to use the software. Many people think they can’t do it, but with tutorials, documentation and a bit of time, absolutely anything is possible. One day you’re editing a quick 3 minute how-to video, the next, Hollywood! Well… perhaps not, but you can make a very positive impact on your business, very quickly using video.
Businesses can make the most of informal videos by creating videos to tell a story – perhaps of a new product, or of their brand. Where companies get lots of similar questions about a product, a product close-up, how-to or demo video might be useful. Businesses can even make use of reviews and testimonials by incorporating them into their videos.
Before starting, we recommend knowing your audience, your budget and what you want to achieve with the video. How will you measure its success? Will you count views, or will you know it has been worth it when you get less enquiries and more sales of the product? Knowing where you’re going to post the video will also influence what you do in your video.
It’s also essential to optimise videos before publishing them. Without keywords, tags and back-linking, videos won’t get found. Unfortunately, just because you make it doesn’t mean that viewers and customers will come! Like everything else, you need to advertise your videos. That means sharing them, talking about them on social media, pointing customers to them on your website and so on.
Ultimately, you don’t need to be a professional anymore when it comes to creating video content for your business.
Creating slick, professional videos that build customer trust, engagement and increase profits, that don’t break the budget is easier than ever. With some careful strategizing and planning, and some learning, all businesses can take advantage of the opportunities videos present them.
The folk over at Avasam (an e-commerce platform) have put together an excellent article on Video Marketing for e-commerce but in reality, it is a guide for Video Marketing for any content site.