As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you’re probably aware that video is one of the most powerful ways you can market your business today.
For example, statistics say that social video is shared 12 times more than images and text combined and businesses who use video on their website have been found to receive 41% more web traffic from search results than those who don’t. (Source: SmallBizTrends.com)
Not only is a video eye-catching and attention grabbing, it has the potential to help your prospective customers or clients quickly understand who you are, what you do, and encourage them to buy your products or services by igniting emotion and building trust.
In this post, we’ll look at 5 effective types of video that you can create for your small business and how they can help you to stand out, spread the word about what you do, and connect (and encourage more sales) with your prospective customers or clients.
1. Promotional Website Film
Help visitors on your website quickly understand who you are, what your business is all about and how you can help them with your products or services.
A video is often (understandably) more appealing and easier for a visitor to consume than large chunks of text – the person simply presses play, sits back with a cuppa and watches rather than having to scroll and read multiple paragraphs of text.
A promotional video can allow people to not only read and wonder about your business but to actually experience what it’s like behind the scenes as though they were actually there. Video helps them to get to know you in a more personal way, which builds trust.
It’s worth noting here that the trust factor increases significantly if your video features you or your employees.
(Source: Unbounce.com)
Having a video embedded on your website encourages people to stay on your website for longer, and longer visitor sessions on your website signals to Google that your site likely contains valuable and interesting content which, in turn, encourages a higher ranking in search results. It’s said that websites with a video embedded on them are 53 times more likely to show up first in Google search results.
Obviously, embedding a random cute cat video from Youtube on your website probably isn’t going to help to sell what your business is all about or build credibility, but having an engaging video on your website that helps your prospective customers or clients to get to know who you are and understand what you do is definitely a good move for your business.
2. Facebook Cover Video
A 20 - 90 second Facebook Business Page Cover Video helps visitors to your Facebook page quickly understand who you are and what your business or brand is all about.
A video is more eye-catching than a photo and it can convey a lot of key information in a short space of time. It also allows people to get to know you and builds trust.
When people first hear about you on Facebook, they’ll likely visit your Facebook page to find out more about you so this is a key time to help them understand why they’d want to follow you and see updates from you.
You can also benefit from designing your Facebook cover video to encourage people to click through to a particular product or service you’re offering at the time.
3. New Product or Service Explainer Video
Create an explainer video to embed on a dedicated page on your website (or an external landing page) for a new product or service you’re launching.
You can then direct web-traffic to the page to help increase enrolment into your new service or purchases of your products.
Studies have found that using video on your landing pages can increase conversion rates by up to 80%, and 64% are likely to buy a product online after watching a video. (Sources: SmallBizTrends.com, Unbounce.com)
4. Social Media Advert
Create an engaging video advert for Facebook or Instagram to advertise a product or service compellingly and direct people to your offering.
It probably goes without saying but video adverts have been found to be more effective than photo adverts because they are more eye-catching and engaging.
5. Social Media Mini-Film
A 15 - 25 second mini-film for Facebook or Instagram is a great way of boosting interest and engagement with your business.
It can give people a quick insight into the mission behind your business and help them want to discover more about what you do.
They're particularly great for Instagram as you can post the mini-film there (maximum video length on Instagram is 60 seconds) and put a link to the full video in your profile so people can click through and see it.
_____
Of course, these are just some examples to get your creative juices flowing. With film & video, the exciting possibilities for your business are endless!
You can see some examples of promotional films and videos we've created for small businesses on our video production portfolio page.
And if you want to chat about how we can help you to create a promotional video for your small business to help you stand out, spread the word about what you do, and connect with more customers or clients, I’d love to hear from you!
P.S. Just in case you're reading this from somewhere else in the world, please note that we are a Scottish video production service based in Perthshire and we currently only provide services for small businesses in Scotland. :)