How to Leverage Video Marketing for Your Small Business

There are many marketing tactics you can use to contribute to the growth of your business, but few prove more effective in the digital age today than knocking your video marketing strategy out of the park.

Video can be captivating, but unfortunately it can also be expensive for a small business to develop. Here are some video marketing tips to help you decide what platforms to use, when to create videos yourself or hire a professional and how to get the most ROI for your efforts.

Which Social Platforms Are Best for Video Traction and Growth?

There are many social media platforms that are good for video traction and growth. In 2019, there has been significant growth with social media and the use of video.

1. Instagram. Arguably one of the top social platforms for visual storytelling, this app allows for 60-second videos, Instagram stories, live video and messages, "hands-free" video recording and most recently, IGTV. All of this gives you a significant opportunity to reach your audience and leverage your videos in multiple ways.
2. Facebook. This platform recently launched “Facebook Watch,” which allows users to watch videos in similar manner to the Instagram TV (IGTV) feature.
3. LinkedIn. Launching video capabilities in 2017, LinkedIn has seen use increase yearly. The video platform gives marketers, B2B buyers and job seekers a great avenue to tell stories in a more professional setting.
4. Twitter. This platform has become a go-to for cord-cutters looking to watch live sports games ever since the NFL’s live streaming partnership launched. If you’re looking to advertise, this could be a good opportunity depending on your target audience. Twitter is a great way to test different video lengths with your target audience.
5. Websites and blogs. Don’t forget to add video to your website pages or blogs. Video will allow you to quickly deliver your message, engage with your customers on a different level, drive additional traffic to your website and so much more.

When Should You DIY vs. Hire a Professional? 

The capabilities iPhones and similar devices have nowadays makes it easier for the average person to produce video and share with their audience. Even with the most ordinary settings, an iPhone may be enough. However, when should you consider hiring a professional for your small business video marketing? Here's what a videographer can provide you:

1. Clean, smart footage. Professionals can give you clear footage, set up B-roll cutaway shots and craft strategic scenes. Using a videographer can eliminate any lighting issues or shakiness that may happen with a smartphone.
2. Higher-quality video. An expert will give you a more professional-looking video, as they have the equipment to develop something of a higher caliber and will pay attention to things like color schemes, sound quality and background noise.
3. Increased production speed. As a small business owner, your time is important. Without the experience that videographers have, you could spend hours editing and money on software.

Overall, whether you hire someone or do it yourself depends on the quality of video you want and your promotion plans. A quick Instagram video for a conversational promotion may make more sense financially and time-wise. But if you’re looking for a more content-heavy video to promote and utilize in different avenues, hiring a professional could be worth your while.

How to Get the Most ROI for Your Video Efforts 

You need to understand how to get the most return-on-investment for your video efforts. We have a few tips:

1. Use simple video marketing tools if you are doing it yourself. Outside of your smartphone, there are many affordable or free tools that make it easy to design and edit videos.
2. Always try to garner leads when marketing your videos. Create a dedicated landing page that users can jump to after viewing. Make sure that landing page has some sort of form or request for more information, just in case they’d like you to contact them.
3. Test everything. To understand how your videos are contributing to your bottom line, pay attention to metrics such as time on landing page, click-through rate on landing page, the percentage of viewers who respond to your call-to-action, how many videos leads consume and which videos converted to leads.

With the popularity of video in marketing efforts today, it’s important to make sure you’re leveraging all that you can for your business. For additional business marketing tips, don’t forget to check out Bizee’s blog for useful posts on topics such as ways to market your business on a limited budget, email marketing, inbound marketing and more.