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By Jason Hennessey
One of the most effective forms of marketing is through video, and in an era where the video medium is becoming more accessible and common, it’s a fantastic way to reach your audience. Video is much more engaging than text alone, and it’s an excellent opportunity to connect with people in a way that feels more personal, authentic and entertaining. And the best part is it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive!
I understand that creating video can be intimidating, especially if you haven’t done it before or if you’re not particularly comfortable in front of a camera. But there’s no better way to learn than to simply get started. With a little practice and a strong video strategy, you can master this valuable marketing tool to help you dominate your local market.
Did you know that embedding videos in your web pages helps them show up in organic search results? You’ve likely seen videos pop up near the top of the search results page when you’ve entered a query before, and this is because Google knows that videos can increase the value of the content provided. They’re an engaging medium and often provide information that can be difficult to convey through text alone.
Video posted on outside platforms can also help to drive traffic to your website by reaching viewers you wouldn’t otherwise reach. And sometimes those platforms, such as YouTube, will allow you to use targeted advertising to draw more people to your videos and reach an even wider audience.
Video is an excellent medium to build trust with your audience because it feels as though you’re face to face. The kind of video you post also goes a long way to build trust.
Take educational videos for example — they’re one of the best types of videos for online marketing. Not only do they help you reach people searching for information, but they’re fantastic trust-builders. By sharing your knowledge freely, you’ve given the viewer something of value without asking for anything in return, and they’ve come to see you as an authority on the subject.
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I highly recommend posting educational videos about your area of expertise and try your best to make them as helpful as possible. If it feels like you’re withholding information, that’s going to come through and your viewers will perceive that you’re just trying to sell them something. Be helpful first, and people will be more likely to trust you and want to buy from you.
Another type of video that’s great for building trust is highlighting your products through demonstrations. Because people buy so many things online, they’ve become much more skeptical of products they see. How many times have you ordered something only to discover it didn’t live up to the advertising? Online, it’s difficult to tell a quality product from a cheap knockoff by pictures alone.
The video that shows your product in more detail explains how it works, highlights what makes it better than the competitors, and demonstrates it being used can make it stand out from the competition by a large margin. If you film the video yourself — even if you hire a professional — and stay away from stock footage, it will look much more legitimate.
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Authenticity is a big part of building trust, and video is a great way to connect with your audience on a more personal level. This can be especially effective in a local market, where your viewers are likely to meet you or your team if they work with you. Publish videos that highlight the personal aspects of your business.
Local topics and events are a great subject matter for videos because they encourage engagement from the local community both online and in person. If you film at an event, people who attended it are likely to look it up online after the fact and may share the video. This can be a fantastic way to draw attention to your business.
Think beyond yourself for your video subjects — highlight your team members and customers or clients, too. Team bios can lend credibility and a sense of personalization, and video testimonials are a great way to build trust in your brand.
To encourage more engagement from your community, always ask people to share, leave comments or ask questions. Facebook Live can be a great way to talk directly to your viewers through video, and holding Facebook Live events regularly can be a fun way to build a sense of community.
One of the biggest reasons local businesses don’t create videos is they view the time, effort and cost of creating videos as not worth the returns. And while videos can be more costly than some other forms of content, you can offset some of this investment by repurposing footage to use across multiple platforms. This is one of my favorite features of video as a medium.
How does it work? Well, if you filmed a webinar or a Facebook Live, you can upload that video to YouTube and embed it on your website. Then you can edit that video into several smaller videos and share those on various social media platforms.
Video marketing is one of the most powerful forms of marketing, and you can harness it to improve your SEO and grow your business whether you’re local or entirely online. For local businesses, video can be especially useful to help you stand out from local competition, where the smaller market often means your competitors are less likely to have high marketing budgets.
By creating an effective video marketing strategy, you can improve your SEO and revenue without breaking your marketing budget. Begin integrating video into your web pages and social media today to see increased traffic and stronger connections with your audience.
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