No matter what type of business you are in, incorporating video content into your marketing approach is a must. Nearly three-quarters of all small to medium-sized businesses have a social media presence. On platforms like Instagram and Facebook (News - Alert), video content reigns supreme.
Video is more engaging than text or still images. Best of all, producing video content is relatively affordable when compared to traditional marketing, such as commercials, radio ads, or direct mailers.
Here are a few more reasons why creating video content is a worthwhile endeavor for business owners.
Content Repurposing
Consistency is the key to successful internet-based marketing. However, creating content for your personal website, social media channels, and advertisements can become very time-consuming.
For this reason, content repurposing has become a hot trend in the content marketing industry. Instead of creating every post from scratch, marketers will use a single piece in multiple formats. Video is one of the most versatile content formats, as it can be very easily transformed into text and image formats.
For example, sections from a video transcript can become blog posts or a series of short-form social media posts. Stills or short clips from the video can be used in advertising to capture the audience's attention.
The audio can be uploaded onto a streaming platform as a podcast. Entrepreneurs can harness the reach of shorter video content formats, like Reels or Stories by slicing up longer videos into a series of digestible clips. In this way, one video can provide enough content for several weeks or even months.
New Products/Services
Video is not just ideal for marketing. There are many web-based services that are delivered completely through video. Introducing yourself and your services through video will make it possible to pitch video-based services to your potential customers.
For example, a video content campaign is an ideal way for a leadership coach to market their course uploaded to an online employee training platform or advertise their virtual consultations.
Videos are also perfect for showcasing products or services that would otherwise need to be demonstrated in person. One classic example, the before and after video format, is an effective marketing tool for stylists, interior decorators or home renovation companies, and event planners.
Brand Awareness
Video content is an effective way of engaging with a wider audience and bringing attention to your services. Videos are extremely popular with social media users, especially those who prefer to browse using mobile devices.
In order to connect with your target demographic, your video content should be crafted with their needs and interests in mind. Solopreneurs may benefit from content that showcases their personalities and expertise to build trust with audiences. Larger companies will want videos that demonstrate authority and competence while reflecting their cultural values.
Improve SEO Reach
Blogs are not the only way to rank on search engines. In fact, when it comes to search engine optimization, videos are some of the highest-ranking content. Since users are much more likely to click on a video, Google (News - Alert) includes the thumbnail for any videos that appear in their search results.
Embedding videos onto your website is a great way to raise its profile on Google, the end goal of many SEO and digital marketing services. You can also upload your content to Youtube and take advantage of the platform’s massive online presence.
Search engines also use video titles and descriptions to assess if they are relevant to a user’s search. Google also prioritizes videos with subtitles, high-quality thumbnails, and high engagement, such as shares or uploads. Putting a bit more effort into your video content can result in noticeable increases in webpage traffic, leads, and eventually, sales.
Cost-Effective
As mentioned earlier, video marketing is considerably less expensive to produce than traditional marketing formats. A mid to high-end smartphone or laptop can handle most recording and editing processes. Other accessories such as a microphone or a ring light can cost less than $500 for a professional quality set-up.
Video content is also easy to scale up. For example, if you cannot manage your own editing and uploading because other parts of your business have grown, you can hire an editor and use content planner software to schedule and upload posts.
Conclusion
Video content is a boon for entrepreneurs. People are increasingly relying on video content to inform their buying decisions, and the trend is likely to continue. The latest report by marketing firm Hubspot found that more than 85% of marketers had positive returns on video content, and just as many experienced an increase in sales due directly to video marketing campaigns.
