A Guide to Video Marketing for Small Business Owners by Guest Blogger Patrick Young

For small businesses looking for the best medium to promote their products in 2023, video marketing will certainly rank at the top of the list. In addition to helping you garner greater reach than text/image-based promotions, video marketing is cost-efficient as well. In this article by Spotlight Biz Solutions, we’ll explore the best strategies small businesses should implement to be successful in their video promotional activities and outperform competitors.
 
Best Types of Videos to Create
 
For businesses just starting with their video marketing activities, here’s a list of the go-to formats to consider:
 

• Brand Story Videos: As the name suggests, these videos are focused on communicating your brand story with customers. This will include your mission, motivations for starting the business, and brand promises customers can expect you to uphold. A brand story video is a great way to educate customers about your brand and develop a strong connection from the get-go.

 

• Product Offering Videos: Whether you sell products or services, create videos describing their best features and, more importantly, how they’ll help customers overcome their pain points. The goal of these videos is to communicate the value of your products to customers rather than simply advertising its features and pricing.

 

• Social Proof Videos: 84% of Gen Z customers purchase products based on suggestions from their favorite influencers, as reported by Cision. Hence, social proof videos — i.e., videos in which influencers/customers compliment and recommend your products will be the driving force for promotions in 2023.

 
Keep Video Production Costs in Check
 
While video marketing provides the benefit of higher content penetration on social media and customer engagement, it does come at a cost. As reported by Business.com, hiring a professional video marketing team can cost at least a few thousand dollars. Additionally, you’ll need to spend money on video promotions.
 
But there’s no need to fret, as here are a few ways you can drastically reduce video production costs:
 

• Royalty-free Videos: Shooting all shots from scratch can be costly. Video stock footage can help. You can find thousands of hours of free videos shot in HD quality with a simple online search. Additionally, you always have the option to pay for a subscription to access niche videos in line with your brand and industry.

 

• Shoot Videos on Mobile: Most new mobile phones have great cameras that are perfect for creating in-house video content. For instance, if you want to shoot a product unboxing video, all you need is a room with great lighting, a phone stand, and pressing record on your phone. New iPhones and other brands provide users the option to download a video in 1080p or even higher, which is ideal for sharing videos on social media, blogs, and websites.

 
By shooting organic videos, not only will you save thousands of dollars a year, but in time become proficient in video marketing. Rather than focusing on making each video perfect, the key will be to be consistent in your uploads and reach as many customers as possible daily.
 
Create Trackable Metrics for Campaigns
 
The only way to truly understand whether your business is reaping the benefits of video marketing is to establish trackable metrics, such as:
 

• Views: This metric tracks the number of times a video has been watched. Be mindful of separating unique (views from a new user) from repeat views (the same user watching the video multiple times).

 

• Engagement Rate: Liking the video, sharing, and leaving a comment are common engagement actions to track on all social media platforms. Your goal should be to generate as many of these metrics as possible, as it helps to organically promote the video and garner more eyeballs at zero cost.

 
Video marketing is an essential component for any small business looking to grow its brand awareness online. Now that you understand the best types of videos to create and how to keep costs in check, all that's left is consistently creating and publishing content across your socials and watching your brand grow.
 
Thank you to this month's guest blogger Patrick Young with ABLE USA. To find out more please visit ​ABLE USA. ​