As a small business owner, if your website is not generating the kind of qualified traffic you seek, check your bearings. If you're flying with static brochure-ware, take heed. Without change and some take away value, you may be better served not having a homepage. Content is king--useful, attractive, dynamic content. Web video for your site is a fantastic way to provide dynamic content for your site and promote your business, and it also bumps up your SEO rankings in the major search engines. You need to do it the right way so that people will watch it and relate to you once at your URL.
The key to quality web video is the content more than the technology. Here are some of the best video marketing methods to promote your business online:
PRODUCT, SERVICE OR CAPABILITIES DEMO
Whatever it is that makes your company unique and worth talking about, you can video it and with some simple editing to introduce it, post it on your site and distribute to your YouTube Video channel (if you don't have one, get one, it's free). Many firms will have physical products they can show in action. Think auto manufacturers websites showing videos of the new line. As a small business your doesn't have to be that sophisticated, just show what your widget does and how it provides value to those who would buy it.
Most small businesses out there are service businesses. If you have a dog grooming business, show the pooches getting cleaned up with their happy canine smiles. Cleaning business? Pan in on the crummy before shot of the ___, show the cleanup process, and finish it off with the much improved after view.
Sometimes a business' competitive advantage is a certain capability that makes them better than competitors in terms of speed, quality, or some other factor. This works really well when showcasing that new MRI machine that doc just bought, or the fully programmable laser cutter at the sheet metal house that shows how it can make parts faster, cleaner, and at better quality than metal shops without one.
HOW-TO VIDEO
This falls into the category of value-add or training for your web viewers. It can be an instructional video on using the topsy-turvy planters you sell at your greenhouse or simply how to do something better around the house. The main purpose of how-to is some way to make life easier or better for your readers, and for you it creates site stickiness, where prospects and customers will want to come back often.
NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH
This can take the form of a product demo with a little extra. New product launches tend to be time sensitive, hyped and require sufficient explanation as to what the product does that sets it apart from prior versions or other current market offerings. Ideas are to show interviews with customers requesting, "I wish we could get..." statements that provided you with the original market pull to create the product or service, your CEO or top Exec enthusiastically explaining the launch (see next section), stats or data cleverly shown that show it's the next big thing, and of course sufficient product demo components. These same elements might comprise a new product launch press release, simply meaning that this video can double as a video PR. There can be a lot of editing and cost involved if you bring in all of these ideas, but how much are you spending to develop your new product or service?
EXECUTIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW
Here's one that is not often seen that provides you with a presentation of 3rd party credibility for your small business. The Executive Video Interview is an affordable way to promote small business, both on your site and virally. The return on investment can be disproportionate to the cost.
All you need as a small business owner is a Skype account and a webcam. That's it! Your webcam quality is more than enought to make quality video. The real magic is in the interview process. Picture Larry King or Matt Lauer interviewing you as CEO of your business about your business as if it's the national news, asking your probing questions that get at the value your business brings to the marketplace in an informative way. If you're in the market, choose a firm that has experienced interviewers and can show you samples of prior interviews before making a decision.
Look, anybody with a webcam can record herself speaking into the lens in a monologue in an introductory video. Have you ever watched one? For those not trained in speaking before a camera, they can be dry, boring, and all too often comical as the speaker reads from cue cards. Is this how you want your business to come across?
The Executive Video Interview provides more value because you are being asked questions that drive great answers in a relaxed, authentic way that highlight the competitive advantage of your business while providing some take away value for your viewers. There are no cue cards, you can pause when answering and even trip over your words and it is all expected because people are viewing a dialogue. A nice marketing touch is to use your Executive Video Interviews to accompany blog posts and provide a a unique perspective for viewers on your small business area of expertise.
Many ways exist to effectively web video market your business. I've listed a few here, some you may have known and some maybe not. Whatever you do, consider adding video to your site in some fashion to keep readers interested, provide more takeaway value, and keep the site dynamic.
The key to quality web video is the content more than the technology. Here are some of the best video marketing methods to promote your business online:
PRODUCT, SERVICE OR CAPABILITIES DEMO
Whatever it is that makes your company unique and worth talking about, you can video it and with some simple editing to introduce it, post it on your site and distribute to your YouTube Video channel (if you don't have one, get one, it's free). Many firms will have physical products they can show in action. Think auto manufacturers websites showing videos of the new line. As a small business your doesn't have to be that sophisticated, just show what your widget does and how it provides value to those who would buy it.
Most small businesses out there are service businesses. If you have a dog grooming business, show the pooches getting cleaned up with their happy canine smiles. Cleaning business? Pan in on the crummy before shot of the ___, show the cleanup process, and finish it off with the much improved after view.
Sometimes a business' competitive advantage is a certain capability that makes them better than competitors in terms of speed, quality, or some other factor. This works really well when showcasing that new MRI machine that doc just bought, or the fully programmable laser cutter at the sheet metal house that shows how it can make parts faster, cleaner, and at better quality than metal shops without one.
HOW-TO VIDEO
This falls into the category of value-add or training for your web viewers. It can be an instructional video on using the topsy-turvy planters you sell at your greenhouse or simply how to do something better around the house. The main purpose of how-to is some way to make life easier or better for your readers, and for you it creates site stickiness, where prospects and customers will want to come back often.
NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH
This can take the form of a product demo with a little extra. New product launches tend to be time sensitive, hyped and require sufficient explanation as to what the product does that sets it apart from prior versions or other current market offerings. Ideas are to show interviews with customers requesting, "I wish we could get..." statements that provided you with the original market pull to create the product or service, your CEO or top Exec enthusiastically explaining the launch (see next section), stats or data cleverly shown that show it's the next big thing, and of course sufficient product demo components. These same elements might comprise a new product launch press release, simply meaning that this video can double as a video PR. There can be a lot of editing and cost involved if you bring in all of these ideas, but how much are you spending to develop your new product or service?
EXECUTIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW
Here's one that is not often seen that provides you with a presentation of 3rd party credibility for your small business. The Executive Video Interview is an affordable way to promote small business, both on your site and virally. The return on investment can be disproportionate to the cost.
All you need as a small business owner is a Skype account and a webcam. That's it! Your webcam quality is more than enought to make quality video. The real magic is in the interview process. Picture Larry King or Matt Lauer interviewing you as CEO of your business about your business as if it's the national news, asking your probing questions that get at the value your business brings to the marketplace in an informative way. If you're in the market, choose a firm that has experienced interviewers and can show you samples of prior interviews before making a decision.
Look, anybody with a webcam can record herself speaking into the lens in a monologue in an introductory video. Have you ever watched one? For those not trained in speaking before a camera, they can be dry, boring, and all too often comical as the speaker reads from cue cards. Is this how you want your business to come across?
The Executive Video Interview provides more value because you are being asked questions that drive great answers in a relaxed, authentic way that highlight the competitive advantage of your business while providing some take away value for your viewers. There are no cue cards, you can pause when answering and even trip over your words and it is all expected because people are viewing a dialogue. A nice marketing touch is to use your Executive Video Interviews to accompany blog posts and provide a a unique perspective for viewers on your small business area of expertise.
Many ways exist to effectively web video market your business. I've listed a few here, some you may have known and some maybe not. Whatever you do, consider adding video to your site in some fashion to keep readers interested, provide more takeaway value, and keep the site dynamic.