Video is a powerful marketing tool for any business.
After all, videos get more views and more engagement than any other online content.
What’s more, your potential customers and clients WANT to see videos. According to Social Media Today, “72% of customers prefer learning about a product or service through a video”. And a 2018 HubSpot survey found that “54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business they support”.
Obviously, the statistics speak for themselves. But when it comes to using video to market your business, it can be difficult to know what types of video would best suit your services and your audience.
So, in this blog post, we explore six ways you can use video to more powerfully market your business.
Demo videos
Demo videos give you an opportunity to showcase your products. With a demo video, you can show potential customers what your product is, how it works, and how it can make their life better or easier. This helps them to imagine how their life would be different with your product, which in turn makes them far more likely to purchase it.
While physical products are the most obvious candidates for demo videos, demo videos can also be an invaluable tool for demonstrating software products, apps, and similar, more intangible products. They’re also amazing for kickstarter campaigns if you are launching a new product as well.
Considering the fact that 72% of people prefer to learn about a product through video, demo videos are a wise investment if your business produces or sells products of any kind.
Before & after videos
Before and after videos allow you to demonstrate the transformative power of your services.
We all know that before and after shots are some of the most highly anticipated moments in any renovation story. Before and after videos take this formula and put it on steroids.
Whether you’re in the business of renovating homes, bathrooms, kitchens, landscaping gardens, or providing any makeover service, before and after videos are a convincing way to show people exactly how you can change their lives for the better. And if they see results that they want for themselves, they’re more likely to engage your services.
Brand videos
Brand videos allow you to tell potential customers who you are as a business or company.
As such, the primary purpose of a brand video is to build a relationship with your audience. Your brand video may include information about your business’s mission and vision, your history, your products and services, and even key people in the business.
A thoughtfully-produced brand video will humanise your business and feature key touch points that interest, intrigue, or otherwise connect with your target market. In turn, this primes them to buy from you.
Instructional videos
Instructional videos are “how to” or fact-based videos that teach your audience vital information they need to know in order to more fully engage with your product or service.
You can use instructional videos to explain important features of your service or product that your audience might not otherwise appreciate, explain how your service or product solves a problem, demonstrate expertise in your field by explaining how to do something related to your service or product, or otherwise impart vital information to your audience.
“How to” videos and similar content are a hot item on the internet. In fact, in 2018, a Google study found that “70% of YouTube viewers watch videos for ‘help with a problem’”. So, if you think an instructional video would be appropriate for your business, don’t wait another moment to get on with it!
Testimonial videos
Testimonial videos are essentially a form of “social proof” or “word of mouth” advertising.
Social proof and work of mouth advertising are two of the most powerful forms of advertising, because they can create a deep level of trust. When a person recommends a business to their friends, they’re essentially staking their own reputation on that recommendation. So, most people will only recommend things they truly trust and believe in themselves, which strengthens the power of their recommendation.
By harnessing this avenue to deep trust through testimonial videos, you can basically let your clients and customers do the selling for you – and you can be confident they’ll do it in a very convincing way!
Ad videos
Of course, sometimes the most powerful way to market your business is to explicitly market it with an advertisement.
Advertisement-style videos mirror the commercials most people are already familiar with from television,YouTube and social media – and they can be just as diverse in their style, content, approach, and purpose.
Ads have been selling products and services for years, and even in the digital age, straight ads can be a powerful marketing tool.
What do you think?
As you can see, there are many ways to use video to more powerfully market your business online, both on social media and your website.
What do you think would be the most effective use of video for your business, and why? Let us know in the comments below!