PART 1:
Simply put, ‘video marketing’ uses video to reach new prospects and grow your business. It gives you the opportunity to modernize your marketing and to communicate with your target market the way they’re accustomed to. It’s a digital age and that’s for certain.
Our modern technology connects people through the internet and lets them watch video just about anytime and anywhere. People no longer flip through the Yellow Pages to find a business. Newspaper circulation is dropping and people don’t read newspapers like they did in the past. They are online with cell phones, tablets and laptops searching for your local business. They search online and look for those with the expertise to help them.
Videos are critical to being found online, showcase your expertise and convey the image you want to project. They convert prospects into customers.
Here are some of the many benefits video marketing gives you:
- Video marketing cuts out the middle man. You can now publish and distribute your own materials. You don’t need a studio or expensive production company. Forget buying advertising air time. The digital age makes self-publishing easy and as effective, if not more so, than traditional media advertising.
- Video is available 24 hours per day and 7 days a week, from just about anywhere. Put your video on YouTube.com or elsewhere online and prospects from around the globe and in your own town can find your content. They don’t have to wait until the local TV station decides to play your overpriced commercial.
- You will reach more prospects with ‘content’ videos that provide solutions. Helpful videos are shared online and appear in search results. Videos let you demonstrate your products and to provide solutions to common problems your prospects want to solve. People search for solutions online. When your videos provide those solutions, they will find you.
- Videos engage more senses than simple text. Appeal to multiple senses and deliver your message on multiple levels – seen, read and spoken. Which is better? A product description with one static product photo or a video that shows your prospect exactly how easy it is to use? It’s definitely the latter.
- Establish your expertise and gain instant credibility. When people see you, hear you and you’ve got valuable information to share, it does wonders for your business. For example, if you’re a family lawyer and you demonstrate your expertise in navigating the complicated legal system, who do you think people will trust when they need a lawyer? They’re going to come to you and they will refer others to you as well.
- Videos create a stronger connection between you and your target market. If you have a mailing list and send out simple text newsletters with some images, imagine how much more personal video will be. Seeing your face and hearing your voice (even if it is only through a screen) creates a powerful connection.
- Videos personalize your business. Even if you aren’t always visible in your store or office, videos give you the opportunity to get out there and be seen. People like to do business with people they know, and videos make them feel like they know you.
- Videos help establish your brand. Videos make your business stand out from the crowd. Whether your videos provide valuable information, humor or solve your target market’s problems, branding is much easier with video.
It’s clear that there is a lot of potential for using video in your business, don’t you think? It doesn’t matter if your prospect is around the corner or around the globe, video can help radically change the growth of your business.
Of course, as a local business owner, you may think that you don’t need to reach prospects from around the globe. Maybe or maybe not, but there are some things you should consider before dismissing the true power of the web.