We talk a lot on our blog about marketing your business through different mediums (email, blogging, social media,etc.). One medium that often gets left out of the discussion is video marketing. Video marketing has been gaining momentum due in part to the meme/viral phenomenon that has taken effect lately. Many businesses are interested in taking advantage of the rising meme popularity in order to emulate the viral effect. However, your video doesn’t have to go viral to be a powerful marketing medium. Why should you use video to market your business and how should you do it? Read on my friends…

Video marketing, like email marketing, is a great way to succinctly deliver information to customers. We are all used to taking in information from video (TV, movie, meme, YouTube). As a result, many of us have become more comfortable learning visually. Delivering information on a product, service or company through video can help to keep your audience’s attention longer and make what you have to say more easily understood.

You can also build rapport with viewers by introducing your CEO, a satisfied customer or other individuals within your organization and allowing them to deliver useful information. This puts a friendly face to a name and customers are able to meet who they are doing business with, making you and your company appear more accessible and present.

Now you have the why, let’s get to the how. Check out these 5 video marketing tips, then break out the smart phone, digital camera or other recording device and get posting!

1. Make it useful – Whether you address frequently asked questions, deliver a how-to, give tips, make viewers laugh or entertain them in some other way it’s important to add value to your video. There is no point in creating a video without giving customers incentive to watch.
2. Give it a purpose – Much like creating an email with a clear call-to-action, you’ll also want to give your video a purpose. Focus on one theme or purpose such as answering a specific question, delivering an “about us” or offering information on one of your products or services.
3. Keep it brief – We’re all crunched for time and looking for the quickest and easiest way to get the information we need. Video can be a perfect way to quickly and efficiently communicate; a good length is between 30 seconds and one minute. If you have more to say or are finding it difficult to keep your video succinct, break it into two parts or multiple videos.
4. Publicize – Link to your video in email (linking a screen shot of the thumbnail works well) and post it on your blog, website and social pages. And, set up a page on your website, a YouTube channel or any other video hosting account where you can compile all of your business’ videos for easy sharing access.
5. Identify – Title your video with relevant keywords and descriptive words both to make it easier to stumble upon in search engines and to make it easier for customers find and forward. Take advantage of built-in keyword suggestions, category selections and tags by hosting companies like YouTube. And, always include a URL at the end of the video to allow viewers to copy and save or share with others.

Do you have any videos you’re proud of? Do share. We’d love to see them!

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