Effective Small Business Videos: A Comprehensive Guide

June 5, 2023
Contents

Small businesses must overcome the hurdle of producing top-notch marketing videos while also distinguishing themselves from the ubiquitous small business videos on social media. 

Video marketing is absolutely essential, as 49% of individuals watch at least five videos daily. 

Stand out in this increasingly-competitive market and make 2023 the year to experiment with small business videos by utilizing our guide to effective video concepts.

Why Do Small Businesses Need Video?

Video marketing is one of small businesses' most effective marketing investments. The following are some significant advantages of small business video marketing:

Video Enables Small Businesses to Narrate Their Journey

You must convey what makes your business unique if you want to expand your customer base. 

Video content helps tell your unique story in a distinctively engaging way, whether it is your origin story, a behind-the-scenes movie of your operations, a video describing your product or service, or customer testimonial videos. 

Your clients agree. Nearly 89% of consumers, according to Wyzowl, prefer viewing videos over reading text when learning about a business, a product, or a service. 

When watching a video, customers recall roughly 95% of the content, as opposed to only 10% when reading, claims Insivia. 

Video Content Allows Small Businesses to Differentiate Themselves

Due to their increased visibility, videos make small businesses stand out regardless of where it is hosted. 

Videos also have a wider audience and more exposure when shared on social media platforms than any other type of content. 

A video on your website can enhance dwell time, boost SEO, and more.

Small Business Video Marketing Boosts Interaction

When using social media to increase your consumer base, engagement is essential. This includes interactions like follows, likes, shares, comments, etc. Enhanced involvement benefits

  • Expand your audience so that more potential clients will learn about your business.
  • Improve brand loyalty and conversion rates.
  • To better understand your audience, provide metrics.

According to some statistics, social media video content can generate up to 1200% more shares than text and image content put together. 

That is a significant increase in engagement for a small business with limited resources!

14 Small Business Video Ideas

Your next question might be: "How can small businesses create video content on a tight budget?" 

Speaking of constrained resources. Realizing the value of video marketing for your small business and producing the necessary video content are two different things. 

Read on if you want advice on succeeding with your video content strategy or are new to video marketing. Our top 14 ideas for small business video marketing success are listed below.

Create Shareable Product Videos

Making video tools is wise because 65% of people learn visually. How do you grab someone's attention in under five seconds while keeping this in mind? 

Marketers must answer this question when producing content for social media. 

The solution is easier to understand than you might think: viewers will respond to exciting video content that is brief, direct, and creative. 

People naturally browse their news feeds until they get interested in a post enough to pause and read it. They will only give your message or content a second glance if it is short, clear, and engaging. 

On the other hand, short video clips are sharable, can catch their interest, and keep them watching all the way through. Fortunately, even businesses with little resources can use this video strategy.

Create Bite-Sized Ads to Promote Your Services

Short video advertising is a far more effective marketing strategy than longer ads; research also supports this. 

It is not surprising, given that the human attention span is believed to decrease daily. 

According to a study by Advertising Research Foundation, seven-second commercials are 60% as effective as 30-second commercials. 

Bite-sized advertising is therefore essential. But how can you create one that appeals to the audience your small business is trying to reach?

Think of bite-sized advertisements as your company's elevator pitch. 

Your objective should stimulate the curiosity of your readers without giving them too much information.

You must concentrate on a single idea and deliver a brief message. 

Check out this 4-second commercial from Krispy Kreme, which features doughnuts on their renowned conveyor belt beneath a cascade of sweet icing. 

It looks stunning, draws the user to the company's primary offering, and accomplishes all of this in under 5 seconds. 

Talk About Your Products With Engaging Explainer Videos

Explainer videos have been around since the early 2000s, and there is a good reason why they are still in demand: they help provide information in a clear, basic manner that effectively holds viewers' attention. 

The best explainer videos eloquently show how a company can alleviate a customer's struggle. 

According to Wyzowl's research, consumers prefer to watch videos to learn about goods and services. They desire more visual information from companies.

Here are some guidelines for creating a small company product explainer video that has an impact:

  • Think 30 seconds to a minute, and keep it brief and direct to the point. 
  • Follow a framework where your product or service shows how to address an issue your target audience has. 
  • Spare your viewers from information overload.
  • Concentrate on emphasizing the advantages of your product or service. 
  • Add audio and check the clarity and loudness; a voiceover with music that accurately represents your company's tone and sounds professional will make a strong impression.
  • Text can be improved for silent viewing.

Here is a great example from the bidet manufacturer TUSHY. 

Thanks to its inventiveness and lighthearted tone, this instructional video about the advantages of using a bidet garnered over 120,000 views from viewers.

Get Active on Instagram Reels to Gain Traction

If you want to expand your brand in 2023, you must publish content on Instagram, where 90% of people follow small businesses. 

Reels, Instagram's TikTok alternative, has made it much simpler to go viral on the social media platform and expand your company's reach. 

If you need any more evidence, watch this video from the world's largest retailer of cosmetics, Sephora, which uses Reels to advertise its most recent sales and promotions:

Image source: Instagram

Reels have many advantages to TikTok, including the fact that there is significantly less rivalry because it is a newer feature than other post formats. 

Focus on keeping your video brief, using popular sounds, having concise and understandable content, and including the appropriate hashtags when creating attractive reels. 

In contrast to the TikTok editor, the Reels editor is trickier and frequently fails due to glitches. 

Repurpose Existing Content Into Video Format

Repurpose and reuse your video footage to prevent it from dying out. You can cut longer videos into smaller pieces to generate short-form content. 

You can even turn videos into gifs or blog entries using transcription.

Repurposing your small business videos is a great way to expand your audience and establish credibility on other platforms simultaneously. 

It is important to remember that each platform requires a distinct kind of content. 

Therefore, you need to make a few minor adjustments to your content before repurposing it to ensure that it is appropriate for the platform you are putting on. 

Another adjustment you should make is to ensure the video you are reposting does not include the watermark of your main platform because doing so increases the likelihood that your videos will be deprioritized.

Create TikTok Videos to Get Visibility for Your Business

This was more prevalent than ever during the first 20 months of the epidemic when a flood of support for small businesses arose on the platform. 

Over 75% of US users are backing at least one small business. 

Several small businesses and independent brands have exploded on TikTok. 33.8 billion people viewed content with the hashtag #smallbusiness in 2021. 

Over 500,000 people have liked Nichole Jacklyne's video of her packing orders since this post was published. 

By producing content for TikTok, you may potentially reach millions of people with your business without investing even a quarter of what traditional advertising costs. 

But that does not imply you should post anything and hope for the best.

The following TikTok ideas are well suited for videos for small businesses:

  • Showcase a product while it is set to brand-consistent music.
  • Use background music, visuals, and a small piece of advice, how-to, or instructional.
  • Display your procedure and include a "before and after" picture. 
  • Join a trending hashtag or sound. Just keep in mind that trends on the app come and go quickly, so be sure to spend time there to stay up to date.
  • Remember to include hashtags in your TikTok video. Try investigating rivals on the app and observing the hashtags they employ. 
  • Try to balance broad and niche terms in your video.

Shine the Light on Your Employees Through Video

Using employee-focused videos can significantly benefit your video marketing efforts. 

From video calls to daily activity blogs, these videos humanize your brand and create engagement with your audience. 

You can even produce video lessons with internal specialists to help existing customers better understand your products or services. 

You can attract customers and employees by showcasing your company culture and improving your overall marketing strategy.

Leverage User-Generated Content From Your Customers for Video Ads

Did you know that nearly half of American adults trust online reviews? 

To attract new customers and build loyalty, consider asking your current customers to create a testimonial video that showcases your brand's reliability and trustworthiness. 

Vertical Instagram Stories featuring customer reviews can increase click-through rates fourfold without adding extra work for your sales team.

How to follow suit is shown below:

  • Request customer testimonial videos from users of your product as well as new or small content developers.
  • You may design video advertising from scratch or edit pre-made video templates using internet software.
  • To better understand the customer's review, highlight the product's key features.
  • Finish strong with a "swipe up" to learn more about your product and a call to action.

One advantage of video is that you can capitalize on potential buyers' confidence in authentic reviews by including user-generated content in your targeted video advertisements.

Prioritize Brand Story Videos

To effectively showcase your company's story and beliefs in 2023, you must create videos that invoke an emotional connection with your audience. 

The ultimate objective of brand story videos is to evoke powerful feelings and emotions from your viewers.

It is vital to consider how your customers would perceive your company as a person. 

Would they be invigorated, comfortable, optimistic, committed, or excited? 

This Guinness advertisement is a prime example of how a short-form narrative can establish a strong connection between a product and empathy and camaraderie, setting it apart from the clichéd beer ads commonly seen. 

By taking this approach, your brand will stand out from the competition.

Innovate With Customer Endorsement Videos

A great way to establish social proof for your business is by leveraging the power of influencers. 

You can ask them to create endorsement videos that can help promote your brand.

Another way to build credibility is by encouraging your customers to share their own testimonial videos on social platforms. 

If you need help getting started, consider analyzing the successful strategies of influencers in your niche and try to replicate their approach to maximize your reach and credibility.

Engage Them with Irresistible "How-To" Guides

To maintain customer loyalty, consider creating video tutorials to assist them in using your product efficiently. 

Offer simple, easy-to-follow instructions to avoid confusion and exhibit empathy by acknowledging their concerns when creating your explainer video.

The following are the most remarkable ways to determine where your clients are having trouble:

  • Making direct inquiries
  • Reading your 1-3 star ratings to look for reoccurring themes of issues or struggles that can be addressed in instructional content
  • Finding recurring themes of complaints or struggles by reading the 1-3 star reviews of your rivals
  • Surveying your email list of clients to find out what they need assistance with

You will know where to focus your video production efforts after understanding the issues that bother your clients the most.

Spark Interest With Promotional Event Videos

In some regions of the world, live events are once again popular. 

By producing an event promo film, you can leverage this resurgence to spread the word and build anticipation for any in-store activities you have planned for 2023. 

A successful event advertising video should ideally give viewers a taste of what to expect in a minute or less. 

Here is an example from the annual Inbound marketing conference hosted by the marketing software company HubSpot.

The video from HubSpot's event is impressive, featuring high-profile speakers, stunning lighting, DJ booths, and an unusual rubber duck art installation. 

Given the size of their audience, the video length is appropriate.

It's a good idea to include compelling videos from previous events, similar to HubSpot's video. 

It's recommended to interview notable guests and specialists attending a first-time event. 

Using subtitles in the video helps viewers remember important details, such as the event's location, date, time, and contact information. 

Remember to add a link to the event registration page on your landing page.

You can also use event promotion videos for email campaigns and social media posts.

Elicit Enthusiasm From Customers With New Product Videos

To generate excitement for your new product, create a teaser video focusing on the most exciting aspects. Remember to include links for more information. 

Furthermore, it's vital to identify your target market and the specific problem your product solves. Focus on the right things to grab your audience's attention in just a few seconds. 

Additionally, by incorporating transitional words throughout your video, you can further improve the flow and coherence of your message.

Here is a Fitbit example. This video serves as the Fitbit Charge 5's introduction.

In less than two minutes, the video walks you through the new smartwatch's capabilities, including the activity tracker, sleep monitor, companion app, and more. 

The Fitbit introduction trailer uses professionally produced video and 3-D animation to create enthusiasm for its newest product. 

As you make your small company video, keep the following additional considerations in mind:

  • Quality is crucial in new product videos, so choose high-quality photos or videos.
  • To create the perfect mood, add music. 
  • A compelling tagline will highlight the aspects you want to emphasize but avoid filling the frame. 
  • You can provide a clickable link within the video to direct viewers to a landing page with additional content.
  • Your video should be 30 seconds at maximum.  

As a developing company, you may create enthusiasm on a small budget if you can address the customer's issue.

Enhance Online Event Visibility With Captivating Webinar Promos

During the COVID-19 pandemic, webinars were a significant value-add for businesses, and they are likely to keep growing in popularity as more workplaces adopt hybrid work arrangements.  

Events like instructive or expert panels, live Q&A sessions, or even a direct selling webinar—first made popular by multi-level marketing ambassadors—perform well as webinars.

Even though webinars need a lot of planning, remember to advertise them on your social channels. 

In addition to putting it on the firm website, small businesses should use their customer email list and social media following to spread the word. 

Make sure the following information is included in the small business video for your webinar:

  • The event's name
  • A Call to Action
  • Tag the participants. 
  • The purpose of the event and any lessons your audience will learn from it

Your small business video advertisement must, above all else, be brief and direct.

6 Steps to Create a Video Marketing Strategy if You're a Small Business Owner

Here are some steps you can take to produce excellent videos for your small business at a reasonable cost and within a day or two.

Step 1: Determine Your Objective

Set goals for your video marketing strategy before anything else. Success according to a range of criteria:

  • Engagement with the content
  • Conversion rates
  • View counts
  • Click-through rates.
  • Follower growth.

Next, try and ask yourself these questions:

  • What does success mean to you? 
  • Are you attempting to increase your social media followers or engagement rates?
  • Is your goal to raise revenue or increase website visitors?

Your video production style and placement depend on the goals you have set. 

It also lets you evaluate your performance and adjust your video marketing plan to enhance effectiveness.

Step 2: Generate Creative Concepts

If you want to come up with fresh ideas for your videos, it's a good idea to look at what your competitors and established brands share on social media. 

Analyze their strengths and weaknesses and consider using your most popular blog posts or social media content as a foundation. 

In addition, keep an eye on common client inquiries and comments so you can address them in your videos.

Step 3: Develop a Screenplay

You may develop a narrative, structure your video, and sketch its complete flow by writing a script.

Having something planned and written down may also make you feel less anxious if you are camera-shy.

You can add things like an introduction, calls to action (CTAs), product features, etc., depending on the objectives of the video. 

Step 4: Assemble Your Equipment

Gather all the equipment needed for your small business video production before you begin filming.

You do not require a fancy or pricey camera setup to film. You only need your smartphone.

You may also get a microphone to improve the audio in your video and a cheap tripod for your smartphone to prevent wobbly movies.

Step 5: Choose the Filming Site

Location, location, location—never forget it! Ensure your subject or products are nicely lit if you're shooting inside. 

Additionally, look at the sun's location when photographing outside to avoid glare or shadows.

Choose a setting devoid of background noise or needless distractions, whether you shoot inside or outside.

Step 6: Start Recording

You are ready to record once you have finished all the preparation. Also, remember that you do not have to be Martin Scorsese or strive for absurdly high production value. 

Instead of aiming for perfection, concentrate on being true to yourself and sharing your small business's core beliefs with current and potential clients. 

Now it is time for action!

7 Small Budget Strategies to Promote Your Small Business Videos

After completing the video production, you should concentrate on distribution and promotion. Again, you may accomplish this on a tight budget using these strategies.

Distribute Your Videos Across Social Media Platforms

Seven out of 10 adults use social media, according to Pew Research Center research.

As a result, social media is one of the best platforms to advertise your video, making it simple to post your videos instantly on various channels. 

Additionally, you can follow other tips to help you set up and optimize your account on YouTube, one of the most popular social media sites and a great place to advertise your videos.

Incorporate Videos on Your Website's Landing Page

84% of individuals said that watching a brand video persuaded them to purchase a good or service. 

It makes sense to have a video about your company on your landing page to drive sales since your website is where customers will most likely go to buy your goods or services.

Use our Start Page to construct a mobile landing page if you are a new small business without a website. You can even link to a YouTube video you want your target audience to see on your page.

Employ Paid Social Media Promotions

Use paid social advertising to promote your videos and make them more visible, especially if they are performing well organically.

The most popular ad networks for small businesses are Facebook and Instagram, and the benefit of using either is that your video ads will only cost as much as you can afford.

Collaborate With Influencers to Showcase Your Videos

Working with influencers can increase your brand's social proof, exposure, and reach. 

In addition to the fact that 49% of consumers rely on influencer recommendations, 40% have bought something after seeing it on Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram.

Because they have a more specialized target audience or a smaller but more dedicated following than more prominent influencers, micro-influencers are frequently the best partners for small enterprises. 

Additionally, they often have lower fees or are eager to form alliances in exchange for complimentary goods.

Leverage Email Marketing to Share Videos With Subscribers

Email and video go together like peanut butter and jelly. According to Animoto, simply including "video" in an email subject line increases open rates by 19%, click-through rates by 65%, and unsubscribers by 26%.

Your email engagement will increase if you include a video thumbnail. When a video thumbnail was used instead of a static image, Wistia discovered a 300% increase in CTR.

Including videos in your ongoing email nurture campaigns is simple, cost-free, and can help improve attribution. 

For instance, you can integrate video viewing statistics into your lead scoring and processes using Wistia with HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot, or SalesForce.

If one of your leads watches 75% of a product demonstration video on your website, you might build up a workflow to email the lead or notify a sales representative to call them.

Optimize Your Videos for SEO to Increase Organic Reach

Optimizing your videos for SEO is crucial in increasing your organic reach. Following best practices and utilizing the right tools ensures your target audience's videos are discoverable. 

Conducting keyword research is one of the most crucial aspects of optimizing your videos for SEO. 

This involves identifying the keywords and phrases your target audience uses to search for content related to your videos. 

Once you have identified these keywords, you can incorporate them into your video titles, descriptions, and tags.

Utilize Video in Your Blog Content for Better Engagement

Incorporating video into your blog posts is a smart move. Video content is popular and easily accessible, making up 82% of internet traffic. 

Social platforms like Facebook and Snapchat have billions of daily viewers, and video content receives 2.6 times more engagement than text. 

Don't miss out on the opportunity to connect with your clients by not utilizing video in your marketing strategy, starting with your blog.

FAQs: Small Business Videos

How do I make a video for my small business?

The first steps are choosing the type of video you want to create and assembling the appropriate resources. For example, if you produce an instructional video, you might only need a laptop and a webcam. 

However, if you are producing a commercial, you must hire actors and a camera crew.

How much is a video for a small business?

The cost of professional productions varies. A professional video marketing company often charges $5,000 to $20,000 per minute, whereas a semi-professional team typically charges $1,500 to $3,000 per minute. But the good news is you can do it comfortably and affordably!

How do you make a small business video?

It would be best to determine your video's goal and purpose. From there, create a plan for how you want to film and distribute your small business video.

How do I make a free business video?

Numerous alternatives are available if you want to create a free business video. A common choice is utilizing a video editing program, such as Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, to edit and add special effects to your video quickly. A seasoned video production business can also create your video for you.

Conclusion: Small Business Videos

Small company video marketing can be inexpensive and easy. A well-done video may be a powerful marketing tool for a small business.

A video is a simple approach to quickly and easily reach a massive audience in the modern digital age. 

Viewing a video at their convenience enables potential customers to learn more about a company and its goods or services without making a purchase decision.

By giving the company's face and voice, a video can also foster trust and loyalty. If you're ready to take the next step in your small business's marketing strategy, OFFEO's promo video maker can help.

The templates they offer make it easy and affordable to create impactful videos that can help grow your business. 

With the ability to reach a massive audience and build trust and loyalty, video marketing is a powerful tool for any small business. 

Start creating your video with OFFEO today and see the difference it can make.
Written By
Kim Pañares

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