5 ways using video can help your small business

Video Killed the Radio Star. A new era for music: the visual dimension. Flashback to early 80s – MTV’s debut. Thousands of viewers glued to their TVs to catch that favorite video. (Who can forget Thriller??)

Professional productions or home-made reels, video captures audiences for simple instructional how-to demos, sports replays, news snip-its, topics of interest. It’s a great tool to enhance any idea, product, or presentation. Today videos can be found within seconds. It’s a simple keyword search and a few clicks to find – and to bypass. It’s a narrow window of opportunity: 10-15 seconds. Attention spans are short, brief. Be compelling and tell your audience what they are watching. And then, keep it quick, to-the-point, precise, and of course, engaging.

Here are 5 ways video can help your small business:

SEO

Improve search engine optimization with video. Video content represents higher-order objects when indexing Web pages. Create interactive transcripts of video to encourage navigation.

YouTube

As the second-largest search engine today (runner up to Google), YouTube plays a lead role in marketing strategy. YouTube videos point people to your websites and measure your audience’s habits. Consider Athleta’s video: inspiring and promotional with a link to the website.

Social video

Post videos on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, any social media connection. Mix it up for your audience. White-label video player such as Brightcove also gives functionality between platforms. I follow several sources on Facebook – local news, national news, fitness experts, retailers. Video inspires me to feel and act. Proctor & Gamble has mastered this art.

Live video

Live video pulls us in, encouraging returns to your site. This produces incremental, on-demand views that can continue long after the original video event takes place. Example: Decorah Eagles or MinnesotaBound Live Cam. Why do we keep coming back to see birds in a nest? It’s intriguing, captivating and beyond our personal experience.

Online & offline integration

Mobile technology offers endless ways to partner traditional and social marketing. Engage consumers on one platform and direct them to additional platforms. For example, product or object recognition on a billboard ad can be extended through interactive web experiences by using a QR code.

What’s next? Tell them to act

Calls to action need to be specific, easy, and fast. Use video to drive the purchase and create loyalty with:

• Branded video channels and video product demos
• Video case studies
• Video landing pages, video in email, in-player calls-to-action, and shoppable video
• Social-based customer communities, customer care programs, and corporate communication initiatives

Consider video. Visual recall brings life to your business. Let it work for you.