For your videos to be effective on the internet, you first have to find out what people want. If you’re creating a small business video content, that can be challenging.
The infographic at the bottom of this post attempts to decode video for what people want and are watching. This post decodes and expands on the content of the infographic.
When doing anything for your small business, you probably want to tell all about the cool stuff you do. Your goal is to promote your business and help get more customers. For video content (or any content on the internet), that’s not going to help you, though.
All video content comes down to accomplishing two goals, of course focusing on viewers first:
- Do something for the viewer whether entertain or educate.
- Lead the customer to becoming a lead for your small business.
The first goal will help capture viewers and keep them watching your content. The second goal will help you turn that view into a lead. Without turning at least some viewers into leads then your video content is a waste of time and money.
Now you know you need goals when creating small business video content. Now it’s time to figure out what people want so you can achieve your goal.
What People Want
When it comes to small business video content, not just anything will do. People aren’t going to watch a video of you trying to sell. Marketing your business online is all about helping, not selling.
If you can’t sell and don’t want to be overly promotional, what are you supposed to do? Find something that people will watch that can also tie into your product or service.
Entertain or educate people in your video content to keep them watching. Share on XWhat types of things are people watching then?
- Humor
- Interaction
- Entertainment
- How to videos
Depending on if your small business sells a product or a service, this will help determine how you go about content creation.
There are lots of different approaches you can take to create quality small business video content that will capture viewers attention. Once you venture out from the normal sales content and start getting creative, doors will open into people becoming more interested in your product.
Product Videos
If you’re selling a product, people want to see the product. They might even want to see different ways of using it. If there are unique ways people could use what you’re selling, show it in action.
Walmart is a good example of showing off products in a different way. All Walmart videos are fun short videos that use products they sell, but nothing is explicitly advertised. Each video is represented in a how to format that shows you different ways to use them.
Each food video is unique and fun but nothing is overly salesy.
Another company that sells a product and does video well is Red Bull. They sell a product but really they mold all marketing around a lifestyle, an extreme lifestyle. That’s the mood and topic of all their videos too.
Each video is extreme and stays true to the extreme lifestyle that Red Bull is trying to sell.
Looking for an example of a company selling a product doing fun well? The best examples ever may be the Dollar Shave Club. They broke into the mainstream with a viral video that was a comedy sensation on YouTube. It has received over 24 million views up to this point. That’s the original video, though. Other channels have uploaded it which probably brings its numbers well over 100 million.
Make sure you watch it to see how funny can entertain and help sell a product.
What if you sell a service, though?
Service Videos
If you sell a service, show people how you provide the service. How to videos are extremely popular with viewers. If you remodel houses, do some short videos on how to do certain types of small tasks. You may think you’re giving away your skills by doing this, but you’re not. You’re establishing trust and expertise.
Even a fun video that doesn’t show the details can be entertaining.
How to videos with the right calls to action can provide you with many new leads. Share on XCartwright Landscaping is an example of a company doing how to videos, some get thousands of views. Their videos would give them a great opportunity to establish expertise and bring in new customers if they utilized them better.
Cartwright Landscaping hasn’t given viewers many calls to action (if any) in their videos which is a wasted opportunity. Great content helps but not without the proper setup on your YouTube channel and the videos themselves.
Video To Leads
With great videos and proper calls to action, you’ll open up a new stream of customers. Videos are another point of leads for your small business online presence which usually leads back to your website.
If you’re serious about growing your small business, get your free personalized copy of The Online Presence Report. You’ll get to see where your brand is at and what opportunity you have to grow your online presence further.
Now for the infographic that guided some of the content of this post:
