So, you run a business and are looking for better and smarter ways to promote your company.
You’ve heard about the value of a good video but that’s all. You but don’t know where to begin, and are not sure if it can help your business. Or if you can really afford it.
Here are eight quick and easy tips to get you on the way toward a valuable video:
- Know your customer. Identify your range of (target) customers by age group, geographic location, interests, professions, etc. Recognise who will be most receptive to your brand. Only then can you figure out what video would appeal to their interests, tastes and sensibilities.
- Craft your video. How will your customers watch your video? People watch videos on smartphones, tablets and desktop computers, and far less on television. What times of day are they likely to watch your video? Would it likely to be during working hours or off-hours for recreational purpose? On trains or in their homes? Craft your video based on such factors.
- Seize the moment. YouTube suggests that the first 15 seconds of a video are its most important. So the best way to make an impact is to deliver your most important message in the first few seconds, before a consumer’s attention drifts.
- Style is the brand. Talk to producers about different video styles. Animations, interviews or business profiles? Analyse which gets the most clicks. Finally, choose one that best represents your brand.
- Do your home work. According to Forrester, a correctly tagged digital video is 50 times more likely than another with standard SEO to appear on the first page of Google’s search results? So spend ample time on ground research, and check out the keywords that get you the best bang.
- Set the terms of engagement. Have a clear “call to action” in your video. Beckon users to do something such as click on a video or select a particular option. The more a consumer interacts with your content, the more likely you are to generate a sale. ‘Click Here’, ‘Buy Now’ and ‘Order Item’ links can easily turn into sales. But don’t be too pushy and don’t let the prompts interfere with the viewing experience.
- Distribution is key. Getting your business or product visible is now more affordable than in the past. Think beyond TV and website banners. With YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook etc., consumers are now happy to watch video online and on social media, so take advantage of these distribution channels. Distribution also is more affordable now with viral marketing a bonus possibility.
- Get social. With social networking, it is important, and hugely beneficial, to allow users to easily share your videos with their network of friends. ‘Likes’, ‘Shares’ and recommendations are the new word-of-mouth. Make your videos easy to share with one click. Even show an embed code so users can easily place your video on blogs, etc.
Avnesh Ratnanesan is the founder and CEO of ProductionParty.com, an online marketplace for video production. Businesses can tap its marketplace of professional video producers to create custom videos.
