How to Get Started with Video Marketing for Small Businesses

Recently our video marketing expert Brad went to Video Marketing World 2018 where he met other video experts and discussed… well you can guess. Video! Here, Brad shares his top tips and answers some of the most common questions that you as a small business owner might have about getting started with video marketing.

Where should I start with my video marketing?

“Chase Jarvis has this one amazing quote, that “the best camera is the camera in your hand”. So if you’re fortunate enough to have a cell phone with a camera, you have what you need, to get started with video. There are a lot of guides and opinions on what you need to get started in the video creation space, which Sony DSLR you need, whether you need a boosted board or a drone.

Before you buy any of that or spend any money, go out and make a whole bunch of really crappy videos on your phone just to get the practice.

It’s brave to go do your first hundred of anything and that’s the reason most companies won’t ever really get started with video. You have to embrace all of your dress rehearsals. Think about the quote from filmmaker Robert Rodriguez that you have to get “your first thousand shitty films out of the way first”.

That’s the process. Publishing something on a regular basis and communicating to your customers in a really authentic way. Even if your first videos aren’t perfect it humanizes your brand and it shows what you're trying to do as a company. This is what people relate to.

So for business owners and operators who are looking at video and feeling overwhelmed because they don't have the right equipment or the professional editing skills, just get a video made with what you do have and go from there.”

What types of videos should I produce for my business?

“To get started, have someone in your team or you as the Founder, make a quick video in selfie mode. Host a chat about what you’re doing this week or what’s upcoming. Two of the ScreenCloud founders Mark and David make a video exactly like this each month for the ScreenCloud investors and you know their golden rule? That it happens in one take.

Producing a daily, weekly or monthly update for your customers in this format is a great way to get started.

You can also use this to ask customers what they want to hear from you as a business to get that interaction and find out what they truly want.”

How can I ensure we produce video regularly?

“The key to regular content creation, in any department, is building a system to ensure things happen consistently. Out of that, you'll get results. If you can, look at video as something you do on a daily basis, just like you tweet from your Twitter account. If that’s too much too soon, then build your video like a blog schedule with one video per week, per fortnight or per month.

The higher the frequency of your first videos the more you can iterate and learn from your mistakes. Delivering content at a routine time to your audience is also the most important way to grow in the early stages. Be ready to invest in that process as you have to grind a little before you can see results!”

How can I make my videos more engaging?

When you're standing in a room full of production gear by yourself, it's difficult to remember that the end viewer is a person. The most successful video makers at VMW all spoke about the importance of creating personas and then not just leaving those personas sitting in a Word doc somewhere. To make truly engaging video content you need to present as if you’re in a room, chatting to that customer. Humanize the camera and that's the secret power to making content relatable, because you’ll know exactly who it is you’re speaking to.”

How can I produce video that’s good enough?

“There’s a huge barrier to entry when it comes to video marketing for the everyday business. It’s our perception of the content creation process. At the moment, we see video creation as filmmaking. This means we need a whole ton of production, a storyboard, editing and sculpting. The end product will often be highly polished but it’s going to be pretty lacking in the emotion department.

Make the quality of your video the best it can be, but don’t sweat it if your first few edits aren’t polished. It’s the content and the process which matter most.”

Which video platforms should I focus on?

“Social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram make video much easier and this is great for honing your craft and getting your company out there to the world. The trouble with these social channels is that the end goal is monetization and this can make the metrics of your videos a little inflated.

Inflated impressions or engagement numbers make it difficult to know how useful your viewers are truly finding your video. When you use YouTube for business you don’t have to monetize your videos in any way. This makes your “engagement” metrics much more relevant.

YouTube is also the second largest search engine in the world after Google, so it makes sense to position your videos in an ecosystem that’s designed for users to find them.”

What video metrics should I measure?

“Some good metrics to measure on your video marketing are:

• The clickthrough rate on your video thumbnails - as this shows how engaging the title and image is to your users. The higher the clickthrough the more likely someone is to engage with your video. YouTube’s average clickthrough rate is 2% to give you a benchmark.
• Your audience retention so how long each user spends on your channel and watching your videos.
• Overall channel growth. The more users that subscribe to your channel or feed, the more likely they are to see your content. If you can get them to set up YouTube notifications on your video, this is even better.

Monitor those and you’ll be onto a great start!”

I’m super keen to help people do things they've never imagined possible through the power of communication. If you liked this post please come check out our YouTube channel and let me know what you think! I’m always available at @bradparler.