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I’ve had doing up a welcome video for Small Business Bliss on my to-do list for a long time. For a heck of a long time. It’s finally done (here it is if you wanna check it out). So what got me off my ass?

I stumbled upon a great video post from Scott at Sales Tip a Day where he shares some crazy powerful video marketing stats.  Such as…

• Video will be 90% of all web traffic by 2013
• Ecommerce site visitors are 85% more likely to purchase if they’ve seen a video
• Google loves video – video (properly optimized) increases the chance of a front page Google result by 53x

Pretty powerful stuff, eh? Time to get your small business on the video marketing bandwagon, wouldn’t you say?

3 ways you can use video in your small business marketing

Yes, the stats are convincing, but how can you actually use video? Here are my top 3 video marketing uses:

1. Showcase your product
Some products are just begging to be shown off. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video has got to be worth a lot more! Showing your product in action or in use is a very powerful way to “prove” just how awesome it is. It adds an extra dimension to your potential customer’s experience, and helps them to better visualize what it’s like to actually have your product in hand.

Small business example: Susie, owner of Indigo Star, makes handmade jewellery here in Vancouver. And her stuff is gorgeous. Dripping with dazzling Swarovski crystals. Sure, the pictures on her website show this beauty, but her monthly video with her wearing and showcasing her latest design really amps it up. You actually see what the jewelry piece looks like when worn and how the creations sparkle.

2. Showcase yourself and your business
Pictures and a great about page on your website are a terrific way to help foster a personal connection with your customers. A video takes it to the next level.

Your customers want to get a sense of you and your business. They want to know what you’re all about and whether or not they want to give you their money. They will feel a much stronger sense of connection to your business by seeing you and listening to you speak. Or by watching the business in action. Short of meeting or visiting your business in person, video is the next best thing.

Small business example: Stafford Street Hot Yoga in Winnipeg has a great video on their website with testimonials and info about hot yoga benefits. You see the studio, see people in action, meet some of the students, get a real sense of what it’s like at SSHY. What really gets me though is seeing the owner, Amanda, talk about her business. Not only does she just glow with good health (no better testament that that Birkam stuff works!) but she exudes a passion and love for what she does. She’s on a mission with the studio and you can tell. You can feel it through the video and there is no doubt in your mind that she knows what she’s talking about. A picture or the snappiest copy in the world could never get that message across as effectively.

Susie in the above example rocks this as well. You can tell how much she loves her jewellery and how jazzed she is about her latest designs.

3. Educate and Instruct
If you want to show how to do something, it doesn’t get much better than video. Whether you’re using computer screen shots, or you have someone doing an in-person demonstration, video is a great educational tool. Some things would take an entire essay to explain in words. And who wants to or has the time to read that? A video makes communication a snap.

Small business example: Lorros is a local North Vancouver company that offers a super flexible online meeting tool that allows businesses and organizations to have virtual discussions with attendees participating when and where they want. Talk about boosting productivity! They use screenshot videos to help their customers navigate the system and demonstrate how to do things for those that need a little extra support.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you’re looking for some more video marketing ideas, check out this post from Social Media Examiner, where they share lots more video ideas.

Ready to get going? Let’s look at some options for video creation options.

Video creation options

First off, you will need either an actual video camera, or a web cam (or both, depending on what you want to do). You should also get a free You Tube account set up, so that you can easily share your videos online and get some Google juice.

To shoot a video of yourself

If you want to do it web cam style (ie. You sitting and talking) you can try to use You Tube’s free mywebcam option. I had some problems with audio delay, so I got much better results simply using my built in web cam software and then uploading it to You Tube myself.

If you’re using a video camera, simply get it on to your computer and then upload it to You Tube.

To do screenshots

If your educational video involves using a screenshot of what you’re actually doing on your computer, like I did for this Facebook pages video, I highly recommend Jing Pro. Easy to use, and you can upload to You Tube and Facebook in one click. Max video length is 5 minutes. At $14.95 per year, it’s a very cost effective option.

Vimeo is another option that many businesses use for $59.95 per year. If you don’t want your video available to the general public, you can keep it private.

To get fancy

If you want a fancier video with branding, music and other features and you’re going to do it yourself, Camtasia Studio comes highly recommended as an editing option.

Video has so much potential and if you’re the creative type, the sky’s the limit. Remember not to take it too seriously or get too worked up over it.  Just go for it and have fun in the making. Your videos don’t have to be super professional to be effective.

Now time for your 2 cents. Do you use video marketing for your little business? How has it worked out for you? If not, what is making you hesitate?

Comments, likes and tweets are always appreciated! Did I mention that I LOVE your feedback?

Like what you read? Want more goodies like these to bolster your small business awesomeness? Sign up for email updates You biz will thank you (and so will I!). Stoked on connecting with you 🙂

Image source: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tagged as: engagement, free marketing tool, internet marketing, online communciations, online marketing, small business, small business marketing, video marketing