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Want to know how to use video in your marketing? There is no doubt that it is essential to use video to market your business, but with so many options you might be thinking “Where should I start?” Keep on reading as I’ll be sharing 4 different ways you can use video in your marketing.
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Why you should be using video in your marketing
Before delving into the different ways you can use video in your marketing it is important to understand why it is worth using video in your marketing. Creating videos takes resources (time, effort, energy, and money) so it is important that you understand the value of video marketing and why it is worth making the investment.
The amount of businesses using video as a marketing tool has been growing year on year for years, and for good reason. According to Wyzowl “87% of video marketers say video, in general, gives them a good return on their investment”.
Return on investment (ROI) will look different for different businesses and the purpose of the video. Video offers many benefits to businesses depending on where it is used in relation to the marketing channel and the stage of the customer journey. Video content on social media helps to increase engagement, drive traffic to a website, grow a mailing list and generate leads. Video content on a website helps increase the time a visitor stays on a webpage, leads and conversions.
Hopefully, you now understand how powerful video marketing can be and why you should be using it in your business. I’m now going to share 3 different ways to use video in your marketing.
4 WAYS TO USE VIDEO IN YOUR MARKETING
1. Long-Form Content
The first way to use video in your marketing is to decide to make your long-form content in a video format. When it comes to long-form content you have three main options: blog, podcast or video. If you decide to use video for your long-form content then you’ll most likely start, or have, a YouTube channel.
If you are providing a service then you should be creating your long-form content with the intention of building up a bank of bingeable content that demonstrate your expertise and enables people to get to know, like and trust you.
Usually with long-form content you want to be creating and publishing videos on a regular basis, such as once a week. You want your audience to expect new content from you and to check your channels to watch your latest videos.
If you decide to use video as your long-form content, you’ll usually be recording and editing the videos before publishing. If you are publishing on YouTube then you’ll also want to think carefully about your video title and the description. YouTube is a search engine so taking the time to write a search engine optimised title and description could help increase the reach of your videos.
Thinking about whether you should create videos for your long-form content? You can find out more about the pros and cons of each type of long-form content in Blog vs Podcast vs YouTube: Where should you create content for your business.
2. Your Website
Another way to use video in your marketing is on your website. This is often a very overlooked way of using video. Very often when business owners think of creating video they think about YouTube or social media, but using video on your website can be very powerful.
A few popular ways of using video on your website include:
- Have an introduction video on your homepage or about page – Some people prefer to watch and/or listen than read so give them the option. As a service provider people are partially buying into you and a video helps speed up the know, like and trust factor. Also, video can help get your personality across in ways that writing just can’t.
- Include video testimonials – If you have clients who are willing to record a video testimony then you definitely collect them and put them on your website. There is something much more credible about someone talking in a video about their experience rather than reading words which could have been altered (or made up altogether). These can be used across your website from the homepage, testimony page (if you have one) and on sales pages.
- Embed your long-form content – If you decide to make videos as your format of long-form content and now have a YouTube channel then you should definitely be repurposing the content by embedding it into your website. If you are investing in making high-quality you want to maximise the number of people who view it. Some people won’t see it on YouTube so if they are on your website give them the opportunity to watch your videos. Also, by embedding it onto your website you have more freedom. You aren’t limited to the YouTube description box, but can do whatever else you want on the page.
3. Social Media
The third way to use video in your marketing is on social media. Now this is usually the first place most business owners think of using video marketing and with each platform having different options it can be overwhelming.
I’m not going to attempt to go through the options on each individual platform, but will talk about the common options. If you want to find out more about using video on Instagram you can read this – How to post videos to Instagram in 4 different ways.
Upload a video
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn all allow you to be able to upload a video that you’ve already creating. Each platform has its limits based on length of video or file size so you’ll need to check.
Share a video
If you’ve posted videos on YouTube or on your website then you can share the link in the same way that you can share the link of any webpage on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Go Live
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn all offer the ability for you to go live. This means that the video is shared in real-time as you are recording the video. On most platforms you can go live by yourself, but you also can invite another account to go live with you. This allows you to do interviews etc.
Stories
On Instagram and Facebook you have an additional video option called Stories. These are a short form of video (15 seconds) that are posted in portrait form and last for 24 hours.
Instagram Reels/TikTok Video
Another short-form type of video is Instagram Reels or a TikTok video. Both are posted in portrait form and can be a max of 1 minute long.
As you can see when it comes to using videos on social media there are a lot of options and that is just the format options. You’ll still need to consider the types of content for the videos and where the videos are in the customer journey.
WANT HELP TO USE VIDEO STRATEGICALLY ALONGSIDE THE REST OF YOUR MARKETING?
Video is just one marketing tool and you need to ensure that all of your marketing is working together. I work specifically with solopreneurs and super small service-based business owners to create marketing strategies that cover everything and can be delivered by one person. You’ll be confident that you are creating videos to generate clients and with just one plan to follow you’ll feel in control. To find out more about working with me click here.
4. Webinars, Masterclasses and Online Trainings
Another way to use video in your marketing is to host a webinar, masterclass or live training. If you are unfamiliar with the term webinar it is essentially an online training where the host will usually deliver a training and also promote and product and/or service. Webinars are very popular selling technique in the online world. They act as a great lead-magnet (to grow your mailing list), whilst also being a highly effective method for selling.
Webinars are usually used as part of a sales funnel and it is common to use software such as ClickFunnels to build the funnel. However, if you are just starting out you can apply the same principles but host the live training in a private Facebook Group or via Zoom.
Webinars can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. They have an introduction, the training and then the pitch. To maximise the conversion of a webinar you need to ensure that the webinar and offer are closely aligned.
There you have it! You now know 4 different ways to use video in your marketing.
As you can see there are lots of options to use video in your marketing. Video marketing is a core component of marketing nowadays, but that doesn’t mean you have to start a YouTube channel, make Instagram Reels or host a webinar. As a business owner, you can decide what types of videos to create and which ones aren’t right for your business (or you).
In the comments, I’d love to hear how you are currently using video on your marketing or what you are going to give a try in the future.
WANT HELP TO USE VIDEO MARKETING EFFECTIVELY, AND GROW YOUR BUSINESS?
I work with solopreneurs and (super) small service-based business owners to get clear on their business goals and then implement the right growth, marketing and sales strategies to achieve build a thriving business that supports the lifestyle they want. When you work with me I’m by your side every step of the way helping you to create your marketing strategy, break it down into an action plan, review your results and hold you accountable.
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