Small Business Video Marketing | 3 Essentials for Growth

What types of small business videos play a pivotal role in generating growth and scalability? From capturing the essence of your business to simplifying intricate ideas, this comprehensive guide outlines 3 essential videos every growing business needs to drive results. We'll explore how each can specifically boost your small business in its own unique way.

The Value of Small Business Video Marketing

Do you want to attract new audiences, engage customers, and supercharge your sales growth? What small to medium-sized business (SMB) isn’t looking to expand and scale up? In today's digital marketplace, video marketing is a cornerstone for small businesses that want their revenues to outpace their costs.

Research confirms the significant impact videos have on SMB marketing, making them crucial tools for achieving substantial growth and scalability. Small business video marketing can increase your customer base and enhance your capacity to serve your growing audience. With 92% of website traffic being generated through video content, the potential for small business videos to elevate brand awareness and loyalty is immense. This promises an improved return on investment, allowing your growing business to thrive in a competitive digital ecosystem. To further understand the immense value small business video marketing brings, let’s look at some of their benefits:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

High-quality videos not only captivate your audience but are also favored by search engines, improving your online visibility. Including videos in your SMB marketing can significantly boost your ranking.

Organically ranking in Google is 50 times more likely with video than text.
Video is almost 5 times more likely to make it to the 1st page of Google.
Posts with videos have a 157% increase in search traffic compared to text.

Popularity and Engagement

The popularity of video content dominates all other content. This makes it a critical tool for engaging with your audience and increasing your chance to be seen.

Over 78% of viewers consume video content every week.
Videos are 52% more likely to be shared than any other content.
Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined.

Conversion and Sales

By building a connection with your audience in ways images and text can’t, video directly impacts purchasing. It stirs emotion, provides a clear understanding of your business, and increases trust and credibility.

87% of marketers said video directly increased sales.
Incorporating videos on a landing page can increase conversions by up to 86%.
Watching a video has influenced 89% of consumers to buy a product or service.

What Type Of Video Is Best For Small Business Video Marketing?

Managing a limited marketing budget can be a daunting task for small companies. The benefit of using small business video marketing is clear, but investing in more than one video may seem far-fetched. However, it is important to recognize that the right videos can be a powerful catalyst for growth and scale. In fact, studies have shown that SMBs who utilize video marketing see a 49% faster revenue growth compared to those who don't. With this (and your budget) in mind, it becomes crucial to narrow down the fundamental videos every small business needs. There are lots of trends in video marketing, but the following 3 videos are essential to driving results.

Company Culture Videos - Showing the Human Side

At the heart of your organization is a vibrant, unique company culture that distinguishes it from other businesses. This culture attracts clients and potential team members who resonate with what you stand for, and share your vision forward. One of the most powerful ways to express this is through a company culture video.

A company culture video is the storyline of who you are and how you navigate the business world. These small business videos are not just promotional tools; they are windows into a company's core, offering a genuine look into life at your small business. Culture videos create a visual narrative to effectively communicate your company's ethos, values, and practices.

Reasons Company Culture Videos Are Crucial for Growing Businesses

Recruitment Magnet: In an era where talent has limitless choices, showcasing your company's culture helps attract individuals whose values align with yours.
Brand Differentiation: Culture videos help you stand out, narrating your unique story and ethos to potential clients and partners in an authentic manner.
Engagement and Loyalty: For current employees and customers, these videos reinforce the feeling of belonging and pride, deepening their engagement and loyalty to your mission.

Styles of Company Culture Videos

Documentary Style: Capturing real moments, interviews with staff, and behind-the-scenes glimpses can narrate the authentic story of your culture.

Day-in-the-Life: This offers a lens into the daily routine of your team members, showing what they do and, most importantly, how they feel about their contributions.
Employee Testimonials: Having your employees share their personal stories and experiences can humanize your company, making it more relatable and trustworthy to viewers.
Event Highlight Reels: Showcasing company events, team-building activities, or community involvement initiatives reflects your business’s active, engaging side.

How to Utilize These Small Business Videos

Recruitment Platforms: Integrate them into your career page and job postings to attract the right talent.
Social Media & Website: Share these videos on your company's social media profiles and homepage, where they can catch the eye of potential clients and collaborators.
Internal Communications: Use them in onboarding processes to instill your culture in new hires or in regular meetings to reinforce the company's values and vision.

Tips for Crafting Impactful Company Culture Videos

Start with Your Why: Begin by identifying the goals, target audience, and message of your culture video. This foundational step ensures your video resonates with viewers and serves its intended purpose.
Authenticity Reigns Supreme: Remember, the goal is to evoke emotion and connect on a personal level, so genuine storytelling is key. Let your team's natural enthusiasm, commitment, and spirit shine through.
Diversity of Voices: Include a range of perspectives from different departments, roles, and tenure within the company to paint a well-rounded picture of your culture.
Quality Over Quantity: A well-produced, concise video is far more effective than a lengthy, unpolished one. Invest in good production values to ensure your message is conveyed beautifully and professionally.
Call to Action: While the primary goal is to showcase your culture, don’t miss the opportunity to direct interested viewers to learn more, whether by exploring your website, viewing job openings, or following your social channels.

This Company Culture video we created for Franz Bakery not only shows the professional inner-workings of their bakery, but highlights team members and puts focus on fun and camaraderie.

Company culture videos play a valuable role in SMB marketing because they establish an emotional connection with your audience that fosters trust and loyalty. By embracing the power of these videos, you unlock a profound way to share the character of your growing business. With authenticity, creativity, and a clear strategic purpose, your culture videos can become a cornerstone of your company’s identity and growth strategy.

Explainer Videos - Simplifying the Complex

In the fast-paced digital landscape where every second counts, capturing and maintaining your audience's attention can be quite the endeavor. This is where explainer videos come into play. Explainer videos make complex ideas easy to understand and remember. By demystifying your products or services, explainer videos empower customers to make informed decisions, enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering trust.

At their core, explainer videos are short, engaging videos designed to explain your product, service, or concept in a straightforward and appealing way. Think of them as your business's elevator pitch, only more vibrant and compelling. They leverage the power of storytelling to convey your message in a manner that's not just understood but remembered.

Why Explainer Videos Are Crucial for Small Businesses

Enhanced Understanding: They break down complex ideas into easy-to-understand snippets, ensuring your audience gets the gist of what you're offering. Studies show that 96% of customers watch explainer videos to better understand a product or service.
Increased Engagement: Given that they're visually appealing and filled with information viewers are seeking, these videos can significantly boost your audience engagement.
Better Conversion Rates: Explainer videos have been shown to increase conversion rates, as they can persuasively convey the value proposition of your offerings.

The Spectrum of Styles

Animated Videos: This popular option provides the flexibility to bring any idea to life without the constraints of reality. They are perfect for explaining abstract concepts or services that are hard to capture on camera.
Live-Action Explainer Videos: Perfect for humanizing your brand, these storytelling videos feature real people and are great for personal services or physical products.
Whiteboard Animation: With a focus on simplicity, this style features drawings being sketched on a whiteboard in a straightforward and engaging manner. They are ideal for step-by-step explanations or educational content.
UI/UX Videos: If your product is software or an app, a video that showcases the digital interface that the user will engage with can effectively demonstrate its functionality. They are also perfect for web platform walkthroughs.

Leveraging These Small Business Videos

On Your Website: Placing an explainer video front and center on your landing page can reduce bounce rates and boost conversions. You can also put them on your home page or a prominent product page for maximum visibility.
Social Media: These videos are share-worthy content that can increase your brand's reach on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Email Marketing: Including explainer videos in emails can enhance open rates and click-through rates, effectively engaging your audience.

Tips For Crafting Compelling Explainer Videos

Keep It Short and Sweet: The best explainer videos usually range from 60 to 90 seconds. Staying focused on the core message will encourage viewers to explore your offerings further, ultimately leading to increased interest and conversion rates.
Focus on the Why, Not Just the What: Explain why your solution matters, not just what it is. Tap into the emotional aspect by using animations, straightforward language, and relatable scenarios that resonate with your target audience.
Aim for Clarity: Avoid jargon. The goal is to make your message accessible to as many people as possible. Remember, you want to educate your audience without overwhelming them.
Quality Counts: To keep viewers engaged, it's crucial to maintain a balance between informative content and entertainment value. Invest in good animation or production quality. A poorly made video can do more harm than good.

In this example of an animated explainer video, we teamed up with Gigabyte to illustrate the features of their product in a quick, fun, and informative way. Note how the animation takes you inside the machine where live-action cameras couldn’t.

In the end, explainer videos stand as a compelling testament to the adage, show, don't tell. They can effectively communicate complex ideas, increase conversion rates by 15% to 50%, and improve your online presence. For growing businesses aiming to leave a mark, they offer a golden opportunity to showcase what makes you stand out, explain your value proposition, and connect with your audience on a deeper level.

How-To Videos - Educating Your Audience

Small businesses need strategies that not only ensure survival but promise growth. Among these strategies, how-to videos have emerged as a dynamic tool for enhancing visibility, building credibility, and fostering a sense of community. These videos are particularly effective for small business video marketing. They not only educate your audience but give you the opportunity to demonstrate the usefulness of your offerings in real-life scenarios.

How-to videos are instructional tools designed to guide the viewer through a process or teach them how to do something. The beauty of these small business videos lies in their ability to sell your brand without looking like a sales pitch. They offer a step-by-step approach to answering common questions or challenges your target audience may have. By directly addressing these concerns, you position your business as a valuable resource and show that you care about how customers experience your product.

Why How-To Videos Foster Success and Growth

Enhanced Engagement: Research shows 83% of people prefer accessing instructional content via video. Because how-to videos are educational and entertaining, they hold the viewer’s attention and increase the likelihood of sharing.
Versatility: These popular videos can be used across various platforms, from your website to social media, maximizing your reach.
Established Authority: By sharing your knowledge freely, you establish your small business as an authority in your field, inspiring trust and loyalty among your audience.
SEO Benefits: Well-crafted how-to videos can significantly boost your online visibility, making it easier for potential customers to find you.

Styles at Your Disposal

Demonstration Videos: These videos are perfect for showcasing the practical application of a product or service, offering a visual testimony of its use and effectiveness.
Tutorial Videos: Delving deep into the specifics, tutorial videos break down complex processes into more manageable steps, making them ideal for detailed explanations.
Animated Explainers: Animation can simplify complicated concepts and go places live-action videos can’t, making them accessible and engaging for a broad audience.
Expert Interviews: Leveraging the insights of industry professionals, these videos can offer depth, credibility, and a fresh perspective on relevant topics.
DIY Projects: Embracing the spirit of creativity and self-sufficiency, DIY videos inspire viewers to take action, fostering a sense of accomplishment.

Leveraging How-To Small Business Videos

Website Product Demonstrations: Embed these videos on your product pages to provide potential customers with a clear understanding of how your products work and how they can benefit from them. This can enhance user experience and increase conversion rates.
Social Media: Utilize platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok to share short, engaging how-to videos related to your products or services. These platforms are ideal for reaching a wide audience quickly and can help increase brand visibility and engagement.
Customer Support and FAQs: Embed how-to videos in your FAQ section or send them directly to customers when they reach out for support. This can help reduce support tickets and improve customer satisfaction.
Email Marketing Campaigns: Incorporate how-to videos into your email marketing campaigns to educate subscribers about your products or services. Sending personalized videos showcasing product features and tutorials can help nurture leads.

Tips for Crafting Impactful How-To Videos

Focus on Quality: Ensure that your video has clear audio, good lighting, and a clean, uncluttered backdrop. Employ a style that resonates with your brand’s personality and incorporate user-friendly tips and best practices to add value.
Keep It Simple and Concise: Avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information. Break down the process into digestible steps. Remember, the goal is not just to inform, but also to inspire and engage.
Engage Your Audience: Address the questions and needs of your target audience. Encourage viewers to comment, share their experiences, or ask questions. This interaction fosters a sense of community and keeps the conversation going.
Content Planning and Production: First, decide on the video's concept, focusing on the solutions you're providing. Then, determine whether a scripted approach or a more spontaneous live session suits your subject matter and audience better.

This fun and simple live-action video for Featurama utilizes several techniques to teach viewers about a new phone feature.

How-to videos combine education, engagement, and credibility. By showcasing your expertise and offering insider knowledge, you can elevate your how-to videos from simple tutorials to invaluable resources that truly empower your audience. For small businesses, how-to videos are not just a tool but a transformational force capable of increasing their company's growth and scale.

Conclusion

In the era of digital advancements, where video content holds a dominant position, harnessing the power of these 3 crucial small business videos can greatly enhance your brand and establish deeper connections with your target audience. Each type of video serves a distinct purpose, ranging from humanizing your brand and showcasing your value proposition to simplifying complex concepts and educating your customers. By incorporating these strategic video elements into your small business marketing plan, you not only position your small business for growth but also enable it to thrive in today's fiercely competitive landscape.

Embarking on the journey of engaging and retaining customers through video content doesn't have to be a solitary endeavor. If you're ready to drive the growth of your business forward but uncertain about where to begin, Levitate Media is here to provide guidance and support every step of the way. From concept to completion, our team is dedicated to revolutionizing your small business video strategy and helping your brand stand out in the crowded marketplace. Contact us to embark on this transformative journey.