Today the process of creating video content is easier than ever, thanks to the low entry barrier for tools and equipment and the rise of short videos.
TikTok has become this juggernaut that makes Instagram and YouTube play catch up. This trend is excellent news for small business owners, and I have real case examples of small business owners leveraging short videos for sales. So here are five easy tips for using video marketing for small businesses.
Actually do be helpful
Your content marketing has to solve problems. For example, I am trying to simplify the video production aspect of your marketing. And as a videographer who loves drones, special effects, and all the wizardry of a Hollywood movie production, plus my experience shooting personal branding videos, I can tell you the video equipment does not matter in the context of helping your clients. Being helpful is more important than the video equipment you are using.
High Production value only matters in the context of the brand. Mostly in fashion, luxury brands, and highly creative works. I have been following on Instagram "Penny's personal touch services." Penny has a cleaning business in Austin and always posts helpful cleaning tips on her Instagram account. She does not have a High-end professional camera and does not even need sophisticated editing software to post her cleaning tips. All she does is give beneficial cleaning tips and has a great sense of humor. Try always to think about what would benefit your audience. What content would they like to see? How can you make things interesting? Experiment with your content like a scientist to see what resonates with your audience
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Create a larger piece of content to break into small pieces of content.
There are several ways you can cut more extended pieces of content and turn them into videos. A 10-minute video may be broken into YouTube shorts, TikTok Videos, or Instagram Reels. A one-hour podcast can perhaps yield 30 short videos or more.
Keep in mind that videos also don't necessarily need to feature people. You can add some graphics and convert them to video format with audio. A blog post from your website can also be transformed into video content. Quotes from a podcast, a blog, a presentation, or a webinar can be converted as video shorts. Everything can be turned into smaller pieces of content. Gary Vaynerchuck is a big proponent of this style when content creators don't have enough time.
I run a small business as well. I am working on the blog aspect, but I see myself using this method soon for my video content. Remember that you don't have to do the editing yourself. You can use websites like Upwork or fiver if you can't afford an internal video marketing department yet.
Upload the same pieces of content on multiple short platforms
When you are starting, there is no need to spread yourself thin, trying to dominate every platform. It's better to choose just one platform and learn the basics. You can post the same content on the other media until you have the resources to create specific content for all of them if needed.
The idea is to avoid burnout. Running a business by itself is complicated. Getting clients is priority number one, followed closely by building trust and growing a community. There may be a time when building the community first should be the priority and then getting clients. However, this applies to only some people.
Leverage search on YouTube
I have a small Youtube Channel. I made videos a few years ago, and they still get views thanks to SEO. When you use long tail keywords and learn to rank on YouTube, people will find your video with search. The videos may not go viral, but that is not important. What's important is for your ideal client to find you.
That's exactly how I helped Essentials in Writing; They offer online homeschooling writing curriculums. We ranked the video they hired me to complete. I researched the keywords that most likely would help the video rank using the google keyword planner.
I also used VidIQ to find out what keywords would rank on YouTube. Currently, the video has more than 6000 views. Mostly from parents looking for online options for their children's education. They have also created a library of video content that keeps bringing them, clients.
This strategy, good leadership, and other business savvy skills have taken the company north of seven figures. All that content library will still work for the company. Using SEO is something other platforms like TikTok and Instagram can't provide and should be worth considering since YouTube shorts have not matured yet and can give you much organic reach.
Batch your content creation
Taking a day to shoot all your pieces of content for the month or whatever time frame is more convenient for you will allow you to have a consistent publishing schedule and gives you flexibility.
For example, if you shoot your content every week and it's also published weekly, inevitably, there would be a time when a situation would occur that you couldn't shoot for a week or more. It could be an emergency, or it could be that your mood was not up for it. This type of thing happens all the time to all of us. Batching the content will ensure that you are covered and that your publishing schedule stays intact.
You can either outsource the editing to the websites I previously mentioned or hire a local freelance editor. For a while, this was a strategy that entrepreneur Jessica Campos used for her marketing agency, marketing for greatness. I went once a month, and we shot all the videos she needed for that period, and I proceeded to edit them for publishing weekly on time.
She did prepare her talking points a day or two before I went to shoot by writing her bullet points and practicing a bit beforehand; that was her style. You can approach it with your style and automate the process as much as possible.
What all these tips have in common is to apply a practical approach to your video content marketing process. If you want to learn more in-depth about the tools and content creation process, read here.
