Users adore video content and it’s exploding in popularity across the web, but many small business owners have been slow to truly embrace it. Perceived difficulty and cost are two of the main factors holding busy entrepreneurs back from pulling the trigger on this channel.
As a matter of fact, video has already taken its place among the hottest (and most effective) small business marketing tactics in town.
Fail to get on board the bandwagon, and you risk falling behind a slew of local competitors who will be out there busily delighting users — and eating your lunch while they’re at it.
In this piece we’ll break out four key reasons why your small business needs to embrace video content, starting today. Let’s kick things off with the screamingly obvious one.
1. Users are crying out for video content
Just as Willie Sutton used to rob banks back in the day because “that’s where the money is,” so should you be fixing your attention firmly on video — it’s where a huge amount of your potential audience are spending an increasingly large proportion of their time.
Some of the figures here are astonishing, including:
- About 5 billion YouTube videos are viewed on average every day.
- Online video generally accounts for over 50 percent of all traffic on mobile.
Granted, some of the content users are consuming might be a little seedy in nature, but there’s a real and growing demand out there for video across all devices.
The rubber meets the road when we take a look at the fields of e-commerce and marketing. Seventy-three percent of U.S. adults say they’re more prepared to buy online after watching an explanatory video for a product or service, with millennials being particularly partial to the medium. Meanwhile, the majority of marketers are happily looking forward to increasing their video spends in the near future.
2. Video gives you SEO superpowers
Small businesses notoriously need all the help they can get when it comes to making the most out of their websites in terms of SEO. The good news for site owners is that video content packs an outsized punch in this regard, and can help you go toe-to-toe with competitors of any size when handled correctly.
Whether it’s in terms of incoming links, reduced bounce rates, or increased on-site engagement, video delivers results that search engines adore. Throw in the fact that YouTube on its own is the world’s second largest search engine and you’ve got a hell of a case for devoting more resources to cranking out video content.
3. Video content helps you dominate on social media
Video is omnipresent across every social platform these days, and the trend isn’t going to be rolled back any time soon. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or any one of the dedicated video networks emerging every day, companies are doubling down on video across the web.
From a producer’s perspective, this is very good news indeed. You can author once, and leverage that content across a whole series of channels.
Some of the opportunities on offer here are truly revolutionary for small businesses, with Facebook being perhaps the most interesting option, due to their staggering reach. Though they’re increasingly sophisticated, Facebook’s suite of video technologies are effectively still in their infancy — particularly when it comes to advertising and targeting. The range of incredibly effective video marketing options available via this platform is going to absolutely explode in the very near future.
Related: The ultimate guide to Facebook Live for business
4. It’s not as hard as you think to get started with video
Putting together compelling video content as a small site owner doesn’t mean you need to get your hands on a Hollywood budget. The fact of the matter is, if you’ve got a latest generation mobile device, you’ve already got most of what you need sitting in the palm of your hand.
You don’t need to be thinking in terms of expensive shoots and actors either — software such as Camtasia can help you put together compelling video content directly from your screen.
Conclusion
Video is coming into its own as the future media channel of choice for much of the world. Top brands and Fortune 500 companies have known this for a considerable amount of time, but we’re on the verge of video being an absolute necessity for smaller outfits as well.
If you haven’t already started exploring video for your own business, there’s never been a better time. Let’s recap the four main reasons why:
- Users demand it — don’t let them down!
- It delivers excellent SEO returns.
- It’s going to be at the heart of the next wave of social marketing.
- You can get on board with a minimum of investment.
