5 Ways to Use Video for your Business
5 Ways to Use Video for your Business
Video is becoming increasingly more important in today's world for helping your business stand out and become more noticeable. It's now no longer enough for still images to do all the work in engaging your audience. Implementing a video strategy needn't be complex or time consuming with many options open to us now. Here are 5 ways you can utilise video to help engage or broaden your audience for your business.
1. Promotional Film
One of the most impressive ways you can market your business through video is to hire a production company to produce a promotional video which helps spread the word about your company and what it is you offer.
This is your chance to present yourself in a very professional manner and is effective at engaging a large audience. If you have a range of products or services that you wish to advertise, a good promotional film is a great way to present this in the best possible light.
Whilst the initial outlay of the production is likely to be fairly high, a good production company should be able to produce a film tailored to your requirements and stand the test of time. The investment is likely to earn you a good return when hosted on your website and across social media, as well as being effective at presentations and/or conferences. A highly polished production should not require an update for a number of years or unless your business takes an entirely new direction.
Check out the promotional film below which we produced for Easterbrook Hall:
2. Advertise/Promote a Product or Event.
In a similar vein to having a promotional video produced, there may be a new or flagship product in particular you wish to promote.
A short commercial is a perfect way to gain interest in something you are particularly proud of. The advertisement is great for presentation purposes at trade events as a visual way to generate 'hype' over your product/service.
Once again this is a great chance to bring your creative vision and ideas to reality. A good production company should be able to communicate your ideas effectively and bring them together in an engaging short commercial.
Check out the short video below which was created to promote an event taking place during The Big Burns Supper in Dumfries.
3. Vlog
One of the latest trends to sweep the internet is 'Vlogging' or Video Blogging.
Much like regular, written blogs (such as this) vlogs can take many forms, such as short daily videos to document your life or work or perhaps longer and less frequent updates where you document a series of events spanned over a longer period.
In terms of creativity, a vlog can be anything you like however the 'traditional' format involves talking to the camera giving the viewer the impression you are bringing them along for the journey. A certain degree of confidence is required for talking to camera and can be very daunting. Practise is key though and the more often you vlog the more relaxed you will feel and more direct the content will become.
Vlogs are fantastic ways to engage your audience on a more personal level and brings them straight to the face of your business. The great thing about vlogging is you will find yourself reaching a regular following and people returning to see your latest update - providing your are creating engaging and interesting content relative to your field of work.
Below are the most popular filmmaker bloggers on Youtube:
There are people utilising vlogging exceptionally well for their business:
B&B Lawn Care - (A very obscure one but shows how any business can implement vlogging.)
4. Tutorial
Another great way to engage an audience directly is by filming tutorials. What's great about it is the variety of methods you can deliver it, depending of course on the subject matter. As previously mentioned, vlogging is very popular right now so filming your tutorial in a vlog style is a good way to present it.
People really appreciate advice and help especially at the convenience of being online. Your audience is very likely to engage in something you are giving back to the 'community' your business operates in. As long as your tutorial is factually correct, its in this way your audience gains great trust in you.
Tutorials are fantastic ways to develop your customer base. You could offer a tutorial for free and then encourage people to join you in subsequent tutorials for a small fee.
We have recently been working with Helen Rudge from Communication Development, based in Sandyhills. Helen has been utilising video tutorials within her business as a way to expand and streamline the delivery of her content to her clients. With this new venture, her clients can learn at their own pace in the comfort of their own homes.
5. Social Media
If any of the previous methods of including video in your business have sounded a little daunting, probably the most accessible methods is via social media. With video content becoming increasingly more popular it has made sense for social media platforms to play catch up in some way.
Snapchat- Whilst it may not be the most useful for business (although some have used it to great effect) Snapchat provides a way to deliver video content to an audience in an instant. You may only be limited to a few seconds per clip but you can use it almost like a smaller format vlog, something you can document and then share in the space of a few minutes.
Instagram- Earlier this year, Instagram launched 'Stories' as a direct rival to Snapchat. The principle is the same however you are potentially reaching a wider audience and the platform is far more useful if your Instagram account is for your business.
Facebook- Facebook has made video content sharing more revolutionary by launching 'Live', in which you can record and stream your content live- as it happens. Your followers receive a notification when you are live and your recorded video can be saved for viewing later, ideal if your followers aren't able to join you in your live stream. It's a fantastic tool for events or a promotion. We will be using Facebook Live in the future to go behind the scenes on productions and at events to engage an audience, so be sure to join us!
I hope this sheds some light and may inspire you to use video for your business in 2017 and beyond. Video is the most engaging method of attracting potential customers, so where an opportunity to utilise video presents itself, don't dismiss it!
Looking for Promotional Video production in Scotland? We would love to hear about your ideas and be involved with your project, please don't hesitate to contact us!
Dan.