Promotional Videos Can Help Your Small Business Grow
The Game Changer
When I was growing up if ever had a question about science or world history my go to source was the Encyclopedia Britannica. If I needed more information. I would get on my bike and head over to the public library in hopes of finding more books that satisfy my thirst for knowledge. For the most part, I would typically leave the library feeling enlightened with my new found knowledge. But there were times that I left the library with even more questions than answers and there really wasn't a whole lot I could do about it. Little did I know hope was on the horizon.
In 1990 when Tim Berners-Lee who is best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web revolutionized the way we access information. It had a profound effect on many industries but one of the biggest change was how consumers learned about products and services. For the first time, general information became easily accessible to the average consumer. Multi-million dollar corporations and small businesses slowly began to change a lot of their practices due to their customers growing ability to become more and more informed.
Fast forward to today, it's commonplace to able to research and find reviews about consumer brands, products and services and never ever set one foot in a brick and mortar store. The current generation z and millennial consumers have grown up with the internet and social media, and are very adept in using it, and implementing it to their lives daily.
Discoverability
Television commercials tend to have a relatively short shelf life and may or may not yield a profitable return on investment in comparison to a promotional video that's marketed on social media. One major advantage social media services like Instagram and Facebook have, is the ability to specifically target potential customers at a very affordable price while providing valuable analytics. Even after a year, a promotional videos can be a very effective resource for those who are actively doing a google search for your small business product or services.
“20% of millennials consider Youtube content more relevant and interesting than TV content””
Next Gen Consumers
Millennials, in particular, have displayed an aversion to television commercials and marketing techniques pre-internet era. Consumer Barometer with Google stated, "20% of millennials consider Youtube content more relevant and interesting than TV content". Televisions commercials pre-internet era were primarily focused more on jingles and platitudes which in turn led to many consumers to make purchases of products that didn't always meet their expectations. Millenials have shown be more receptive to commercials that teach, inform and entertain. They are turned away by the traditional who, what, when, where pre-internet style commercials. In fact, Some of the best reviewers of consumer products and services can be found on Youtube. Large and small companies alike are making their products available to Youtube reviewers prior to the releasing their consumer products or services to the general public. Instagram is another hotbed of influencers that barter with the hotel management for free room and board, in exchange for a video vlog of the influencers experience at their hotel. Influencers are sponsoring all kinds of consumer products and services as well. Now I'm not trying to overwhelm you with too much information. I just want small business owners to be aware of how much the advertising and marketing have changed over the last 20 years.
“Only about half (51%) of teens 13-17 said they use Facebook, compared with 85% who said they use YouTube.”
How To Videos
We have all at some point struggled to either resolve issues with our personal computers or maybe wanted to tackle a long overdue honey-do list. Now you could try to stumble through some basic troubleshooting steps or may ask a friend to give you a hand. Personally, one of my first resources is Youtube. It's really amazing how many videos that are available to help guide you through a DIY repair. Big retail box stores like Home Depot and Lowe's both have very active youtube channels that are filled with how-to videos that provide helpful tips as well as insight into their services. In-depth video reviews of the tools and equipment to aid their customers in purchasing right tools for their DIY projects. This same approach can effectively be applied to any small business marketing strategy.
Marketing Tools
If you own a relatively new modern smart-phone there are plenty of apps and online services that can help you produce fantastic marketing content. Adventures Of A Sunset Chaser was edited entirely on my smartphone using Go Pro's Quik app. Quik app will automatically match transitions with music which gives a very polished look to your videos. It also licensed music built into the app as well host additional feature that I would probably going into more in depth in the near future.
