Great ideas for using video for marketing in 2018

For many people, and many business, it is common knowledge that video and video productions are the latest social media gems. Video provides a way of communicating a message in an exciting and attractive way. There have been some wonderfully creative ways to add some flash and some bling to the content and make it useful and great for video marketing. The one thing which most small business marketers want to know though is how, when and where to use the content.

The timing of the uploading to online services and social media is as important as the content.
The most important part of the timing is consistency. While it can seem exciting in the beginning, many businesses see their online marketing as a one-off event or inconsistent, "when it happens", type of marketing.

So as a way to have simple clarity on how when and where to do your business online marketing, here is an example of a way to go to keep the consistency. There are many more ways and some would even say more effective ways to do online marketing but for most small businesses, less is more and don't want to have to feed a marketing monster. For many small businesses it is a surprise how just a small bit of effort can have a huge impact on marketing and search engine optimisation.

While it may seem that online video marketing should be a 24/7 service constantly pumping out pointless marketing junk to keep eyes on your company, that is not the case.

In a case of analysis paralysis, where businesses don't do online video marketing, because they don't know what to do or where to start, this can be solved by simple getting started. While there are important lessons to learn to not damage your company image through marketing, a lack of action can do as much damage. The rule of thumb is not to try be provocative but simply share great things about your company on a consistent basis.

Here is an example of a great idea on how to use your video for online marketing.

These are the three great ways to use video in their business marketing. The first way is an "About Us Video", which is a short but important video to give insight into your company. This is the type of video, most businesses know and understand. Then there is the "Free Advice Video" which is a bit longer than the "About Us Video" but not too long. It is a way to offer value to your clients and more importantly to potential future clients who will be drawn in by the content of the video and become interested in your company. Then finally we get to the "Social Media Video" which is very short and is only intended to draw attention to the company brand and to the "Free Advice Video" which you made earlier.

In this way you attract attention to content which brings potential clients to know about your company. The most important aspect though is consistency. If this is a one off event, then what is gained in exposure will be quickly lost into obscurity. The saying " Top of Mind" is more relevant than ever in the clutter that is the marketing world and in the social media world.

Corporate video production companies are quite adept at putting together the "About Us" type of video but there are more specialised video production companies in Pretoria, and corporate video production companies around Gauteng who are able to provide the "Free Advice" and social media videos. These are very specific videos which are designed to draw in the attention of the potential viewer. They can not be bragging videos like the "About Us" videos which can essentially be "ME ME ME" videos. It is important to to break the cycle of talking about your company as this only eventually pushes the viewer away. Unfortunately due to many companies feeling starved of attention, they go on an "About Us" shouting spree which eventually proves nothing. The truth is nobody cares about your company unless it can do something for them. So try to focus your energy on topics and ideas that are helpful to your audience and have at least a perceived value.

The "Free Advice" videos can be as simple as a basic video on things related to your business. A few examples would be for a bicycle shop to share tips on maintaining your bicycle or offering lists of great venues to go riding your bicycle. A golfing shop could provide short tips on how to improve your swing etc. The content becomes pretty obvious when you move away from looking at your company and focusing on what your clients need which have nothing to do with your company.

This builds a relationship between you and your clients. Marketing these days is seen as a customer centered focus. Focus on them and not yourself or your business.

Video production companies Johannesburg based and around the country can help guide you to what content is best and how to make it look attractive without looking like a marketing video. This is quite important because if the videos are too "glossy" it can come across as an advert even if the content is entirely content and lacking in hard sell marketing. Most people have become quite sensitized to advertising and will quickly turn away from a video that looks like an advert. It is important to look professional with high quality image and sound but looking like a TV commercial is not advisable.

So put your thinking cap on and come up with some fun exciting and useful ideas for your "Free Advice" videos and then begin sharing them using your social media marketing. The social media part can be a short clip of the video as a type of teaser or it can be an update of some exciting thing that has happened with your company. For example if the bicycle shop has just begun sponsoring a pro cyclist then that would be great for social media. More effort should however be put into what the customer or client is interested in.

In future articles we will look at the exact content for the videos including the best lengths, when and where to put certain things into the video and how to make the videos affordable for ongoing use.

Until then check out Absolutely AV Video Productions for more ideas.