Breaking down video marketing for small businesses

Statistics first. Market analysts report that people are up to 85 percent more likely to buy products when they see a video of it. Seventy-one percent of marketers swear by video marketing for ensuring conversion. Video marketing was the apple of 2016's eye. 2017 carries forward the love.

To put it simply, video marketing has a great future because it has a high potential for small businesses. Especially since a great percentage of people spend a better part of their time online, the chances of them sharing interesting videos or visual content is indeed high. Needless to say, your startup can grab many eyeballs by swinging along the trending tide. However, if you are still wary of using it for your business because of its complexity quotient, initial investment, and other factors, read on.

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Big on the idea, small on the budget

The greatest things in the world are simple in their communication. Just because you want to make a video, it does not mean that you need to squeeze every last penny from your savings. For example, to make six-second to 10-second video, you can use a good smartphone which offers good features in the video recording department. You can later fix the clip on the editing or production table. You can also invest in a decent camera and a tripod.

Additional tip: Whenever the need to shoot presents itself, let the word be heard inside the whole office. There’s a high chance you might fight a keen videographer in your art director, a photographer in your marketing department, and even an enthusiastic designer in the errand boy. You can also create DIY tripods and ladders with the help of your team. This will not only bring team members together and give them a chance to do something new together, it'll also help you save a lot of money. If you stick to the same people, sooner or later you'll have yourself a team of multi-faceted employees.

Be quality conscious

Never mistake poor budget for poor quality. If you do, the audience will feel the same. And, intoxicated by variety, the new-age customer will not think twice before moving onto a video that took care of how it would be perceived by its viewer. Quality is the key to conversation. Quality of the idea, quality of experimentation, quality of inspiration, quality of courage, quality of novelty, quality of simplicity, you name it – the overall quality of your video can make your relationship with new and potential consumers.

Calculate ROI with ease

Having made your investment in video, your number one priority will be measuring whether the resulting additional sales justify the cost. It's impossible to determine exactly why each sale was made, but there are plenty of tools available that will give you a strong indication of your videos' effectiveness.

For instance, Google offers a free, simple URL builder that lets you to add tags (known as UTM parameters) to URLs leading to your site. With these, you can use your Google Analytics account to track visitors to your site according to specific locations. Similar tools are available on YouTube and Facebook. Additionally, paid tools like Wistia offer a fully comprehensive tracking experience.

And, patience continues to be a virtue

Do not expect instant success. Do not plunge into an ocean of gloom if the initial response is slower than you anticipated. Not only will this come in the way of the quality of your future videos, it'll end up making you waste your time. Until and unless it's a Beatles reunion video, don't expect a million views within hours of posting a video. Or for that matter, expect nothing even for weeks.

Start out with an intention to do something new, something different. Start out to bring teams members together. Start out to give yourself a break. The best content is not always born of desperation. Often it is born out of freedom. When you create something without another goal to achieve other than ‘joy’, you will invariably do what you love best. And what makes you best makes you unique. Therefore, it's a good idea to wait not only for those results that will catapult you into the big league, but even those that will bring together the entire team.

Also read: How videos can transform your content marketing strategy