Back in 1995, Steve Jobs was interviewed by a popular news reporter on the topic of the future of technology. He was asked where he thought technology would be 10-20 years from then.
Among other observations, Jobs replied that everyone would be online that was a real world business (or at least most would) and that small businesses would compete with big businesses on an even playing field.
Well, his prognostications have turned out to be quite accurate.
Many real world businesses have a website and social media accounts to put them on the same platform as big brands. Now that the internet is an overcrowded marketplace, how can brands continue to leverage the power of digital to stay competitive?
Enter video marketing.
Many brands have yet to capitalize on this option. Most have put it off for the fear of cost. Or those that do venture into video marketing end up with a mediocre asset.
Another reason they put it off? Fear of the camera.
No one wants to be the “voice” of the brand. Who can blame them? We’ve all seen that corporate video that puts everyone to sleep, and no one wants to be the star of that video. Not everyone can look as savvy as vlogger Amy Schmittauer when they’re on the recording end.
So, why don’t need you need a video camera to begin a video marketing campaign?
Because there are alternatives. Lots of them. Get ready to even the playing field with your competition by starting your video marketing campaign with one, or all, of these alternatives:
Tutorial Videos
Do you sell a product or service that helps people or businesses? If so, what type of questions do prospects ask?
Do a little research, and find out the top questions that your prospects ask prior to making a purchase. Answer these questions with a tutorial video. This is an easy asset to make if your products or services are available online, like ScreenMailr.
If you sell actual products, a compilation of screen shots with text slides can serve as a tutorial video and eliminate the need for filming real people.
Think about your target audience, what are they searching for? In order to gain leverage from your video, you’ll need to provide valuable information that your audience is interested in watching.
Tutorials can be short and simple, or an in-depth session with a voiceover, and boom, you have a video! Use iMovie or something more sophisticated like SoundSlides.
If you would like to add some character to your tutorial, create a powerful, memorable message, create a story that serves as a tutorial. Make up a character that resonates with your audience, and tell the story about them, and how they use your product or service. Even better?
Identify one of your raving fans, and see permission to use their story or experience as part of your tutorial video. #Winning!
Create a Series
If you find that your customer base has questions that follow a common sequence, you can hit the jackpot by creating a series. Don’t give everything away in one video.
You’ll lose viewers if a video goes past the one-minute mark, as a study from Wistia found that shorter videos are better for getting people to watch the entire presentation.
The great thing about video marketing is that you can create a series that people will come back to week after week, month after month. Like the TV series, serial videos bring visitors back, much like the blog brings back traffic to see what you will do next. Take advantage of this scenario by creating videos on a regular basis.
Practice makes perfect! The more videos that are created, the better the end result will be.
Webinars
If your company does not currently offer live webinars, it doesn’t mean you can’t start now! They don’t have to be live; you can add a support email address to the bottom of the screen for pre-recorded webinars.
Unlike the tutorial videos, you may run a little longer, as people expect a webinar to run 15-30 minutes. You can combine your webinars with the series idea, and gain subscribers and email addresses by promoting your webinars as ongoing assets for your audience.
Need more options? John Follis published a helpful post back in February called “You Need Video, But What Kind of Video do You Need?”
He identifies a few more options for those who lack a brand spokesperson to get behind the camera.
Finally, if you aren’t sure of the messaging for your video, hire a professional script copywriter to help you perfect the message. Even if the threat of a live person mixing up their words or using too many awkward pauses is eliminated, creating a clear, concise message that speaks to your target audience is critical to your video success.
Image: YouTube Savvy Sexy Social Channel
This article, "Video Marketing for Everyone: No Video Recorder Required" was first published on Small Business Trends
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