Small Business, Big voice

One of the best things about being a small business is that you have the ability to test new ideas. So much of starting a smaller business is about trial and error. Finding out what works for you, and what draws in the customer you are looking for. One such area is with online video. Video has the ability to help you connect and engage your customers, in a way that text-based websites just cannot do.

As with most small businesses cost can be an issue. Most companies do not have the budgets that the big guys do. But you know what? Adding video to your company is a very cost effective way to grow your business, in fact you really can’t afford NOT to add video! Here are a few ways that video can help you get heard in the industry:

1. CONNECT WITH YOUR CUSTOMER

The great thing about being a small business is the ability to have a personal connection with your consumer. Video enables you to engage your customers on a personal level. For example say you own auto body shop. With video you could have a live record video chat between the mechanics, and the customers. The mechanic could go through the areas that needed attention, and show you the process, through a range of tutorials. Another effective way that the auto body shop could add value to their services is by offering helpful tips on their website, on vehicle maintenance, between visits.

2. VISIBILITY

Video increases your visibility on-line. Universal searches within Google, have proven that 1 in every 4 of the top searches are video. This statistic shows that if someone does a search, all content by video will come up first giving it maximum visibility. Those videos are more likely to get clicked on, than any text based information n the same subject. Linking onto a website with video, will increase the traffic to the site, and also create “sticky” websites. (Video based websites hold people’s attention longer, and keeps them from clicking to another site, causing them to get “stuck” on them)

3. PRODUCTIVITY

Live video conferencing, and collaborating with remote employees or customers can be invaluable. Having a small business sometimes inhibits you from travelling to and from your suppliers, and or colleagues freely. Video allows you to readily converse with your team effectively. This is a great tool, if you want to have a conference call, and need to trouble shoot an issue. Often emails and text can be ineffective in translating the key messages.

4. ACCESSIBILITY

On of the greatest things about video, and how it can be a benefit to small businesses is its availability. Internet video can be viewed anywhere, and everywhere. On your iPhone, blackberry, iPad, laptop. Anywhere that has a network connection.

5. EMPLOYEE FOCUS

What better way to show your team, than have a short video bio created for each member! This personal touch can really set you apart from your competition. People want to trust in their businesses. Having your employee’s showcased on your website, shows them a) That the company values its team, and believes in them, and b) It shows the customer who they will be working with, and helps them feel connected, right away. This makes for a lasting and loyal relationship!

Video is 53x more likely to appear in the 1st page of search engine results, than text related pages with the same topics. On-line video lives forever, it is an effective, affordable way to get your business noticed!

Elle Boutilier

Social Video- where does it live in the marketing mix?

…and who is making the decisions? In a recent article published by the Business Insider-- The Top 20 Social CMO's Of The Fortune 100 http://t.co/vAKMYD3 we hear that Chief Marketing Offers (CMO’s) are doing more ‘do as I say, not as I do’, and need to get into the drivers seat when it comes to personally experimenting with social media and video if they are going to be credible in leading the charge as the shift to social media in the marketing plan gives new definition to the communication strategy. Often the purveyors of social media are the ones in the trenches experimenting and doing the work, not leading. This poses a new challenge to vendors selling strategic solutions and innovative applications into the c-suite.

Social video is one of the most interesting applications for video as it pushes companies to think about video in the spectrum of uses from spontaneous video clips and messages to polished, highly produced video for what we knew as marketing or advertising uses. But video has changed. It’s no longer an event but a continuum of more personalized communications then you could ever achieve with text or pictures.

User generated video content and personal branding are pushing the volume of video content towards personal video messaging, profiles and spokesperson-led conversations and communications on video. A new communication standard that is coming fast and furious and putting CMO’s in the catch up seat as they figure out where and how they want video to live in their communication mix. Here are a few questions for CMO’s to think about as they consider video and putting video tools in the hands of their teams for self producing video:

1.Is showcasing your people and their respective voices important to your company

2. Do you consider yourself an innovator and experimenter of new technology and do you want to stay ahead of the curve in the video revolution

3. Have you experimented with video (outside of your agency)

4. Do you want to create video content for a variety of uses? If so, how much (a progressive video content creator would be creating and sharing video daily as part of regular communications)

5. Do you envision empowering end users in your company with video tools allowing them to video message, create social video, self produce video content?

6. Is compliance with your brand and messages an important factor in managing and moderating video messages generated by your sales reps, employees etc.