Definitive Guide to Video Marketing for Local Businesses

Hey there!

As a local business owner, you need to find ways to make effective marketing decisions despite various obstacles like budget constraints, time shortage, and skill limitations.

Sure, there are other marketing avenues that you can explore, but video marketing is the hottest trend currently and it’s not showing signs of stopping anytime soon.

ArecentCiscostudyfoundthat8 2%ofallinternettrafficwillbevideoby2021. Why is video replacing the traditional mediums? The answer is extremely simple.

Video is the medium that all types of audiences crave.

We get goosebumps because the human brain is designed to be impressed by the richness of audio and imagery.

Because it uses both, video marketing can surpass every other type of medium in engaging the senses of the target audiences.

If you look at what is being done now in terms of marketing, you’ll notice that video plays a central role in virtually every major outreach and marketing effort.

Video is here to stay, there’s no question about it.

Just to give you an idea of where things are headed, a top Facebook executive recently predicted that their platform will be all video in less than five years.

Why your local business needs video marketing

Just because your local business is a one-man team doesn't mean that you can’t afford to use video marketing as a sales driver.

The average US adult spends m ore than 100 minutes daily with digital videos - this figure was 39 minutes in 2011. In fact, video has grown to the point where it accounts for one-third of all online activities.

By using the power of video marketing, you will be able to convert leads into prospectseasierthaneverbefore.Yourb usinessSEOisalsoaffectedbytheuse of video marketing - in a good way.

A recent Hubspot research found that 54% of consumers that support a brand are most eager to see more video content.

Video content has also proven to be the most memorable type of content. It’s certainly not surprising that virtually all the major players use it in their marketing efforts.

But let’s pretend for a second that these stats don’t exist.

Nothing tells a story like a video.

It’s clear that a well-told story is far more persuasive than a written argument. Prospects make a lot of decisions based on emotions, and video marketing is equipped to take full advantage of this.

Video is so much more than words.

Don’t underestimate the power of body language and tone of voice. Video marketing will serve the viewer with more information and context than any written copy - no matter how good it is.

Whether you’re looking for ways to convert more leads into prospects, to boost your business SEO or you’re simply after increasing your email response rates, video marketing will help you do it.

How to Create a Video Marketing Strategy Every marketer will tell you that video marketing is a great driver of brand

awareness, driving sales and promoting your product or service.

It’s true. Video marketing is an absolute beast when used correctly. But in order for it to be effective, you need the know-how to create a video strategy that reaches the right audience with the right message.

This will help you create optimized videos that will lead to better rankings and a t raffic increase for your local business.

But how exactly do you go about creating a video marketing strategy tailored for your local business?

To make the whole process easier for you, we have created a series of steps that will help you create your own video marketing strategy. Feel free to use it to serve the interests of your local business.

Step 1: Setting the goal

This step is essential, so make sure you get it right. If you don’t have anyone to brainstormwith,startaconversationwithyourselfaboutthep urposeofthe video you’re about to make.

Ask yourself who is your t arget audience and what do you want them to feel at the end of the video.

Do you want them to know something or you want them to undertake a certain action? Do you need to gather new leads or you’re just looking to generate some local buzz?

Get as specific as possible and make sure that the goal is perfectly in line with what your local business needs to achieve.

Step 2: Sketching out your audience persona

This phase is all about d efining your target demographic. Who are the people that you want to reach with this video marketing campaign? What kind of content are they most receptive to?

Besides classic demographic metrics like, age, gender, income level, education, occupation, and so on, dive into more s pecific metrics that are important to your business niche.

Take the time to analyze your previous interactions with your clients and figure out what are their needs and what actions make them engage with your service or product.

Look at your current client base and search for common characteristics and interests. Which type of clients bring in the most business your way? Those are the people that you need to target!

Combine them into one audience persona and go through the next steps with it in mind.

Step 3: Spy on your competitors
It’s extremely important to take the time to research your competitors and see if

they are also using videos as a marketing tool.
If they do, identify those videos that are getting the most engagement and see if

you get a feel of what works in your particular business niche.
If you feel that they’re onto something and are getting results, by all means,

adapt your strategy to incorporate some of the stuff that they’re doing.

Keep in mind that knowing which elements to borrow is key here.

Don’t focus too much on the execution and the visual elements that they choose to include. Try to see past the visuals to discover production patterns and figure out the audience that they’re trying to target.

Step 4: Decide on the video type

You got your goal, you know your customer persona and you are aware of what your competitors are doing. Now it’s time to pick the right video type that will help you achieve your business objective.

Different video types will help you achieve different business goals. Before we get to the scripting part, you need to decide on the type of video that is closest to what your local business needs.

Here’s a list of video types that are often used with video marketing:

● Interview
● Testimonial
● Product videos
● Case study
● Live videos
● Micro-documentary
● Explainer
● Story-driven video
● Brand video
● Animation
● Values and mission

● FAQ
● Social Media ‘Shorts’

When you’ve made your decision, stick with it! Don’t try to create a mish-mash of different video types because you’ll just end up confusing your audience.

Another important aspect to decide is if this video will be a single release or part of a larger campaign.

Step 5: Scripting the video

Most (if not all) marketing videos that have an authentic feeling and end up going viral are actually scripted.

Youdon’tneedtoscripteverylittledetail,butit’simportanttoc reateanoutline listing the key points that need to be reached in a logical order.

If you consult with others, consider using Google Docs to encourage real-time collaboration with your peers.

Aneatlittletrickthatalotofmarketersusewithvideosistoc reatea two-column script.

Write the audio on one column and use the other one to insert visual ideas that you want to include. This will help you immensely when you get to the editing part.

Step 5: In-house or outsourcing?

Video marketing has become affordable for small businesses because the video production cost has gone down significantly over the years. You no longer need an entire team to create an effective video marketing campaign.

Don’t worry too much about buying production equipment. If you plan on releasing your video marketing campaign on social media, remember that r aw videos that have a more authentic f eel are usually the ones that become viral.

Fort the best results, outsource your video to a professional team if you have the financial means.

Butifyoudecidetodoitin-house,makesureyoua llocateyourresourceswhere they are most needed.

If you need to enlist outside help and your budget is limited, look for individuals that have multiple skills and make them work for their money. Here are the areas that you will need to cover:

● Video editing
● Videography
● Art direction
● Graphic design
● Animation (optional)

Step 6: Choosing the hosting platform

Even if your creative work is outstanding, you might fail to achieve the result you’re after if you ignore your target audience and distribute the video aimlessly.

No predetermined distribution strategy will fit every video, so make sure you choose the host according to the type of video you will release.

The goal here is to decide on the main host for your video. This is potentially crucial since it will impact how easy is for your audience to find your video.

Keep in mind that not all video platforms are created equal. Youtube has high traffic volumes and might contribute to your Google ranking, but native Facebook videos have a much higher reach than Youtube or Vimeo links.

The best decision you can make is to host the video on the platform where most your audience resides.

It’s advisable that you don’t upload the same video on multiple platforms at once. D oing this will end up making your content rank lower on all platforms since no upload will get the full potential of viewers.

Instead, consider launching the video on one platform and upload it to the second platform after it has maximized its reach.

Step 7: Choosing the distribution channels Nowthatyouhaveyourmainhostinmind,it’stimetob uildalinkingsystem

that will push your content out and bring viewers to your desired destination.

Making use of social media is essential here if you want to ensure a good distribution of your video.

If you plan on distributing your video on multiple social media platforms, make sure to adapt them according to the guidelines on each of them.

For example, Instagram requires short videos of under 60 seconds, making it perfect for releasing short sneak peeks with a link to the whole video. If you target fellow business owners, adapt your video to LinkedIn’s guidelines and put the focus there.

Since organic reach is all but dead on all the major social media platforms, consider investing some advertising money to boost your videos in the first few days after release.

Step 8: Set the budget and schedule the launch
Now that you have most of your video marketing strategy outlined, it’s t ime to

set the launch date.

But before you decide on a particular date, think about all the elements and you wanttoincludeinyourvideomarketingcampaign,researchthecostsandc reate a rough estimation on how much you’re willing to spend.

Do you have the money to support a video marketing campaign of this size? Having a maximum budget in place will prevent you from running out of money before the project is complete.

When deciding on the launch date, it’s best that you leave yourself room to breathe and set daily (or weekly) objectives.

And keep in mind that no matter how much time you spend planning this strategy, things are bound to go wrong so be prepared to adapt.

On a final note, l eave yourself some wiggle room - on both your budget and the time table.

Step 9: Decide how you'll measure success
Now before you get to work, you need to establish some rules on how you’ll

measure the success of your video campaign.
Start by ensuring that you have a data collection system firmly in place that will

gather metrics from all your distribution channels.

You can use viewer data and similar stats form your industry, but remember to consider all variables including the concept, your audience, distribution and the execution of your video.

When studying your video’s data, make sure to compare it with other data from the broader industry.

It’s also a good idea to include both quantitative and qualitative benchmarks based on your business niche.

Step 10: Go do it!

By following the steps above, you have ensured that you have a soundproof marketing strategy. Half the job is done, but you still have to produce the whole thing.

If you’re outsourcing, make sure you keep a tight leash on the producing team to ensure that the end result is exactly what you envisioned.

Get to work! Conclusion

We really hope this guide helped you create a stellar video marketing strategy thatwillbedecisiveine ncouragingthegrowthofyourlocalbusiness.

Video marketing is a wonderful tool, so get busy showcasing your local services or products with it. If you find the time, consider sharing your results with us via email!