As a small business, it’s difficult to compete with established brands when it comes to customer reach and brand awareness. In this digital age, building a strong online presence will help you grow your brand and be recognized.
Social media has been a part of many businesses’ digital marketing strategies. People use social media every day to socialize, be entertained, and be informed. Statistics showed 420 billion people are active on social media as of the first quarter of 2020. About 1.3 million new users joined social media every day in the same year.
The social media landscape, however, is constantly changing. You have to keep up with the trends to ensure you’re making the most of your strategy. One key trend you should consider is using videos in your marketing strategy.
Why Video Is Vital in Your Online Marketing
More businesses are using video to promote their brand and showcase their products and services. A survey shows 86 percent of businesses use video as a marketing tool. This trend is likely to grow because 69 percent of non-video marketers plan to include video in their marketing strategy in 2021.
Ninety-three percent of marketers consider video as an important part of their marketing strategy. Video marketing helps business increase their website traffic. Marketers also share visitors spend more time on the website after they’ve used video as a marketing tool.
Creating video content helps your customers understand your products or services. The survey revealed 96 percent of people learn more about a product or service by watching an explainer video. Meanwhile, 84 percent of consumers buy a product or service after watching a brand’s video. The majority of consumers also prefer watching a short video to learn about a product or service compared to reading a text-based article.
Using Video as a Marketing Tool
Video is an effective marketing tool, especially when done right. People watch 18 hours of online video on average per week. They are likely to share your videos with their friends and family through different social media platforms. This helps in expanding your reach and increase brand awareness.
Start your video marketing by posting your video content on major social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. Create explainer videos that help your target customers understand your products or services. If you’re selling desserts, for example, show how you make your delicious treats on your videos. You can also share the supplier of your mango puree for your mango cheesecake or where you get your fresh produce.
You can share your videos on your Facebook and Instagram pages as a post or as a story. Stories are an underrated feature for many businesses and marketers. But they are an excellent way to interact with followers, especially on Instagram. It has interactive functions you can use, such as question box, voting, and product stickers, among others.
Make sure to post videos on YouTube, as well. As the largest video search engine in the world, it can significantly expand your reach and exposure. According to YouTube, more than two billion logged-in users visit the platform every month. Over 70 percent of users watch videos on YouTube using their mobile devices.
It’s crucial to stay updated with the trends on social media. Not only you should know about the algorithm changes, but also the new apps that people are using. TikTok, for example, has become one of the most popular apps in the last two years. In the US alone, TikTok has 100 million monthly users.
As a business owner or a marketer, you want to expose your brand where most people are. Advertising on TikTok, however, can be tricky. Here are five ways you can get your message across the platform.
- Hop in on trends quickly
- Follow your followers
- Use video creation tools
- Tell stories
- Experiment with your content
Lastly, another way to use video as a marketing tool is by live streaming. This is not only for gaming. Live shopping has been a trend among online shops where brands sell their products during a live broadcast. In 2019, live shopping has generated $60 billion in global sales. Amazon also launched Amazon Live that lets sellers promote their products through live streams.
Social media marketing is a vital part of running a small business. But it requires careful planning to make the most of your efforts and budget. Knowing what kind of content to produce helps you achieve your goal and grow your brand.