YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world. Google, who owns YouTube, is the first most used search engine. This makes YouTube extremely important in any digital marketing plan, hence why the research from EMarketer was not particularly shocking.

More than 80% of markets use videos on their own websites.

Personally when I first read that statistic, I thought to myself “yes, but that is what the Big-Time Pros do, not us little local businesses.” However, that is no longer true. That’s exactly why we recently upgraded our offices here in Euless to now house our green screen studio. We knew how important video marketing has become and how much small business owners need it more than ever.

In their report, eMarketing made the following conclusion that I believe deserves some conversation:

The report found that user-generated videos were contributing to the increasing number of overall videos produced and disseminated on sharing sites and social media platforms. It concluded, however, that these types of videos were less effective as marketing tools than professionally produced videos with higher production values.

Read more at http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Barriers-Tumble-Video-Marketing-Adoption-Grows/1010374#AXmpybP3kjgoUXy7.99

Essentially what they are saying here is that back in the old days of 2010 it was far more acceptable to just take some basic videos with your iPhone and upload them. These days people want to see a bit higher of quality video, it adds weight to your credibility and reputability. Here are a few tips to help you along the way:

#1 Buy a HD camcorder. This does not have to be some fancy, expensive one, just make sure that it is HD quality. (I did a quick search on Amazon and found one for $178.)

#2 Write a script. It is important to know what you are going to say in advance. It’s all about the 5 P’s: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

#3 Use an external microphone if possible. It will reduce miscellaneous noise.

#4 Use video editing software so that you can put an intro and outro in the video.

Below are some great video marketing tips by Social Media Examiner that I think you will find quite useful.

Actionable Marketing Tips: via Mobile Social Media Exploding According to New Research | Social Media Examiner.

When developing your video strategy, think about where your customers are in the sales process (their “customer journey”) and then create several videos that align with the different stages:

• For brand awareness, you should have a video to introduce potential customers to your brand or service.
• When they decide that they want to know more about your brand, consider offering them a “solutions overview” video to address some of their challenges.
• Toward the end of the customer journey, you should have several product videos to demonstrate how your product works or what benefits it offers. Don’t forget, you can’t share features (what something is) without sharing the benefits (how it will help their problem).

Cisco makes over 1000 videos per year, just to make sure that their prospects understand the product throughout all phases of their customer journey.

As a small business do not think that you have to compete with Cisco and make 1000 videos a year, but you may want to consider trying to make one video a month to start.

Remember, marketing is like planting a seed, you have to commit to nurture it consistently to be able to yield results.

Here is a simple video that we made in our studio here:

Do you do video marketing of any kind? Share links to your marketing videos in the comment section below, we would love to see what your business is up to.

If you would like to discuss having some videos made in our local studio please feel free to contact us. We have all of the tools needed to produce a nice looking promotional video for you. We will help you with advise on a script and even remind you not to wear green.