How to Create an Effective Promo Video for Your Small Business

Sharon and Fred, a couple who own a movie production and web development business in Canada, probably didn’t plan for all the attention they got after creating a promotional video. Instead of attracting customers who wanted their services, the video attracted a whole different crowd.

If you type “worst promotional video ever” into Google, you’ll probably see Sharon and Fred’s “Who Needs a Movie?” at the top of the list.

The video is wildly popular, but clearly not a stunning endorsement of the couple’s movie-making skills. What can you do to avoid the same mistakes? Follow these tips to make an eye-popping promotional video for your company’s content marketing strategy.

Do I Have To?

Video? Isn’t it expensive? No. Isn’t it complicated? Not necessarily. Do I have to use it? Yes. Why? Here’s why: Online video accounts for 50 percent of mobile Web traffic now and that number is expected to rise. Nearly 70 percent of Internet traffic will come from video by 2017.

Promotional emails that contain the word “video” in the subject line are 19 percent more likely to be opened than those that don’t.Videos increase the time people spend on your website. They help your search engine ranking. You still need written content and infographics, but video is a marketing tool you can’t push to the back and hope it goes away.

I’m Convinced. Where do I Start?

Plan, plan, plan. Like any other advertising campaign, video marketing needs an objective. It’s not a “make one video” and you’re done kind of thing. Define your audience and create your video with your targeted audience in mind. Have a clear, single objective for each video. What do you want to achieve? Do you need to get your business name out there? Do you have a new product in the works? How about a sales promotion? Do you need to build your reputation? Create a publishing schedule and space video releases out to keep your brand fresh.​

Here’s a list of the most effective uses of video for small business:

• Promote Content: If you have written content, a video to encourage downloads is often effective.
• Product or Market Overview: It doesn’t matter if your business is B2B or targets consumers, a video that answers the age old “What’s it do for me?” is sublime.
• Tutorials: How-to’s and tutorials are some of the most popular and successful ways to use video. Sell flooring to do-it-yourselfers? Demonstrate how to install it. Use video to answer common questions about your service or products.
• Testimonials: Customer testimonial videos are great tools to develop trust.
• Promotions: Use video to build up excitement about an upcoming event or new product release.

Your video has to offer viewers something of value, whether it’s how to use your product or testimonials proving your worth.

Your video doesn’t have to look like it was created by a team of professional videographers, and it doesn’t have to be expensive.

To be effective, a video has to do the following: grab viewers’ attention, spark their interest, create desire within and spur them to find out more with a precise call-to-action. Your video isn’t a television commercial. Instead, it’s a chance to tell your story.

Making It Work

Now that you have a clear goal in mind, take a step back. One of the most appealing things about video is that, done the right way, it can make your business stand out from the rest. It can personalize your business and show off your expertise. And, it can do all of this in less than two minutes.

In fact, your video should be two minutes or less. That’s right, viewers won’t sit and watch a 20-minute video.

Keep your video short. Think about the message you want to convey and how you can get the word out in a concise and appealing way. Let your business and personal personality shine.

What sometimes gets lost in the excitement of creating a video is the reason you’re making it in the first place – to promote your business. If you have a great video but customers don’t know the name of your business or how to contact you after they watch, you wasted your time and money. Don’t forget to brand your video and link back to your website and social media pages.​

So, what about Sharon and Fred? Is it possible they made one of the worst promotional videos ever on purpose? It could be. They did get a lot of attention. But, movie makers promoting their services with a bad video is probably not the best way to find new customers. It’s great to surprise and amuse your viewers with eye-popping video, but make sure you always show your best side.