Small Business Videos
Video is one of the easiest ways to create engaging content that gives your audience an instant connection to your business. The trick, however, is to make sure that your video actually tells a story and keeps your customer watching. Luckily, there are a few tricks to make sure you’re on track to an interesting and compelling small business video.
A Quick Note About The Preparation of Your Small Business Video
Balancing preparation and improvisation in your small business video is key to getting the tone right. You don’t want to sound over-rehearsed and wooden, like a third-grader reading a book report. At the same time, you don’t want to ramble or give the impression that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Different techniques will work for different people—after all, we all have different styles of learning and remembering things. If it’s a face-in-front-of-the-camera monologue style of video, you probably don’t need to script it within an inch of its life. Plan a beginning, a middle, and an end, and maybe write out bullet points for the key things you want to touch on. If it’s helpful, write down some phrases or terms you want to make sure you cover.
Practice makes perfect, so when you’re starting out, do a dry run and take the time to watch it. Better yet, watch it with a friend, so you can discuss it with someone with an outside perspective. Make some adjustments, and try again.
You can’t fix everything at once, and you’ll get better as you keep doing it. Be patient with yourself and work on one thing at a time.
Remember, too, that a camera records light. Good lighting is the best way to make a video instantly look more professional. Take the time to play with the lighting available to you in your shooting environment, and remember that good natural light is almost always the way to go.
1. The Explainer or How-To Small Business Video
If you’re like most small businesses, you’ve based your company on your expertise in a particular area or industry. An explainer or how-to video is a quick way to make content by sharing your knowledge about a topic that you know well. It’s compelling because the audience arrives with a clear goal: to learn a new skill or piece of information.
An important thing to keep in mind when shooting a how-to video is keeping your hands free if you need them while keeping what you’re doing in the shot. Getting a good tripod can be a big help here.
2. The Behind-the-Scenes Video
One of the great strengths of video is the ability to bring an audience with you and show them something they’ve never seen before. For small businesses, it gives you the chance to make your business personal. Going behind the scenes to show us the people who make everything possible, and the hard work that they do, makes your employees feel special and lets your audience know you better than ever.
With a behind-the-scenes video, make sure you’re telling a specific story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Keep in mind that things that feel like business-as-usual for you can make for compelling content for your viewers. Look at the success of shows like Restaurant Impossible or 7 Days Out to see how this kind of subject matter can make for an amazing story.
3. Live Video for Small business
Facebook, Snapchat Stories, Instagram, and more have some version of a live video feature. Twitch is another platform built entirely on live streaming. This kind of video can make for extremely compelling storytelling because it lets your audience feel the rush of being present for an event that they’d otherwise miss.
Your next live video opportunity could be an event your small business is putting on, or a milestone like shipping your 1000th order. Simple as it may sound, the key to a good live video is making sure there’s a good reason for it to be live. If it’s something to get excited about, your audience will share in that excitement.
4. The Personal Story
The old saying that “people buy from people” is one of the main reasons why video is such an effective marketing tool. It lets you get up-close and personal. If something about your product or service has a personal story attached to it, consider making a video about it and sharing it with your audience.
5. The Customer Testimonial Small Business Video
Customer testimonials are some of the most convincing content you can put out there for those thinking of making a purchase decision, and video lets your audience see the people behind the words. It also makes your customers feel a little like celebrities, which makes it easier to persuade them to speak up in the first place. Seth Godin’s concept of building a tribe is all about encouraging your customers to identify with each other and with your brand, and creating this type of content helps do that.
What You Can Do Right Now to Start Creating Engaging Small Business Videos
No matter what type of small business video content you create, remember that in order to be compelling to an audience, it has to tell a story. Always make sure you have a strong idea of the story you’re trying to tell with the video you are about to shoot, and the rest of your decisions will be simple.
- Do the right amount of preparation for your video.
- Pay attention to lighting before you shoot.
- Use how-to or explainer videos to share your expertise.
- Make a behind-the-scenes video to give customers a personal perspective on your small business.
- Go live to share an important event or milestone.
- Tell a personal story to get customers invested.
- Convince your audience with testimonials from customers.
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