Video for Small Business: 7 Ways to Boost Your Brand [Examples]

By now you’ve probably heard all about how video can help your business. You might already be making videos, or at the very least, you know why you should (if not, check out our list of the numerous reasons why video should be a top priority).

If you’re now wondering how to use video to market your business, we’re here to help you get started. We’ve rounded up a list of seven different ways your small business should be using video (with examples), so you can get started in the right direction!

1. Introduce Yourself and Explain What You Do

Some of the best small business videos are a simple hello. Try adding a video to your homepage that simply outlines what you do and what problem you solve for your customers. Even better, keep it under 90 seconds.

You’ll find this is a lot more effective than trying to cram these same explanations into the headline and first paragraph of your home page… all while struggling to keep everything above the fold.

The combination of both audio and visual stimulation in video makes describing complex concepts much easier—and easier to understand.

Take advantage of this by adding a few in-depth videos that explain the details of your product features or the different services you offer for viewers to discover once they’re hooked. These can live on a separate section of your website, drawing viewers in for further education to help them decide to buy.

This original video from Mango Languages is a great example of a short explainer video that introduces what the company does and speaks to a problem and solution.

2. Highlight Social Proof

If you’re doing your job right, your biggest brand advocates should be your customers. So why not get them in front of a camera and share what it is that makes them love your product and your company so much?

First-hand accounts are much more effective for your audience than hearing the same people from your company do the same pitch over and over again. In fact, 46% of adults in the U.S. say they trust consumer-written online reviews, while only 10% trust ads on websites and 9% have faith in written messages from brands, according to research from Forrester.

And let me tell you: video customer testimonials are way more believable than the standard, one-line blurb.
It’s the difference between this:

“I couldn’t believe what ABC company did for my wedding!” – Sally, NYC

And this:

Know what I mean?

3. Empower Your Experts to Educate Your Audience

One of the most effective ways to position your company as a leader in your space is to get your own leaders in front of a camera sharing their knowledge and educating your audience.

A great example of this is Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays, a video series that CEO and Co-Founder Rand Fishkin created when the company was just starting out.

You don’t have to be a tech company for this to apply to you, though. You might share what to look for when buying a house, how to save money for retirement, or tips for interior decorating! Whatever your niche, share your knowledge and make your expertise known.

River Pools, a pool construction company in the U.S., has a library of more than a hundred videos that show off their employees’ expertise and answer searchers’ questions about pools: How much they cost, how to maintain them, how much dirt comes out when installing one in-ground, and more. Their educational-focused video strategy has helped them more than double their annual flow of leads and increase the size of their dealer network by 5x.

4. Show Off Your Culture

You’ve probably heard about “culture content” before, but what is it really? It’s content that shows what makes your business unique.

Believe it or not, coming across as human plays a big role in your buyer’s decision and culture videos contribute to that. Buyers want to relate to who they’re buying from, something that’s especially true for small businesses. It can be the difference between them signing a deal with you or your biggest competitor.

That’s why you need to show off who you are and what your company is all about. It could take the form of quick chats with people on your team or cutting together a montage of the company picnic.

The Vidyard team made this fun, throwback video for April Fools’ Day and our audience loved it. It’s the kind of fun, personality-filled content that helps people connect.

5. Share Your Origin Story

This is particularly relevant for small businesses, even more so than larger corporations. Similar to culture content, people are often very interested in how the organization they spend their money on was founded. Oh and also… people love stories. It’s in our DNA.

The Founders Brewing Company’s “The Story” video is a great example of this. They found the perfect balance between telling their story, sharing where they came from, and making it relevant to their customers and employees.

6. Blog in the Medium Your Audience Craves

Did you know that 72% of people would rather watch a video to learn about a topic they’re interested in than read text on the same page?

It’s time to add more of your audience’s preferred content to your blog to get them coming back for more. Video blogs, also known as Vlogs, don’t have a Hollywood production budget.

Record a video blog with your webcam while sitting in your office or a meeting room. Or even use your phone to record some thoughts while you’re walking down the street!

Not sure where to get started? Free video creation tools like the Vidyard Chrome extension allow you to create, track, and share videos from your desktop or mobile device with three clicks of a button. The Calgary based company Helcim uses vlogs to show off their company culture while providing a resource to their customers.

7. Thank Your Customers

Loyalty is critical to the sustainability of your business. Keep your customers around by making them feel appreciated. Send them a reminder every so often that you’re thankful for them and their support in the form of a personal video!

This type of video definitely doesn’t have to be high production value either, in fact, rough around the edges comes across as more authentic and off-the-cuff.

Check out one of the videos that Gunjan Marwah on Vidyard’s Customer Success team made for one of her newest accounts.

Looking for some more inspiration before creating your next video? Visit our Inspiration Hub for tons more great examples showing how companies just like yours are using video.