Grow Relationships and Revenue with Video Marketing

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — When it comes to making a personal connection with an audience and engaging potential customers, nothing works quite like video marketing.

That was the message during a webinar Thursday sponsored by The Business Journal’s Business Strategies Video Network. Jeff Herrmann, chief revenue officer, and Jeremy Lydic, content manager, offered their thoughts on the importance of video marketing as well as some strategies that small-business owners can put into practice right now.

“Businesses are using video as a marketing tool,” Herrmann said. “And it’s been proven to increase sales – 76% of businesses say it helps them increase sales.”

The most important first step is to commit to getting started, Herrmann said, and mobile devices make it easier than ever to shoot good quality video that can be quickly edited and uploaded.

For companies that want a more professional, polished final product, hiring a video production team or marketing agency is the way to go, he said. But for those who are just starting out, a smartphone can provide everything they need.

“We’re walking around with a Hollywood studio in our hands,” he said. “We literally can produce, publish and promote our video content with our Hollywood studio right in our hand.”

A few tips for shooting video include blocking the shot and ensuring the background is clean, professional and not distracting; setting up the smartphone or camera so the subject is facing natural light; and making sure the camera is at eye level, Herrmann said.

If using a smartphone, Lydic advised shooting with a horizontal, or landscape orientation.

“Nine times out of 10, if you’re taking a picture, it’s pretty common to hold it vertical. That’s just the natural way people hold their [smartphone],” Lydic said. “You need to make the conscious effort to turn your phone horizontal to get that nice panoramic shot because that’s the way it’s going to naturally show up on any video player on the websites, YouTube, anything like that.”

Herrmann cautioned viewers to not put all of their video marketing efforts into social media. While social platforms provide a great way to reach targeted audiences, he said social networks like Facebook and search platforms like Google are for-profit entities that can make it challenging to get organic video views alongside brands that are paying for an extra promotional push.

“If you wholesale your strategy to social, you will inevitably get burned,” Herrmann said. “Yes, social media is an important distribution tool and communication tool. However, as they say, ‘Don’t build on rented land.’ ”

Ultimately, social platforms should be used as a means to draw traffic back to a landing page or website of a company, Lydic added. Doing so allows business owners to provide their customers an opportunity to connect directly with them, either through a downloadable document or a contact form.

“They’re highways, right? They’re not the end of the road,” Lydic said. “The end of the road is your website, your landing page, your products, your services; where you and the customer finally connect. Facebook and Google are just ways to get there.”

To hear more from Herrmann and Lydic, watch the video above. And for more informative webinars, visit BusinessJournalDaily.com/webinars.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.