The market is more competitive than ever, which means start-ups and new – often small – businesses must work twice, three times as hard to gain traction. In such a competitive market, any edge you can get over the competitors will help keep you ahead.
While there are a lot of internet marketing instruments and strategies you can use to help attract customers and increase use acquisition, video marketing is as effective as it gets.
There are a lot of ways you can use videos to boost your start-up’s overall performance in the market. Whether you’re trying to attract new users or you want to make your products and services known, here are some ideas to consider.
An awesome intro video
Every good YouTube channel and video marketing campaign needs a cool introduction video; the same can be said for start-ups. While it is common to make a product introduction video and share it as soon as possible to gain traction, there is actually a more personal approach that will work even better.
You start by introducing the people behind the brand or the company. This adds a personal feel to the brand as well as the product you’re releasing. Let the audience know how exciting it is to be part of the company.
Share stories about product development. Let employees of the company talk about what it is like to work for your start-up. Don’t forget to say a few words yourself too. Introduce the audience to the people, not the brand, and you’ll find video marketing to be far more effective than you think.
A clear product video
While it is tempting to explain everything about the cool product that you have been developing for months in a 30-minute video, the best way to go is to keep every video you produce as short and concise as possible, including your main product video. Today’s viewers have a very short attention span. Unless the video is very interesting, not many viewers will stay beyond the 3rd minute.
There is a way to make your product video clear without making it too long, and that is by splitting it into multiple videos. You start with one video explaining the product overview. You then release additional videos that focus on details or individual features of the products. Be sure to link all of these videos too.
You can, for instance, use YouTube’s annotation feature or YouTube Cards to direct viewers to the detailed videos. When the videos are published on your website, you can also use overlays and other HTML5 elements to tie the information together.
Focus on a story
A lot of start-ups make the mistake of focusing on exposure and numbers. While it is awesome to get 10 million viewers and to go viral, the impact of such a large number of views is what really counts. Do the 10 million views convert into real customers or users? Does going viral add value to the brand?
Focus on building a strong relationship with the audience; with your users. You do this by adding a story to every video you make. One of the main reasons why viewers come back for more videos is because they’re looking forward to the next part of the story.
There are a lot of opportunities to add a story to your videos too. Diamond View Studios, a known Tampa video production company, once turned an advertisement concept for a brand into a short movie that viewers actually enjoy. The transformation was done by adding a story to the video itself; one that the audience can relate to.
One of the best things about running a start-up is that you have so many stories to tell. The story on how you came up with the idea for the product or how the product has influenced the lives of other people can all be converted into something that the audience really enjoys.
A series and not a burst
One essential tip to remember when it comes to video marketing is that you need to produce a consistent series of videos. Consistency is the key to building a strong relationship with your audience. It is what makes a lot of YouTube channels grow to be the big audience base that they are right now.
While releasing five videos at once will get you a lot of views over a short period of time, releasing one video per week for five weeks is the way to build the relationship. With careful content planning, good production value and the tips we just discussed in this article, you will have no trouble at all using videos as instruments to boost your start-up.