How Small Businesses Can Use Video Marketing to Grow

Video marketing has become a massive part of the small business landscape and everyday life. This is to say that if you run a small business, effective small business video marketing can be the difference between massive success and stagnation.

Small business video content can be intimidating, though, especially if you’re just starting out. There are so many different kinds of small business video content, and they all have different purposes. That means it can feel overwhelming to start from zero and expect to get to a hundred.

At Explainify, we have your back. We’re here to teach you about small business video marketing campaigns and small business video content—we’ll break down the hows, whats, and whys of successful video marketing for business, and by the end of this article, you’ll be well on your way to taking your small business to the next level with a successful small business video marketing campaign.

What is Video Marketing?

Before we start to break down effective small business video content, we need to first actually clarify what video marketing is and what kind of small business video content makes up an effective small business video marketing campaign.

So, video marketing is exactly what it sounds like: it’s digital marketing that people view via websites like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc., or can be embedded into your website.

Most of the time, a compelling small business video is relatively short, concise, and to the point. They build up a brand, product, or service. They also aim to educate and inform, showcase products and help build a brand’s story and customer awareness and loyalty.

We have a great video marketing guide if you’re curious and want to go more in-depth.

Video marketing for business is cyclical, self-referential, and ever-evolving. Most of the time, you’re not creating simply one small business video. You’re making a whole suite of small business video content that constantly builds off the previous video and the loyalty you’ve been building up through a very carefully laid out process. The cycle for small business video marketing can be referred to as a “funnel”—because you are trying to funnel potential customers from a “top-down” approach from broader hype videos to things like confessionals and product demonstration videos, finally ending in conversion, and loyalty, and then starting the funnel again.

Each video in a funnel builds off the last and is in conversation with not only your videos but the small business video marketing landscape at large, as well as—most importantly—your potential customers.

Luckily we have a guide that breaks down more about marketing funnels, and how to create an effective video marketing funnel.

So, we’ve talked about what a small business video is and how it drives customers. Let’s now talk about the different kinds of small business video content. We’ll explain them all in detail, as well as how they can be practical tools for your small business video marketing.

The main types of videos you’ll see in small business video content are brand videos, explainer videos, and, last but not least, product videos.

We’ve listed these different types of videos in this order for a reason, too. Generally speaking, in an effective small business video marketing funnel, these videos will appear in this order. The build-up from brand videos to explainer videos to product videos makes the most sense.

Why Video Marketing?

So you have a good idea of what video marketing is now, but why would you use small business video content in your marketing campaigns?

Well, as we alluded to, video content is huge.

Last year, in 2020, nearly 85% of businesses featured video marketing in their marketing strategies. That’s a massive jump of 24% in four years since 2016. And even more than that, 99% of those businesses said they’d continue to use video content in their marketing (Oberlo, 2021). So, video content is here to stay, and arguably, expected of businesses small and large. If you don’t use it, you could easily be left behind.

Another interesting statistic relates to user-generated videos/content, aka UGC.

UGC gets up to ten times as many views as branded content on YouTube, and studies show that users who visit a site via UGC end up spending twice as much time on those websites. It also does a great job of converting that time spent on the site to sales, with chances of those visitors making a purchase 184% higher (and spending 45% more) than people who don’t visit sites via UGC. (Oberlo, 2021)

While 80% of marketing experts agree that the RoI for video content is impressive, 80% state that video content has directly led to more sales, and 83% state that it leads to more leads (Oberlo, 2021). So, needless to say, video content is great for marketing.

By 2022, it’s expected that 82% of online traffic will be video content, and consumers say that they retain information 95% better if it’s delivered via video. Video content is here to stay, and it’s essential. (Social Media Week)

Types of Small Business Video Content

So we’ve covered what small business video marketing is and why it can be so vital for your small business, backing it up with hard numbers and proof.

Let’s talk about the type of videos you can make for an effective small business video marketing campaign: brand videos, explainer videos, and product videos. We’ll break down each of these types of videos in detail, show you examples of them all, and help you learn why they can be so effective for small business video marketing.

Brand Videos

We’re going to go in what’s generally agreed as chronological order for a successful digital marketing funnel, so we’re going to start with brand videos.

Brand videos introduce a brand, or a rebrand, to audiences who may not know anything about a brand, know of a brand name but don’t know much about it, or even have a negative opinion of a brand that you want to correct.

Brand videos are used at the start of a video marketing for a business campaign because you’re not trying to explicitly sell someone a product at the start of a campaign. You’re selling them on your brand, first and foremost.

Any successful business video campaign, especially a small business video campaign is about building trust with your audience, and you need to first get them on board with your brand.

Brand videos can be especially useful if you’re just starting and you have to build from the ground up, or if your brand doesn’t exactly explain itself in one easy-to-understand sentence.

For example, a brand like Kleenex mostly explains itself. People know how tissues work. A brand like Charmin works because, like tissue, people know how toilet paper works. Those brands then have to show how their products differ from others and sell themselves as better.

You may not have that luxury, and you may be starting from a place in which you have to explain what it is your brand does, especially if you have a service, rather than a physical product, or even if you have a product, if you’re simply very niche or new.

You build trust by creating a compelling narrative, a story that people can latch onto and believe in. Show the humans behind the brand, and compel your audience to trust in those humans.

Let’s take a look at an example of a great, effective brand video.

Code.org is in the position of having to explain itself to people. Its mission statement, essentially, boils down to this: It is an organization that advocates for the importance of learning coding at a young age and empowering young people through learning code. This is something that, as the video title implies, a lot of youth miss out on in school simply because of things like budget constraints in their schools or lack of qualified teachers to teach the subject in school. There are, of course, some kids who are lucky enough to be offered this valuable tool in their curriculums, but many aren’t afforded that luxury.

In the case of Code.org, its mission statement is pretty simple and digestible. What Code.org has to do is justify why its mission statement and its existence are important. This can be another type of brand video you may see and you may have to make: justifying why you, and your brand, are essential. You need to persuade people to get passionate about what you’re passionate about, and what your brand stands for. In a way, you have to justify to people why you exist and why they ought to care about you.

What Code.org does so well in this video utilizes the power of celebrity and the power of experts. It features prominent people like Bill Gates, of Microsoft fame, and Gabe Newell, the founder of Valve, arguably the largest video game company in the world. These people practically eat, sleep, and breathe coding, and they can speak passionately and honestly about the importance of coding.

Getting these huge names in technology also implicitly shows the importance of coding: that with a solid education in coding, you can become incredibly well-off, and there’s endless opportunity to succeed with such a vital skill as coding.

The video also very smartly features people whom you wouldn’t traditionally think of knowing to code as well.

In the video, someone says “It’s a lot like learning a sport…” and then it transitions to Chris Bosh, a basketball Hall-of-Famer, who says, “I know it can be intimidating, a lot of things are intimidating, you know, but what isn’t?”

This is smart, as it shows that, yes, coding can be a lot to take in, but with proper education, and support, it’s worth it, and all of these people can attest to that. The inclusion of Chris Bosh shows that coding isn’t just something you need to use as a means to get a job in tech, but it’s a valuable life skill.

The video then transitions to someone else saying that a lot of the time, coding is used to solve simple problems, and several people stress that coding is all about practice—like any skill, the more you do something, the easier it gets.

“You don’t have to be a genius to code. Do you have to be a genius to read?” is a great quote in the video to help ease worries. The speaker then breaks down that coding is not just about technology. It’s a valuable skill used in many fields, like agriculture, entertainment, manufacturing, and other industries. This highlights just how valuable it can be to learn to code, how coding can help you grow as a person, and open up so many opportunities in any job field.

Code.org’s mission statement is “Anybody Can Learn.” It wants to demystify coding and open it up to a wide range of new people who haven’t had the opportunity to learn to code due partially to schooling limitations and the general fear that coding may be too hard for a lot of people.

Brilliantly, the video addresses these concerns and breaks them down using experts in the field, and people who know how to code, to help alleviate those concerns. They also show coding footage to help people envision what coding really looks like and then end with a call-to-action to tie everything together and engage with their audience.

There is another type of brand video, as well. And that brand video is used to shape a brand within cultural conversations.

We’ve featured this brand video in a few of our articles, and for good reason. It shifts focus away from Nike and onto people; it showcases people’s determination, vitality, and sheer will. Throughout the video, it also brilliantly highlights diverse bodies, not just able-bodied people.

This brand video does not explicitly showcase Nike, which is a genius way to raise brand awareness. It creates a story of togetherness, unity, and determination. It showcases the human spirit and, importantly, showcases equality; it showcases determination regardless of disability, race, gender, ethnicity, and more. Splitting each clip of athleticism in half creates a sense of equal footing for everyone involved in a dynamic, compelling way.

This is an example of brand awareness through social change, and getting involved in an ongoing conversation.

Lastly, another great brand video idea is a narration of how your brand came to be: a simple story of how your brand started, the people behind it, and where it’s going. You can even tell a story of your employees or team: what makes them unique, who they are, why this brand matters to them. When it comes to brand stories, it’s all about highlighting the human side of your brand and raising awareness of your brand through stories and connections.

Explainer Videos

Explainer videos help people understand products, services, or ideas in clear, concise ways. Explainer videos are great to use in small business video marketing campaigns after you’ve established your brand. You need to explain to people what it is about you that stands out or explain to people something that may need clarifying.

This ObamaCare explainer video from TurboTax is an example of a great explainer video that helps clarify to people what may initially seem complex and hard-to-understand.

The explainer video uses slick animation to help visualize concepts and reinforce points. Many know that visualization is a great way for people to learn and retain knowledge. It also helps keep the video fresh and interesting.

Animated video content is huge, and we have a guide on how animated video content can help convert potential customers.

This explainer video also does a great job for TurboTax of helping clarify to people ObamaCare and how it affects taxes. It positions TurboTax as a product and brand to trust when it comes to helping people understand the nuances of how ObamaCare affects their taxes.

What a good, effective explainer video does is just that: it not only helps explain something to people, but it also positions your product/service, and your brand, as trustworthy and knowledgeable.

Product Videos

Product videos, generally, are used towards the end of a small business video content cycle after you’ve already introduced people to your brand and explained what it is that either sets you apart or used an explainer video to help explain things that need explaining to people.

Product videos are great ways to then showcase your products, and what makes them unique compared to their competitors.

These can take the forms of demonstration videos, hype videos for products, animated product videos if your products are digital, or have features that aren’t exactly viewable via in-person demonstrations, like, say, a laundry detergent or cleaning product. You can see how a laundry detergent gets things cleans with a before and after, obviously, but maybe you want to use animation to show the actual process of how your product cleans.

This product video by Dollar Shave Club is great because it almost eschews everything about product videos, not featuring the product at all. What it does feature is what makes Dollar Shave Club unique, though: its subscription model, and how cheap it is. It sells its subscription service, and not having to remember to buy over-expensive razors at the store every time you run out. It sells ease-of-use. It sells it, very smartly, with humor. Don’t be afraid to be funny or irreverent! The best videos, of any kind, are memorable because they make us feel: whether it’s tugging at our heartstrings or making us laugh. The video gets its point across, too. The message isn’t lost on us. It’s delivered in a fun, fresh way.

This style of humor may not apply to your product video if you do need to spend time showing off your product, showcasing it, and making it stand out, but using humor is definitely an approach that’s proved to work before, and it’s not like you can’t have multiple product videos, or any of the types of video marketing for business videos that have multiple voices, and styles.

Final Thoughts about Small Business Video Marketing

We’ve explained small business video marketing can take your small business to the next level and grow, and shown you examples of small business video content that works.

Hopefully, you’ve learned more about small business video marketing and it’s not as intimidating as it was before you read this article. If you’re interested in more information, we also have this video marketing guide!

Even with this helpful guide and guides like it, video marketing for business can be a big undertaking, especially for a small business, with limited time, resources, and money.

That’s where Explainify can help, regardless of how much input you need. Do you simply need a bit of help to clarify things or a fresh set of eyes to look over your content or strategy? Do you have an idea, but you don’t know where to begin to get it off the ground? Do you need a holistic brand strategy and video content? We can offer all of those things!

All you need to do is schedule a call with us and after only a few short minutes, you’ll be well on your way to growing your small business with an incredible suite of small business video marketing content!