(By guest blogger Sharon Redd) In the year 2023, video marketing has become an essential part of running a successful small business. This is represented in research conducted by Blogging Wizard, which states that up to 86% of businesses regularly use video marketing in their promotional efforts, and 94% plan to continue using it in the foreseeable future. In addition to promoting products in a visually appealing way, videos help to educate customers on products and create lasting brand awareness. In this article, we’ll explore a step-by-step process on how to use video marketing for your small business. 

Set a Video Marketing Budget 

When creating a budget for your video marketing efforts, remember to include all major expenses, such as the cost of hiring a crew, expenses related to editing, renting locations, licensing fees, and more. Additionally, take into consideration the time investment for the project. Long-form content will require multiple days of shoot, while short-form content can be recorded within a few hours. 

One of the best ways to reduce shooting costs will be to record content using your phone. With innovations in technology, the camera on your mobile is powerful enough to record high-quality marketing videos, helping you save hundreds on camera and crew rentals. 

Having a budget will help keep the cost of the project in check and ensure you receive the best return on investment from your video marketing activities. 

Find the Right Platform for Your Videos

While YouTube has remained a mainstay as the biggest platform to share and view videos on, numerous social media platforms are quickly catching up, such as:

• Facebook: If the focus of your video marketing efforts is to make long-form content, Facebook will be the go-to medium. The platform has users from all age groups i.e. baby boomers to millennials, making it a good place to promote your products or services.

• Instagram: While one can publish long-form content on Instagram as well, the smarter option will be to limit videos to a maximum of 2-4 minutes. When making reels, try to limit videos to 30 seconds. This is because users of this app prefer to consistently scroll and glance through content rather than take a deep dive into it. Hence, make sure your video starts with a hook and is to the point.

• TikTok: For businesses whose primary customers are millennials and young adults, TikTok should be the main platform to publish videos. As reported by BCN, 32% of all TikTok users, amounting to 100 million, are individuals aged between 24 -32 years from the United States. However, unlike the previous two platforms, the content in TikTok is much shorter, about 30 seconds to a minute in length, and often reliant on topical trends and influencers. 

Include Infographics in Your Videos 

Including infographics in videos helps to break up large chunks of information into easy-to-digest content. This is perfect for creating content on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, where users will spend a handful of seconds looking at your content. When including infographics, remember to use contrasting colors to the background and fonts, which make the content stand out. If you’re looking for the best way to create infographics for your marketing videos, this site could be helpful. 

Optimize Videos for SEO

Regardless of whether you upload videos to your homepage, blog, or social media handles, it’s important to optimize it for SEO through the following ways:

1. Include the video’s keyword(s) in the title, meta description, and alt text. This allows Google and other search engines to understand what the video is about and rank it higher on their search results.

2. Add a concise description of the video, making it easy for users to understand its context and learn important points within a single glance.

When it comes to creating a successful video marketing campaign, the key is to choose the right medium, include infographics in your videos, and follow the best SEO practices for optimization. If you're worried about overspending in this department, take the time to create a sound budget before starting this project.

Sharon Redd created Live All the Way to help others live life to the ABSOLUTE FULLEST. She believes life all the way is a life with all the toppings! It’s ordering guacamole and queso at the restaurant. It’s wearing those bright pink shoes, no matter what anyone else thinks. It’s using your formal china for every meal and hugging your friends every time you see them. It’s eating ice cream for breakfast and so much more. Her goal, each and every day, is to live all the way and her mission is to help others do the same.