Videos serve as very effective marketing tools. While words can explain your products and services to your target audience, videos can visually demonstrate the power of your products. This is why YouTube is Part 5 of our social media for manufacturers series! Our earlier blog entries discussed LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Blogging in case you would like to read the full set!
While there are many video-sharing sites on the Internet, YouTube is the most popular. In fact, YouTube is the second most frequently used search engine on the Internet, only after Google. More than 4 billion videos are viewed a day on YouTube!
By creating a YouTube channel, you have the capability to upload videos. With the emergence of technology, creating videos has become easier…and we’re talking about business videos here. We’ve all seen the viral cat-related YouTube videos that have gone around, but we’re looking to generate new leads!
Depending on your budget, you may enlist the services of a professional video marketer. Or, you may have someone in-house who can manage creating and editing simple, yet effective, videos. No matter the route you decide, here are five tips to keep in mind:
- Showcase what Makes you Unique – In manufacturing, nearly all of us have competitors. Use your videos to highlight what’s different about your products or processes.
- Be Memorable, but Not Cheesy – The best business videos go viral. These videos employ humor or sentiment, but don’t try too hard. When it comes to comedy, it’s either a home run or a strike out. Same thing with being sentimental – it’s meaningful, or comes across as exploitive. If funny or emotional isn’t your thing, don’t push it. Stick with your business’ natural personality.
- Be Personable – People don’t do business with other businesses…they do business with people. In today’s environment, customers aren’t just looking to make purchases – they look for an experience.
- Include Contact Information and a Call to Action – A common mistake for videos is that when the video is over, the viewer is left thinking, “now what?” A viewer should know the next step. Include your company’s phone number, website and call to action.
- Use Embed Codes – Your video doesn’t have to just sit there on YouTube for the rest of time. YouTube gives you an “embed code” for your video. This means you can take that code and plug it into other pages on the web. Use your videos on your website or in your blogs.
Here is an example of one of CMTC’s videos embedded in a blog post:
And here's an example of a video embedded on a website page:
Increasing Sales Using Exporting
As our social media series comes to a close, don’t miss out on the final two entries! Make sure you’re subscribed to our blog. All you have to do is enter your email address and click ‘subscribe’ where it says Subscribe by Email on the upper-right-hand portion of your screen.
Leave a Comment