February 2, 2012

Deciding on an advertising budget and determining how to spend it can be among your most challenging decisions. Advertising options have changed and expanded considerably over the past few years, and updating your strategy definitely means taking advantage of the new, digital marketplace.

So how can you create a dynamic advertising campaign with a limited budget? Video.

Video gives you the opportunity to interact with your customers by allowing them to get to know you and your business, and feel comfortable with you. This is especially important for small, local businesses. Forrester Research Group says “video is 53 times more likely than text pages to appear on the first page of a search engine.” Read: video drives search results. On the OurTown website, articles that include a photo array or a video are more easily searched on the Web and receive three times as many clicks as articles without these features.

Adding video to e-mail marketing boosts customers' interaction—such as opening the email or clicking on any of the content—by as much as 200 percent to 300 percent, says Marc Fleishhacker, managing director at WPP's Ogilvy Consulting.

You can, of course, hire a production company and have them make a video for you. But if that option doesn’t fit into your budget, you can make a very effective video yourself using simple software or an online video service. You should be able to put together a great video for less than $50. Here are some tips to keep in mind when making your advertising video:

• Keep it short. Studies show that we have an attention span of about 30 seconds. So if you are making an advertising or branding video, say what you have to say and then save the rest for follow up videos.

• Combine video and still images. Mixing videos and stills of your product, employees, location and anything that you believe will interest your potential customers will add variety to your video ad.

• Add a personal message. The message can be from you or one of your employees, or it can be a testimonial or recommendation from one of your customers.

• A little humor never hurts. Sometimes your own gaffes in making the video make it even more appealing.

• Give your videos a call to action. Make it clear what the viewer should do after watching the video. Add a coupon or special offer.

• Make sure your customer knows how to find you. Don’t forget to include your phone number, address, website address and e-mail. If you have a brick and mortar location, you might even want to include a map.

• Distribute your video in every way possible. Promote your video through an online ad campaign, e-mail, social media, YouTube and even your own website. There are online video services that will provide all of these services for a price if you don't want to do it yourself.

You may think this sounds like a lot of trouble, but you do need video. Video engages your customer and sets you apart from those static ads you see on the Internet. It allows you to tell your customer what differentiates you from your competition. Your videos can help you have a face they can recognize and come to trust. That’s the kind of relationship you want with your customer.

OPEN Cardmember Carol Meinhardt is co-Managing Member of Chicago West Pullman, an investment holding company and the COO of vADz, Inc, a social video advertising platform, and OurTown Media, a hyper-local news network.

Related Topics

• Marketing

Related keywords

CAROL MEINHARDT, Article, video marketing, marketing strategies, advertising, customer engagement, Marc Fleishhacker, open cardmember

Join the conversation ( 8 )

• Sameer Rana 1 months ago

  

  Very true..sharing information via videos makes it more interesting for consumers. Here is an example of EDPM rubber roofing installation guide via a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrhKRVAxQu8&context=C4fa2c41ADvjVQa1PpcFOCDVrQsrU3gh_BmNglZbwpNMhzb_Ecp1A=

• SMO Films 3 months ago

  

  Videos are currently the best online marketing tool out there and at SMOfilms we take advantage of video and social media to achieve more conversion. http://youtu.be/FHmo-8_k6f4

• 522 Productions 4 months ago

  

  I feel that web video content adds tremendous value to a company's online presence. First and foremost, video moves. So, the content is more engaging and attracts the viewer's attention much more than a standard text entry. Secondly, video allows website visitors to associate the content with a real human being. At the end of the day, we all want to do business with people. We also want to be comfortable and video helps bridge this gap. Finally, video conveys emotion. People react to brands that inspire them and if you effectively convey true emotions, people will take action.

  • CAROL MEINHARDT 4 months ago

    

    Thank you for your comments. This is exactly what I was trying to convey. Personalizing your video and allowing your customers to get to know you is the answer for small business and video gives you that opportunity.

• Kay Rosburg 4 months ago

  

  We have recently added a couple of short videos to our website and also used them in marketing emails to clients. Check them out to see how well they stack up to the ideas that you've described in this article www.deverdesigns.com/home.phpWe agree that these have really brightened up our online presence and many of our clients have commented on how they like them. One idea we haven't used thus far is humor, so we definitely should try that out in the future. It also helps that we run a graphic design studio, so our design sense comes across in our videos -- just a lot of thought goes into the position of a person, colors and background, etc. These types of things add up to an enhanced experience for the viewer.Enjoyed your article!

  • CAROL MEINHARDT 4 months ago

    

    Thank you Kay. I look forwarad to seeing your videos.

• Stuart W. 4 months ago

  

  I agree that video content is an vital part of the marketing mix, but I can't agree that making the video yourself and/or expecting to stick with a budget under $50 will result in a "great" video. In most cases, a low-budget video like that will have obvious errors that the novice producer will not notice or forgive as unimportant but will make the video, and the organization behind it, come across as cheaply unprofessional to the impartial eyes (and ears) of the target market. Also, it's doubtful that photos of employees or a business location will be of interest to a potential customer, who instead wants to know what the business can do to meet their wants and needs.

  • CAROL MEINHARDT 4 months ago

    

    I appreciate your comments Stuart. We seem to agree on the value of video in a company's marketing plan. I am not suggesting that a company like Coke or IBM turn to the $50 option or include pictures of their employees or location, but for a small, local business, I believe this can be of great interest to customers. It personalizes the business and differentiates it from its larger competitors. You, of course, need to include what you can do to meet your customers wants and needs. Video allows you to convey all of those features to your customers in a manner that will captivate the interest of your customers. It will make your name and your business or product memorable. There are video options for all budgets and all businesses.