If you think that video isn’t an important tool for marketing your business, think again. Online video content is one of the strongest tools a business can use to better showcase what they do on their websites and social media platforms.
Did you know YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google? While some might think of YouTube as just a website, many people now use it to search for myriad of things including business information, how-to videos, entertainment videos and more.
Know your audience
On Your Mark Transportation video intern Sydney Brashear explains that when it comes to accessing information, young adults often prefer a video over a lengthy article or blog post.
“You can get all the information you are looking for without having to read a long article,” she says. “And you can save the video so you can refer back to it in the future.”
When you upload a video to YouTube, it stays there until you decide to delete it, Brashear says. Consumers love this, because if, for example, they are looking at a how-to video, they can pull up the video again and again should they need to.
On the other end of the spectrum, baby boomers may enjoy watching a video that introduces your staff. Getting to see the faces behind your business may give customers peace of mind. In addition, video is a great way to let customers know what you are doing to keep them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Improve your ranking Google and other search engines factor in several things when ranking your website on search. One of those key ingredients is video.
Video can help increase the number of clicks to your site. If you put a video on youtube.com, for
example, and you use the embed code on your site, you’ll likely gain new visitors. If you post your videos
to your social media accounts using the link to your website, you’ll also increase your website clicks.
If there’s a golden rule to websites, On Your Mark Transportation website designer and owner of
bigmeankitty.com Letha Edwards says content is king. New and fresh content is key to drawing people to your site – and keeping them there – and video helps meet that goal. When consumers view a video on your site, they are more likely to stay on your page longer than they would if they were just reading your About Us and Contact information, for example.
Brashear suggests placing a video explaining who you are as a business, or a video with important information – such as COVID safety measures – toward the top of your site.
While she warns of having a video open as soon as a customer clicks on your site, she says placing it about a scroll down from the top is best. And just like you should have a tab for news or blogs on your site, consider a tab for video. That way, customers can click on the tab and view all the videos in one
easy-to-find place.
Don’t be afraid of online video content
Videos don’t need to be highly edited, long pieces of content. In fact, some experts suggest keeping a
video to two minutes or less.
Edwards suggests creating a 30-second video, for example, to let your customers know you are open and that you care about their safety and the safety of your employees.
This doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for a longer video, however. Just be sure to keep your audience
engaged.
“When people are given an informative video, they see it as a fun way to learn,” Brashear says. “A good editor can easily make sure all the right information is included in the video while also keeping it entertaining. You can include graphics, music and demonstrations to keep your audience engaged.
“You can make good entertaining videos long or short,” Brashear says. “For instance, a company might put a short promo video on Instagram and the longer, more detailed video on YouTube.”
And the more platforms you post to, the higher your Google search engine ranking, she adds.
Brashear suggests finding an easy-to-use editing software and – you guessed it – watching some videos on how to use the software yourself. But if creating your own video seems daunting, you can always reach out to an expert for help.
On Your Mark Transportation LLC is a consulting firm to the ground passenger transportation industry. Sydney Brashear is OYMT’s video intern and can help clients produce high-quality videos. This article was
written by Amy Nixon, who writes press releases and blog content for their clients. With experience in
transit, school bus, luxury transportation and motorcoaches, OYMT can bring a full range of extra
services to an organization. Contact them at OnYourMarkTransportation.com or 615.669.0107.
