9 Reasons Video is the Greatest Business Growth Tactic
Call me biased (I am), but video is unequivocally the best thing you can do to grow your business in almost any capacity. “Video” is such a blanket term because there are so many different opportunities and ways you can utilize it to help you.
A new inquiry comes through via email? Personalized greeting video.
Need to raise awareness of your business? Promotional video.
Answered the same question for 4 different clients? Educational video.
There’s just so many ways it can help. But this blog is less about the how and more about the why.
If you’re still not convinced you need to take video more seriously, let me persuade you with 9 strong reasons.
1. Video can be used on any social platform
With the exception of Clubhouse (which I’m not very optimistic about lasting for very long), every social platform your business might be on can share video:
Facebook: Native video posts, live broadcasts, links externally
Youtube: Native videos, live broadcasts
Instagram: Stories, reels, live, feed, messages
Twitter: Native video posts, links externally
LinkedIn: Native video posts, links externally
TikTok: Native video posts
…you get the idea.
This means that whatever video you make, you can share to just about any platform as-is, or set yourself up to succeed even more by custom tailoring it (aspect ratio, captions) to each unique platform.
2. Video appeals to more of the senses
Video is visuals (sight) and audio (hearing). A photograph is only visual. A podcast is only audio.
We like video because it engages us more than most other forms of posts on social media.
In a video, you can create intrigue and develop a story. In any other post, you lose the ability to reveal something or otherwise avoid your followers skimming through your content.
3. Video builds deeper relationships with followers faster
If you’re willing to put your face on camera, you will build a human connection with your followers much quicker than businesses that don’t.
A photograph with a long caption can’t convey the sound of your voice.
People connect with people. And that’s why video is such a useful tool to small businesses in this way.
4. Video is more memorable
Because video appeals to more of our senses and helps us build a deeper connection with the people we’re following, it adds up to a more memorable experience every time someone comes across one of your posts.
Scenario: it’s a Friday night after a long work week, so you’re treating yourself to some takeout from a local restaurant. You’ve probably been craving the place that had the best post that week on social media. I’m not guaranteeing it was a video (because, as we’ll find out in #8, not that many people are utilizing video), but chances are if it were truly memorable, it was a video of some kind.
5. Video drives up your engagement analytics on social
There’s a time and a place for analytics on social media. Tracking your followers / view counts / comment counts are all important. But then there’s the analytics most small businesses are less concerned with: average time spent on post, number of clicks on profile, number of clicks on a link you posted, etc.
I’m going to go against the grain here and say that, for the average small business, these things don’t matter a whole lot anyways. There are a lot of indicators about whether you’re posting the right kind of content. But this one remains true:
The only way to ‘game’ the algorithm is to create content people engage with. The longer people watch your videos, the more your social media platform will take notice, and push your content closer to the top the next time you post.
Don’t believe me? Then I challenge you: make an intentional effort for 30 days to post more video, and I guarantee you will see an uptick in the engagement you receive in some way. And if you don’t? Then nothing lol Because challenging you to post on your social media was beneficial to you either way.
6. Video shows off your true business better
Like I was saying in #3, it’s hard to convey some of the more subliminal and foundational aspects of your business in simple posts. But video has an intrinsic way of cutting through the noise and really capturing some of those nuances about you.
When you make a video for your business, you’re making a hundred tiny decisions along the way (about what to do, what not to do, what words to use, what to show, what music to use, what CTA to use) that add up subconsciously in your viewer’s minds. They might not be able to articulate them, but they’re very real.
Video is going to do the best possible job at conveying these little nuances better than any other medium.
7. Video commands the web’s second biggest search engine
Yep. Youtube is the world’s second biggest search engine (can you guess #1? Hint: they own Youtube).
Do an even deeper dive on video statistics, and you’ll find that more and more video content is consumed every year than the year before. This shows:
People are hungry for video.
Be the one to feed them and it will have immense benefits on your business.
8. Fewer people are making videos
If you’ve been tracking with me so far, you’re probably thinking, “This is amazing! Why isn’t everyone doing this?”. Well, if you don’t already have your own answer, here it is:
Video is hard. It is time consuming and involves more effort than traditional social posts.
If social media is low on your list of priorities, you’re not going to devote the time and attention it needs to be done properly. This is true of most of your competitors, I’ll bet.
Most small businesses don’t utilize video because they don’t know where to start, or are overwhelmed at the prospect of using it as a marketing strategy.
Don’t be! It’s entirely possible. It’s way simpler than you think:
9. Video is accessible to anyone with a phone
The camera on your phone is miles ahead (technology-wise) of many cameras that debuted brand new 10 years ago.
The greatest thing about video is that anyone can do it.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle to starting with a video strategy is… starting at all. I think if more businesses just made an effort to begin, they’d realize how simple it can be, and how natural it becomes thereafter.
What are you waiting for? This blog is over. Go make a video for your small business, and follow up with me when it helps you!
