As an increasing number of companies move online for most of their business activities, it becomes more important for customers to have a way to visualize who and what they’re working with. Mobile videos are a powerful tool for connecting with your customers and giving your business a personable face and real live voice. Used correctly, videos can help you grow your small business in big ways.

Getting Started with Mobile Videos

You don’t need to invest in a lot of expensive equipment to make compelling, high-quality videos. While you can outsource this task, your video will seem more genuine and personal when it’s produced in-house. At the very least, make sure your own marketing department works closely with the production team so the finished product doesn’t look like a cookie-cutter piece put together by someone else.

While one video is good, a series of videos is even better. Continuously updating your mobile videos keeps customers coming back for more. Taking the time to learn how to make these videos yourself will make them easier to churn out regularly. As you’re developing your video concepts, look for ways to turn your ideas into a continuing series with new releases every week or month.

Identifying Your Message

Before you put your video together, you need to decide what the message is. At the end of the video, your customer needs to walk away with a clear idea of what to do next. Whether that message is “go visit our webpage” or “buy our blender and make a smoothie,” clarity is all-important. A great video with no call to action is a waste of resources.

Videos for Product Promotion

Product promotion is a popular strategy for mobile videos. Get creative about how you do this. Customer testimonials, live demonstrations on the street, and infomercials all carry out the goal of providing product promotion. If you’re selling a technology that buyers probably haven’t seen before, simply demonstrating it in a video will make them more likely to buy, since it will answer their lingering questions about the item. Seeing something in use or just viewing it in a person’s hand provides a better idea of the size and purpose than what you’ll get from a written product description.

Giving Your Company a Face

Companies that do most of their business online can use videos to give the business a live face. Take the cameras behind the scenes and show your customers the manufacturing process. Introduce your staff so the people on the other end of those emails finally have a face. Hearing a personable voice gives customers the sense that they know you. Seeing the office where your business takes place makes your company seem much more real and reliable.

How-To Features

How-to videos are another popular area to explore. If your products have a variety of uses, use your videos to highlight these. A cookware company can offer weekly recipe videos featuring their products. A business that sells craft supplies might make videos featuring a quick how-to for popular crafts using their yarns, ribbons, and fabrics.

Engaging Your Customers

Length isn’t important when it comes to getting your viewers engaged with a mobile video. In fact, busy viewers have a better chance of getting through a short snippet. Consider quick and interesting ways to engage your customers and start a conversation. Show off your latest artisanal cheeses and ask viewers what summer recipe they’ll be using them in. Feature a snippet of your latest running shoes hitting the pavement and ask where your viewers are running this weekend.

Choosing Your Platform

Most people immediately think of YouTube when they think about mobile videos. Thanks to streamlined apps and fast connections, viewers can connect with your YouTube videos from their home computer, tablet, or smartphone.

YouTube isn’t the only player in mobile videos, though. Vine is a mobile app that allows users to post short videos directly to Twitter. These videos are just six seconds in length and loop continually. This is obviously better for engaging customers in a brief fashion. Vine is an exciting new way to connect visually with just a few seconds’ worth of effort.

When Videos Go Viral

A viral video is something you should always strive for, but it’s not something you can purposefully create. Simply saying that something is viral does not make it so. A viral video is something so engaging that viewers share it with friends and family. The exact definition of “viral” is unclear. Viral video guru Kevin Nalts defines a viral video as something that gets over 5 million views in a period of three to seven days. Try to create something shocking, hilarious, or over-the-top to snag that elusive viral fame.

Putting it All Together

Once you’ve established the purpose and general idea of your mobile video, you’re ready to put it together. Longer videos are more engaging when they feature several different shots. If you have trouble speaking directly to the camera, enlist an assistant so you’re speaking to someone else and not the screen. Video editing software is easy to come by, so there’s no excuse for sending a completed video out without a little polishing and trimming. Finally, cut excess fat out of the finished product so it’s as concise and to-the-point as possible.

Sharing Your Mobile Video

Once you’ve created a great video, you need to share it. Post your video to your Facebook page, include it on your company’s website or feature it in the blog. Email engaging videos to customers in your newsletters. Promote your finished piece heavily to get the most out of your work.

Mobile videos are still extremely underused, but don’t count on this trend continuing. Jump in now and become one of the smart businesses that are ahead of the trend of using video for engaging promotion. As these video creators state over and over, stay passionate and keep creating!

Have you already found mobile videos helpful for your business? Make sure to leave a comment and let’s discuss.