Video & Viral Marketing :: The Unchained Entrepreneur

Thanks to the advent of idiot-proof video cameras that automatically upload your videos to the web, it’s never been easier to make your own videos for marketing, promotion, or education. Yet few entrepreneurs feel confident using videos online to market their small business.

Typically, if they’re even willing to make a video, they’ll be far too critical of the results. So they won’t post the video online because they want to make it “perfect”.

The thing is, nothing is ever perfect. And it’s the imperfections of self-made videos that make them so compelling and effective. They’re the antithesis of the slick, expensive videos big companies can afford.

But I get it. When it comes to making and publishing videos online, I find I’m my own worst critic. It can be hard to have an unbiased opinion when you spend the whole time staring at the “weird” way your upper lip lifts. Or the way your voice sounds.

The reality is, none of that matters to anyone other than you! As long as your videos are interesting, informative or entertaining people don’t even notice most of the details that bother you—or at least not in the negative light you see them in.

In fact, in one of my first videos I felt very critical about my hair. But the content was good so I put it online anyway. Within a day one of my friends commented and mentioned how great my new hairdo looked. Go figure.

The thing is, videos are a wonderful way to personally introduce yourself and/or your products or services, to people who visit your Website. They’re also a wonderful way to reach an audience who prefers to watch and listen than read. And they’re good for your SEO. So it really is worth the time and effort to make a few to market your business.

On top of all that, you can create an entire product based around videos. Or add them in as a bonus when you sell another service or product. But that’s a topic for another article.

The real question here is…

How do you know if your video is ready for prime time (especially if you are your own worst critic)?

Here’s a short list of questions to ask yourself:

Is the main subject of the video easy to see?
Is the audio loud enough to hear?
Have you made sure there isn’t anything overly distracting in the background or foreground?
If you or another person is in the video, are they dressed and styled appropriately for the intended audience and their expectations?
Are the people in the video smiling at least some of the time?
Is the video less than 5 minutes in length (ideally less than 3 minutes)?
Do you cover useful information in a way that’s easy to understand?
Do you stick to one main topic?
Do you offer 1-3 useful tips or tidbits?
Did you introduce yourself at the start, and sign off with an offer and call to action (even if it’s just to visit your Website for more helpful info) and your URL at the end??

If you answered yes to all of these questions, your video is good to go.

Does this mean it’s the best video you can possibly make? Of course not. You’re going to get better with time and practice.

But thanks to youtube, no one expects perfection. Again, they just want something that’s useful, interesting or entertaining (or all three). If you’ve also hit that mark then you’re video is worth sharing. So post it now.

Got more video tips? Thoughts on this article? Please do leave a comment…

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Small business owners and entrepreneurs are notoriously over-busy. We’re swamped by mile-long to-do lists that never seem to grow shorter no matter how many hours we work. Trying to market your business on top of everything else just adds to the stress and confusion.

Thanks to the advent of the Internet and all things online marketing—email, blogs, social networking, slidecasts, webinars, and the list goes on—it’s easier than ever to get overwhelmed by the options and do nothing. Or spread yourself too thin trying to use them all.

I think that’s why the questions I’ve been hearing more and more lately are “Where should I be focusing my time, money and energy when it comes to marketing?” And, “How do I know which tactics and strategies are going to work for me?”

Well, there is no simple answer to which strategies and tactics are going to work for any given business. Choosing the best ones depends on many factors including your target market, your budget, your skill set, etc. Though any time they’re designed to work together as part of an overarching marketing plan, you’re more likely to see success.

However, you can make good decisions—and get great results—by asking yourself the following questions…

5 Questions for Choosing the Best Marketing Tactics and Strategies for Your Business

1) Can I find and reach my ideal client or customer there?

If your ideal client or customer isn’t on Facebook, there’s no point in spending time and money on Facebook marketing. Know exactly who you’re selling to, and figure out where they shop and Web surf, what they read, and so on. Then find ways to reach them there.

2) Can I execute it on a consistent basis?

Great results rarely occur from one-shot marketing tactics…Especially nowadays when there is so much competition for everyone’s attention, not to mention their business. Instead you have to keep putting your message out there until your ideal client or customer finally takes notice—and takes action. If you don’t have the time, money and energy to execute a marketing tactic consistently, choose a different one.

3) Is it likely to help me achieve my goals?

All too often entrepreneurs choose marketing tactics because they’re cheap, easy, exciting or everyone else is using them. Unfortunately, none of those are good reasons.

Instead, you need to know what your main goal is (grow your list, get clients to call, get customers in your store, get someone to sign up or register, etc.), then choose the tactics most likely to help you achieve it.

4) Are the results measurable?

The only way to know if a marketing tactic is effective is to measure results. That means knowing how many people called, clicked, signed up, bought, emailed or whatever you’d like them to do.

So make sure everything you do has a call to action and a way to know if the action was taken.

This might mean using Google Analytics on your Website, or asking prospects how they heard about you. Or having them mention a particular code or name when they get in touch.

5) What is the ROI?

ROI, or Return on Investment, is basically gross revenue generated less expenses. It’s a number many entrepreneurs are totally unfamiliar with. And this is a serious problem.

I can’t tell you how many small business owners have told me a particular marketing tactic was successful…Until they ran the numbers and realized it was costing more than it was making them.

Unless it’s part of a larger strategy designed to recoup costs and make more money later, an ad that cost you $600 to run but only made you $200 in gross revenues needs to be changed or replaced.

Unfortunately, all too often entrepreneurs pay little or no attention to costs—especially time costs. Because the reality is, even free marketing costs you something in time spent that could be used to pursue other opportunities or make money.

If you don’t know what your marketing costs, or how much it brings in, there’s no way to know if you should keep doing it.

Now that you have these five questions in your back pocket, be sure to ask them anytime you’re considering investing your time, energy or money in marketing.

What marketing tactics and strategies work best for growing your business? How did you choose them? Any other thoughts on this topic? Please do leave a comment below…

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