Small Business Brand Videos: Strategy, Creation & Promotion

Jason Chevatewa, Filmmaker

As a small business owner, you know how important it is to stand out in a crowded marketplace and make a lasting impression on your customers. One of the most effective ways to do that is through brand videos. In this guide we'll explain what a brand video is, how to create one, and where to share your brand story.

What Are Brand Videos?

Brand videos are short, engaging videos that are created to promote a brand or product. They can be used to tell a story, educate customers, or simply create a positive association with the brand. Brand videos can be used on a variety of channels, including social media, websites, and even in-store displays.

Download the guide to brand videos

Why Are Brand Videos Vital for Small Businesses?

• Increase brand awareness - Tell compelling stories about your company and offerings through video to grab attention.

• Build emotional connections - Videos allow you to connect with customers on a deeper, more personal level through storytelling.

• Boost conversion rates - Educate and inform viewers about your products to turn them into buyers.

• Improve website traffic - Drive viewers to your website by embedding videos and promoting them online.

• Enhance SEO - On-page videos and transcripts help search engines index your content. The longer they remain on site, the stronger the signal to search engines that you are providing valuable content.

Planning and Creating Your Brand Video

How Do You Craft a Compelling Video Strategy?

1. Defining Your Objectives and Target Audience

Start with a strong concept. Your brand video should have a clear purpose and message.

• What do you want your audience to learn or feel after watching your video

• Determine why you want to create brand videos. Is it to increase brand awareness, drive conversions, educate your audience, or showcase your products/services?

• Align your objectives with your overall business goals to ensure that your videos contribute to your larger marketing strategy.

• Ensure that your objectives address the needs, preferences, and motivations of your target audience.

Identifying Your Target Audience. Understanding your target audience is essential for creating brand videos that resonate with the right people. Here's how to define your target audience effectively:

• Research your industry, competitors, and customer demographics to gain insights into who your target audience is.

• Identify their characteristics, preferences, pain points, and behaviors.

• Develop detailed buyer personas that represent your ideal customers.

• Consider factors like age, gender, location, interests, needs, and purchasing behaviors.

• Use these personas as a reference point when crafting your brand videos.

• Consider the platforms and channels where your target audience is most active to ensure maximum reach and engagement.

Promote your brand videos. Once you've created your brand videos, you need to get them in front of your target audience. Promote your videos on social media, your website, and in your email marketing campaigns.

• Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for each video.

• Examples include aiming for a certain number of views, engagement metrics, lead generation, or sales attributed to the video.

• Identify the metrics that will help you measure the success of your brand videos.

• These could include metrics like view count, click-through rates, social shares, conversions, or customer feedback.

2. Outlining Your Brand Story and Key Messages

• Use storytelling to connect with your audience. People are more likely to remember and connect with stories. Use your brand videos to tell stories about your company, your products, or your customers. Your video should have the personality of your brand infused throughout.

• Stay true to your branding voice and style. Your videos should be an extension of your overall brand presence.

Download your brand video guidelines

3. Selecting the Right Video Format for Your Business

• Use high-quality production values. Your brand videos should look and sound professional. This doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune on production, but you should make sure your videos are well-shot and edited.

  • Videos that will be hosted on YouTube and your website will most often be filmed in a horizontal mode so it fills the area of the screen.

  • Videos that are made exclusively for social media will be filmed or edited to a portrait mode for use on mobile devices.

For more details on how brand videos help your business, read this article:

Successful Brand Videos