But how do you best share that story with your audience, where do you start? Before you hit record, decide what you want to say and what makes you stand out from the crowd. Simple, right? Instead of adding static to the mix, you’ll be contributing a targeted vision of how you see yourself and your brand out into the consumerland.

Use Video to Promote an Event

• Do you want to inspire viewers to attend your event? Create several video teasers leading up to the day of the event, providing different information in each segment with incentives for viewers to come to your event. Use those teasers on Facebook and other video-friendly social media sites to leverage it over several channels.
• Day-of Promotion – Facebook Live is great here. Promote your event in real-time, show what is happening and why the viewer wants and needs to be there. Allow for viewers to ask questions in real time. Save on YouTube later for posterity. Show demonstrations

Use Video to Educate on your Product or Service

• Introduce New Product – Want to share the story about why you are all about your new product? Now’s your chance. Show it, use it, have others sample it. Think of the questions that may be out there and provide answers.
• Demonstrate Your Skills – If your service is your product, show viewers. If you have staff who are engaging and shine on camera, use them. The right presentation and level of warmth brought to any subject can take a message from instructional to entertaining, funny and educational, all at the same time.

Use Video to Entertain by Sharing a Slice of Life

• Humanize your business – Stuffy is out. Have fun. Get behind the scenes and show a day-in-the-life of what it means to be a small-business operation, doing what you do and the reason why you do it. Get out of the office, the store and mix up the scenery. Take that passion that inspired you to go into business and put it on video. One of the advantages of small-business marketing is, with all the social media tools we have at hand, our reach can be great but our message can still be targeted and personal. Your customer gets to know you, your product and your philosophy.

Use Video to Make the Most of Existing Customers

• Testimonials – Have those loyal to your brand be your spokespeople. Interview them at events, invite them to sample new products and provide feedback. Reviews and recommendations from other viewers are genuine and invaluable.

Use Video to Create a Call to Action

• Make certain to close your video with what action you want your viewer to take after watching your video. Come to your event, visit your website, sample your product. Guide your viewer to that next step and you increase your chances of keeping the communication open and possibly convert a viewer to an active customer.

So you’ve decided on your message, you’ve got it on film (well, digitized anyway!) and it’s a wrap! But that’s only half the story. You have all of this great material but, outside of posting to your main video-sharing sites, what’s the best way to get it out to your audience? Check back next month for how to get that content out to your masses and standing out from the crowd.