There used to be a time not so long ago that video marketing was beyond the reach of many small and medium sized businesses. Equipment was expensive, not to mention the costly time spent editing the raw footage to get something that looked professional. With the staggering growth of YouTube combined with smartphone ownership here in the UK at well over 50%, video is now a daily part of our lives. This has led to a large reduction in the costs of filming and production and has made video marketing a viable strategy for most businesses.

While it may still be a good idea to use an established video marketing company for larger projects, you can produce your own videos if you want to. Quick “how-to” style videos along with video testimonials are a great way to feel your way into the video marketing arena. Yes, you can use your smartphone or a relatively inexpensive handheld camera, but you’ll also likely need a good external microphone and possibly some additional lighting. You’ll also need to think carefully about what you want your video to achieve. With that in mind here are the 7 C’s of video marketing:

1. Communication – when you’re in front of a camera it’s not just about what you say but about how you say it. You’ll need to focus on your non-verbal communication just as much, if not more than the words you’re speaking. There are far too many boring, talking heads style videos out there, so if you want to make yours stand out make sure you’re nice and animated.

2. Capture – you have about 10 seconds to capture a viewer’s imagination or else they are likely to become bored and move on. You need to give them a reason to carry on watching you, so be clear on what you’ll be talking about and grab their attention.

3. Compact – the most effective videos are short and to the point. Be clear and concise and make every effort not to ramble on too long. Unless you’re showing how to make something or carrying out a task like fixing a shed roof, there’s no real need to go beyond 90 seconds

4. Credibility – unless the viewer actually believes what you’re saying you’re likely wasting their time and your money, so don’t overdo things. Talk about real clients you’ve helped and use specific examples to illustrate and back up your points.

5. Content – the cream in the sponge cake, the meat in the sandwich… unless it’s there the rest of it just leaves you a little disappointed. The content could be a client saying what a wonderful job you’ve done for them, it could be a tip on how to do something or it could be asking the viewer themselves to do something.

6. Connection – having the ability to make a connection with the viewer will take your video marketing to the next level. Stay relaxed, keep it conversational, talk about your experience and show that you can empathise.

7. Call to Action – having a clear call to action at the end of your video will help the viewer decide what to do next and hopefully guide them along the path you’d like them to take. Whether that’s picking up the phone to call you or clicking elsewhere on your website to request more information, you don’t want them leaving your video not knowing what they should do next.

If you are serious about do-it-yourself video for your business then we’d definitely recommend looking at some video training to help you get started. Making sure you have the right equipment, knowing how to plan a shoot, editing and then uploading the video are all things that you need to feel comfortable with. Get that sorted and you can start using the power of video to grow your business.