There are many out there who are using social media to build their businesses or AS their businesses. We will be finding interesting content and featuring their stories here regularly.
Video is one of those things that most of us know we should do (because so many people love to watch video and because video is really rich content - always good for SEO!) but that few of us actually ever do.
What holds us back?
- Fear of not producing a good enough video
- Not having the right equipment
- Not having the time to invest in video
- Feeling our product/service isn’t really “video friendly”
- Uncertainty about how to create good content
I can’t help you with the first three other than to say, you can do it, practice makes perfect, you don’t need fancy equipment and find the time, but I do want to talk about the last two points. It’s just about finding the right angle.
Make it entertaining
As a general rule, the most popular videos on YouTube are popular because they are fun or funny. People want to be entertained.
Blendtec is a fabulous example of a product you wouln’t necessarily think of as “fun” but they have done an incredible job at promoting their product and their brand on Youtube.
Blendtec sells heavy duty blenders and kitchen products (like food mills) and in 2007 they started a viral marketing campaign called “Will It Blend?”
Blendtec’s primary target audience is businesses with commercial kitchens - restaurants, schools, etc. Yet they’re reaching the masses with these videos. That means your mother’s sister’s partner who runs a restaurant can hear about this product from someone who doesn’t even run a food service business.
The owner, Tom Dickson, started producing videos demonstrating what their blenders could blend. He has blended everything from matches, to rake handles, to cellphones and iPads.
Over the years their YouTube channel has had close to 200 million views, they’ve created an entire line of “Will It Blend?” products, and they have said that the videos have clearly accounted for an increase in their sales.
Blenders aren’t really a product you think of as “fun”. Tom Dickson managed to do something different and creative that has taken his brand further than it ever would have gone otherwise. I certainly don’t know of any other industrial strength kitchen product brands, but if a friend of mine ever opens a restaurant I’ll definitely be asking, “Oooh - are you getting a Blendtec??”
Have you thought about how you could jump outside the expected with your business and create a fun video for your business?