If you’re running a small business, you know that your online presence is important. However, most small businesses will set up a website and perhaps a blog, and that’s it. While this “me too” approach may get you some traffic, it’s not going to give you an edge on the competition. Why not think about doing something different that sets you apart? Producing videos and putting them online is an excellent way of attracting new customers, especially if your videos are useful and not just a sales pitch. Creating a basic video doesn’t have to be expensive, and putting it on YouTube only takes a few clicks. Here are some ideas about different types of videos you might want to consider.

One sure way to create value is to solve problems. For example, if you sell office supplies online, why not go and find common questions that people have about using office software such as Word or Excel. You can find these pretty easily by using something like Google’s Keyword Planner tool to find things people are searching for. Then, make a short video showing them how to do what they want to do. This could be something as simple as a screen cam with a voiceover explaining the various steps. You have to strike a balance, however. Don’t pick something that is so easy that there are hundreds of videos about it – for instance, how to replace all occurrences of a string in Word. On the other hand, don’t pick something so complicated and obscure that only a handful of people search for it each month.

Another thing you can do is promote your business by creating videos about charitable activities that you’re involved with. Obviously, these need to be real and sincere, and you’ll be doing a good deed by promoting the charity. However, if you take the opportunity to mention your involvement without being crassly commercial, then this can help to build your company’s reputation online. Take a look at Cydcor videos on YouTube to get a feel for the right way of doing this.

Online product demo videos are also a good way to increase your online profile. The last thing you want to do, of course, is give a dry overview of the features of your product without any context. However, if you are very clear about the types of problems you can solve, and can make a video showing your product in action doing this, then you create a win-win situation. Your prospective customer suddenly has confidence that you can do what they need, and you get a satisfied customer in return.

Of course, whatever you do, you will need to promote your video. There are many ways to do this, including online advertising, building backlinks to your video, posting links on your corporate Facebook page, and, of course, tweeting out links. However, whatever approach you take, be patient, as building traffic can take time. Because of this, it’s a good idea to choose video topics that aren’t time sensitive.

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