Brad Jefferson, November 26, 2014
With the holidays fast approaching, small business owners are looking for ways to market their business during the busiest time of the year. Celebrating its fifth year on November 29, Small Business Saturday helps businesses kickstart the holiday season with a focus on shopping local and welcoming new customers. Many businesses offer special giveaways or promotions to encourage their customers to stop in on Small Business Saturday, but how can you build buzz about your event online and take advantage of the spotlight on small businesses this time of year?
Enter video. Now more accessible than ever, video has the potential to bring your in-store promotions and events to life and encourages customers not only to stop in on Small Business Saturday, but to keep coming back during the holidays and into the new year. Creating a video doesn’t have to be daunting. Here are three simple steps you can take to incorporate video into your Small Business Saturday marketing plans that won’t take too much time or break the bank:
Highlight special products and promotions with video
Once you’ve decided on the “hook” to get customers in the door, you’ll want to promote your special offer with video. While many people are intimidated by video at first, do-it-yourself video tools make it easy to create a compelling and inexpensive video in just a few minutes using a few photos or video clips — and it pays off. A recent Animoto survey found that 64 percent of consumers find it helpful to watch videos to learn more about the company they will purchase from. A short and sweet video promoting your Small Business Saturday promotions helps to differentiate your company more than a traditional ad.
For example, Bear Creek Gifts relied on video to showcase their Small Business Saturday promotions last year. The video highlighted new products and holiday specials to entice customers, including offering them a hot cup of Bear Creek’s Fireside Gourmet Coffee when they visited the store. Beyond building buzz for promotions, video also leads to higher sales. The same survey found that 73 percent of consumers are more likely to purchase after watching videos, showing the power of video for bringing products to life and driving sales as a result.
Showcase your video online
The holidays are a perfect time to boost your company’s online presence and promote your video. Include a video on your website’s homepage or include it in an email newsletter that invites customers to your store with a personal touch. You get bonus points for adding an incentive for customers in the video: Bear Creek Gifts encouraged customers to visit the store by offering 25 percent off to people who came in on Small Business Saturday.
Another way to promote your event is to share your Small Business Saturday video on Facebook and Twitter using a special hashtag like #smallbusinesssaturday or #shopsmall. According to a recent study from Adobe, adding video to your Facebook posts leads to 25 percent higher engagement rates, including likes, comments and shares. By leveraging social media to highlight your video, more customers will know you’re participating in Small Business Saturday and will be more apt to take advantage of special promotions.
Ride the wave through the holidays with video
After a successful and eventful Small Business Saturday, it’s important to build on your momentum and cement relationships with your customers. Video helps to build positive associations of your business, and a holiday or year-end video is a great way to thank your customers for supporting your business and wish them a happy holiday season.
One tip is to speak directly to your customers in a video. Just record a few clips of you or a coworker speaking to the camera with a few sound bites. Not only does this help humanize your business, but it builds trust and strengthens relationships with customers. By continuing your relationship with customers beyond the holidays, you’re setting a strong foundation for long-term success. The Animoto survey mentioned above found that 71 percent of consumers say watching videos leave them with a positive impression of a brand, all the more reason to share a video with your customers.
As you finalize your marketing strategy for the holiday season, consider how you can incorporate video into your plans beginning with Small Business Saturday. By promoting your specials with video, you’re creating a valuable and versatile tool that encourages shoppers to visit your store, leads to higher sales and helps to build a lasting rapport with customers that will continue long after the holiday season ends.
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