When asked if they have a short from video strategy, most small business owners tend to respond with “I put up a video once or twice a week”.
Sadly, while most business owners understand the concept of business strategy, not many understand the difference between strategy and tactics when it comes to online marketing.
A tactic would be putting out three videos per week on Instagram. A strategy would be your plan around not only getting as many views as you can (from the right people), but also how to turn as many of those eyeballs into leads and sales.
Ironically, short form videos like Youtube shorts, Facebook- and Instagram reel, Tiktoks etc. are not only very popular, but they are also relatively inexpensive to create. It is probably the best free traffic generation method at the moment.
So, how do you come up with short from video strategy for your small business?
1. Consider who you want to sell to, or provide services to.
How old are they? What do they like and dislike? Where do they hang out?
Their average age group will tell you where they spend their time online. On Tiktok, more than 90% of users are aged 18 to 34. On Pinterest, most users are young but well-off women, on Facebook the average active user is somewhat older, and on Youtube it is a mix of everything and everyone.
Knowing who your “ideal customer” is will not only tell you where to reach them, but also what types of content they would be more likely to consume. It will also tell you what type of call to action (at the end of your video) they would be more likely to respond to.
2. Research the competition:
Depending on the market you serve, you may find that the competition is either serious and professional, or weak and disorganized on social media.
If the competition is fierce, ask yourself the following questions:
a. How can you differentiate yourself from the competition, not only in terms of what you offer, but in terms of what your short form videos look like?
b. Is there any other platform where your target audience also frequents, but is not totally dominated by the competition?
3. Evaluate your resources and determine your commitments:
How much time do you have available to spend on your short from video marketing? Do you have someone in your company who can do it for you? Do you have a budget to outsource the video creation and uploads? Or do you feel comfortable enough (in front of the camera) to just record a selfie video on the fly now and then?
Do you have time to interact with others on your chosen social media platform?
The amount of time and/or money you are able to commit to the execution of your strategy will determine the results you can expect.
4. Plan your content:
a. Knowing what your ideal customer is interested in, and knowing your resources and limits, what types of videos will you create? Will you be doing explainers, how-to’s, industry news, testimonials, common questions, product highlights, etc?
Most likely you will come up with a combination of several types of videos, and alternate between them.
b. How regularly will you post your short form videos? Will you be putting out content every day, or every week? While not everyone can afford it or spare the time, doing at least one video per day will allow you to grow the fastest.
Fair enough, this part is not set in stone. As you go along, you will find that some types of videos work better for you, and you will do more of those (and less – or none – of the ones that do not perform).
5. Set your targets, and evaluate as you go:
Social media marketing in any form is very slow at the start. For most small businesses, it takes a while to gain traction. However, if you find your short from videos are not performing as well as other similar channels/profiles with similar follower numbers, you can go back to the drawing board and see what you need to improve.
You might need to change your topics, or improve the quality of your videos, or even do different types of videos.
You also need to note not only your results ON social media, but also how many website visitors – or inquiries – you receive. Keep in mind though that the typical click through rate on sites like Instagram and Tiktok is under 1%.
Whatever the case may be, as long as you keep evaluating your results, you will know whether you are on track to reach your goals, or whether you need to make changes.
In conclusion:
Your short form video strategy should be a broad outline based on the outcome you want to achieve. Your tactics will be the steps you take to achieve that outcome.
With that being said, if you do it yourself, or if you have someone in-house doing it for you, it pays to keep learning more and more about new developments and new techniques as you go – purely as a matter of creating the most efficient short from videos you possibly can.