11 Ways to Incorporate Video into Your Business

This article is a reprint of Wise Bread's contribution to OPEN Forum from American Express -- where small business owners can get advice from experts and share tips with each other.

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When I started my online business in 2008, using video for your online business was new and experimental. Fast forward to today and video is absolutely everywhere and then some, even those with no real business are cashing in on fame and fortune thanks to mega popular YouTube.

Although everyone seems to be tuning into the importance of video, it’s still a daunting thought for many business owners who aren’t quite sure where to add video to their online brand. But it’s not so hard. Here are 11 ways to make use of video.

1. Use video to entice people to sign up for your newsletter

By far the biggest way to drive sales to your business is through a mailing list or a newsletter. But getting people onto your mailing list is not always easy because nowadays, everyone has some sort of ‘free’ offer to entice people to join. More and more people just do not consider these freebies very valuable any longer.

Video is a great way to entice people onto your newsletter because you’ll be breaking away from what everyone else is doing and showcasing yourself and your company in a very real and engaging way.

Real business example: John McIntyre recently created a personal development site called Make Life Go Bang that features a video of him sharing 50 reasons to sign up for his newsletter. This interesting method means people won’t join just for a freebie and also helps them quickly connect with his mission and personality.

2. Better engage with your blog posts

More and more people are using video in blog posts to present their products and services in a more visually appealing way. Video can often be more engaging and entertaining than a printed article.

Real business example: David Siteman Garland from The Rise to the Top and Andrew Warner from Mixergy are two of my favorite video bloggers because their passion shines through in every video they produce. By taking time out to interview interesting people, they’re helping other entrepreneurs and start ups learn the ins and outs with stories that inspire and motivate.

3. Create a dedicated video page

While using video in your blog posts or to entice newsletter subscribers is a great start, you can take things further by displaying all of your videos with one dedicated page on your website. This will lower your bounce rate with new visitors and help people filter through your interesting content better.

Real business example: Entrepreneur Pat Flynn has a great dedicated video page on his blog Smart Passive Income that works with the Wordpress plugin TubePress to bring all of his recent Youtube videos right onto his website. It’s an easy way to showcase his videos and keeps his readers engaged with his content for longer periods of time.

4. Add video to your about page

To help connect with new visitors, why not create a video demonstrates your personality and company vision to share on your about page? It will be a welcome change from static images found on most other about pages and will give people a real glimpse into who you are in a very short time.

Real business example: Michelle Ward, the When I Grow Up Coach, uses video on her about page in this way. As a business owner, you want to ensure you attract the right customers and by sharing a snippet of your personality – or your company’s mission – right on the about page, you’ll engage the right people while saying goodbye to those who wouldn’t be the right fit anyways.

5. Sell more on your sales pages

If you’re serious about selling a service online, video can help attract and convert potential customers on your sales pages. By giving visitors the chance to learn more about what you’re selling and your motivation behind it, you’ll see a higher interest rate, more people willing to share your message, and more customers at the end of the day.

Real business example: Tara Gentile, creative business coach, uses video often on her sales pages to entice potential buyers to get to her know better and decide if the product is the right fit for them. Of the benefits, she says, “I know my enthusiasm and passion is what helps to sell a product. I can spend hours writing copy, crafting headlines, or perfecting prose, but 3 minutes in front the video camera says more than I can ever hope to with written words. Video makes the intangible, tangible. And that, inevitably, converts more sales.”

6. Excite on your product pages

We live in a world in which stunning photography is the norm – even amateurs with cell phone cams can produce images the equal of those shot by professional photographers. That means having wonderful photos of your products isn’t going as far as it used to.

Use video on your product pages to show people exactly how your items work, their key features, benefits, and also to give people a closer look into what life would be like by owning them.

Real business example: Catherine Choi of So Young Mother uses video to feature her diaper bags, lunch boxes, and cooler bags. Whenever I visit her website, I always take a moment to view one of her videos because her video marketing is so engaging – as if she’s right there in person explaining her product details to me.

7. Master the YouTube stream

YouTube recently announced their videos get over 3 billion views a day, and all those eyeballs need to go somewhere, so why not toward you? You can easily embed YouTube videos on your website and take advantage of the crazy volume of traffic YouTube gets daily, exposing new audiences to your message and increasing your brand awareness over time.

Real business example: Mashable wrote a great post about 5 brands killing it on YouTube but one that stood out to me most was Home Depot. Sharing their expertise with YouTube watchers means people will continue to think of them anytime they want to change their kitchen cabinets or replace their tiled floors. Maybe you can share your expertise in the same way?

8. Stream live for more interaction with fans and customers

By making yourself fully available for questions and chats live, you’ll win people over continually because you’ll become known as someone who cares deeply about your customer’s needs and wants.

Real business example: Even though Gary Vaynerchuk has built a multi-million dollar business stemming from Wine Library TV, he still jumps on ustream to chat with fans and followers. This good will encourages people to get to know him better and increases his likeability and brand.

9. Brighten up your digital products

If you sell virtual products, such as business tools and training, video is the perfect medium to use to better connect with your customers and explain things that sometimes text just cannot.

Real business example: While I’ve tried a lot of virtual products that include video, Danielle Laporte’s The Spark Kit includes an incredible amount of beautifully made videos – frequently interviews with experts and some of her flying solo – that share insightful tips and inspiring nuggets.

10. Add some magic to your support area

Many companies use video in their technical and customer support areas because it cuts back on customer emails and phone calls considerably. Whether you sell something physical, virtual or service based, you can use video to answer frequently asked questions, demonstrate how to use specific features of your products, and much more.

Real business example: My invoicing and time tracking system of choice, Harvest, does a great job of showcasing tons of different help queries in their support area with video. I’ve found that by taking a moment to filter through their pages, I have less need to email with questions, which is quicker for me – and cheaper for Harvest.

11. Cut down on training time for new employees

By creating training videos, easily done with screencasting software, you’ll connect with your employees in a deeper way and clarify all aspects of the work you need done very simply for them. In addition, you can reuse videos any time a new employee is brought on board, freeing you up to work on more important matters.

Real business example: As I expand my team, I can clearly see the benefits of recording training videos and sharing them with new employees compared to alternatives such as email communication or live training sessions online. I use Screenflow on Mac to record my training videos and this eliminates confusion over little details and ensure my people are quickly up to speed when they sign on to work with me.