Video content has exploded as a marketing tool and if you’re on the sidelines wondering why, it may help to know that according to eMarketer, daily time dedicated to digital video watching (for adults) has increased exponentially over the past 5 years. From a measly 6 minutes a day in 2010, to 55 minutes in 2014, we’re certainly getting our time in front of the screen.
 

But it’s not just the amount of time spent that causes marketers to flock to this medium. According to a report by Unruly, enjoyment of a brand video causes intent to purchase to rise by 97%.
 

Getting started is often the biggest challenge. Most business owners are surprised to hear it doesn’t take expensive equipment and actors. You can create cheap videos for your company with a phone, laptop, inexpensive lighting and a quality mic. By all means, if you have the money and want to hire it out, that’s fine too.

Here on some suggestions to how to start using video for your business:
 

Decide the Type
 

Depending on the type of business you’re in, think about how you can best use video to meet your marketing goals. Some ideas include:
 

• Product demonstrations

• Tutorials on how to use your product

• Telling your story (great way to put a face with the business)

• Testimonials/case studies

• Thought leadership

• Staff introductions

• Corporate office, facility, store tours 

• Product production highlights (for instance, videos of the produce growers a restaurant uses)
 

Answer Questions Improve Search Results
 

This type of video is wildly successful because it not only establishes you and your business as a subject matter expert but it also helps in SEO. To begin, do some research as to what your potential customers are asking. 
 

Marcus Sheridan, of the Sales Lion, worked at a fiberglass pool company before he began his formal career in content marketing. He realized many people in the market for a pool wanted to know the basics such as: 
 

• What’s the difference between a fiberglass pool and a cement one? 

• How long will it take to install? 

• How much do fiberglass pools cost? 
 

He uncovered these questions through talking with his sales people and searching the Internet. Once he found out what his potential buyers wanted to know, he answered them. This made him, and the pool company he worked for, a resource for potential buyers. Even if they didn’t ultimately buy from him, they went to his site, which drove traffic, and increased his organic placement.
 

One more reminder on the importance of video and search results: YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine with more than 3 billion searches a month (more than AOL, Yahoo! and Bing combined), and 100 hours of video uploaded every minute.
 

Make it Mobile-friendly
 

Facebook alone handles 4 billion video views a day, 75% of those are accessed from a mobile phone. Reason enough?

Watch the Analytics
 

Just as you would measure the success of different kinds of posts on social media, you want to make sure you watch the hits and watches of your video(s). Some video services like Vimeo, allow you to see how much of your video people are watching. This gives you good insight into your content and level of interest. You can even see parts that are rewound and watched again. 
 

Keep Your Outtakes
 

People love to laugh. Keep your outtakes to use them at a later date. You could create a holiday video card of bloopers for customers or use it as part of a celebration or anniversary. Don’t be surprised if that video gets more hits than the original. 

Video is becoming increasingly popular as forms of entertainment and education. Don’t be intimidated in entering video into your marketing mix. You can do it inexpensively and it makes a formidable impression.