Being in business is more than just having a product or a service and putting it out for others to buy. Any enterprise should come with a strategic marketing plan if it wants to survive the fierce competition in the world of business. While larger corporations have their own marketing departments and business consultants to do the job for them, smaller enterprises and home businesses do not have that luxury. Luckily, there are resources both online and offline that small business owners can rely on to help them with initiatives like advertising, promotions, lead generation, and video marketing for business. Those with a little more money in their purses can hire consultants to guide them through the process of crafting a strategic marketing plan that makes use of the latest tools. However, an enterprise with very little financial resources can read up on the latest trends in marketing and plan out their own strategies.

Strategic video marketing for business growth is easy enough for anyone to plan and implement. This component of a strategic marketing plan is one of the best things a small business can do in order to spread the word about the business. You can use video marketing as a promotional strategy to advertise your products and services through a minute or two of recorded material sent to your potential customers. These videos can contain information about your company, an ad material, or any useful information related to your product or service offerings. Studies have shown that the visual appeal of such materials to its audiences increase the chances of effective communication. Powerful video marketing materials have turned viral in many occasions in the past, spreading to wider audiences and bringing in more profits.

Video marketing for business can be done in many forms. Aside from video ads, you can also send video emails, video newsletters, and video business cards to your prospective customers. Other types of video marketing that you can use to get your marketing message across to your target market include online video streaming and video search marketing. These online marketing tools are the fastest and most effective way for you to reach your audiences. Marketing research studies support these claims, revealing findings that some 70% of those who are online prefer to view video ads more than other types of advertising. With the materials right at your fingertips, there is no reason why you should not take advantage of the benefits of strategic video marketing in growing your business.

While video marketing is undoubtedly one of the best ways to communicate with your target market, not all video marketing campaigns are successful. There are key ingredients that your video should have to become truly effective:

1. The Message – you need a compelling message for your target audience to want to view your video from start to finish. Remember that there is no guarantee as to the length of your audience’s attention span. Your message should be short, crisp, and meaningful. Make sure that you are not cluttering your material with too much information or too many messages. Link your video to an in-depth article or directly to your website if you need to cover lengthier points. Keep your messages simple yet full of impact.

2. The Visuals – people are very visual which means they get easily affected by what they see. Your visuals should be chosen in such a way that it evokes the kind of emotion you want your audience to feel when they view your material. Your material should also be appealing to your audience. Be careful about any prejudicial or “editorial” content in your videos. You do not necessarily have control over who gets to see your videos especially when they turn viral. Be tasteful and tactful in your choice of visuals.

3. The Value – while you want to entertain and amuse your audience, you want to give them additional value too. This will set you apart from other videos that are spreading in the social network sites. Your video should offer your target market added value that is consistent with what your company and brand stand for. A highly entertaining video that provides valuable information, links to helpful websites, or entitles its audience to special freebies or discounts are more appreciated by consumers. If you want a video marketing for business that can reach as many people as possible, you might want to offer rewards for viewers who pass your video on to their friends or who post your video on their social networking sites.