Videos can boost marketing’s reach
NEW YORK — Melons going splat in slow motion. Drawn-as-yougo animation about machines. A behind-the-scenes look at winery operations. Not the usual viral videos, but smallbusiness owners have realized that offering something to watch and having a sense of humor about themselves can help grab customers’ attention.
In more than a hundred videos he’s posted on YouTube, Tom Nardone takes aim at racks of ribs, laptop computers and tires to illustrate what a bulletproof vest can do. A Valentine’s Daytimed video sacrificed several boxes of candy. The videos can be graphic, with items exploding at slow speed and Nardone splattered with barbecue sauce or peanut butter.
Nardone, owner of Troy, Mich.-based PriveCo, began making the videos in 2013, less than a year after he began selling the vests. While he advertised in magazines and went to gun shows, he realized that, to reach a wider audience, he needed to be online. And he didn’t want a demonstration of just the vests.
“It does its job, but it’s nothing to look at,” Nardone says. “We said, uh-oh, we’ve got to come up with something good.”
PriveCo’s videos have collected a following: The melon video has nearly a million views since it was posted more than 2½ years ago. Nardone gets recognized at gun shows and has gotten compliments from people who like to watch him shoot items from gravel to boxed wine.
It’s natural for some small businesses such as real estate brokers to use videos in marketing campaigns for houses and other properties; for others, it can take some brainstorming