Catchy videos help expand marketing
and perhaps even an offbeat sense of humor to come up with something compelling. But more businesses are getting on board — Facebook counted more than 3 million small-business videos posted in September, up 50 percent from 2 million six months earlier, according to the company’s most recent published figures.
Arlington Machinery, which sells, repairs and appraises used plasticmaking machines, began posting videos on YouTube nine years ago with several objectives. One was to raise the company’s rank in internet search results and another was to display machines for prospective buyers. Or, if equipment was sent to the company for repair, videos could show the owners that the machines were ready to be sent back.
But more recently, Arlington realized videos were also a way to market itself to different kinds of customers. The Elk Grove, Ill.-based company decided to have a little fun and commissioned the whimsical animated video that explains the company’s services.
“Used machinery is not all that exciting to most people,” says David Pietig, a general manager at the company. “What we’re trying to do is make people interested in what we do.”
Thinking about what customers want to see is the best way to get inspired, marketing experts say.
“Good ideas can come from everywhere. If there is an old-school mentality at a company, they should get a pool of 21-year-olds that are more digitally and socially media savvy,” suggests Brian Metcalf, CEO of GreenRoom, a digital marketing company based in Miami.
Making videos can cost almost nothing or run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Arlington Machinery says its animation cost only about $100, but Nardone paid more than $15,000 to produce a series of videos last summer. At Mountain View Vineyard, a Pennsylvania winery that began making videos in the past year, a smartphone and a still camera have kept the costs minimal.
When marketing director Laurie Monteforte started working at Mountain View a year ago, she made it a priority to create a campaign that included videos.