HOW DO I USE VIDEO TO PROMOTE MY BUSINESS – Part 9?

Channels – where to show your video? So now you’ve got your shiny new video, where do you show it? At the very least you must have it on your website. You can host the video yourself or embed from other sites, but whatever you do make sure it’s visible on your site (preferably your homepage) and that people can easily watch it.

Most businesses can’t afford TV adverts, even though the cost of production has reduced significantly over the years. If you have the budget though, you might want to consider buying some airtime. Major channels such as ITV or Channel 4 can be very pricey for most businesses, but some smaller satellite channels will be more affordable – just remember that the viewing figures will be considerably lower.

If TV ads are beyond your reach, the most obvious avenue is to upload the video to YouTube. In fact, you HAVE to upload your video to YouTube. Seeing as it’s the number one video-sharing website on the entire planet, you can’t afford not to! As YouTube is not the only site of its kind on the web, you might also want to consider using some of the other video-sharing sites such as Vimeo, Dailymotion or Vine. If you don’t already have a Facebook Page, Twitter account or Blog you need to set these up ASAP. You can then link to your video on all of these social media sites, helping to make your video visible to as wide an audience as possible.

Online video may be all that marketeers talk about these days, but don’t forget the value of the ‘physical’ world. There’s also potential for using your video in other settings:

– Trade shows: If you’ve hired a stand, make sure you bring a big screen to play your video on a loop. People will be more likely to stop and look than if all you’ve got is a poster or stack of leaflets.
– Presentations: Had an invite to speak at a business breakfast or seminar? Show a video as part of your talk and people will be more likely to remember what you said.
– Business Premises: If you have a physical business location for trading e.g. a shop, install a TV screen in your window and play the video. It’s free advertising that can potentially work for you 24/7.