You may have heard of one or all of the following video apps and services, but may not know how to use them to showcase your brand. Consumers love video communications because it’s fun, personable and offers more information than just a photo. Here’s an overview of what four top video apps, sites and services are, and what they are best used for in regards to your business.
1. What is Vine?
Vine is a video app owned by Twitter that allows its users to post short, looping video clips. You can also take a few short videos and it will loop them together. It’s a conversation starter, and a party favorite. How is it best used for your business? Sprout Social recommends using Vine for product demos and teasers, contests and advertising on Twitter. It’s a really short video and can help build hype and give a ‘sneak peek’ at something new that you are offering. Where contests and your brand are concerned, you can create a fun theme and ask customers to submit Vine videos — the most creative wins! Plus, you can use Vine for advertising on Twitter.
2. What is YouTube?
Most likely, you know what YouTube is — it’s Google’s mega video app and site that ranks within the top social media platforms, right up there with Twitter and Facebook. It allows you to upload and share videos. According to Gigaom.com, which features 34 helpful ways you can use YouTube, a few ways you can use it for your brand include posting customer video testimonials to add to your credibility; putting together a creative video to explain your product or service and conducting an interview with an expert. There are endless possibilities of content that you can post for your business. Big tip: Keep it relevant and also informative. Don’t just post to post — give people something that they can learn and/or enjoy. YouTube also connects seamlessly to your other social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Plus, making sharing your videos across all of your platforms a breeze.
123Print’s “How Your Business Cards Are Made” video takes viewers through the business card printing process in a quick, fun way!
3. What is Vimeo?
Vimeo is another video-sharing website. While YouTube may be the video giant, Vimeo also has plenty of advantages, including a smaller community of folks interested in less fluffy videos and more “real” videos. Read: People are more likely to see your videos and take your business seriously. There also aren’t any distracting ads so that your customers are able to pay attention to your message. Essentially, however, the actual videos you post for your small business are likely to be the same, no matter which platform you choose to be on. The downside to Vimeo is that not all social platforms (LinkedIn being one of them) will connect to it.
4. What is video email?
There are many different services offering video email, which is a great and innovative way to communicate with your customers and grow a personable and service-oriented brand. You can record videos right from your office computer to tell your customers about a new service, product or promotion, or simply to check in from time to time to say hello. It’ll make you stand out from all of the ‘regular’ emails that your customers get all day long, and helps to nurture customer relationships and remind them that you care. Plus, it’s actually a pretty big timesaver — if you’re not a writer and better face-to-face, you can use videos to eliminate the need for spellcheck. Just make sure that your videos look professional — check to see what your customer will see behind you, wear appropriate clothing, and fine-tune your message before sending them a recording with lots of ‘”uh”s and “um”s in it.
Which video apps do you like best? Are there any big ones we’re missing from our list? Let us know in the comments below, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. Plus, take a gander at our YouTube page for some B2B video inspiration!