Using Video to Build Brand Loyalty

Just because you have a small service business or bricks and mortar retail establishment does not mean your Web site (or blog) cannot be pumped up with multimedia tools. Video is an easy way to brand yourself or your business on a more personal level and, increasingly, old school businesses are adding this to their set of marketing tools. You can learn from them and from successful bloggers and Internet gurus, even if you own a more ordinary product or service business like heating and air or plumbing.

Show people how to be self-sufficient. A client I work with answers the same routine plumbing questions repeatedly. Why not make a 2 minute video on how to fix a leaky faucet? You provide a great service for your customers, you give them a reason to go to your site AND you don't answer the same question over and over. Guess who they will come to when they have a genuine need? And who will they refer their friend to with the same simple problem? YOU!Explain a product. If you are a wireless cell phone retailer, show off your new product. If you are a shoe store, show off your new brands. If you are a hardware store and it is winter, show me what I need to be prepared. There are ton of ways to help your customers out and/or get them excited about your products.Ask for video testimonials from your long-term customers. Certainly not everyone will give one, but a single heartfelt testimonial is a powerful thing.For a sample of how I've begun to use video for my own business, check out my site on living trusts. Below is a sample of a simple video I recorded just using a webcam. There are better tools, but at the time this was all that was available. Not perfect, but it still gives a personal touch, not just words on a page. by Steven Schlagel