Video is one of the most powerful tools that small business owners, including real estate agents, independent financial advisors, medical practices, and insurance brokers can wield in the digital age. According to a 2018 survey from Animoto, 93 percent of marketers can point to at least one customer they landed as a result of sharing a video on social media.

If you haven’t used video in your marketing previously, you might be wondering what type of video to make. Well, wonder no more! Keep reading to find out the six types of videos you should be creating—along with what you need to know to get started.

Vlog

If you’ve devoted a decent amount of time to content marketing, you’ve probably already started a blog. (And, if you haven’t, you should.) But have you ever considered sharing your blogworthy thoughts in a more visual medium?

Whether you’re looking to speak on a particular sales strategy or simply talk about something of personal importance, all you need is a smartphone and a tripod (or you can ask a friend to record you). Before you press record, be sure to organize your thoughts in outline form—index cards will also work—and run through your presentation a couple of times.

Once you’re happy with your video, you can upload it to your social media outlet of choice. You can also post it to YouTube, then embed the video on your blog. Voilà! You’ve shared your thoughts with the world, and you barely had to spellcheck.

How-To

These videos are called many things: explainers, educational videos, tutorials, etc. Whatever you call them, the idea is to show your audience how to perform a task or eliminate a problem. By doing this, you’re making yourself valuable to your clients and building trust—important steps in any sales relationship.

The concept seems simple, but these videos can be trickier than you might think. In just a few minutes’ time, you need to be able to convey all the information someone needs to get something off their to-do list—bearing in mind any common obstacles that might pop up and offering suggestions to overcome them.

If you’d like to see what these videos look like in action, check out our weekly series, Put a Pin In It, which provides step-by-step instructions for essential marketing and business tasks. And, if you’re looking for help with sales and marketing strategies, we also post a new episode of our flagship web series, Above the Noise, every Friday.

Behind the scenes

Whether you like it or not, you are the face of your brand. That means it’s important to include yourself in your marketing materials. But, more importantly, it means customers want to get to know the real person behind the product.

While you don’t need to document every moment of your day, showcasing parts of your life unrelated to your business will endear you to your followers. Consider posting short clips of you making dinner, exercising, or working on one of your hobbies. Your Instagram Story is a great place to engage in this kind of storytelling, but you can really do it on any platform.

Customer testimonials

Never underestimate the power of glowing praise from satisfied customers! Research has suggested customer testimonials are one of the most effective forms of video marketing—which makes sense, considering as many as 97 percent of customers read reviews for local businesses.

This underscores the importance of delivering a truly exceptional experience. Not only is going the extra mile more likely to generate repeat business and referrals but it could also be the difference between a fresh lead buying your product or looking elsewhere.

When you provide a level of service that keeps people coming back, the truth is that many customers would jump at the opportunity to appear in a testimonial video. Plus, it never hurts to ask. So start making this request a part of your follow-up process. Before long, you should have a nice backlog of customer testimonials to share.

Video podcast

Starting a business podcast is a great way to promote your brand and establish yourself as an expert in your field. And, believe it or not, starting a podcast is actually pretty easy—at least, from a technical standpoint. The tough part is deciding what to talk about, which can be made easier when you invite interesting people on your podcast to have conversations with you.

If you’re not sure who to invite to your podcast, try starting out with some other professionals from your area. This can also be a great way to form profitable partnerships.

Considering how easy it is to get started—not to mention the scores of listeners out there who are hungry for business advice—a video podcast could be a great strategy for growing your brand. In addition to uploading your video to YouTube, make sure to also submit the audio to iTunes and Stitcher, as many people still prefer listening to podcasts over watching them.

Customer appreciation

Last, but certainly not least, you can use video to show appreciation for your current customers. Take to your social media platform of choice with a short clip and talk about how much your customers have improved your life.

Use this opportunity to share your goals, your struggles, and your successes. Again, people love to know about the real person behind the business, which means they’ll also be happy to celebrate your wins.

Now that you have some examples of video content you can create, it’s time to get to work. See which of these styles work best for you, and make them a fixture of your content marketing strategy.