Using Videos to Grow Your Business Sales

Inspire more conversions with these proven video styles.

In our fast-paced, on-demand world where attention spans are shorter and time is a valuable commodity, videos are an inexpensive way for small businesses to establish their brand, gain and retain customers, and fuel sales success.

“We’ve moved from a reading culture to a viewing culture,” says Bradley Shende, a digital media consultant and CEO of Vancouver, British Columbia-based M2o Digital. In our viewer culture, four times as many consumers prefer watching a video about a product to reading about it, according to a 2015 survey (Opens in a new tab) by video production company Animoto. Those views often convert to dollars.

If you’re looking to expand your customer base, Shende suggests five impactful video styles to power your sales.

1. Type of video: Introduction video to present your company and its services or product offerings to potential consumers.

How it’s used: It can be posted on YouTube, shared in a blog post, or embedded on an industry website with an established audience.

Why it’s effective: It presents your company to the marketplace and has the potential to generate new customers.

2. Type of video: A company hits the streets to ask consumers or customers for their feedback on a new product offering, product enhancement or service, and films their responses to create the product feedback/market research video. It’s like an interactive survey.

How it’s used: It allows a company to get immediate customer feedback on a product or service or to conduct a test of the product before it’s launched.

Why it’s effective: It’s a cost-effective way to shorten the traditional months-long “product testing” process. It activates a “fail fast” feature that allows the company to quickly repair bugs and glitches revealed by the consumer feedback and launch a quality product.

3. Type of video: ‘How-to’ videos demonstrate the functionality of a product.

How it’s used: Video shows you how the product actually works, turning the instruction manual into a live demonstration.

Why it’s effective: This type of video provides a visual step-by-step process that resonates with some viewers more than the written instructions, which could then prompt a purchase decision.

4. Type of video: Facebook Live provides in-the-moment coverage of a company or product launch.

How it’s used: This unedited, reality-style video tells the raw story of a product or event as it’s happening, and allows viewer participation through comments, questions, and reactions.

Why it’s effective: It makes the viewer feel like a participant in the event and provides a unique personal experience, which could help a potential customer connect with a product or service.

5. Type of video: Customer testimonials offer insights about the quality, effectiveness or value of a product or service.

How it’s used: Testimonials help potential customers make buying decisions.

Why it’s effective: Testimonials build consumer confidence in a company and its products or services, which could lead to more sales.

Introduce your company. Demo a product. Get customer feedback. Do it all with video and watch your sales grow.

Want to learn more savvy business strategies? Take a look at our business resource center. And, one of the smartest business decisions you can make is being proactive about protection. Connect with an agent (Opens in a new tab) today to learn about customized coverage for your business.