5 Marketing Pillars That Make Video Content More Effective

Feb 18

Written By Rami Atassi

Video is a powerful tool, but it needs a solid foundation to deliver results.

Today we're breaking down 5 Marketing Pillars for Small Businesses, specifically businesses with a local footprint.

If that's you—here are the marketing essentials that you need to make your video campaigns measurable and effective.

1. Your Website

For small businesses with a local footprint, your website is a critical piece of the user journey.

Here are the essentials for any small business website:

Clear value proposition
Simple contact form
Detailed service pages
Flexible landing pages for offers and promotions

One mistake that local businesses make is over-engineering and overbuilding their website.

Remember, the main goal of your site is to attract and covert traffic.

So, once you have a basic site up and running, you want to use your resources to drive traffic and leads. That’s where video campaigns enter the picture.

2. Google My Business

If you have a local footprint, your Google My Business page is critical. For local Google search, it's one of the first places your business will show up.

The key to optimizing your Google My Business page is to get a steady stream of customer reviews. You can automate this process by connecting it to your customer's post-purchase experience.

Once reviews are flowing in, you can promote your Google My Business through Google Adwords.

If you’re planning to invest in video, make sure your Google My Business page is working. One useful tactic is to drive Google My Business traffic to a video landing page with a booking form.

3. Email & SMS Marketing

For local businesses there are three main components to an effective email & SMS program: list growth, sales & promotions, staying top of mind.

List Growth

There's a natural churn and drop in engagement with email lists over time. The best way to keep a list healthy is to keep adding new people in your target audience.

This means allocating some of your marketing budget to offers purely designed to grow your email list.

Sales & Promotions

When you have a sale or promotion, email & SMS will be some of your best converting channels.

If you have a healthy, active list, you can depend on it to move the needle when it comes time to run a promotion.

Staying Top of Mind

Even when you're not selling something directly, sending regular emails will keep your list active and engaged.

This is where video can be a useful tactic. You want your email program to be balanced between adding value and promoting sales. Video is great for adding value and keeping up engagement.

So, if you’re creating video content, don’t forget to create mailers that drive traffic to your videos.

4. Social Media

When it comes to social media, you have to decide if you are in growth or maintenance mode. And you’ll set your video strategy from there.

Growth Mode

In growth mode, your goal is to produce content that drives more views, likes, and follows for your channels.

When you're in growth mode, you're investing video content designed to capture attention and impressions from your target audience.

In growth mode, your goals might include growing a following in a specific channel, or driving specific amount of traffic from social.

Maintenance Mode

In maintenance mode, your goal is to keep your channels fresh with content at a moderate pace.

When you're in maintenance mode, you're mostly using your channels as an asset for advertising and retargeting.

5. Paid Advertising

Small businesses with a local footprint should consider two main paid advertising channels:

Google Adwords (Google Search, Google My Business, YouTube)
Meta Advertising (Instagram, Facebook)

Form an advertising perspective , the main difference between the channels is the following:

Adwords = buyer intent. Google Adwords gives you potential buyers who are looking for your product.
Meta = passive scrolling audience. Meta Advertising connects you with people in your target audience, but they aren't necessarily ready to buy.

Depending on the campaigns you're running and the specifics of your target market, you'll balance your advertising budget differently across Google and Meta.

With either channel, video is important—but with Meta ads, it’s an essential component. Since Meta ads are served to a passive, scrolling audience, great video is a serious differentiator, which can improve your return on ad spend signifcantly.

Rami Atassi