How to get started with video marketing as a solopreneur or small business owner

Want to know how to get started with video marketing as a solopreneur or small business owner? If you aren’t using video in your marketing right now then there is no doubt that you are missing out. But it is easy to rectify that. Keep on reading to find out how to get started with video marketing as a solopreneur or small business owner.

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HOW TO GET STARTED WITH VIDEO MARKETING AS A SOLOPRENEUR OR SMALL BUSINESS OWNER

Decide how to incorporate video into your current marketing

Whilst you might just be getting started with video marketing for your business I’m going to assume that you aren’t just getting started with marketing as a whole. That means you need to think about how to incorporate video into your marketing. There are different ways that you can add video to your current marketing so you’ll need to consider what makes the most sense for your business. Some video marketing examples are:

Start a YouTube channel and post videos there
Create videos, host on YouTube and embed onto your own website
Record videos live directly on a platform like YouTube or LinkedIn
Make short-form portrait videos for social media platforms (TikTok, Instagram/Facebook Reels etc)
Host live trainings or webinars
Create long-form form edited videos to post on social media

As you can see there are multiple ways to add video in to your marketing. You’ll need to consider the current marketing channels or platforms you are using and see whether it is best to add video in there, whether you want to do something new like start a YouTube channel or use a combination.

Get the right equipment

If you want to create videos for your business then you’ll need to have the right equipment. If you’ve already had a look at equipment for creating videos then you might have come up with lots of different recommendations and become overwhelmed. If you are just getting started with video marketing then the key is to keep your equipment simple. You can always upgrade your equipment over time.

Recording

The first thing you’ll need is something to be able to record your videos with. If you are just getting started with video marketing then you can use your smartphone. At this moment in time, you aren’t trying to make an award-winning movie that is going to be shown in cinemas, but a video that will be watched on computers and mobile phones. The camera quality of recent smartphones is more than good enough!

Lighting

To get the best picture possible when recording you’ll need to think about your lighting. Ideally, you want to have even lighting from a source that is in front of you. If you are fortunate enough to be able to record in front of a window that gets a decent amount of light then you can start with that. If however, you, like me, are based in a not-so-sunny country or don’t have access to a window in a sunny location then you’ll need to invest in lighting. If you are just getting started with video marketing then I’d highly recommend buying a right light. The right light I’ve used for years is the Neewer Dimmable 18″ Diameter. In addition to the ring light I also bought a Zacro 360 Degree Rotation Mount Holder, which means that I can easily attach my phone and the rotation allows me to easily switch from being in the horizontal mode for YouTube videos and then being in portrait mode for social media content.

Sound

Whilst the picture quality of your smartphone is more than good enough for creating videos for your business the built-in microphones aren’t that great so it is advisable to invest in an external microphone. This doesn’t have to be something that breaks the bank. You can get a lapel microphone that you can clip onto your clothing and connects to your phone via a wire or Bluetooth. I use the Movo LV1 Lavalier Lapel Clip-on Omnidirectional Condenser Microphone. This connects via a 3.5mm jack.

Editing

Depending on the type of videos you intend on making you might need to also get editing software. I have a MacBook and use iMovie for editing landscape videos. If you have a Windows computer there are lots of video editing software options (free and paid). If you are intending on editing vertical/portrait videos for social media on your phone then I would highly recommend using CapCut.

Plan your videos

At this point, you know where you want to be creating videos for and you’ve got everything you need to start creating. The question is now: what will your videos be about? Planning the contents of your videos in advance is essential to ensure it works with the rest of your marketing and support the bigger marketing and business goals.

Each video should have a clear content theme and a purpose. Knowing these two things will help you decide what will happen within the video and what the call-to-action for your video needs to be.

If you aren’t already planning your content in advance then my 2023 content planning workbook will help. I go into more detail about how to plan your content (email, long-form and social media) for your business.

Create your videos

Once your videos are all planned out it is time to start creating your videos. You’ll need to get your equipment set up, review your plan and then start filming.

If you are creating a live video you’ll be creating directly on the platform or on a third-party platform (more about the advantages of using those later).

If you are creating a long-form video that you’ll edit afterwards you’ll do this directly in the camera function of your phone.

If you are creating a short-form video then it may be that you create directly in a social media platform, such as TikTok or Instagram, or you may decide to record using your camera function

TAKE YOUR CONTENT MARKETING TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

As you can see there is a lot to consider when adding video in to your existing marketing and given the time it takes to create videos you want to ensure you are doing it right.

I’m a marketing strategist and business mentor that specialised in helping coaches, consultants and online services providers to get the most out of their content.

If you’d like 1-to-1 support to ensure your marketing is as effective as possible check out my service here.

Post your videos

Unless you have created a live video, where you are filming and posting simultaneously, then once you’ve created the video you’ll still need to post the video (and you might have edited the video in between).

Posting directly on the platform

If you are creating videos for YouTube or a social media platform then once you’ve got the final video you’ll be able to head over to where you want to post and upload the video directly.

Posting using a social media scheduler

If you want to post your video on multiple social media platforms it may be more efficient for you to use a social media scheduler. Social media schedulers enable you to quickly post across multiple social media platforms. My social media scheduler of choice is Later. I especially like Later as you can select all of the platforms you want to post on, select your assets (video, image etc), write your master caption and then you are given the option to be able to quickly edit for each platform. This enables you to quickly make sure the hashtags are relevant for the specific platform, remove a link if posting on Instagram etc.

Maximise the reach of your videos

You’ve done it! At this point, you have planned, created and posted at least one video for your business. However, creating videos can be time-consuming so you want to make sure that you are maximising the reach of your videos.

Maximise the reach of your live videos

Depending on the platforms you’ve decided to create live videos you may be able to go live on them simultaneously by using software such as StreamYard. StreamYard allows you to simultaneously go live on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. This is a great option if you are already marketing in those places then it is a great way to achieve more reach with minimal work. Find out more about Streamyard here.

Maximse the reach of your short-form portrait video

Short-form portrait videos are popular on numerous platforms. They can be used as an Instagram or Facebook Reel, a TikTok video, an Idea Pin on Pinterest or a YouTube short. If your business is already using two or more of those platforms then a great way to maximise the reach of the videos you creating is by distributing in all possible places. This is where having a clear repurposing strategy is important AND having the awareness before you create the video that you intend to repurpose.

Knowing in advance that you want to repurpose a video may impact the way you record a video and the way you edit a video. For example, platforms prefer when a video is made specifically for their platform so it is best to use native text in a video rather than text from another source. As a result, you might decide to use a third-party app, such as CapCut, to edit your video to a point. But then you’ll import the video into each platform, add the necessary text and post.

You might decide that is too much work and you’ll create the video directly on a social media platform, like Instagram or TikTok, download the video and then directly reshare it. Different platforms place different elements on top of the screen so you’d want to place your text keeping the safe zone of all the platforms you use in mind.

Both of the ways mentioned so far involve you manually posting the video in multiple places, but there is software that will now do that for you automatically or with minimal involvement. Repurpose.io Repurpose.io will automatically download a video that is posted on your chosen platform and then repost on other platforms based on previous instructions you’ve provided. To find out more visit Repurpose.io so once a video has been published on Instagram it is also automatically distributed to Pinterest, YouTube Shorts and TikTok.

That’s it! You now know how to get started with video marketing as a solopreneur or small business owner.

Hopefully, by now you’ve realised that getting started with video marketing does not mean you have to start a YouTube channel and post multiple times a week. There are so many ways to start using video within your marketing. You can start small and with a limited amount of additional equipment and then build up over time.

Let me know in the comments how you plan on using video to market your business in the future.

READY TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

If you are a coach, consultant or online service provider looking to increase your sales and know that means you need to improve your marketing then I’m here to help. I offer a range of services to help solopreneurs and small business owners to improve their content, attract their dream clients and ultimately build a business they love.

You can check out my services here.