Ashley Andreis – Page 4 – IFTS, Inc. Blog

The Effectiveness of Video Marketing For Your Small Business

If you have been paying attention to social media and online trends over the past few years, you will have noticed that video is taking over. Video is one of the most effective ways to reach your audience, and it is only going to become more popular in the coming years.

In fact, most Facebook Ads that are videos out perform their image-only counterparts at a scale of at least 10 to 1.

As a small business owner, you may be thinking that video marketing is out of your budget or too time-consuming. However, there are many ways to incorporate video into your marketing strategy without breaking the bank or taking up too much of your time.

In this article, we will discuss why video marketing is so effective for small businesses and how you can take small steps to begin incorporating video into your marketing strategy.

Why should you as a small business owner invest your time in video marketing?

Video is an incredibly powerful tool for reaching your target audience. Video content is more engaging and easier to consume than text-based content, making it more likely that your target audience will actually watch and remember your videos.

But how do you know your customers really care about video?

In an effort to better understand how, why, and where customers did their research before choosing to support small businesses, Digital Marketer recently conducted a survey.

When presented with the opportunity to watch videos introducing a business and/or showcasing its goods and services, 51 percent of customers stated they would be more likely to patronize that small business. Only 16 percent of those surveyed had the opposite opinion.

This insight proves just how important it is for small businesses to have a presence on platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, where videos are easy to find and consume.

Not only are potential customers more likely to watch videos about your business, but they’re also more likely than ever before to take action after watching them. In fact, four times as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it.

Whether you’re looking to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, or generate leads and sales, investing your time in video marketing is a smart move for small businesses.

Is video marketing really that effective?

Yes! Video marketing is an incredibly effective way to reach your target audience as a small business. Here are a few reasons why:

Video is an engaging medium that can capture attention better than text or static images.

Did you know that humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than text? Video is a more engaging medium that can capture attention and hold it for longer than text or static images.

Not only that, but our brains are able to simultaneously process images, whereas our minds process words sequentially.

Why is this important? Information is easier to retain if it is easier to process.

Video allows you to tell a story and connect with your audience on a deeper level.

Video is the perfect medium for telling a story. A well-crafted story can evoke emotion and connect with your audience on a deeper level, which is essential for building trust and credibility. Clients are more likely to buy if they know, like and trust you.

Video is shareable, which means it has the potential to reach a wider audience than other marketing channels.

Get your best clients to do the work for you!

If you create compelling, informative, and entertaining videos, your audience will be more likely to share them with their friends and followers. This means your videos have the potential to reach a much wider audience than if you were relying on other marketing channels.

What Videos Can Your Small Business Make to Attract New Customers?

Now that you know why video marketing is so effective, you may be wondering what types of videos you should create to attract new customers.

Here are a few ideas:

Introductory Video

An introductory video is the perfect way to give potential customers a taste of what your business is all about. This type of video can be used to introduce your business, explain what you do, and talk about your unique selling points.

Product Video

A product video is a great way to showcase your products or services in action. This type of video can be used to demonstrate how your products or services work, highlight their features and benefits, and show off any customer testimonials you may have.

How-To Video

A how-to video is a great way to provide value to your audience and show them that you are an expert in your field. This type of video can be used to teach your audience how to do something related to your business, like how to use your products or services.

Customer Testimonial Video

A customer testimonial video is a great way to build trust with your target audience. This type of video features a satisfied customer talking about their experience with your business. Customer testimonial videos are an excellent way to show off your happy customers and highlight the positive impact your business has had on their lives.

Video Blog

A video blog is a great way to keep your audience up-to-date on what’s going on with your business. This type of video can be used to talk about new products or services, share company news, or give insights into your industry. Most audiences really enjoy those behind the scene peeks because it’s like you are sharing a secret.

How can small businesses get started with video marketing?

Now that we’ve established why video marketing is so important for small businesses, let’s talk about how you can get started. If you are ready to start incorporating video into your marketing strategy, there are a few small steps you can take to get started on the right foot.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the thought of creating videos, don’t worry. You don’t need to have a Hollywood budget or hire a professional production team to create effective videos. In fact, some of the most successful videos are shot on smartphones and edited with basic video editing software.

To get started, focus on creating short, informative videos that highlight your products or services. You can also create “how-to” videos, customer testimonials, and behind-the-scenes footage to give your audience a look at what goes into running your business.

Once you have a few videos under your belt, start promoting them on social media, on your website, and through email marketing campaigns. You can also create a YouTube channel to house all of your videos in one place.

What Are You Waiting For?

Video marketing is a powerful tool that every small business should be utilizing. By taking small steps to incorporating video into your marketing strategy, you can reach a wider audience and connect with your customers on a deeper level.

If you need help getting started, contact IFTS today at 412-715-6266. We can help you create high-quality videos that will reach your target audience and achieve your business goals.

The Top 18 Social Media Post Ideas For Painting Businesses To Engage Your Online Audience and Save You Time

Posting organic content in today’s world is crucial for social media success. Keeping up with posting daily to your social media sites can be very time consuming – and you don’t want to be spending all of your valuable time creating content that your social media followers might not even see or want to read. This is especially crucial if you, as the painting business owner, are creating this content.

In order to simplify the social media process, we have put together this easy to follow social media post ideas list. These top post ideas will help you stay relevant and engaging on social media while saving you time.

Before you start posting though, you need to get to know your audience!

Discover Your Audience In Depth

Knowing who your audience is will make creating content for your social media THAT much easier!

You’ll want to know your audience’s

likes and dislikes
interests
pain points
biggest questions
age

If you are trying to figure out who your target audience is, check out this blog post on how to define your target audience where we walk you through a few steps that will help you identify who is already engaging with your company (and your competitors) and how to utilize that information to establish a clear target group.

To get you started, most painting businesses have an active audience that mainly consists of women 35-65 that live within 20 miles of your location. They are normally the primary decision makers in a household. Also, the household income is in the top 40% in the area.

Now, the age may skew younger or older depending on your location, but this is a good jumping off point.

1. This or that

As a painting business, you can ask people what cabinet color they prefer in a kitchen. This dark set or that bright white set.

There are a number of things that you can compare using the “this or that” post option.

2. A, B, C or D

This type of post is similar to “this or that” but instead, you are giving them four different options to choose from. You could post a question such as “If you could choose one thing to update in your home right now, what would it be?”

With this question, post four images such as a new kitchen, interior painting, exterior painting and bathroom remodeling and have them share their feedback. This can help you figure out ads to run and pain points to touch upon in upcoming posts.

3. Customer Review

Customer reviews are one of the most impactful posts you can put out there, yet you rarely see it being done by most businesses. This type of post allows you to toot your own horn a bit while letting others know that your previous clients have been absolutely satisfied with your services.

You can showcase reviews that have been left for your company on Facebook, Google, etc., videos that customers have shot on their cellphones, or even emails or text messages that you have received about your work.Does your business not receive many reviews? Here are 10 proven ways to get more online reviews for your business!

4. Story Time

There is nothing more engaging to the human race than storytelling. It goes back to the time of cavemen. So, why not use this to help liven up your social media?

This could be a story about you and how you started your business. It could be a story about one of your clients and their story of how you have made something in their life better through your services. It could even be a story that discusses why a client chose you over someone else to tackle their home project.

The story post allows you to connect with your audience on another level while establishing yourself as a personable brand. It’s a very humanizing post type.

5. Showcasing Styles

If you offer a wide range of choices in your work, let them know! Show off various styles and options within the services you provide. If you are a home remodeling company, show off a few different kitchen styles and ask your audience which they would pick for their own home.

Showcase your abilities to your audience will help them understand exactly what your company is about and the kind of work you do.

6. Transparency

When creating this type of post, you’ll be taking something that isn’t typically discussed in your industry, and share it with your social media audience. You’ll need to make it very clear for the customer to see, such as how your business operates or how you estimate work with integrity. Offer them a deep dive into your processes.

Transparency posts are engaging because they help you build a relationship with your audience. Discuss topics on which your followers are desperate to learn more about.

7. Business Details

If you are a painting company, including business details such as the process of making an estimate or how long it typically takes to complete a project can attract social media followers who are in need of your services. This is a topic that not many companies speak openly about.

You could also share the training process for your employees and how you only hire experienced professionals. Your followers will be glad to know that there won’t be just any average joe painting their home.

This type of post gives you an opportunity to showcase your professionalism.

8. Customer Spotlight

This post can be focused on one of your customers and the project that you helped them with. Shining the light on a customer will make them feel great, and more likely to share your social media post with other potential customers. This is a great way to get your business in front of new eyes. In fact, try to tag the customer that you are highlighting if possible.

This also shows how much you care about your clients and helps them to feel more connected with your company.

9. Quick Tips

Quick tips are social media posts that showcase a helpful tip or trick for something relevant to your industry. These can be beneficial as they will provide your audience with the knowledge they need to take advantage of a daily situation.

With someone who has as much experience and knowledge in your industry as you do, start sharing some helpful tips! If these valuable tips will help somebody, they are going to think of you every time they use it.

10. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQ social media posts are great because they answer the questions you get asked most often! This is perfect for businesses that have social media accounts that get a lot of comments or messages. Instead of replying to each message, share it with your social media audience so everyone can get the answers to their questions without having to ask them.

[Bonus Tip – If a question is really popular, be sure to add it to your website as well to help with your SEO]

Ask your question in the opening line of the content with the answer written out below. This is how you turn frequently asked questions into questions that are no longer asked, saving you time in the long run. These work really well as videos too.

Need help?

Get templates to the top 18 social media posts to engage your online audience and save you time!

11. Before and After

As a home services business, before and after posts are a must! Showing your social media audience the before and after of a project will help them to understand how your services make a difference!

If possible, be sure to use a picture taken from the same angle with similar lighting. Try to use images that have stark contrast, such as going from light paint to dark paint or vice versa.

12. Feature Your Employees

We can guarantee your employees will love the fact that you take the time to showcase them, what they do for you, and how much of an asset they are to your company. When you share social media posts that include the team members, it helps to provide a friendly face behind your business and that will make your audience feel more connected!

People want to do business with people.

13. Comparison

The comparison post can relate to anything within your industry and it simply compares one thing to another. This could be comparing different brands of paint and how they are used, types of flooring, the quality of one painting process vs. another etc.

14. Pros and Cons

Anything that relates to your business can be a comparison with benefits and drawbacks. This can be in relation to your industry, your competitors, or things that your customers are doing.

What are the pros and cons of hiring a company who specializes in kitchen remodeling over a general contractor? What about one coat of paint vs two?

Be sure to highlight the situations where your business comes out on top!

15. Customer Generated Content

This is a piece of content that was created by someone who has used your services. This could be a photo of them in their new kitchen or a testimonial that they may have written about your business on their personal profile. Anything that is published by one of your customers is customer generated content.

When customers see you sharing their posts about your business, this encourages others to do the same!

16. Talk About Trends

There are trends that are relevant in every industry, which is why social media users are so engaged with content that discusses them. Trends can be anything from popular paint colors to tile and flooring patterns and accent walls.

If you have your finger on the social media pulse, share some of these trends with your audience and provide some insight about them. They may just see something that catches their eye! This also sets you apart as an expert in your area.

17. Long Form Content

You want to make sure that you are also posting long form content here and there. This consists of longer videos and blog posts that allow you to really share your message. Longer form content can be used when you want to explain something that is beneficial for your social media audience and internet browsers alike!

Some popular long form content topics that we have seen work for painters are as follows:

Popular color trends for the year
Tips for painting children’s rooms
One coat vs two coat
Warranty explanation
Pros and cons of certain paints or paint brands

18. Community Related Posts

If you are a local business, you should absolutely be talking about community-related activities. For example, you can talk about projects that your business has completed around the community. So, when people see that your company has done work on a common spot around town, they are going to think of you every time they see it!

You should also post about any charity work that your business has done.

Want To Know More?

This is just the start when it comes to creating engaging content that helps get you more clients!

If you need help creating social media content for your business or if you would like it done for you, contact IFTS today at 412-715-6266 to discuss a social media plan that is a good fit for you and your business.

Bonus! Get these templates sent directly to your inbox along with an instructional video on how to make personalized edits! Click the link below!

18 social media posts to engage your online audience and save you time!

In Case You Missed It – The Most Popular Marketing Articles from IFTS From 2021

Every type of business requires its own set of marketing methods. Whether your painting company is just getting started or is ramping up to meet ambitious growth targets, you’ll need a comprehensive marketing approach to get you there. Your painting company’s growth may become stagnant if you don’t have one, which isn’t where you want to be!

In this article, we are going to recap our top five most popular blog posts from 2021. For more information on any of these topics, be sure to check out the full article or corresponding YouTube video for each topic!

5. How To Market Your Painting Business – 8 Benefits of Local Marketing for Painters

As a painting company, it’s critical that all of your customers, particularly those in your immediate neighborhood, are aware of your existence and can locate you if they need your services. This is referred to as local marketing.

A painting firm can advertise directly to the specific location where it operates through local marketing.

Painting companies who use local marketing methods can attest to the increase in business that comes with it. Here are a few of the advantages you can’t afford to overlook:

Target customers based on their interests
Low-cost
Your business will appear in local search
Lasting business relations
Branding and brand control
Scaling your business
Accessible booking
Keeping track of marketing efforts

Implementing a well-thought-out local marketing plan may help any painting company develop significantly.

Read the full article on this topic where we dive into these 8 benefits of local marketing for painting companies and why you should start implementing these strategies today.

4. 10 Proven Ways to Get More Positive Online Reviews for Your Business

If you want your business to stand out from your competition and you want to dominate local search, you need to focus on developing a system that will generate a consistent stream of positive online reviews for your company.

When someone in your neighborhood searches for a company like yours, you need to appear first in the organic search results and be the obvious pick.

Google considers internet reviews when determining organic ranking. Quantity, quality, frequency of delivery, and product/service keywords will all be taken into consideration. Then they’ll look at the same thing for your competitors. To appear higher in the rankings, it is critical that your company outperforms its competition in each of these areas.

Here are 10 ways to get more reviews, improve your local search visibility, and boost your company’s online presence.

Create a “Review Generation Strategy” to get reviews on all of the sites that matter to your clients.
Ask your 5-Star Reviewers for referrals
Train your employees to ask for reviews
Use feedback forms proactively to stop negative online reviews and comments
Respond to every review to build trust with future prospects and increase your online authority
Request online reviews from your happiest customers
Ask your 5-Star Reviewers to leave reviews on multiple platforms (or on video)
Make collecting customer emails part of your onboarding process
Use SMS texts to request reviews
You can use incentives, but be cautious with the rules

The value of internet reviews and keeping track of your online reputation is critical to your company’s success.

To read more about these 10 ways to get more online reviews, visit our full article where we dive into the details on how to consistently get multiple positive reviews while improving your visibility online.

3. How to Set Up A YouTube Channel for Your Painting Company

Did you know that on mobile alone, YouTube reaches more people in the 18-49 demographic than any American cable television network?

Here are three easy steps to set up your YouTube channel for your painting business!

1. Sign in to YouTube

Go to YouTube.com and sign in using the sign in button in the upper right corner. If you already have a Google account, sign in with that email address and password.

2. Create Your Channel

In the top right corner of the screen, you will see your profile icon. Click on the circle icon and select “Create a Channel”.

From this step, you will be prompted to choose your channel name and profile picture.

3. Customize Your Channel

In this step of creating your YouTube channel, you will focus on making your channel welcoming to visitors. This will also help with your SEO.

Visit the customization tab in YouTube studio.

Here, you will see three tabs – layout, branding and basic info.

Layout

Under this tab, you may choose and manage what people will see when they visit your channel. When someone visits your channel, the main video they will see is the video spotlight. You can include a channel trailer for individuals who haven’t yet subscribed to your channel. This is just a short video showcasing what you do and what viewers may anticipate from your channel.

Branding

Under this tab, you can edit elements such as your profile picture and banner image. If you know what a Facebook cover photo is, a YouTube banner image is very similar. When someone views your YouTube channel, this banner will show at the top of the page.

Basic Info

You may update your channel name and description under the basic info tab, as well as add translations in other languages, links to sites you wish to share with your viewers (such as your company’s website), and contact information if you want people to email you with inquiries. Make sure to provide a link back to your business.

After making changes to any of these tabs, always be sure to hit the “publish” button to make your edits live on your channel.

To continue reading about how video marketing benefits your painting company, check out the full article here.

2. What Social Media Platforms Should My Painting Business Be Active On?

Do you find it difficult to find new customers online? If so, social media is your answer!

Painting companies have always depended heavily on word of mouth to gain new clients. While this is still a very relevant – and constructive – method of marketing, technology is allowing modern-day digital advertising to gain momentum. The Internet provides businesses with a variety of options for reaching a larger audience and maintaining control over their reputation. Social media is one such tool.

Social media platforms are more than places for business pages and profiles to be housed. They serve as hubs for individuals to interact, share their thoughts, make suggestions, and express their likes and dislikes – doesn’t that sound a lot like word-of-mouth marketing to you?

Let’s check out the top 5 social media platforms for painting businesses!

1. YouTube

This video-based platform offers areas for sharing photographs, going live with an audience when launching videos, and building a community. Do you want to demonstrate your painting abilities? Maybe you could provide a how-to video on how to paint like a pro? YouTube is your best bet if you want to go the video route.

2. Facebook

For all types of businesses, creating a Facebook Business Page is a top choice. It may be used to develop a range of content geared on attracting, nurturing, and retaining customers. You may use Facebook to publish text, images, videos, contests, and events, as well as create an ecommerce page where you can sell products/services or schedule appointments.

3. Instagram

Instagram has swiftly evolved into the easiest platform to advertise services to a younger target audience, as it attracts a younger demographic than Facebook. Who said that young people aren’t homeowners or that they don’t require painting services? Many individuals, especially DIYers, prefer to spend time on Instagram looking for new ways to spice up their homes.

This site supports photographs and short videos; utilizing the proper hashtags while uploading these will help you gain more followers than you think! The site also has a number of features that allow you to conduct surveys and polls, make lengthier videos, and share interesting content from within the platform.

4. Twitter

Twitter is a wonderful alternative if you’re searching for a formal way to interact with your audience. On Twitter, text material is restricted to 280 characters. As a result, if you need to send a lengthier message, you can start a thread or utilize alternative platforms.

5. LinkedIn

LinkedIn takes the cake when it comes to professionalism. It’s the only social networking site where formality reigns supreme. On LinkedIn, however, you won’t find many active business pages; rather, it’s the business owners and their staff that are more actively and continually seeking connections. On LinkedIn, B2B networking is a major deal.

To learn more about using these platforms and finding the right fit for your business, check out our full article for more information.

1. Are You Prepared For the Apple 14.3 iOS Update – How To Avoid Losing All of Your Retargeting Traffic

Has the Apple iOS update affected your Facebook advertising this year? Now that Apple has implemented new privacy updates to iOS 14.3, users are actually able to see how each app uses their data.

The most major change is that instead of asking customers to opt-out of having their data monitored, Apple will instead need them to opt-in to having their data tracked.

Facebook has been attempting to counter Apple’s claim that it will harm small companies. They took out newspaper ads, ran Facebook ads against it, and looked at other possibilities, but the rollout has already been in effect for a year.

What happens when people opt out of being tracked?

When people opt out of being tracked, what does this mean for your Facebook ads?

You won’t be able to track online conversions from mobile users the same way you used to, and your retargeting audiences will shift or be missing iOS users.

What happens when they opt into being tracked?

Facebook has estimated that 10–15 percent of individuals will opt-in to being tracked. What does this mean for your Facebook Ads?

You won’t be able to retarget iOS website visitors anymore
You won’t be able to use the “Audiences” function to prevent your current clients from seeing your ads
Your conversion tracking numbers will become skewed

So, what can you do to limit the impact of this change?

In our full article, we cover steps that you can take to mitigate the damage to your Facebook ads caused by the iOS 14.3 change and how to overcome the main issues that result from limited tracking from the Facebook app.

Do You Need Help Marketing Your Painting Business?

Implementing a well-thought-out local marketing plan may help any painting company develop significantly. IFTS has helped a lot of companies boost their sales using the tactics mentioned in this article. Let us help you too! Call 412.715.6266 or email si@iftsdesign.com to get started!