Top 10 Content Marketing Tools of 2021 

How to Drive Traffic & Sales with Short Videos 

Are you looking to increase how much traffic your business is getting online?" You’ve come to the right place. People are constantly on the move, and in today’s world people no longer want to sit through long videos that take up their time. Instead, they prefer short form “bite size” content that is easy to consume on-the-go and doesn’t require too much focus. If you’re a business looking to boost sales and get more people clicking on your site, it’s time to ditch the long videos that just aren’t working and give short-form content a go! Whether it’s 6 seconds or 3 minutes, changing the way you create video content will give your business the results it’s been looking for. Firstly, What is Short Video Content? Most commonly defined as anything under 60 seconds (with some platforms now taking that up to 3 minutes). Short videos are the new marketing go-to. Having surged in popularity after the success of the short-form content platform TikTok, as well as Instagram’s Reel feature, short videos have become commonplace in society. Each video is fast-paced and packed full of excitement, emotion and easy engagement which is why this type of content is still on the rise and showing no signs of slowing down. The more we get done in a day the more accomplished and satisfied we feel. So, being able to consume multiple videos in the time it takes to consume one is a great way to keep people moving whilst also getting the information you want as a business across. And the best bit is, short form content isn’t targeted to one type of business area. Anything can be enhanced with a short video. From brand promotion to product showcasing or even offer announcing, short videos grab, hook and convert. But why is short video content better than traditional long-form content? Have you ever been on a website and seen a blog post you want to read? The chances are, even if you’re intrigued by the content topic, you won’t finish reading the entire article. Whether this is because of time constraints or just a lack of focus, consumers need MORE than lengthy paragraphs to grab their attention and successfully keep it. That’s where visual content comes in, giving the prospective buyer or client a clearer idea without having to try too hard to keep their focus. However, long-form video content just doesn’t cut it anymore. Why? Because there’s no immediacy. People want immediate interest, immediate value, and immediate results. And to do this, you’ve got to be prepared to make the switch to keeping it short. Now that you know exactly what short-form content is and why it’s such a successful strategy, it’s time to get into how you can utilise it to increase site traffic. How Can Your Business Drive Traffic and Sales with Short Video? #1 Add Short Video Testimonials to Your Website This marketing strategy is one we CAN’T stress enough!  Did you know 93% of customers read online views before buying a product? Yes, you heard us right, a whopping 93% of people rely on the feedback of customers to make their own purchasing decisions. So, mix testimonial with short-form video content and you’re onto a winner. Having this on your website will provide users with a sense of comfort as they are already familiar with short-form content on their social media platforms. And short videos are great for answering FAQs quickly without losing the attention of the potential customer. #2 Hop on the Latest Trends Thanks to platforms like TikTok, every day the internet sees a new viral trend or challenge that seemingly appears overnight. Take advantage of this! Not only are you capitalizing on something popular, but because the content is short, there’s more chance of people actually watching it. Hopping on trends is a great way to get your brand out there and really immerse your business in what’s hot online.   Want to participate in an easy trend?  Try the “Tell me without telling me trend.  It works pretty much as you would assume.  Businesses can talk about their core values, and products/services by demonstrating they are high quality/sustainable/earth friendly/long lasting/etc.  Find all the latest trends and sounds on the discover page.  #3 Repurpose Your Content and Repost it on all Social Media Platforms Posted your short video to TikTok? Great. Now post it as a reel on Instagram or a short on YouTube. Content is made to be distributed and if you want to increase site traffic it needs to be seen. And if you want to go even further to achieve a higher conversion rate, slice up your video into smaller clips and use it as an ad creative. Repurposing content is the king of successful marketing. #4 Hire Influencers for your Ad Marketing or Incorporate Customers into Your Content Influencers have been involved with business content for a long time now, with this marketing strategy getting popular and staying popular ever since. And short-form content is the perfect way to get involved with this. Having an influencer on a quickly consumed piece of media isn’t just going to get conversations started but get them started about your brand and what you do.  As a local business, you might not be able to reach the perfect influencer for you. If not, don’t worry! Showing works better than telling. Get creative and film your product or service being enjoyed by real-time customers! This is a really effective way of adding testimonial at the same time as advertising and will still give the effect that an influencer would. Content like this works great if your service/product involves a before and after too so that the audience can see a real transition. #5 Add value and get Educating If there’s one thing your business needs to do, it’s adding value. 10/10 purchases are made because of the product or service’s value-adding properties. Whether it adds aesthetic or makes life easier, adding value is important. This goes for your online content too. Making education a priority in your marketing will improve lead generation and build stronger brand loyalty, as well as increasing that all-important site traffic. How to get TikTok Marketing Right as a Local Business Now you know the best ways to drive forward traffic, it’s time to think about making it happen. And what better way than to take a look at a local business doing exactly that! Carpet Repair Guys, a business located in Bay Area, found success on TikTok at the start of 2021 and have over 23 million likes and 800k+ followers today. But what’s their secret? Well, its’s simple. They are authentic and don’t try too hard to be something they’re not. Which is something that’s super important for smaller businesses looking to grow organically online. Keeping it real is really valuable in today’s climate. Let’s face it, do the internet actively seek TikTok’s about carpet repair? Probably not, which is why their marketing is incredible!  The founder uses light and humorous commentary to show the company’s processes in a satisfying way. By using time lapses of real-time business life, their videos have gone viral on more occasions than we can count on one hand. As a local business yourself, you’ll need to find your niche and play around with TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts to find your flow. But all it takes is a few seconds and you’ve got yourself a good start. Whether you decide to add commentary over business processes like the Carpet Repair Guys or you use trending sounds to bring your videos to life, there are so many different ways you can make short videos work. And don’t forget, short-form video content is great for starting conversations, and Carpet Repair Guys utilise this activity to respond to online comments in the form of videos and strengthen the relationship they share with the community on the platform. Keep this in mind as short videos really do open the door to more audiences than you might think! Be sure to check out the Carpet Repair Guys on TikTok to get some ideas of how you could get started.  Conclusion If you’re a local business looking for new ways to improve your marketing strategies and create content that sells, it’s time to shift to short-form content and watch your traffic soar. There is no ‘one shoe fits all’ method of leveraging short video content to drive more traffic for your business. Instead, there are a whole load of strategies ready for you to play around with and find out which one works best for you and your audience!  For more tips, tricks, and bits of advice on everything marketing and more, head over to our website and check out our other digital marketing resources designed for local business.