The history of video marketing began on July 1, 1941.

That was the day the world’s first TV commercial ran for 10 seconds in New York and cost the wristwatch advertiser Bulova just $9.

It’s about $150 at modern prices.

Fast forward to 2023 and a 30-second video can cost $100,000+ in production and up to $6.5 million for a spot at the Super Bowl.

The costs involved with TV commercials make video marketing too expensive for the average small business.

But online video marketing allows millions of people across the world to advertise products and services at prices not too different than Bulova paid back in 1941.

Video marketing lets small businesses reach their customers at exactly the moment they’re looking for your products and services.

But it’s not just showing up that’s important.

Consumers love video. At least one-third of all online activity is spent watching visual content.
And get this.

Studies show that consumers can recall 65% of video ads they’ve seen in the past three days.

In comparison, consumers can recall just 10% of written ads.

Why is that useful to small businesses?

Because if you can demonstrate the value of your products or services in video form you should get better results.

For example, this report found that video marketers generate up to 66% more qualified leads compared to non-video marketers.

Read on to see the 9 most popular video formats used by small businesses like yours!

You might remember the first advert from razor blade brand Dollar Shave Club back in 2012.
It was a masterpiece in product explainer videos.

The video combined humor with a great offer that targeted a major pain point for consumers: the high price of razors and the hassle of buying them.

The product explainer video ad generated millions of views and thousands of new customers and within 10 years Dubin had sold the brand to Unilever for $1 billion.
Webinar
A webinar video is a live or pre-recorded online presentation.

It typically involves a speaker or panel discussing a specific topic with the ability for participants to interact through Q&A sessions or chat features.

Webinar videos are great for businesses in industries like education, technology, professional services and B2B where expertise and thought leadership are valued.

Case study: Russell Brunson’s Perfect Webinar

You might remember the first advert from razor blade brand Dollar Shave Club back in 2012.
It was a masterpiece in product explainer videos.

The video combined humor with a great offer that targeted a major pain point for consumers: the high price of razors and the hassle of buying them.

The product explainer video ad generated millions of views and thousands of new customers and within 10 years Dubin had sold the brand to Unilever for $1 billion.
Webinar
A webinar video is a live or pre-recorded online presentation.

It typically involves a speaker or panel discussing a specific topic with the ability for participants to interact through Q&A sessions or chat features.

Webinar videos are great for businesses in industries like education, technology, professional services and B2B where expertise and thought leadership are valued.

Case study: Russell Brunson’s Perfect Webinar

Russell Brunson’s Perfect Webinar (you can watch the video at that link!) is a great example of using a webinar to sell another webinar!

The ClickFunnels co-founder uses a short webinar video to sell 3 video trainings plus done-for-you scripts to help you create your own webinar funnel for just $7.

Some of the people who used the ideas from the offer include John Fu.

John went on to build his own webinar funnel that generated $1 million revenue in two months. John then became the fastest ClickFunnels user to generate $10 million inside 6 months from a webinar funnel.

Less than a year later John’s webinar funnel had sold over $100 million based almost entirely on Russell Brunson’s principles.
FAQ Video
An FAQ video helps businesses address common questions in a video format.

It can help provide clarity, address customer concerns and streamline information for viewers.

Businesses that can benefit most from FAQ videos are those in customer-oriented industries such as e-commerce, software, professional services and healthcare, where there’s a need to provide detailed explanations or instructions to customers before they buy.

Case study: Blendtec’s Will It Blend?

The "Will It Blend?" video series by Blendtec was an unconventional and hugely successful take on the FAQ video.

With these videos founder Tom Dickson created a viral YouTube channel. The format involved him blending unusual objects like smartphones, golf balls, Justin Bieber videos, iPads and much more.

The iPad video was the most successful and gathered 19M views at the time of publication.
This take on the FAQ video helped Blendtec reach a wider audience while also demonstrating the durability of its product.

Brand Story Videos

A brand story video communicates the origin and mission of a business.

The key is creating an emotional connection with the audience as well as developing a relationship built upon trust and shared values.

Businesses that benefit most from brand story videos are those seeking to differentiate themselves in competitive markets, such as lifestyle brands, artisanal products, or companies with a unique culture or social impact.

Case study: Always #LikeAGirl

The #LikeAGirl ad was released in 2014 and went viral after featuring in the 2015 Super Bowl.

The video challenged negative gender stereotypes.

For example, a young boy performs a mock impression when asked to ‘run like a girl’.
The ad sparked a nationwide conversation.

#LikeAGirl not only brought attention to Always’ line of menstrual hygiene products but created a lasting social impact.

Educational Videos / How-To Videos

A how-to video provides step-by-step tutorials on a specific topic.

It aims to educate viewers by teaching them how to accomplish a task or acquire new knowledge.

Small businesses that benefit most from this type of video marketing include those in industries like DIY/home improvement, cooking/food, fitness, beauty, technology, and any field where there is a demand for learning and practical guidance.

Case study: Woodworking for Mere Mortals

Is a one-man woodworking business lucrative?

With an estimated net worth of $2 million Steve Ramsey’s answer is a ‘yes’!

Steve created his YouTube channel Woodworking for Mere Mortals back in 2009 and began posting how-to videos about building wooden chess boards, picture frames, jewelry boxes and clocks.

Fast forward over a decade and Steve has 1.9 million subscribers with videos like this one on wood finishing earning over 6 million views.

Steve has monetized his channel and offers premium woodworking courses on his website.

Case Study Videos

A case study video showcases real-life examples of a business's success stories or client testimonials.

This format involves presenting the challenges, strategies and outcomes of a specific product or service.

Businesses in industries such as technology, consulting, healthcare, B2B services, and any sector with complex or specialized solutions can benefit most from case study videos.

Case study: Two Comma Club

The Two Comma Club documentary is a masterclass in monetizing the case study format.
If you’re not aware, the Two Comma Award is given out to anyone who generates $1M+ using ClickFunnels.

Via the dedicated website you can opt-in to watch a 53-minute documentary that follows a handful of the 737 people who’ve won the award (at time of publication).

The case study video is monetized in two ways:

Testimonials

Testimonial videos feature satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences and endorsements of a product, service or brand.

They’re a powerful form of social proof that influences purchase decisions.

Testimonial videos can benefit a wide range of businesses, particularly those in industries such as e-commerce, hospitality, healthcare, professional services and any sector where building trust and establishing credibility are essential for customer acquisition.

Case Study: Squatty Potty

The Squatty Potty commercial featuring a unicorn on a toilet went viral in 2015 and drove huge awareness and sales for a toilet stool.

The video was produced by the Harmon Brothers and is a masterclass in leveraging testimonials.

For example, in the commercial the unicorn reads out 5-star Amazon reviews including a haiku.

Video testimonials most commonly feature a happy customer talking to camera.

But Squatty Potty’s success is a great example of creatively deploying testimonials.

UGC Video Content

UGC (user-generated content) refers to images or videos created by users of a product or service.

This kind of content is often offered by influencers and brands can pay for UGC at scale.

UGC video content is best suited for businesses that have a strong and engaged customer base and particularly in industries such as travel, fashion, beauty, food and technology.

Case study: Glossier

Glossier is a beauty and skincare brand valued at around $390 million.

Its marketing strategy is almost entirely founded on the concept of ‘every customer is an influencer’ and this is expressed through UGC featured on its Instagram channel.

Glossier regularly reposts skincare tutorials sourced from customers.

It’s a win-win as Glossier gets believable reviews while the UGC creator gets a potential boost in engagement from Glossier’s 2.8 million followers.

It’s important to note that Glossier does not pay for its UGC and this only creates more trust and credibility.

Live Q&A Videos

Live Q&A videos involve hosting sessions where businesses interact with their audience in real-time.

Common platforms for this kind of video marketing include Instagram Live, Facebook Live and YouTube Live.

This video content is beneficial for businesses in industries such as consulting, coaching, education and customer support, or any industry where direct engagement and personalized interaction with the audience are key for building trust.

Case study: Peloton

Peloton Interactive is an exercise equipment and media company founded in 2012.

The company’s main business model is live-streamed and on-demand fitness classes accessed through a subscription.

To inspire new users, Peloton often hosts live Q&A sessions.

For example, in this Q&A users talked to a Peloton Instructor who had regained body movement after a serious car accident.

The live Q&A format allows Peloton to build strong connections with customers.

There are two main barriers to small businesses leveraging video marketing…

It can be daunting for a small business to record their own videos and many times a successful shoot leads to dollars wasted in promoting content that generates no meaningful leads or sales.

This is why statistics suggest 16% of marketers don’t use video because they don’t have the time.

A further 17% don’t use it because they think it’s too expensive.

But profitable video marketing doesn’t have to be either costly or time-consuming!

Read on to find out more about producing simple and low-cost videos for your small business.

After spending over $600 million dollars on social media advertising… expert video marketer Barry Hott discovered something fascinating.

He found that ‘ugly ads’ often out-performed video ads that looked professionally made.
Here’s what Barry says:

“Our brains have unconscious ad blockers. We don’t wanna see ads. We wanna see content that we’re on social media for: fun things, friends, viral content. Authentic content that doesn’t look like ads can get around those blockers.”

In one example Barry is simply talking to camera while walking down the street.

It’s as if he were Face-timing with a prospect.

And here’s the thing.

Making a so-called ugly ad does not mean you will see less ROI than if you invested a minimum $500,000 in the Harmon Brothers who produced the Squatty Potty ad you saw earlier.

So long as your messaging is right for your audience you could shoot a video on your smartphone and start using it to drive sales almost right away.

Many small business owners are hesitant to appear on camera.

And it’s not just because you might be camera-shy. There are many reasons why you could hesitate to hit ‘publish’ on your video sales letter or webinar:

So here’s the question…

What if appearing on camera had nothing to do with the effectiveness of your video marketing?

This question appeared recently in the ClickFunnels Facebook group.

A number of people were quick to point to a video sales letter (VSL) that’s generated over $1M with its front-end offer – plus much more in upsells.

Here are two fascinating takeaways from the VSL:

*You can watch this here*

Did you know you can create this kind of video for just $49 with a pro subscription to Voomly Cloud?

Creating a professional video for your small business is inexpensive with Voomly.

You also don’t even need a videographer, cameraman or video editor.

Here are four of the tools you get free with a Voomly Cloud subscription that can help you create and edit an animated video just like you saw above:

Find out more about subscribing to Voomly Cloud here.

Are you feeling confident to get started with a video for your small business?

Find our Small Business Video Marketing Checklist below.

NOTE – you might want to bookmark this page so you can revisit this checklist during the video creation process and before going live!

#1 Define The Purpose

Get clear on what you want to get out of your video marketing.

Your purpose might be one of the following:

By defining the purpose of your video, you can align the content and format to achieve your desired outcome.

#2 Decide on Your CTA

Call-to-actions (CTAs) tell your viewers what to do next.

Depending on the purpose of your video marketing consider CTAs such as:

These CTAs prompt viewers to take specific actions that align with your business goals.

When deciding on your CTA make sure to consider the WIIFM (what’s in it for me?) and describe the benefit the prospect will get by taking the desired action.

#3 Choose Your Format

Here’s a quick recap of 9 video ideas you saw above:

The above video ideas typically have their own structure and so you can watch one of the examples above to get inspiration.

#4 Choose Your Video Style

Depending what you’ve decided so far, you should now consider the style of your video.

Ask yourself questions like:

#5 Choose Your Length

The length of your video will depend almost entirely on this question: how long do you need to convince your prospect to take the desired action?

Next consider the platform you’ll be advertising on.

For example, an educational or how-to video published to YouTube could easily require up to 20-30 minutes to cover the topic in depth and demonstrate your expertise.

Some webinars hosted on a personal website can be up to 2 hours long!

A UGC video destined for social media, on the other hand, might need to be 15-60 seconds long to stand a chance of going viral.

Get guidance from top-performing videos that drive a similar intended CTA to yours.

#6 Select Your Location

You will need to figure out where you’re going to shoot your video before committing.

Depending on the task at hand, you may need to book a studio or off-site location.

This step is important for planning purposes where you will need to coordinate with multiple parties.

#7 Prepare Your Script

To optimize your time spent recording a video, use a script.

But you should only tackle the script once you’ve got clear on the CTA, your video format, your video style and the content.

Even if you’re using UGC you may still need a script if you’re going to include extra text or subtitles that help you stitch together a story arc in the right order.

#8 Gather The Equipment

You should have all you need to get ready to film now.

Gather any equipment that will go into the video such as cameras, lighting and props for the big day.

#9 Check The Lighting

Lighting significantly impacts the quality of your video.

Bad lighting might mean the difference between publishing your video right away and needing to reschedule a second shoot.

Here are some important considerations: