It’s guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is from Joe Forte – Enjoy!

Congratulations! Your business plans are in place, perhaps you have sought out and won investors, and gotten a foothold in the market with your product. Now it is time to grow. No doubt you are raising the mantle of social media dominance and gathering all the “followers” and “likes” that are to be had, but have you got the moves to keep their attention?

Properly designed and produced videos are an amazing way to build strength behind any marketing campaign. Let’s look at 7 ways entrepreneurs can use video to grow their new business.

1. Viral Video Marketing

This is old news to anyone with an Internet connection, but also extremely hard to do for the average Joe with a low definition webcam. You need something shocking, wowing, the “AH!” factor if you will. Like any good song, your product not only needs a hook, but a melody to provide the ear-worm and make your work a household name. Seeking out a firm with good copy writing and production staff can help bounce your ideas into a whole new audience.

In our example, we take a look at the 2011 start-up Dollar Shave Club and their viral video “Our Blades Are F***ing Great”. The CEO, Michael Dubin, wrote the script and had his good friend co-direct it. They produced the video by themselves without the help of a professional video company. It cost roughly $4,500 to make and it was shot in a day at their actual factory warehouse.. The viral video was responsible for 14 million views and 12,000 new orders that arrived within the first 48 hours of it being uploaded, and since then, Dollar Shave Club has gone on to produce other viral videos to continue the buzz surrounding their fast growing business.

2. Creating Brand Recognition

What names come to mind when you think about online search engines? What about cake mixes? More importantly, what name will come to mind when people think about your product? Your company, your product, is your baby. You have invested hundreds of hours and devoted many sleepless nights into planning, research, and development. Quality, targeted videos of your product, and your mission, will put you head and shoulders above the crowd.

Lyft, a privately held, San Franciso-based transportation network company that was founded in 2012, recently released a video that explains how their peer-to-peer ridesharing mobile phone app works. They do a great job by incorporating their signature furry pink mustaches on their drivers’ car into the branding of the video, to create instant brand recognition when you’re out on the road. Do you think their branding messaging is working?

3. Use Your Videos to Introduce Yourself

Put a name and face on your brand! People like relating with people. Studies have shown that it is hard to shake hands with the Internet though. (A little humor). Let the world meet the people behind your product. Who makes your widgets and why do they love making them? Why did you start making your widget and why do you want to share it with the everyone? Everybody loves a good story, give them one!

4. Use Videos to Share Testimonials

You can use this opportunity to showcase your product as well as share “visual reviews” with the world. Written reviews are fantastic and have their place, but your product alongside the smiling face of a well satisfied customer carry some extra weight. People trust people, it can take some time to build the trust in the brand, and this will help to bridge that gap. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a brief 3-minute video worth?

5. Vlogging

I know, buzzword alert! This is a time tested way to help personalize your business though. Since the inception of social media marketing and YouTube, business execs, small-business owners, and private marketeers have been offering their personal perspective through vlogs. This is your chance to tell the world who you are and why you do what you do. Getting them invested in you will help to get them invested in your success and your business.

6. Offer Behind the Scenes access to Your Product

This is called “Building the Hype Train”. Congratulations, you are launching a shiny new Earth shattering product… Who cares? You do of course, and who better to share that excitement! Get the word out, show the world your new widget! (Use discretion if still in development, they don’t need to see software source code, or how much butter goes into your new dish).

Think of this like ordering a dish at a new restaurant. Your friends have been telling you for weeks just how good this place is, you have cleared an evening that you are anticipating will be filled with bliss. You have been salivating over how that steak will taste as you throw yourself into the first bite, and now, you hear it still sizzling from the grill as it nears your table…

Give your audience that same anticipation! Build them to the first bite of your succulent new widget. Make them tell their friends how after their first bite, they couldn’t wait to share with the world!

7. Offer Instruction and Promotion for your Product

Is your product tech? Don’t assume everyone knows how to mount and port files, offer some guidance, make it accessible. High quality, well edited product demonstration and instruction goes a long way with many people, even those who know what they are doing but like shortcuts. The only things people have bought that they didn’t want to be easy were Rubik’s Cubes and 10,000 piece puzzles. Unless you are selling those, help them along!

Dash, a startup company founded in 2012. recently released a video that showcases its connected car platform that turns any car into a “smart” car. The video does a great job showcasing how to use their product, especially since it is technology based and makes it much easier to understand than having to read long form text.

Dash – Mobile – Driving – Demo from Jamyn Edis on Vimeo.

Use these 7 ways that you the entrepreneur, can use video to grow your new business! Find yourself a good firm to work with that has good copywriters and a solid film crew. Sure, you could do it on your own, but let’s face it, you are busy enough running your company. Enlist the help you need to make it a success, otherwise it is just a hobby.

Article written by Joe Forte, co-owner and producer at D-Mak Productions. D-Mak Productions is one of the top video production companies based in Phoenix, AZ that specializes in corporate video production.