In this digital age, it can be difficult to decide where to invest your time, money and focus regarding marketing tactics for your self-storage business. One avenue you’re likely hearing a lot about is video, but perhaps you have questions. Will it really bring new revenue to your business? What type of video should you be making? How do you start using it, and where should you promote it? How do you know if your efforts are paying off?

If you’re skeptical about video marketing, have no fear. Read answers to your burning questions below, including why you should embrace video and how best to use it.

Why It Matters

In video marketing, business operators create 30-second to 5-minute posts on specific topics. The content is uploaded to various video-sharing platforms for distribution and exposure, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and others. According to marketing firm Renderforest, nearly 80 percent of global Internet consumption this year will be video.

Video marketing is the ultimate connector! It can be used to build great relationships with potential customers and the community. It helps companies bridge the gap from being a faceless organization to a team of real people with feelings, passions and skills.

Have you ever Googled or driven by a business and wondered who works there or what the building looks like inside? Video marketing creates a visual that answers those types of questions. It can put you, your facility and your business story into a moving frame for people who can’t physically be where you are.

Picture in your mind an open field that goes on for miles. It’s early morning, and off in the distance are 100 hot-air balloons firing up to fly into the sky while the sun rises. Do you see it? I just transported you! Video marketing has the same kind of power. It allows you to capture and share a moment someone otherwise would have missed. It can connect your facility with tenants and bring them exactly where you are. Businesses that use it grow their revenue 49 percent faster than non-video users, Renderforest reports. Video marketing creates an experience for your potential renters, helping you build a new revenue stream.

Video Types

With so many options for video marketing, you might be wondering what will work best for your self-storage business. There are more than 15 types, according to Uscreen.tv, which offers a platform for creating on-demand video. Let’s go over three basic ones with which you should start:

Creating Quality Video

Now that you know the types of videos to create, let’s discuss some aspects of production. First, keep in mind where your video will be seen. Content should be easy to watch and hold the viewer’s attention. Self-storage is a life industry, so an example of a great video might be one that shows a tenant using your facility through all the stages of his life. This not only helps connect you with tenants, it helps them visualize themselves using your offering in various situations.

When it comes to length, shorter is better. The average adult attention span is about 12 seconds, according to communication firm Cision.com. Don’t let declining concentration kill your video-marketing efforts! Keep your content short, engaging and to the point.

Now, let’s talk about music. This is a powerful tool when it comes to video marketing. Many Fortune 500 companies use it to evoke emotion, hold customer engagement and even increase sales. When have you ever heard “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey and not sung along or smiled? Bottom line, music can take your video to the next level.

Finally, give your video an exciting, provoking title. This will make it more clickable, engage a broader audience and gain more exposure for your content.

Where to Promote

If your business isn’t using social media, it should be! These platforms can help any company succeed. Marketing firm Hootsuite reports 69 percent of U.S. adults use a least one social media site. That’s a huge piece of the pie you could be missing if you don’t have a profile on sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

More than 500 million hours of videos are watched on YouTube each day and 45 percent of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube video each week, according to advertising firm Wordstream.com. If your goal is to have your content be viewed, putting it on YouTube and Facebook is the way to go. You can also host live videos on these websites, bringing your tenants right into all the action!

Tracking Results

After all this hard work, you’ll want to make sure your video marketing is working, but how? There are a few helpful websites that make it easy to track results. For example, there’s a popular tool available from social media-monitoring company Brandwatch that allows you to see what campaigns are adding value to your brand awareness in a meaningful way. Clicky Web Analytics is another tool you can use to track demographics and live activity.

Whenever you start something new like video marketing, practice makes perfect. Try a few styles, post them to your website and social media pages, and then track your results. Video is a proven way to boost online traffic, rank higher in online searches and bring in new customers. Make sure it’s a part of your self-storage marketing plan.

Lauren Mannarelli is a marketing manager for The Storage Group, a provider of website development, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, reputation management, software development and more. She specializes in identifying target audiences and devising digital campaigns that engage, inform and motive. For more information, call 888.465.6247; visit www.storageinternetmarketing.com.