Interviewing the industry big wigs = instant credibility.

As a small business you may not need reminding about the growing importance of online video to your marketing efforts, but it doesn’t stop at introductory videos, product videos, how-to videos and videos answering FAQs.

Another important type are the interview videos; these come in two main types –interviewing industry leaders and interviewing customers for testimonials.

Interviewing Industry Leaders

Aligning yourself with experts in your industry has many benefits and this process can start with offering to interview them.

If you are just starting out you will need to build trust and credibility, so there are a few better ways of doing this than being seen with people who’ve already made it and are well respected in their field.

Many of these successful people are happy to share their knowledge and experience and so maybe you can convince them to sit down with you for half an hour with the camera rolling; you can ask them about how they started, their philosophy, their mentors, their challenges, their successes, what advice they have and where they see your industry heading. This is all useful and interesting content for your visitors, as well as great publicity for you.

It needs to be seen as mutually beneficial of course. It may pamper their ego a little and give them some publicity or the feeling that they are “giving something back”; for you it’s almost instant credibility.

In fact, aligning yourself with industry leaders not only gives your business an immediate boost but also helps to proof it for the future, if things ever take a down-turn. You’ll know the right people who can help you out. This is worth putting some effort into.

Video Testimonials

Another type of useful interview videos for a small business is the testimonial video from customers.

The fact is that you can stand in front of a camera for as long as you like and tell the world about how great your business is, but coming from a customer it’s worth countless times more.

Their positive comments create immediate credibility for your business; if people see that others have used your products or services, it sets them at ease, creates confidence and allows them to see how your business can deliver on your promises and meet their needs.

A side-benefit of getting customers to talk about their experiences on camera is that it can also let you know what’s important to them. This can help to shape your business in creating new services or products geared to where the customers’ priorities lie.

The video testimonials can be arranged at the beginning of the job, when you can ask the customer if they would mind making a testimonial providing they’re happy with everything.

During the interview the customer can be encouraged to talk about things like the problem(s) they were facing, how your company helped them out, why they chose you over another company, what the end results were and what it means to their business.

We have shown how both types of interview videos help to build credibility for your business. It cannot be over-emphasized how important this is for any small business – especially online when you don’t always get a chance to do that face to face.

The Lights, Camera, Profits! workshop goes through all of the aspects of video marketing you’ll need to know if you’re just setting out in online business, or if you just want to start incorporating video into your marketing strategy in the smartest way possible. Click here to learn more about it.