Video Business Plans

Most business plans appear on paper or on a pdf, but a growing number are on video, or include a video component. Often that’s done in the form of a YouTube video, which you can use to promote your new business in ways that are not possible via paper or email. And even if your plan shows up as a more traditional hard copy document, be sure to include in its marketing section information on how you’ll use video to promote your business and attract customers.

“Video is one of the most powerful ways to visually represent your brand and story. Through video, a business owner can convey emotion, quality, and trust, and visually represent his or her passion and dedication to the customer.” (Source: this article.)

YouTube and Your Business Plan

Use video to showcase your passion for your business, not just your products, in a way that will connect with customers as if you were talking with them directly. YouTube is the most popular place to park your video, but there are alternatives, including the usual suspects of Twitter and Facebook, possibly even Yelp and LinkedIn as well. What matters of course is how you attract attention to it, not just where you put it.

Some tips from that article:

• Brief is better: keep it under three minutes or they won’t watch it
• Be a perfectionist: while you don’t necessarily need it to be professionally produced, you do need to make sure it’s well-presented and edited to serve your purpose
• Don’t go caption crazy: avoid cluttering your presentation with too many hyperlinks
• Success sells: talk about actual outcomes, show that you’re getting it right, it’s not just an idea

In 2013, almost every business plan needs a include a video strategy.

Good luck!

• Copyright © 2013 Rolfe Larson Associates
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• Speaker, Social Enterprise Summit, Minneapolis, May 19-22, 2013