To be competitive in today’s online market, your marketing strategy must contain video. It’s a powerful form of content, which is rapidly becoming the primary marketing tool of choice for many small businesses.

That's because videos showcase your and your company's personality. They convey, in images, what you and your mission/vision are all about. They demonstrate both authenticity and authority online. They communicate valuable content in a format that engages your prospects. They let people in, they connect, so that people get to know you.

Business owners who use video for marketing purposes have cited an increase in sales, lead generation, website use, improved customer relations and more. It definitely pays to take advantage of video to spread your marketing message.

Here are 8 ways you can use videos to promote your business and take advantage of this powerful tool.

1. Education - Use video to educate your market on the use of your products. Lead them towards the sale b
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You’ve heard that using video to market your business can bring incredible results. But do the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to create a video and put it online?

In a word, YES! Shooting a video, editing and formatting it, uploading it to the Internet with the right title and description takes a bit of time. But the payoff for video marketing can be tremendous.

Here are seven real benefits of marketing with video:

1. Personal connection. The personal connection with your potential market is a huge selling factor. With video, your audience can truly get to know you, see you and get a sense of your personality. They get to see that you are indeed a real, live person. They start building a deeper relationship with you and feel as if they actually have met you.

2. Trust. There’s an old proverb: “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” It can be very easy to be a fake and a fraud online. People are skeptical about claims they read online—and rightf...