Four brilliant uses of video by start-ups

Trying to sell a new product or service isn’t easy.

 

Not only do you have to take the time to educate the market about who you are and why your offering is needed, you have to battle hordes of other businesses looking to grab the attention of the same eyeballs.

 

So, what’s the best way for you to cut through to potential customers or investors? Increasingly, start-ups are embracing video as a winning marketing tool.

 

You no longer need expensive production facilities and a hefty media budget to advertise your business – just the right idea and an online sharing platform, such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

 

Video can be used to lure customers or it can be used to impress investors that are looking to back start-ups.

 

The latter option has become popular enough to spawn businesses to cater for video pitches, such as Sydney venture HeyStartup, which features 60-second presentations to the money men and women.

 

“It’s a really great way to find out about start-ups. In 60 seconds, you really connect with the person… If you’ve got an investor looking for their next start-up, they can come to the site,” says founder Minbo Wang

 

“If they don’t like one pitch, they can move on to the next one… In a video that’s unedited, in 60 seconds you can see what kind of person you’re dealing with.”

 

But how can you stand out from the crowd? Here are five businesses that have achieved cut through in very different ways.

 

 

1. Use humour

 

DollarShaveClub.com doesn’t have a particularly earth-shattering business model. It sells razors online. For a monthly fee, you can get them sent regularly to your home.

 

The real magic is in its 94-second promotional video, which has been viewed more than 5.6 million times on YouTube.

 

The imaginative and fun video features company CEO Mike Dublin, who explains why you don’t need an electric shaver, all while standing on fork-lift trucks, throwing packages to someone in a bear costume and dancing with a leaf blower in front of the Stars and Stripes.

 

All this cost Dublin a mere $4,500, attracting countless new customers. Humour – when used properly – clearly works.

 

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