Establishing and sustaining a presence on social media is vital for pizzerias looking to attract new customers. Self-promotion on various sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, require writing some copy and posting a photo about a new dish or a big sale. While both are effective marketing methods, there is another alluring tool to consider: Creating videos.
YouTube viewership numbers are in the stratosphere … let’s start with one billion. That’s the number of video hours viewed every day of videos on the website. Google still reigns supreme as the largest search engine, but YouTube is quickly catching up as video media overtakes text. The video website recently announced that every day about five billion videos are watched by about 30 million visitors. Video viewing on YouTube has grown by 60 percent in the past year.
For restaurant operators, there’s a great opportunity because it’s estimated that only nine percent of small business in the U.S. are on YouTube. Watching a video about a product or menu item is a swift and simple way to comprehend the overall idea of the product. Although it is typically easier to craft a well-written promotion or post a flattering photo rather than film an entire video, a video’s information is more likely to be positively received. According to research by eMarketer: “Four times as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it.”
Brainstorming creative and original content can prove to be difficult, but short clips about pizzeria employees conducting their day-to-day business and how-to videos are extremely popular. Videos about making homemade pizza dough or a chef’s favorite pizza are examples of fun ideas that are straightforward and appealing. Documenting a restaurant’s role in the community is another great way to promote the business. If a pizzeria holds a fundraiser, sponsors an event, or has a booth at a local fair, editing together a cute, personal video can show people that they are a solid part of that community.
Length is not the most important element of a good video. In fact, it is better to post a video that is short and to-the-point. Quality and creativity greatly outweigh how long a video is. What is crucial though, is a titillating introduction. YouTube estimates that 20 percent of the viewers who click on a video, will leave in less than 10 seconds.
Ultimately, video marketing is not centered on targeting those who already support the pizzeria. Brian Belefant, founder and creative director at Belefant and 20Fifteen in Oregon explained in PMQ Magazine: “Where you’ll really make a difference is when you connect with the non-fans – the people who are everything from indifferent to favorable. You might find that, for example, your pizza really reminds your customers of Italy. If you hear that enough, maybe [your video should] take the angle that you offer an authentic Italian experience and give people information about Italy. By having content about Italy for people interested in Italy, you’re a lot more credible when you claim to make Italian pizza.”
Promotional videos can be shot on smart phones. The beauty of YouTube is the grainy quality adds to the homespun nature of a restaurant. For the most part, there’s no need to hire expensive production crews. We recommended start shooting with your phone and building your video library. Seeing is believing and your customers will enjoy seeing their favorite pizzeria on their favorite video channel.