Read “The Importance of Testimonials for Your Business,” by Daniel Ruscigno, at massagemag.com/businesstestimonials. | www.massagemag.com | September 2015 | MASSAGE Magazine | 57 generally no longer interested in a sales-pitch approach, content marketing changes the game by instead delivering value to your customers and building relationships that will ultimately lead to winning their business and their loyalty. Research compiled by JBH and Smart Insights indicates that content marketing is the most commercially important digital marketing trend for 2015, with social media, email newsletters, articles on your website, illustrations and videos as the top five most popular content marketing tactics. Including content marketing is the present and the future of a winning marketing strategy—and one of the most captivating media formats you can use to gain the attention of potential new clients is video. Why video works Why should you start using video in your content marketing strategy? There are several reasons. First, it’s more fun than text. YouTube plays over 1 billion videos per day for a good reason. Videos are easier to consume than text, appeal to both the audio and visual senses, allow you to convey personality, hold attention spans for longer, and can play on emotions that inspire people to share. Also, video is quick, in terms of time to create it and time in which it shares your message. Sitting down to write an article can take quite a bit of time, but shooting a two-minute video can be done very quickly. And since a picture is worth 1,000 words, imagine the impact a video message will have on potential clients. Next, video shows off your expertise. Using video is a great way to show that you are an expert in your field. When potential new clients see you talking in depth about types of massage, what to expect in a session, spa add-ons and massage research, they will feel confident about booking an appointment with you. Video also creates a connection. It’s difficult to develop a relationship with a potential new client through a Web page. When new clients visit your website, you will have a big advantage if you can create a connection with them so they feel comfortable booking an appointment with you. A video allows them to see your personality, have a glimpse of your office, and get an introduction to your staff. Finally, videos are shared. People love to share valuable and interesting content. Videos receive over twice the amount of shares compared to an average, non-video post on social media. That networking effect can be very powerful for your business. Where you’ll post The first place to share your video is YouTube. The benefit of YouTube is you don’t have to host the video on your website’s server and you may gain a few extra viewers based on people browsing videos. Once uploaded, you can then use the YouTube link to your video to share it on your Facebook page, in Facebook groups, on Twitter or on your blog. If you send out an email newsletter to your clients, include a link to your latest video. Your clients will be impressed that you go above and beyond by providing extra value between appointments. Because many email clients do not support video in email, or many email clients will block video in emails, a common technique is to create a picture with a play button on it. When pressed, clients are taken to your blog, where they can watch the video. It’s OK to post your video more than once. You might post to Facebook in the morning on one day and on Instagram the next evening. This allows you to capture the attention of people who are online during different times of day. And if the content is still relevant, you can resurrect an old video that people may not have seen the first time around—especially since you’ll have a bunch of new followers now compared to then. Finally, don’t be afraid to get creative. Since it only takes a few minutes to shoot a video, consider different options like a video reply to a Twitter question, or engage your clients on Instagram with quick tips via their 15-second-videos option. Reach many people A viral video may be out of reach for a local business, but the point is that with even just a few shares, there is It’s OK to post your video more than once, such as on Facebook one morning and on Instagram the next evening. 58 | MASSAGE Magazine | September 2015 | www.massagemag.com | an opportunity for your videos to reach hundreds of potential new clients. Just like building your social media following, content marketing is a long-term strategy. In the early days, you may get only one or two shares of your video, but each time your video is shared it reaches a brand-new audience of potentially hundreds of people. If your content is valuable and interesting, the new viewers may choose to like your Facebook page, follow you on Twitter, or even book an appointment with you. And as you gain more followers, you gain new opportunities for your videos to be shared, and you start to see a snowball effect. Gain new clients Video is emerging as one of the most popular items in a content marketing strategy. By using equipment you already have, and with only a few minutes per week, you can easily be a part of this growing trend and expand your online presence while gaining new clients. Daniel Ruscigno is one of the founders of ClinicSense