In fact, videos garner nearly twice as many shares as other forms of content. 

And Instagram users are no different. It’s the reason why Instagram Reels have become insanely popular on the platform. These users not only watch entertainment videos but they love watching branded videos, product videos, reviews, and video ads. 

Why? Because Instagram videos are a great way to learn about brands and products before making a buying decision. 

It’s no wonder then that 92% of marketers say that video is an important part of their marketing strategy in 2022. It plays an important role in establishing your brand’s presence and building your Instagram community.

What’s more? Instagram says that 91% of its active users watch Instagram videos every week. And they have a wide variety of videos to enjoy. 

Source: instagram.com

But if you are a small business, you might be wondering whether you should invest in Instagram videos. Do they yield great ROI? Will it help your business grow?

Without a doubt, small businesses too can greatly benefit from Instagram videos. Not convinced yet?

Here are the top 7 advantages of including videos in your Instagram marketing strategy. 

Let’s dive right into it. 

7 Top Advantages of Instagram Video Marketing

I’ve listed the top 7 advantages of Instagram video marketing here. Let’s get going.

1. Diversify Your Instagram Marketing Strategy

Your Instagram marketing strategy can’t afford to be monotonous. While you may be creating some interesting image posts, there’s a limit to which they can get your audience excited. 

Sometimes, users may scroll through your images without even keenly looking at them. 

When you want to diversify your social content, there’s no better option than Instagram videos. As a small business, you can create a huge variety of videos to keep your target audience excited about your brand.

You can create short films, product sneak peek, 360° experience videos, behind-the-scenes videos, time-lapse videos, FAQ videos, team culture videos, and so much more. You can even experiment with free stop-motion software to create some quirky animated videos.

With the right branding, Instagram videos can help build a strong presence on the platform. 

Here’s a behind-the-scenes video from Crumb Cakery.

Source: instagram.com

2. Enhance Your Reach 

When we compare static posts with Instagram videos, it is observed that the Instagram algorithm prioritizes video content. In fact, Reels have nearly 2x the engagement rate as compared to other types of posts on the platform. What that means is that your branded videos can drive more engagement for you than static posts. 

It’s no surprise then that a lot of brands have already started making videos on the platform now. Whether you want to boost your agriculture business, cafe, real estate business, or anything else, Instagram videos can help you reach people and places that you never thought of. 

Here’s a video of a cafe promoting their dishes.

Source: instagram.com

3. Achieve Better Engagement

Marketers love Instagram for its high engagement rate. And Instagram videos by far are the most liked type of content on the platform. In fact, Mention reports that Instagram videos are likely to generate two times the number of likes than carousel or image posts. 

Source: mention.com

When your audience finds your videos to be interesting, they’ll proactively like, share, comment, and save them to watch again. They may even share these videos via their Stories, which can help in boosting their reach.

What’s the result? Your Instagram videos generate more engagement for your business and may continue to do so for a longer period of time.

Sotrender can help you understand the performance of your videos in real-time and compare it with other posts to give you invaluable insights. Backed by this data, you can create more targeted videos to ensure stronger engagement.

4. Humanize Your Brand

Your brand has a compelling story to tell and a personality to showcase. There is a lot more to it than just products or services. Video is the best medium to effectively communicate your story, values, and mission. 

Through Instagram videos, your audience can not only see but listen, experience, and feel your message. That’s why they are the best means to humanize your brand to your audience and build an emotional connection with them.

Videos can also play a major role in helping you with lead generation and sales as they can drive viewers to take action.

The best part? You can make videos by shooting them with your phone and then leveraging a video editing platform to post-process them.

5. Provide Social Proof

As a small business, it’s vital for you to garner social proof to improve sales and enhance your brand’s credibility online. 

And what’s the best way to build social proof? 

The answer, of course, lies in videos. You can use testimonial videos, review videos, and user-generated videos for it. Your products or services come to life when your customers talk positively about them. 

Furthermore, users consider customer reviews as personal recommendations, and this could drive them to make the purchase. Thus, such non-branded Instagram videos can help you fill your sales funnel with high-converting leads. 

See how Ikea uses this user-generated video to enhance its credibility. 

Source: instagram.com

6. Deliver a Stronger Call to Action

If you know anything about marketing, you know how important a strong CTA is to drive leads to take the next step. While static posts can nudge Instagram users to take the intended action, they may miss one thing — emotions. 

Instagram videos, whether they’re Stories, Reels, or in-feed videos, can trigger strong emotions in audiences. That’s why video CTAs are always stronger and more effective in encouraging users to either click the link or make a purchase. And that’s how you beat your competition on Instagram.

Here’s a good example from Bath and Body Works.

Source: www.instagram.com

7. Improve Your Conversion Rate

According to the Video in Business Benchmark Report, 98% of marketers agree that video converts the same or better than any other type of content.

And why are videos so powerful?

Because they inform, educate, and get users excited about your products and services. Instagram videos can help your potential customers learn a lot about your brand and offerings in an eye-catching and fun way.

Explainer videos, product demo videos, and user-generated videos can help convince your audience that your product is valuable too, which can boost conversions.

After all, well-informed users are more likely to convert than those who only ‘see’ your products in images. 

Types of Instagram Videos 

Let’s now take a look at the most common types of Instagram videos that you can create.

1. Branding Videos 

As the name suggests, these Instagram videos are used by brands to build awareness and gain more visibility. With them, you can tell your brand story and help your target audience remember you better. 

As a small business, you can create behind-the-scenes videos, showcase employee testimonies, or give a quick tour of your workshop. Animated videos are quite impactful to showcase your services.

Source: www.instagram.com

Take a look at how H&M also leverages videos for branding and promoting their products.

Source: www.instagram.com

2. Product Videos

The second kind of Instagram videos that small businesses can benefit from are product videos. You can go creative and introduce your products or services to your target audience in an effective way to grab their attention through these videos. 

While pre-launch teaser videos can pique your audience’s curiosity, product demos, launch, and review videos can all be used to educate them about your product. 

Here’s a product video from We Wore What Shop.

Source: www.instagram.com

Here’s another example of a product video from IKEA about its BILLY Bookcase.

Source: www.instagram.com

3. Tutorial Videos

How-to videos are one of the most widely used Instagram videos. From fitness gurus to DIY experts and skincare Instagram influencers, everyone uses them to share their knowledge with their followers.

You can create them yourself or even collaborate with Instagram influencers to create original and engaging tutorial videos about your products to gain more popularity. 

Here’s an example of a tutorial video from Sephora.

Source: www.instagram.com

Huda Beauty regularly shares tutorial videos like the one below on their Instagram page.

Source: www.instagram.com

4. User-Generated Videos

Instagrammers never shy away from sharing videos of themselves trying out new fashion, gadgets, fitness gear, or technology.

Many of your customers might end up making videos about your products or services and you can use these videos to your advantage for marketing. They create Reels and edit them with Reels editing tools to make them more creative. These user-generated videos come in handy as great social proof.

Source: www.instagram.com

5. Instagram Live Videos

You can now go live on Instagram and engage your audience at a whole new level with live videos. And the best part about these videos is that they take minimal effort and can be about anything under the sun. 

Right from a travel sneak peek to a quick interview with an influencer to a fun Q&A session and online shopping events, live videos can be very effective in driving real-time interactions with your audience. 

Here’s an example of a live shopping event hosted by Her World Singapore.

Source: www.instagram.com

6. Instagram Ads

Instagram also allows you to post video ads in Reels, IGTV, and Stories. Even with a quick 15-30 seconds video ad, you can achieve immense visibility and engagement. 

As seen in the Stories ad below, you can include links in the videos which can divert traffic to landing pages and generate leads for your business too. 

Source: www.instagram.com

The trick with Instagram video ads is to introduce your product and brand in the first 3-6 seconds and invite users to view more.

Learn how to create Instagram ads >>>

Are You Ready to Invest in Instagram Videos? 

I’m sure you are now convinced about how valuable Instagram videos can be for your small business. And let me tell you, with the help of the right social media tools, you can create inexpensive videos that don’t compromise on engagement or entertainment.  

The key to creating great Instagram videos is to analyze your social media activities and understand what your audience wants. Create content that strikes a chord with them. 

Go ahead and explore all kinds of Instagram videos to garner visibility, credibility, and growth for your business.