5 Small Business Commercial Ideas For Beginners

Does your business need a way to make fun, captivating commercials? Animoto’s online video maker has the perfect tools to take your brand to the next level.

It is well-known that video dominates the web– video ads are the number one way consumers discover a brand they later purchase from. That means that video content is a potential goldmine for up-and-coming businesses looking to make their mark.

What are the benefits of making a video commercial for a small business?

Smaller businesses typically need to get creative with their content creation, unlike larger companies with considerable campaign resources. Luckily, our free online video editor offers a plethora of intuitive and straightforward features that allow small organizations to create commercials that grab viewers’ attention, hold interest, and, most importantly, convert.

Video is the most accessible form of media on the internet. With a steadily growing body of mobile users, the increased prevalence of social media, and the dominance of streaming platforms, small businesses have many avenues to capitalize on video commercials.

Some benefits include:

• Increased time on web pages that have videos.
• Higher conversion rates.
• 79% of people report that they've been convinced to buy or download a piece of software or app by watching a video.
• 72% of consumers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video.
• 84% of video marketers say that a video has been effective for generating leads.

What makes up a good commercial for a small business?

There are hundreds of potential commercial ideas. The first step to creating engaging, conversion-oriented video content is to refine your company's brand voice. Consistent messaging, a unique selling proposition, and an acute knowledge of your target market and audiences are vital to creating relevant advertisements.

Once you have your brand voice solidified, make sure you're making advertisements built to promote engagement. To learn more about branding read about the 3 P’s that Define Your Brand Story on the blog.

Things to keep in mind:

• Videos less than two minutes in length get the most engagement. After two minutes, there is typically a steep drop in engagement.
• Use captioning in video for better accessibility.
• Keep word choice in a video consistent with the language in your written advertisements to maintain your brand voice.

Commercial ideas for small business

Commercials come in many different forms, and the best kind is tailored to your product and your target audience. Here are some good places to start:

1. About Us

The best way to showcase your company culture is to let people hear it directly from the source. Start by showcasing staff in their work environment. Feature your staff's testimonials on work experiences and their opinions about the product. It's a great way to gain credibility in the eyes of viewers. It’s also an excellent opportunity to highlight your company's social values.

2. Product Demonstrations

For small businesses, it is doubly important to communicate what you offer. Your advertisements should be explicit about the benefits of your product or service—and there is no better way to show what you offer than by putting your product directly on display. Product demonstrations help viewers get a better sense of what your product is and how it will directly make a difference in their lives.

Pro Tip: Use Voice-over to walk viewers through your demos, explaining each step in the process.

3. Customer Testimonials

There is nothing quite like face-to-face human interaction, and video commercials showcasing real people are the next best thing. And considering 89% of customers seek reviews before purchasing a product, it is best when you can control which reviews they see.

By creating a customer testimonial video, you can cherry-pick positive reviews. Find a customer from your target audience who had a great experience with your product and do a deep dive. Such testimonials can improve your ethos in the eyes of prospective customers, helping direct them toward a conversion.

4. Seasonal Promotions

Seasonal promotions are great ways to entice new customers and re-engage with existing ones. However, offering a seasonal promotion is just the first step– the next step is to make sure your customers are aware of it. Whether you're offering a promotion for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Memorial Day or any other occasion, Animoto has tons of seasonal promotion templates to help you get started.

5. Explanatory Content

Sometimes you need to go the extra mile and explain in scrupulous detail exactly what your company is and what you offer. This can be a great opportunity to highlight competitive differentiators or unique aspects of your business.

Explanatory videos could explore:

• Your organization's business model.
• The details of your organization's product/service.
• Your organization's strengths that separate it from the competition.

Where to post your commercial

Businesses have a myriad of options when it comes to ad placement. The key is to do enough research to know what advertising methods work best to reach your target audience.

In the world of social media advertising, you have two general options: paid social advertisements and organic posts. Organic posts are the most common and accessible form of social media advertising; you simply post your content and hope to garner engagement. This is the most direct and cost-effective way to advertise your commercial.

On the other hand, there is paid social. While organic is free, paid social entails the organization paying a fee to guarantee that the ad will reach the target audience. This minimizes uncertainty about whether or not your target consumers are being exposed to your ads, at the expense of paying money.

Speaking in terms of platform, it is best to start wherever you already have the biggest audience. After that, focus on the platforms that your customers engage with the most. Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok are the top 3 social platforms on which consumers watch videos that lead to a purchase. Additional platforms to try include Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Every business is different, so the best way to discover the platforms that work best for your business is to start testing!

For tips on how to get more views, see our guides on video marketing.

How can Animoto help you create engaging videos?

Animoto offers an easy-to-use video creation interface you can use to make any kind of video you desire. Equipped with marketing templates, thousands of songs, and millions of stock photos, we are a premier option for small businesses looking to create commercials. For more information, check out our video creation guide. Sign up for free and start making commercials for your business today!