Adding video to your marketing mix is one of the best moves your company can make. Your message simply lands better in video, and demand for it keeps climbing.
Video tells your story in a more emotional, dramatic way than text and photos alone, which translates into higher engagement, better message retention, and stronger response rates.
And the numbers back it up. Around 91% of businesses now use video marketing, the vast majority of marketers report a positive ROI from it, and roughly three-quarters of all video views happen on phones. Short-form video, the kind you see on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok, is now ranked the single best content format for ROI, and product videos in particular are among the highest-returning content you can make.
One shift shapes how all of this should be produced today: design for mobile. Most short-form video is shot vertically (9:16) to fill a phone screen, and vertical video earns higher completion rates than horizontal. So lead with a strong hook in the first second or two, keep it tight, and add captions, since many people watch with the sound off. (For more, see our guide to a Reels-first strategy.)
Here are seven ways to use video to increase your sales.
1. Video Sales Letter
A video sales letter (VSL) is one of the most persuasive formats for getting someone to buy. Think of it as a landing page or direct-mail letter brought to life: a narrator tells the story while visuals, on-screen text, supporting images, or the presenter, reinforce it. That combination of sight and sound holds attention and persuades better than text alone.
A VSL can run longer than a commercial because its job is to fully make the case and close the sale, but don't assume longer is better. Keep it only as long as the message genuinely needs, because today's viewers won't sit through filler, and make sure it plays well on a phone. VSLs work best with warm, high-intent audiences: people who've already shown interest and clicked through to a landing page, paired with a clear button right below the video so they can buy the moment they're convinced.
2. Testimonials
Testimonials are a cornerstone of selling, and video is the best way to present them because it captures both verbal and nonverbal communication. Body language adds power to the message, and seeing a real person, their expression, the emotion in their voice, is far more believable than a written quote. And emotion is what sells.
Mix your testimonials between actual customers and experts. Prospects empathize with customers who had the same problem they do and want to hear about real experiences with your product. Experts lend credibility. And if you can manage it, a recognizable name can boost your brand image.
3. Product Demonstration
Video is ideal for product demos. You can show prospects every feature and benefit, how to set it up, use it, and maintain it, with an impact that text and photos can't match.
Demos are especially powerful for products people assume are complicated: show how fast and easy yours is to use, and you overcome objections that are hard to address any other way (while heading off support questions down the line). The best demos are short; you don't need to show everything, just enough to get someone excited to buy.
4. Educational "How-To"
Video is perfect for showing your audience how to do something. How-tos are more educational than promotional, but they support sales by building loyalty after the purchase, so customers buy more and refer others. They're also a natural fit for YouTube and short-form platforms.
If you sell gardening tools, produce a series of gardening how-tos. If you make cookware, create how-tos on preparing meals; the focus is the food, but your products are right there in the video. Either way, you build sales and loyalty at once.
5. Commercial
Commercials aren't just for big companies anymore. You can produce and run them on your website, YouTube, social feeds, and even streaming and connected TV. A short spot, classically 30 or 60 seconds, but today often just 15 to 30 seconds and shot vertically for mobile feeds, introduces your product, builds awareness, and lands a key benefit that can lead to a sale. It may take several impressions before a viewer acts, which is exactly why short, repeatable video works so well.
6. Introduction Video
Your website is the perfect home for an introduction video about your company, your team, and what you offer. It can introduce prospects to the people behind the business and show your operations, going a long way toward building relationships, especially with customers who'll never meet you in person.
The home page is the ideal spot, but you can place tailored intro videos on your product or service pages, your team page, your contact page, and more.
7. Events
Events (a trade show, conference, company meeting, or big announcement) are where people gather around shared interests, and every event has a story worth telling. Record your next one. Interview attendees and capture the energy, then shape it into a story that gets your audience excited about how your company and products will improve their lives.
Match the Video to Your Goal: Awareness vs. Conversion
With so many options, it helps to think about where each type of video fits in your customer's journey.
At the top of the funnel, your goal is awareness, getting discovered by people who don't know you yet. Short-form, vertical video shines here: commercials, quick how-tos, and snippets from events are easy to scroll into on social feeds and built to be shared. They introduce your brand and a single key benefit, fast.
Further down the funnel, your goal is conversion, turning interested prospects into buyers. This is where longer, more in-depth video does the heavy lifting: a video sales letter, a thorough product demonstration, or genuine customer testimonials give people the detail and confidence they need to say yes.
The strongest strategy uses both. Lead with short-form video to attract and build awareness, then guide interested viewers to the longer videos that close the sale, so you're growing your audience and converting it at the same time.
What Are You Waiting For?
These are just a few of the ways video can grow your sales. Every company is different, but one thing is certain: this is the format your audience most wants to watch, and it can help any business, including yours.
So what are you waiting for? Make video a big part of your marketing, and if you'd like help producing and distributing it, get in touch with our team.
Video is one of the essentials of marketing your small business online. See the full guide.
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