Industry experts everywhere are touting the power of video in marketing.

Until recently, many businesses thought video was expensive and complicated. But thanks to smartphones, almost everyone now owns an easy-to-use recording device.

It’s never been so simple or cost effective to take advantage of this exciting, effective medium. Here are a few types of videos for your agency to consider using in your marketing efforts—and some tips to help you get started.

Birthdays and Holidays

You work in a relationship business. Everyone likes to be celebrated on their special day, and contributing to that desire is a simple, affordable way to stay top of mind with your clients.

Birthday and holiday videos with a personal voice greeting help you personally touch your book and deepen your relationships. You don’t have to sing “Happy Birthday,” but don’t be afraid to express your personality! Need a few examples? Check out these birthday videos from AltaVista Insurance Agency and the Stromsoe Insurance Agency, or this holiday video from John E. Peakes Insurance Agency.

Posting birthday and holiday videos to Facebook is a great way to reach as many clients and prospects as possible. Birthday videos you post to a friend or client’s timeline will stand out in a sea of generic birthday wishes and build awareness for your agency.

Testimonials

Use testimonial videos to showcase your service level and expertise. Hearing other customers speak about their experience with your agency helps reassure prospective customers about the quality of your business.  

For these videos, encourage your clients to discuss a variety of topics and benefits so any prospective buyer can understand your agency’s appeal. Keep your testimonials under one minute, and make sure your clients avoid vague, generic statements like, “They’re the best.” These compliments don’t offer much insight for prospects.

‘Get to Know Us’

If you have a significant presence on Facebook, videos are a great way to memorialize and share your agency’s events, both past and upcoming.

For example, post a brief video about your team’s community involvement or announce the winner of a contest your agency holds, such as a rewards program for referrals. Again, we recommend keeping these videos under a minute.

Explanation of Coverage

Let’s face it: Insurance can be complicated. How many times have you had to explain how an umbrella policy works, or discuss why flood insurance is a good investment?

While this kind of video requires more time and effort than the others, it’s the perfect platform for demonstrating your expertise and leveraging video to better communicate the value of insurance. Plus, once you create the video, you can use it more than once: on your website, in your e-newsletter and on social media. You can even refer to it when you’re quoting.

Check out these videos from Dickinson Insurance Agency and Neckerman Insurance Agency for ideas on how your agency can create videos explaining the ins and outs of insurance coverage.

It’s OK to start slow—your videos don’t have to be perfect, but try your best to avoid shaky footage and poor audio quality. Thanks to free hosting services like YouTube, Wistia and Vimeo, the only investment you’ll need to make is your time.

Mike Demko is CEO & founder of myinsurancevideos.com.