Melons going splat in slow motion. Drawn-as-you-go animation about machines. A behind-the-scenes look at winery operations. Not the usual viral videos, but small business owners have realized offering something to watch and having a sense of humor about themselves can help grab customers’ attention.
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In more than a hundred videos he’s posted on YouTube, Tom Nardone takes aim at racks of ribs, laptop computers and tires to illustrate what a bulletproof vest can do. A Valentine’s Day-timed video sacrificed several boxes of candy. The videos can be graphic, with items exploding at slow speed and Nardone splattered with barbecue sauce or peanut butter.
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Nardone, owner of Troy, Michigan-based PriveCo, began making the videos in 2013, less than a year after he began selling the vests. While he advertised in magazines and went to gun shows, he realized that to reach a wider audience he needed to be online. And he didn’t want a demonstration of just the vests.
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It does its job, but it’s nothing to look at, Nardone says. We said, uh oh, we’ve got to come up with something good.
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PriveCo’s videos have collected a following; the melon video has nearly a million views since it was posted more than 2½ years ago. Nardone gets recognized at gun shows, and has gotten compliments from people who like to watch him shoot items from gravel to boxed wine.
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It’s natural for some small businesses like real estate brokers to use videos in marketing campaigns for houses and other properties; for others, it can take some brainstorming and perhaps even an offbeat sense of humor to come up with something compelling. But more businesses are getting on board — Facebook counted more than 3 million small business videos posted in September, up 50 percent from 2 million six months earlier, according to the company’s most…