Whether you’re explaining a service that your company provides or offering an instructional reference for a product you sell, video is a fantastic way to reach out to your customers and connect with them on a level that is hard to achieve with mere copy on a webpage. Because your customers can get a glimpse of you and your products in action, you can further personalize your services and create a relationship with them that you may not otherwise achieve.

No longer restricted to holiday gatherings and family vacations, personal videos these days span a wide range of subjects from pranks trying to capture the big prize on America’s Funniest Videos to DIY marketing and promotional materials. Thanks to the Internet and easily accessible video cameras, you can create and upload your very own product commercials in less time than it will take us to finish writing this article.

With your marketing videos, you have fresh, inexpensive content that you can add to your website, electronic marketing materials, Facebook page and link to via Twitter. Then, of course, there’s Youtube, the online video distribution platform that has skyrocketed the success and notoriety of businesses of every kind imaginable.

As they write on their site, “YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe,” and, it’s free! Similar to other social networking sites, YouTube allows you to create a personal page and solicit followers so that you have one more avenue for reaching out and communicating with your community.

Grab your best products, pull out that Flip camera you got last Christmas and get ready to reap the benefits of video marketing. Lights, camera, action!