If you run a service business in Kalispell or the Flathead Valley, you’ve probably noticed something: the businesses getting the most attention online are the ones showing up on video. Not with Hollywood-level production. Not with scripted corporate talking heads. Just real people doing real work and letting potential customers see what they’re about before ever picking up the phone.
Video marketing has shifted dramatically over the past couple of years. The bar for entry has dropped while the impact has gone up. 91% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool, and 82% of video marketers report positive ROI. But most small businesses in Northwest Montana still aren’t taking advantage of it, which means there’s a real window of opportunity right now.
Here’s what’s actually working for service businesses in 2026, and how businesses in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, and the surrounding area can start using video to bring in more customers.
Short-Form Video Is Driving the Most Results
Short-form video — anything under 60 seconds — is the highest-performing content format in 2026. Videos under one minute average a 50% engagement rate, which far outpaces static images, text posts, or even longer video content. Viewers are 2.5 times more likely to watch a short video all the way through compared to anything longer.
For service businesses in the Flathead Valley, this is great news. You don’t need to block off a full day to shoot a five-minute brand film. A 30-second clip of your team finishing a job, a quick tip related to your trade, or a before-and-after walkthrough can outperform content that took ten times longer to produce.
The platforms where short-form video performs best right now are YouTube Shorts (5.9% average engagement rate), TikTok (3.8–4.9%), Instagram Reels (1.2–1.5%), and Facebook Reels. For most local service businesses in Kalispell, YouTube Shorts and Facebook tend to deliver the strongest results because of how they surface content to people searching for local services.
Authenticity Outperforms Polish Every Time
The biggest shift happening in video marketing is that audiences consistently reward content that feels human and real over anything that looks overly produced. As AI-generated video becomes more common, the businesses that stand out are the ones willing to show the actual people behind the work.
This is especially true for service businesses. When someone in Kalispell is looking for a plumber, an auto shop, or a landscaper, they want to see the person who’s going to show up at their house. They want to hear them talk about their work. They want to get a sense of whether they trust them before they ever make that call.
The content types getting the strongest engagement for service businesses right now include behind-the-scenes clips showing daily operations, short customer testimonials filmed on a phone, how-to tips and educational content, day-in-the-life videos, and before-and-after project showcases. None of this requires a professional studio. Some of the most effective videos we’ve seen from Flathead Valley businesses were filmed on an iPhone during a regular workday.
Employee-Generated Content Builds Trust Fast
If you have a team — even a small one — getting your employees involved in video content is one of the highest-impact moves you can make. Content shared by employees receives up to 8 times more engagement than content posted from a brand account, and 92% of consumers say they trust employees more than corporate messaging.
For a service business in Kalispell, this might look like a technician explaining what they’re working on, a front desk person walking through what a new customer can expect, or a crew lead talking about a recent project. It doesn’t need to be scripted. In fact, it works better when it’s not.
The practical approach is to start small. Pick one or two people on your team who are comfortable on camera and have them film a quick 30-second video once a week. Use a simple framework: a compelling hook, one to three main points, and a call to action. Free tools like CapCut handle basic editing, captions, and text overlays.
The 10 Videos Every Kalispell Service Business Should Have
Whether you’re an auto repair shop on Highway 93, a landscaping company serving the Flathead Valley, or a medical office in downtown Kalispell, there’s a core set of videos that should be on your website and social media profiles. Think of these as your video foundation — the content that works hardest for you 24/7.
Website Videos
- Brand Story Video (60–90 seconds) — A short video introducing your business, your team, and what makes you different. This lives on your homepage and gives visitors an immediate sense of who you are. It’s the digital equivalent of a firm handshake.
- Service Overview Videos — One video per major service you offer, explaining what’s involved, what customers can expect, and why it matters. These go on your individual service pages and help educate potential customers before they reach out.
- Customer Testimonial Videos (30–60 seconds each) — Real customers talking about their experience. These are the most powerful trust-building tool you can put on your website. We produced a testimonial video for Hope Pregnancy Ministries that demonstrates how a simple, authentic conversation on camera can communicate more trust than pages of written content.
- Meet the Team Videos — Short introductions of key team members. For service businesses where a technician or specialist comes to someone’s home or business, these videos reduce the anxiety of “who’s showing up?” and build confidence before the appointment.
- FAQ or Educational Videos — Answer the questions your team gets asked most often. These serve double duty: they help potential customers and they improve your search visibility. A Kalispell HVAC company filming a two-minute video about “how often should you change your furnace filter in Montana winters” is creating content that Google and AI search tools love to surface.
Social Media Videos
- Behind-the-Scenes Clips (15–30 seconds) — Show your team in action. The process of getting work done. The shop before the doors open. These humanize your business and consistently outperform promotional content.
- Before-and-After Showcases (15–45 seconds) — Particularly effective for any business with a visual transformation: landscaping, auto body, cleaning services, remodeling. The format is simple and the results speak for themselves.
- Quick Tips and How-To Content (30–60 seconds) — Share one useful tip related to your industry. This positions you as the expert and keeps your business top of mind. A Kalispell auto shop posting weekly tips about vehicle maintenance in Montana weather conditions is building authority that translates directly into phone calls.
- Event and Community Involvement Videos — Show your business participating in local events, sponsoring community activities, or supporting causes in the Flathead Valley. We recently produced a highlight reel for the Flathead Building Association’s Putt Putt Palooza event — that kind of content shows a business is invested in the community, not just advertising to it.
- Seasonal or Timely Content (15–30 seconds) — Videos tied to what’s happening right now. Preparing homes for Montana winter, spring maintenance checklists, summer service specials. Timely content gets shared because it’s immediately relevant.
How AI Tools Fit Into the Picture
AI has made video production faster and more accessible, and 50% of small businesses have now adopted AI-powered video tools. For service businesses in Kalispell, AI is most useful for speeding up the parts of video production that don’t require a human face — things like generating captions, drafting scripts, creating text overlays, and editing clips into shorter formats.
The important distinction is this: AI should support your video production, not replace it. AI-generated video with synthetic voices and avatars is increasingly easy for viewers to spot, and audiences are tuning it out. The businesses getting the best results are using AI to work faster while keeping real people and real stories at the center of their content.
Practical ways to use AI in your video workflow include using tools like ChatGPT for script outlines and topic ideas, auto-captioning (which is essential since roughly 80% of social video is watched without sound), and automated editing tools that can turn a longer recording into multiple shorter clips optimized for different platforms.
One Recording Session, a Week of Content
The most efficient approach to video marketing isn’t creating a new video from scratch every day. It’s recording one focused session and turning it into multiple pieces of content.
Here’s the workflow that works well for service businesses: record 15–30 minutes of raw footage on a single topic, then cut it into 5–10 shorter clips optimized for different platforms. Publish three clips organically across your social channels, turn two into paid ads with a small budget behind them, and repurpose the best-performing hooks the following week.
A single recording session can produce content for your website, YouTube channel, Instagram, Facebook, and email marketing. This is how small teams stay consistent without burning out.
Video and Email Marketing Work Together
One channel that most Kalispell businesses overlook is using video within their email campaigns. Including a video thumbnail in an email can boost click-through rates by 65%, and adding the word “video” to a subject line increases open rates on its own.
Since most email platforms don’t support embedded video playback, the best approach is to use a thumbnail image with a play button that links to a landing page with the full video. This pairs naturally with the short-form clips you’re already creating for social media and your website.
For service businesses running email campaigns — appointment reminders, seasonal promotions, newsletters — adding video thumbnails is one of the simplest ways to improve engagement with your existing list.
Why Video Production Matters for Kalispell Businesses
The Flathead Valley is a unique market. People here value relationships, trust local businesses, and make decisions based on personal connections. Video is the closest thing to an in-person introduction that digital marketing can offer.
The businesses in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Bigfork, and the surrounding area that invest in video now are building an asset that compounds over time. Every video on your website improves your search visibility. Every testimonial builds trust with the next potential customer. Every behind-the-scenes clip strengthens the connection between your brand and the community you serve.
We’ve seen this firsthand working with organizations across the Flathead Valley — from producing content for Stillwater Christian School to event coverage, live streaming, and testimonial videos for local nonprofits and businesses. The common thread is that video gives people a reason to choose you before they’ve ever met you.
Getting Started
You don’t need to tackle all ten video types at once. Start with the two that will have the most immediate impact for your business: a brand story video for your homepage and two or three customer testimonial videos. Those alone will change how potential customers experience your business online.
If you’re a service business in Kalispell or the Flathead Valley and you’re ready to start using video to bring in more customers, we’d love to help you build a video strategy that fits your business and your budget. Learn more about our video production services or schedule a free 15-minute strategy session to talk through what would work best for your situation.
The gap between businesses using video and those that aren’t is widening. The good news is that getting started is easier and more affordable than most Kalispell business owners think — and the businesses that move first will have the biggest advantage.
