Have you ever noticed the parallels between video marketing and working out? Every year, people set their goals and resolutions — just like all those articles declaring 2017 “the year of video” — but the follow-through often falls short. Most gyms become crowded at first and then return to normal within weeks. After many years of hearing “this is the year of video,” many websites still lack video content (or any relevant, up-to-date video). The reasons, however, are different.
The issues with exercise are obvious. It may be easy to find the time and energy to work out a few times, but it’s much harder to keep up that commitment on a consistent basis. For video, though, getting started is the problem. Whether it’s the perceived startup costs or the pressure to create an effective strategy to leverage that investment, video can seem overwhelming.
If that’s your concern, here’s a simple approach to create a cost-effective video strategy. It may address your video marketing challenge, but I don’t have any tricks to get you back into the gym.
1. Start with an “about us” video.
These videos are the gold standard of video marketing: 2-4 minutes of well-produced video that tell prospects all “about us.” Also called “key messaging,” “company” or “culture” videos, they are usually posted on the homepage or the “about us” page of a website. But you can do so much more with them.
“About us” videos are usually a collection of smaller stories that tell viewers about various aspects of the organization — often the history, culture, best products, and unique qualities. Together, they paint a picture about what makes the organization special, but individually, they can be used as the building blocks of a bigger video strategy.
2. Edit the smaller stories.
After organizing your “about us” video, identify those smaller stories and have your production company edit them into shorter, “snackable” videos. Because you’re repurposing video and production efforts that already exist, the additional cost should be minimal (perhaps another 20-25% above the cost of shooting, producing, and delivering the original video) — and you’ll have many more videos to use on your website.
For example, one of our clients got six short videos out of their original company video: Who We Are, What We Make, We Customize, Built to Last, We’re Nimble, and We’re Proud (testimonials from long-time employees). In other words, they got seven total videos for a bit more than the price of one.
If you want to get fancy, you can add some extra shots and sound bites to each of your shorter videos, but that’s not really necessary. These short “capsules” usually stand on their own. Just make sure each video has a nice, clean start, an interesting title and thumbnail, and ends with your logo or a call-to-action (CTA) graphic.
3. Place them on your website.
The first thing to do with your short videos is to put them on the appropriate pages (and landing pages) of your website. For example, “What We Make” goes on a product page, “We’re Proud” goes on the employment page, and “Built to Last” goes on a landing page.
It’s not rocket science, it’s just appropriate placement for videos that tell your organization’s story.
4. Distribute them everywhere.
Now the fun begins. Distribute them elsewhere. Post your videos on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, with a link leading either to the full video or to an appropriate page or landing page on your site. Add a video to your next newsletter or email blast. Have your salespeople send links in their follow-up emails, and add one to your email signature.
Once you have these videos at your disposal, host them on a video platform that can be accessed easily and provides you the ability to convert viewers into inquiries or even qualified leads. After all, you’ve created powerful marketing assets and in this “year of video” you want to maximize your investment.
