May I please ask you a question or two? Why are you considering creating video content for your business? Is it because you have developed a well thought out plan to engage or influence your organisation’s stakeholders or clients in their buying / decision cycle, or is it because of all the hype you are reading about video?
If it’s because of the hype, you are not alone! While there are valid reasons for the massive publicity campaigns currently driving the message to add video to your communication strategy, this message may not be as relevant for some organisations as others.
Over the last couple of years, the internet has been bombarded with posts and articles telling us how YouTube loves video, video on Facebook is great for engagement and that video will become the main way people will discover a brand online. While I do believe that video has become a tool that impacts our lives and can be a valuable tool for business, often the ‘hype’ I read (or watch) misses a key point. What is relevant for those who you are trying to influence, and where are they in the buyer journey?
Before spending time developing your video strategy, the content you decide to create needs to be based on an understanding of how to create a content pathway that leads to success. And this success will depend on your intent, the audience that you are targeting and where they are in the buyer journey. Unfortunately the hype and publicity campaigns have the potential to almost coerce business owners to do video for the sake of doing it.
So if you are reading this article, I am so glad you found us! It’s my goal to help you make an informed decision about whether creating video content is the right decision for your organisation and your communication, marketing and sales goals.
Let’s Look at The Video Statistics
Let’s break down some of the statistics that are creating this hype. Here are some recent statistics that are making business owners feel that ‘they must do video!’
What these statistics have the potential to do is create fear. I hear it often now, which bothers me because video isn’t always the right solution for a business. As a valued strategic partner for my clients, it is critical I help clients get value from how they weave video into their plans. So even though it may sound like I am talking you out of creating video content for your business, this is not the case. In fact, I’d love to work with you and create rich content that will help your business. But it needs to make sense as part of your overall goals. My first question when I meet a new client is ‘why do you want to do video?’ And this is where I hear the pressure coming out to create video content – a common response is, because the google statistics are saying so.
The difficulty then lies in deciding what type of content is best and who is it targeting? Most clients know their target audience and some understand their persona. However, I find that many businesses have not given much thought to developing an understanding of how they market to their buyers. While the end game often is conversion, we first need to understand what form does conversion take and how is that related to video. And this depends. I am not trying to make this complicated. Our goal at Preface Films is to make video worth your while and to help you make the right choices for content, understanding that the outcomes impact on your audience or buyer varies from market to market.
Here are some more statistics that I’d like to ‘unpack’ for you.
According to a ‘Video Marketing Strategy: Benchmark For Success Research’, the most common type of video content that is made are testimonials. Testimonials can be one of the most effective ways to show your audience how amazing you are. Clients can be the best advocates for your business and shows credibility to potential clients. But if you have never done video before, I want you to stop and take a step back.
Let’s Use a Familiar Example to Help Explain Video Content Decisions
Consider your own buying habits. Every human is a consumer of content. Whether you are marketing a product or you are speaking internally to staff or a membership base, each person travels through a buyer journey.
If we read these statistics in isolation of considering our buyer journey, then we may all be rushing out and creating films that showcase our clients, members or customers telling everyone how fabulous our business is!
So, I’d like you to please consider the example of buying a new car. There are a huge range of car manufacturers and brands out there. Do you see testimonials?
Yes, the car brands may create testimonials, but this type of video content is certainly not the first video messages we see or are actively promoted. Instead, what I mostly see from car brands is video productions that are designed to create brand awareness and social engagement. “She/He bought a Jeep” comes to mind. They gain trust and build their reputation through an understanding of needing to reach decision makers at key parts of their buyer’s journey.
How to Leverage Video Content Mindfully vs Fearfully
You might be sitting back and thinking, Rochelle, most of my business comes from referrals! I believe this is great, and an amazing resource. If your product, service or business is at a level where you aren’t relying on converting people’s opinion, then why create content that tries to do that? Instead, I recommend you invest your time and financial resources in the content that will build stronger relationships, that grow your position in your industry and profession … and that help reinforce your role as that leader!
This means building your brand awareness and increasing social engagement BEFORE creating content for conversion. It’s not to say that conversion content should not be created, but it should not be the FIRST video you make!
Where to From Here?
Hopefully, I’ve now got you into a better headspace when it comes to understanding the role of video. You may now be saying “Okay, okay, Rochelle. I understand that I need to be mindful and not fearful when it comes to creating video content. But where to from here?”
Don’t worry I’m not going to leave you hanging. Below is a simple graphic that shows you the type of content you can create on your client’s buyer journey.
To help you see examples of the types of videos we can create, here’s some of our handiwork.
Brand Awareness – Brand Story:
This video is all about informing clients of the values and choices they make for their garments. There is no direct sale tactic. Instead there is an opportunity to talk about the people who matter and the pride they take in their brand.
Social Engagement – Announcement:
For this film, PS Corporation wanted to create a film that attracted a wider community as well as the Asian international market. The opportunity to engage people with this type of announcement is huge with marketing scope on so many levels.
Conversion – Testimonial:
This video is part of a video strategy and forms the last cog of the wheel. Showing areas of expertise and having a client talking about their challenges and how Mike who developed their website, was an important aspect of the film.
Thank you for reading my blog. My name is Rochelle and I create stunning Melbourne corporate cinematography with my team at Preface Films. I’m the one in the middle.
Preface Films is a new kind of creative resource. We are a team of multifaceted, curious, skilled specialists who are highly practiced in the art of “getting our hands dirty”. We believe in a small, multi-disciplined team approach that allows for clarity of vision and efficiency not seen in larger, hierarchical models.
Collectively, our core team has over 4.5 decades of experience working for a diverse range of industries – everything from Food & Drink, Sports & Fashion to Arts & Architecture.
Knowing that experts in an area an asset to our team, we contract the best people to surround us to create that ‘perfect’ film!
Our team has consistently created strategically sound, award winning work and is widely recognised for the work we do.