Capture or alienate: What is your video content to your audience?
By Gavin Banks
Brand films and video content have the capacity to deliver brand messages in a way that truly achieves an emotional connection with your audience.
At the 2017 CMO Conference, Good Eye Deer discussed what marketers are doing in the video marketing space and how brand values, good ideas and story can be effectively leveraged to capture engagement. Below is a summary of that discussion.
video is now an essential part of consumer engagement
Statistics covering everything from social media engagement to general internet usage show that consumers engage more when video is involved. They are more likely to watch than read. They are more likely to recall a brand after watching a video. They are significantly more likely to visit, spend time and purchase from a website that has a video than from competitors who don’t.
Create Your Paradise rebranded the Coffs Coast in July, 2016, and resulted in a 60% increase in web traffic and a 10-20% increase in holiday season turnover.
video is a two-way street
As much as good video content, can engage audiences, a bad video can alienate them. In fact, whether we like it or not, every video we produce either builds or undermines our brand.
The Game Changers was produced in 2017. This government commercial was slammed by the Sydney Morning Herald and created a lot of bad press for both the department and agency responsible – quite the opposite response to what they were intending.
how to make videos that resonate
So, why do some videos resonate with us and others not? And how do marketers make sure that our content is worth watching? Below are some tips to get you headed in the right direction.
1) APPLICATION: WHAT VIDEO DOES WELL (AND WHAT IT DOESN’T)
Video, like film, is an emotional medium. Make sure you are impacting people positively.
- Design stories that leverage the ability of video to impact people emotionally to see its true power.
- Avoid using video to deliver complex messages or detailed information or you will lose your audience (detail is best served by copy).
- Focus your content on helping customers understand the benefits of your offering (how you can make them feel), rather than the features of your product or service.
- Move beyond talking-head testimonials. Ernest performances from clients can be powerful. But even when clients say all the right things (as The Game Changers demonstrates) the way someone looks, speaks or dresses can alienate an audience. Find a way to flesh out your characters (with relevant visual overlay) so your audience can find something to relate to.
Discover Waterfall Way was released on social and received over 100K organic views in 10 days.
2) DEVELOPMENT: ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS REQUIRED TO CREATE VIDEO THAT RESONATES
To make video content that captures your audience you need to consider brand, audience, message and the delivery medium before you even start to consider a story idea. Each of these factors need be considered and inform your choices along the way.
- Audience: know your audience and their values. Focus on speaking to them in a voice / style / language they understand.
- Message: have a message that speaks to a relevant emotional need that your brand can fill.
- Brand: Your brand is one of your most important assets. Make sure that the visual and stylistic design of your video (and your production values) reflect your brand values or you will damage your brand.
- Delivery platform: Know how, where and why your audience will interact with your video.
With these things top of mind, create a story that makes people feel something – laugh, cry, get excited or inspired and you will capture their attention.
3) PLANNING: CREATING EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE VIDEO CAMPAIGNS
Video that resonates with your audience will provide great RIO. But good films don’t just happen, they are planned – and they are usually the cornerstone of, and supported by, a great campaign. If you want to create effective video campaigns think about these points.
- Protect your brand: if you can’t produce video content that contributes to your audience, don’t do it – or wait until you can afford to. Poorly made or positioned videos will only damage your brand.
- Think ‘Big-picture’: avoid creating videos in isolation or with a range of different providers. Make sure your videos serve as part of a greater plan.
- Identify where video will provide the best leverage: make fewer, better videos with a focus of impacting your audience emotionally.
- Strategise: identify the emotional hot-buttons you want video to address and focus on them. Consumers are looking for solutions. They just need to understand that your brand can provide them.
- Engage an experienced service provider: Not all producers are equal. Find an a video production agency that have produced video with either the look or feel you want.
- Leverage your production: Good video is not cheap. Talk to your providers about how production can be leveraged to create a series of films that can be rolled out over time or consider ways that you can capture additional elements that can be repurposed.
Good brand films, commercials and branded content can do wonders for your brand. They have the ability to take on a life of their own and work for you 24/7. Social media, YouTube and the web in general offer a myriad ways to make impressions on audiences. Follow the suggestions in this guide and you are far more likely to capture rather than alienate your audience.
references & further reading
about the authors
Good Eye Deer is a full service video marketing agency. We offer both video consultancy and script to screen creative video production services. Get in touch to find out how video can help your brand improve consumer engagement.