Summer Challenge – A Video Marketing Campaign

1. What is the singular goal or most important objective you want to achieve—increase brand awareness, drive sales, gain email subscriptions, escalate event registrations, etc.?
2. Who is the target market? Define the geographic and demographic information for the people you wish to reach.
3. Where will the video be shared—Google ads, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, email, etc.?

Content

Now that you know your objective, for whom to create content, and where to post it, one question still remains…what’s the topic?

If you’re stumped for quick, easy-to-create video content, consider questions clients ask via email or in meetings. If those questions can be answered with a bulleted list or with step-by-step instructions they’d work perfectly for a video.

Still stumped, enter a topic into AnswerThePublic.com to see the most frequently-asked questions about millions of topics. You could ask staff what questions they often answer. Or, you could search for the top 10 frequently asked questions about a topic using a search engine.

The Hook

MarketScale’s 2019 research claims that 59 percent of people will watch a video to its end if it’s shorter than one minute.

Knowing that and to grab the viewer’s attention, it’s important to share high-value information at the video’s beginning. Try to make it evocative, relevant, and something that will invoke an emotion. You can do that with the headline, music, and imagery.

An Example

1. Headline: Sink Your Teeth Into Zero-Based Budgeting
2. Music: royalty-free, similar to Jaws
3. Image: shark or an alligator
4. Opening Statement: When was the last time you heard of a shark/alligator wasting food? Never! Exactly. Like that, a zero-based budget can help you avoid wasting money when your finances are upended. Here are 3 things you need to know…
5. Video Screens: Briefly talk about each of the bullets referenced using simple, clear language.
6. Call to Action: Tell them what you want them to do. Provide a clear call to action, such as “Stop wasting money and sink your teeth into profits. Download our ebook today!” Use an easy-to-remember link, like https://firmdomain.com/zero-based-budgeting.
7. End with your firm’s branding and contact information.

The Tools

There are a lot of video tools and royalty-free music you can use to create engaging videos, including RawShorts, Biteable, Lumens5, Animaker, Pikwizard, Keynote, iMovie, QuickTime, Promo, Adobe Spark, and InShot (app only). Some free, online tools, such as Pixabay and Canva, also have predesigned video you can import into other applications.

Post Production

Now that the video is ready, you can post it on your video channel or website, or share it directly through social media. Links from the video to your website will be tracked via your website’s analytics.

If you choose to include paid advertising in your marketing efforts, video is often accepted in all major social media platforms and search-engine marketing tools, like Google, Bing, and YouTube. Remember, video marketing, in most cases, does not cost more than text-based advertising, yet could yield a higher ROI.

Now that you have a plan, what will your first video marketing campaign be about?

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Becky Livingston has over twenty-five years’ experience in marketing and technology in financial services and engineering firms. She is the President and CEO of Penheel Marketing, a marketing firm specializing in social media and digital marketing for CPAs.