10 Keys for Creating a Successful Video Campaign
Creating a short video is a powerful tool for increasing your credibility and getting people to pay attention to you. The stats on videos show why creating videos to promote yourself, your business, or your products and services is so important today. Social video results in 1200% more shares than both text and images combined, according to SmallBiz Trends. If you put a video on a landing page, that can increase the conversion rate for your sales by 80%, according to Hubspot.
Using videos is so powerful because a video done right increases your credibility. It helps to create rapport and connection with your audience. It makes you more likeable and helps people believe in you and trust you. And people like to do business with those they know, like and trust.
Now you can create short videos in minutes with a few clicks on your phone. There’s no need for an expensive production, because people like the intimacy of seeing you up close and personal. Even the big stars create these informal videos, and now you can even hire many well-known personalities to give you a shout-out. Check out Cameo.com for details.
Here are some keys for having a successful video campaign. After you read each tip, write down your thoughts about how to apply that tip to create a successful video campaign.
1) Decide on your niche and target audience. Plan what you want to say and how to say it to reach that audience. Then, imagine that you are speaking to an individual in that audience, like you are having a conversation with that person when you create your video.
2) Pick one tip or benefit you can offer your target audience in each video. Keep it short, about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Then, talk about how you can help with that one thing. In picking the tip or benefit to offer, pick a problem that you can help solve and offer a solution.
3) Try out different types of videos to determine which one or ones your audience likes best. Use alternative approaches for variety. The major types of videos are: a demonstration or tutorial; offering a few short tips about something; an interview with another person; sharing informal advice and insights.
4) Select a good setting for your video. You can select a single setting you use each time, such as your office, living room, or workroom. Or you can have varied backgrounds, such as if you travel a lot or do workshops in different locations.
5) Use a consistent format, which contributes to building your identity or brand, such as having the same background or logo behind you. Some other formatting tips are these. Use a tripod and horizontal format to better show and demonstrate things as you talk. Use a selfie-stick and a vertical format to be more conversational and informal. Perhaps begin each video with a signature introduction, such as holding up a poster or banner with your name, company, or tagline.
6) End each video with a call to action indicating what you want the audience to do. Some possibilities are:
- Give you their email to get a free gift or join your newsletter list.
- Buy your book or product.
- Sign up for your event, workshop, or webinar.
- Arrange a strategy session with you by phone
or Zoom.
- Forward your video to a friend or business
associate.
- Join you in the next day or two for more
information.
- Go to your website for more free information
(and provide their email to get it).
- Or more.
Whatever you are offering, ask viewers to click the link below the video to take the next step.
7) For an effective video, prepare what you want to say. Create an outline of your major talking points or write out a script, as you prefer. If necessary, create cards with large type and put them on an easel in front of you, so you can read from them, like with a teleprompter, but keep whatever you say conservational and real — not like you are reading.
8) Have a consistent look that fits your brand, so dress the part. Look professional and select strong and plain colors. Avoid patterns and logos. And don’t wear anything wild and crazy, unless you want to create that the kind of character.
9) Include one or more soundbites, which are parts of your interview that are especially powerful and catchy. These one liners will help to make your video more memorable, and viewers may quote you, and they’ll be more likely to share your video.
10) Think of how to give value in each video, so people will want to watch. But be brief, so you focus on a particular point, which makes your message more memorable. Also, practice, practice, practice to get your presentation right, especially when you are starting out. After you do a series of videos, it will be faster and faster to make them, because they will become like a regular practice or habit. So it will be easier to create these videos more quickly, and you won’t need to practice as much or at all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, Ph.D., J.D., is a nationally known writer, consultant, speaker, and seminar leader, specializing in business and work relationships, professional and personal development, social trends, and popular culture. She has published 50 books with major publishers. She has worked with dozens of clients on memoirs, self-help, popular business books, and film scripts. Writing samples are at www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com.
She is the founder of Changemakers Publishing, featuring books on work, business, psychology, social trends, and self-help. The company has published over 150 print, e-books, and audiobooks. She has licensed several dozen books for foreign sales, including the UK, Russia, Korea, Spain, and Japan.
She has received national media exposure for her books, including appearances on Good Morning America, Oprah, and CNN. She has been the producer and host of a talk show series, Changemakers, featuring interviews on social trends.
Scott is active in a number of community and business groups, including the Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek Chambers of Commerce. She is a graduate of the prestigious Leadership Contra Costa program. She does workshops and seminars on the topics of her books.
She is also the writer and executive producer of 10 films in distribution, release, or production. Her most recent films that have been released include Driver, The New Age of Aging, and Infidelity.
She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. from the University of San Francisco Law School. She has received five MAs at Cal State University, East Bay, most recently in Communication.