Spring Clean Your Video Content

It's time to open the windows and freshen up your videos.
Time to spring clean your content.

If you've not done this in a long time (or ever) then, just like vacuuming under the bed or mopping beneath the cooker,  you might be surprised at what you find lurking on your website, YouTube channel or Facebook page.

Review, Reposition, Refresh, Reuse, Remove

Just as you might refresh your wardrobe (does it suit me, fit me, is it in fashion, can I bin it, clean it?..) think the same with your business videos.

So, think:

- Do they use your current branding?
- Do they communicate your current message?
- Are they out of date with your product/service range?
- Do they seem visually current? (video trends change just as fashions do)
- Are they too long?
- Are references to phone numbers, email and web urls up to date?

It's possible you might have videos that are 3-10 years old. So for example you may find:

- 5 years ago those green screen videos seemed good... but how do they feel now?
- In the past many videos were long, could it now be punchier?
- Previously people produced long visual introductions for their videos using their company logos, but now it's seen as better to jump straight in with the content before you lose attention. Can you trim these off and add your logo in elsewhere?

Once you've reviewed, do one of four things:

- Reposition -
Can you use playlist/albums/categories to make sense of your content.
Is there a place on your website for it? If already on your site, is the embed working well?

- Refresh -
If it's out dated, can you re-edit?
What about the descriptions, naming and interactive features? Can they be updated?

- Reuse -
Can you republish it to other platforms? Share it on your site or to your email list?
Can you take sections of it and re-edit for shorter versions?
Can you take the content or script and remake it?

- Remove -
If needs be, take it off.
Don't totally delete it from your own systems, but for now, remove it from public access.

Would you want this seen in public?

Think of your video hub (wherever it may be) as an exhibition stand.

You wouldn't let your company be seen in front of thousands of potential customers with old posters/banners, dog eared leaflets, business cards for people who have left, a box of CD-Roms to hand out... So don't do it in this virtual space either.
 

YOUTUBE Cleanse

- YouTube lets you create playlists so it's easier for people to find specific categories of video.
- Make sure your 'feature' video is the best it can be, the most suitable - not just whatever the latest upload is.
- Are you making the most of YouTube's functionality like cards, end screens and watermarks?
- Is your channel art work (if you even have it!) looking great on all devices and do you have your url and social links on it?
- How are your title, description and tagging conventions?
- You might even find gems of content that you've neglected. Can these now be shared again on your site, in an email, on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/LinkedIn etc?

 

FACEBOOK FACE LIFT

The great thing about Facebook is the ability to have your video 'gallery' right there on your page so your content doesn't get lost in the feed. This is brilliant... but is everything in there relevant?

If you're regularly posting video, prune back this area so it's your key uploads that people will find. Otherwise your beautiful animated explainer video or customer testmonials from 6 months ago could get choked by the brambles of 'Dave's birthday surpise', 'ice bucket challenges' and 'ooh hot cross buns in the office' videos.

Again, just like with YouTube you can create categories and have a feature video.

Check out this example from Gary Vaynerchuk.
It splits his videos into his 'Daily Vee' show, Keynote speeches he's given, 'Rants' :)

DON'T JUST DELETE

Let me say this again. Don't just delete things.
'Unlist' them so they're not public on YouTube, or download them first...
It may be that some of this content can be used again. If you've spent time crafting a script in the past, don't let that go to waste.

EVALUATE & CELEBRATE!

In going through this process you'll get a feel of what's working for you, what isn't and feel inspired for what you can do next.

This is also a great opportunity to celebrate your progress with your videos.
Look what you've done!

Come on, spring into action and get cleaning.

Budweiser's Dream Social Video

Budweiser UK have a great social media promotion that encourages user generated content, social shares, voting and competition. It alligns the brand with the UK's love of football.
 

The concept

The idea is simple: film your ground roots game of football and if they score a 'dream goal' upload it! Goals get shared in a gallery on Budweiser's site and the best get seen on TV and judged by famous pundits. Grants worth up to £50,000 can be netted too.

It's hugely effective on Facebook where the comments, shares and likes are in full flow.
You can also see above that Sky Sports have also shared it to great effect. Whether that was a paid for collaboration (I'd imagine so) or just because the content was so good it was worth sharing... it's clearly working. The key audience is being reached.

No need to wait for tomorrow’s game to see another screamer! #EVEMUN #EmiratesFACuphttps://t.co/8ahCTSYpmh

— Budweiser UK (@BudweiserUK) April 23, 2016

What's so great?

- It appeals to their core audience
- It appeals to an anticipated audience (ie, young sports fans not old enough to drink, but who can start to love the brand - not that Bud would admit to this I'm sure, but still, it's a reality despite putting an 'age limit' entry gate on their site)
- They get audience created content which drives the clubs supporters to the brand
- It's brilliantly visual so grabs attention in social
- It's short, snappy, REAL and works well without sound on social 'autoplay'
- It's very viral; the content of great goals is very likeable and shareable
- They paid to promote on social, but the organic reach is substantial
- They posted the tweets in the lead up to and during a key FA Cup match using hash tags that meant a wider audience will have seen this tweet organically as well
- They partnered with other relevant companies to piggyback on their audience, such as this...

Here, Bud tie in nicely for a giveaway with another huge brand - EE - Genius! Cameras you can film action with and a phone network keen to promote 4G for uploading/streaming. Look at the social reaction... And this will have been seen by EE's followers as well. Relevant. Smart.

Video on their site

The Dream Goal section of their site is rich in video as well.

- You have additional content where TV pundits are shown giving their opinions on the footage, just as they might for a Premier League goal

- You have a gallery of 'dream goals' to enjoy

- They use ultra-short videos to 'teach' the process of how to get involved (see below). The first one of which is particularly interesting as it demonstrates to people that they should hold the phone landscape to film. Of course that'll make it look better when being shared and ultimately, potentially, on TV! Never take it for granted that people know what to do, especially when it comes to filming. Give them examples and they will follow...
 

Could you do this?

It's a smart, well executed social video campaign.
Of course it has a huge team behind it, but look at the ingredients that make it successful.

Could you do something like this? Sure you could!
It doesn't have to be on this scale to be effective, it depends on (forgive me) what your goals are.

Also, can you tie in with another brand as they have with Sky Sports and EE? So long as they're relevant, your message spreads further and you give extra value to your audience.

And they're key. Don't forget at the heart of this campaign is the audience.
Who are you trying to reach? What do they like doing? How can you harness that?

 

Great Social Video - Good Eggs

The Co-operative Food's Facebook video stragey in the run up to Easter has been brilliant.

It's been eye catching (stopping me in my scrolling-tracks), enjoyable, serial and shareable.
 

THE CONCEPT

Each short video shows someone in need of help.

Members of the public are filmed with secret cameras coming to their aid, before being surprised with Easter eggs for being such good eggs. It's a social eggsperiment.

Each video is only about 20-30 seconds long and concentrates on one scenario, but here's a compilation that's pinned to their Facebook page to give you the idea.

We love good eggs - and not just our Fairtrade chocolate eggs - we love people who are Good Eggs as well! You know the ones. They always help out, putting others first and treating people to a smile just when they need it most. So go on, nominate the Good Eggs in your life by tagging them in the comments below and explaining what makes them so great!

Posted by The Co-operative Food on Wednesday, 9 March 2016

THE GENIUS SOCIAL SHARING STRATEGY

The cracking part of this plan is when they encourage viewers to 'nominate the Good Eggs in your life by tagging them in the comments and explaining what makes them so great!'

Genius!

So, sure, they pay for a load of Facebook views by promoting these to everyone's feeds. But they get so many more by people sharing this, not just with the usual 'likes' or 'shares' but by socially tagging their friends/family.

Not only that, but the love and warmth people have for their 'Good Eggs' shines equally on the Co-op for their part in this.

I mean, this doesn't even expressley say this is a competition does it? People are doing it because it makes them feel good and the brand is inextricably linked with that emotion.
 

WHY THEY'RE PERFECT FACEBOOK FODDER

- short
- cut straight to the action so they grab our attention
- make sense with no audio
- have multiple story lines (so we can engage with each one plus we don't feel repeated to)
- make us smile, so we want to hit 'like' or 'share'
- make us want to interact, by tagging (and therefore sharing even deeper)

These short videos have the same effect when shared on Twitter (which they did of course) but the link on the tweets drives people to the Co-op website, which then directs them to Facebook.

THE ONLY CRITICISM

This is their web copy:
 

Number 3! It just feels really lame to invite people to like and share the videos. It kind of breaks the magic spell. You want people to share or like your content because they want to. In writing this as an instruction, it sheds light on the fact that, when all's said and done, this is a marketing campaign. Don't break the spell. People won't share because you ask them to unless perhaps it's a charity.

All in all though, hats (or Easter bonnets) off to the Co-operative Food team for hatching such a social video plan. It's brilliant.

You can see all of the videos in this YouTube playlist.

DIY Facebook Video Tool

50 million businesses have pages on Facebook.

So brace yourself for millions of videos looking like this:

Facebook has created a tool called 'Your Business Story'.

It's an automated video creator that takes images from your business, a nice branded message and then automatically makes you a video to share.

SHOULD I USE IT?

Well, give it a whirl, see if you like the video you end up with!

There is absolutely no harm in doing it. It's reinforcing your Facebook presence and shows your brand to your audience using video. You know I'm a fan of that.

BUT?

Notice... in these examples (which are showcased by Facebook) 90% of the images are really nice shots. SO, you need to think carefully about the images you use.

Think: do they look nice enough? If not, either get some pro ones made, or do it yourself and run through Instagram to get that 'artistic' feel. Those images are important. Get product in there, get humans in there. Try and get a snippet of your logo in there.

Also, consider your branding message.
It works like this: finish the sentence "We're in the business of..."
Brainstorm it. Keep writing down endings to that line.
Think about the change you bring about in your customers or their world.

AND?

This is a nice, easy, first step into using video. If you're already up and running video content wise then this won't make much difference, but... here's hoping for other businesses this first step turns into walking in the right direction into a warm embrace of video marketing.

The danger is thinking this standard of video is all you need to do. It plainly isn't. It's just easy.

Also, give it time and the Facebook audience will tire of seeing these videos, no matter how short. They will know the pattern, the schtick. So actually the real success will come for those who stand out and do something unique.

The fact is, video is a hugely poweful tool on Facebook. You really should have video on your page. You really should consider paying to promote it.

Do let me know if you try out the Facebook Business Story tool.
Follow the link, give it a go and share with me your experience of using it and of course your video!

Cancer Research Videos

I don't have to tell you what a horrible thing cancer is.
Just ask anyone and they'll have been affected in some way it seems. I know my family has.
It's an absolute arse.

Which is why an organisation like Cancer Research UK making the most of the power of video, makes me happy. I'm writing this on World Cancer Day, which is where we start...

Video made for Social media

Their Tweet below is a perfect example of creating a video for Social.
- it works brilliantly silent
- nice clear message
- short and shareable
- bright, colourful, bold, eye catching
- a clear call to action

Yes, you may well hear sound on this, but mute it. See how powerful a visual it is?

Today is World Cancer Day. Join us for a #ADayToUnite, donate and help beat cancer sooner: https://t.co/LDKsgGsCIUhttps://t.co/2Mu8kwpgAp

— Cancer Research UK (@CR_UK) February 3, 2016

Here's another example from Facebook.

It's said you have 8 seconds to grab someone's attention. Notice how the first 10 seconds is bold colur, text and emotive visuals? If you've grabbed my eyes by then, I'll click to unmute and hear what is said after that... This is definitely going to stand out as I absentmindedly scroll, scroll, scroll.

Give Up Clothes for Good

Give Up Clothes for Good, TK Maxx's amazing initiative to raise money for our Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens campaign, is back! Getting involved is simple – have a wardrobe clearout, bag up your unwanted clothes and drop them off at your nearest TK Maxx store. Here’s Daisy Lowe and a host of celebs talking about some of the items they’ve donated to help beat children’s cancers sooner. For more information, visit: http://po.st/2UTdR8

Posted by Cancer Research UK on Tuesday, 2 February 2016

Structured YouTube

Their YouTube channel is a hub for inspiration and information.

They've made perfect use of YouTube's playlists so they can categorise their (many) videos. Different types of cancer, fundraising ideas, research...

A charity making the most of the power of online video, far far beyond what a TV advert can do.
I love it.

You can donate to Cancer Research UK here.