— Ed Willmott is a communications executive at Lava, an award-winning marketing communications agency in Lincoln. In an expert comment series for The Lincolnite, he explains why online video and live streaming should play a key role in your marketing campaigns, giving his top tips for planning and creating your own videos.
With over 4 billion daily hits to video hosting sites such as Vimeo, YouTube and Revver, online video and live streaming is not only becoming a preferred way for consumers to engage with brands, but is also a growing marketing tool for businesses looking to communicate their brand values and corporate messages to their customers.
Online video is an effective addition to any marketing campaign, enabling a high reach for minimal cost. In fact, uploading and broadcasting video is, on the whole, completely free.
However, it would take the average person over 100 years to browse the complete YouTube catalogue, meaning that capturing the attention of your audience is becoming increasingly challenging.
It is therefore essential to learn from the creators of The Sneezing Baby Panda and Numa Numa Guy and to approach the production and development of video footage in a creative and considered fashion.
Here are a few top tips on how to capture the attention of your target audience:
1. Shareability
Some of the most successful viral video campaigns have been replicated and shared amongst the online community, long after the original campaign has finished.
Blendtec’s Will It Blend viral campaign, for example, has been copied and parodied by hundreds of consumers around the world, helping to spread the impact of the original videos and developing awareness of products.
Sharing videos can help to not only increase message reach, but also provide independent advocacy of the content.
Therefore, creating simple and compelling videos, and encouraging viewers to share and record their own versions, can help to increase influence and spread effectiveness.
2. Hooks and Hijacking
To create appeal and increase awareness, try showing support of social events and keep things current by ‘hooking onto’ the news agenda. Think pro-actively, i.e. what is coming up in the year ahead and create videos for key events. Events could include: school holidays, Olympics, Wimbledon, festival season, freshers’ week, Christmas.
T Mobile’s famous royal wedding flash mob video, launched a few days prior to the official event, created a huge online following, resulting in significant brand support and audience recall.
3. Relatable
Online video sharing gives organisations the opportunity to communicate directly with the public, helping to establish mutual trust and understanding.
Although producing creative content can attract attention, generating memorable associations relies on relating content to consumers.
The World Wildlife Fund YouTube channel is a great example of this, aiming to share heart-wrenching videos about threatened species and other concerning issues with the public. The personal touch and consumer connection has helped to increase online support and significantly raise understanding over the last few years.
Therefore, the key is to research and understand the preferences and beliefs of your audiences. This way you can ensure the content is personally significant.
4. Integration
It is not enough to simply upload video content and hope for viral success. Content must be shared, publicised and distributed, just like any other element of a marketing campaign.
By encouraging online news sources, social media platforms, blogs and corporate websites to embed and cross-link videos, sharing content and creating awareness is attainable.
Allow and actively encourage comments, responses and feedback from viewers, as well as providing them with an incentive to share your video.
5. Plan!
Although relating to your consumers and hijacking the news agenda can ensure appealing and creative campaigns, planning your video is essential.
Try storyboarding your projects, to create short and snappy films that convey your message to viewers whilst still being engaging.
But most of all think outside the box. Just because a video is corporate, it doesn’t have to be boring!
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Ed Willmott is a PR executive at Lava, an award-winning marketing communications agency in Lincoln. He is a B2B comms specialist, as well as a published academic. Ed has a first class PR degree from the University of Lincoln and previously worked as a freelance for the NHS, Nestle and the BBC.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
A local man was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and dangerous driving after two pedestrians were injured in a collision with a car and three parked vehicles in Skegness.
Lincolnshire Police officers attended the scene after the collision between a blue Citroen Berlingo, the parked vehicles, and a man and a woman, who are both in their 60s, on Winthorpe Avenue shortly before 7pm on Friday, April 16.
The two pedestrians suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospital. However, their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
A 63-year-old local man, who was driving the Berlingo, was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and dangerous driving. He has since been released under investigation.
Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage and anyone with information should contact them on 101 or via email at [email protected] quoting incident number 389 of April 16.
Few people attended the second Kill the Bill protest in Lincoln on Saturday, as Extinction Rebellion activists stood alone on the High Street to campaign against a proposed policing bill that could make many protests illegal.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion Lincolnshire gathered at Speakers’ Corner to oppose plans for the latest Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which could curtail protesting rights if passed through parliament.
Extinction Rebellion were the main representatives at the protest. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Under the proposed bill, police officers will be given greater powers to put a stop to any protests, as well as determining start and finish times for them, and controlling noise levels.
A few stopped to talk with the protestors, but most just went about their day walking down Lincoln High Street in the first weekend that non-essential shops and beer gardens reopened.
The Lincolnite spoke to one of the rebels at the protest, to find out the reasons behind the march.
They said: “This draconian bill cannot go ahead, it needs to be taken apart and re-evaluted completely.
“People have been walking past us shaking their heads, but they don’t realise that it’s their freedom we are fighting for.”
The Lincolnite photographer Steve Smailes captured some pictures from the protest.
Signs were put up by the works at Speakers’ Corner on Lincoln High Street. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A 19-year-old man is in hospital with serious injuries after a crash on the A52 on Friday evening.
The single-vehicle crash, involving a white Suzuki Splash, happened in the westbound lane of the A52 between Barrowby and Sedgebrook at around 7.20pm on Friday, April 16.
The driver of the car is now in hospital after suffering serious injuries, and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Officers believe the driver had travelled from Grantham on the A52 at Barrowby before the crash.
Anyone who has dashcam footage or saw the vehicle before the incident is being asked to call 101, quoting incident 420 of April 16.
Alternatively, you can email [email protected], using the same reference in the subject box.
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