Video marketing, just like pop trends, changes faster than you can say “Shazam!”
(When did that movie come out? It feels like yesterday.)
I can think of numerous songs, dances, movies and TV shows that were all the rage and then suddenly seemed passé. Flash mobs went faster than they appeared. A new TikTok trend rips through the internet every week.
In my case, I may still be wearing that shirt (ugh), until my wife tells me its time for it to hit go – maybe it didn’t start out grey, but I sure like it better that way. Similarly, references to current events can quickly lose their effect as the public turns its attention to new situations.
The video in marketing you use should keep pace with society’s latest interests. If you always post videos that are in touch with the times, your brand will seem fresher, more exciting and even more trustworthy than it would otherwise.
Relevant Video Marketing isn't "trendy"
We’re not talking about the “pick-me” mentality that many faux-trendy vibe marketing productions can have. (We’re talking about trends that use LMAOs, BRBs, and other “text speak” type content from ’02.)
REAL trendiness is all about using recent art styles and visual cues to present a similar message in a fresh-looking way.
The extent that you can pull this video production trick is often a reflection of your corporate skills in general.
To put it another way, every one of your videos will either enhance or degrade your business reputation.
If your clips seem out of date, viewers may get the impression that you just don’t care that much about your efforts. If it looks like you don’t care about your advertising efforts, it looks like you don’t care about your company.
So, how do you know what seems up-to-date versus out-of-date?
new realeases
Date stamps on an internet video are one sure-fire to show your potential customers if you’re actively using video marketing to promote your customers’ best interests. Whether you’ve decided to upload your video marketing content to YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Facebook or natively on your website, viewers can see when you posted it. That’s why it’s important to be consistently releasing new and updated video content.
In fact, the more consistent you are with publishing new videos, the greater your chances are to attract subscribers or die-hard fans. Your viewership and SEO will just snowball from there. That’s how most algorithm’s confirmation bias works at least.
If your company hasn’t posted a video recently, I’m happy to help consult you on how to generate more content to get your company up to speed.
Cut downs, repurposing content, and updating styles are important, and of the easiest forms of creating fresh content from your previous investment.
Trending Topics in your video marketing
When you or your video marketing team are coming up with ideas for your series of promotional or explainer videos, it’s important to evaluate short-term versus long-term marketing production stories. Both short-term and long-term video marketing can be beneficial for your company, so let me break down how:
- Short-term: there are some trending topics that are best to capitalize on right away in order to gain views and followers fast. Parodies are one of the most successful ways to capitalize on short-term business growth. That’s one reason why “Saturday Night Live” posts their sketches on Youtube. Even though it’s been a successful television show for decades, the trending topics they address on the show are extremely marketable on social media. Their audience finds something funny and will share it with their friends. But notice how the short-term/topical sketches run low on steam after the hype of a special event is over? SNL has long-term content as well (“Papyrus” comes to mind) but the cast focuses on trending topics. Short-term marketing has its place for fast and furious results, but don’t necessarily expect a long-term marketing gain.
- Long-term: I like to consider long-term marketing to be evergreen. It can be played at any point in history and be just as efficient. This type of video marketing doesn’t address a current event, but simply focuses on the story we create promoting your product or service. Please know that just because short-term marketing may create quick results, doesn’t mean long-term won’t. This is where consistently good work comes into play.
Consistently Good video marketing work
Another way to tell if video production is outdated is the quality of the video. If your company hasn’t posted a video since 2014/5, you’re likely working with footage that looks like a VHS. Do you notice the standard-definition bars on the sides of your video?
Technology has advanced and it’s important that it looks like you (and your marketing plan) have too.
The good news is, high-quality video footage has become more easily accessible for low-budget filmmakers. You don’t have to have a million dollars for high-quality marketing production anymore. (I’m more than happy to figure out how you can most effectively use your marketing budget – just ask.)
show, don't tell
Modern filmmakers are picking up on the age-old writing adage “show, don’t tell.” Know one likes being spoon-fed or strong-armed into an opinion.
Be selective when you use “talking heads” in your explainer videos. That means one person looking straight into the camera, reading off a lot of dialogue. While there are exceptions, commercial spots with heavy dialogue don’t generate traffic. At least two times the amount of b-roll is needed for each live interview.
Think of the 2D and 3D animation world, where we mainly operate. Its all about showing examples and opening the imagination of a viewer…not showing a talking head.
Notice how even with explainer videos or whiteboard animation videos, the visuals support the images that are being drawn on-screen. It’s important to captivate your audience’s attention. That way, they’ll keep watching to learn more about your product or service.
Maximize Your Video Production's "Share Factor"
I’ve gone over this before in a few of my blogs. It’s important to create content that people want to share. If you think re-posting an outdated video with poor quality will help your company, it might actually hurt it. So when you have updated your whiteboard animation video or explainer video, make sure you utilize hashtags.
Through the use of that one little symbol (#), people can discover your long-term or short-term video. It’s the best of both worlds. Make sure your hashtags are applicable to your material, so you’re attracting your target audience. With the right hashtags, your company will look up-to-date.
Your loyal customers are expecting a stream of fashionable videos. Fortunately, at Rip Media Group, we place a premium on cultural relevance, and we constantly familiarize ourselves with recent social and artistic trends, making your video marketing sparkle with immediacy. We’re Rip Media Group, your story starts here!