You have a great idea for some ‘how to‘ content. You know it would benefit from some video content or be best delivered visually. You think it will be quicker and cheaper just to write a blog and hope it’ll gain some traction. STOP! Let’s talk how to use video to amplify ‘how to’ content without busting your budget.
Ask yourself:
Do you have some great ‘how to’ ideas?
Would they benefit from being presented visually?
Would a blog be more engaging for readers if it included video ‘how to’ snippets?
Do you have a smart phone and either a friend to hold it or a cheap tripod?
‘How to’ videos will keep you front of mind
According to the Visual Teaching Alliance, it takes us just a tenth of a second to make some sense of visual information with our brains processing them 60,000 times faster than text.
In a world of information overload, you need images (moving or not) in your content marketing.
Video doesn’t have to be standalone
In fact, no piece of content you create (text, video, voice) should be created in isolation. This is particularly true for ‘how to’ content:
How to video for use on your website, YouTube channel or IGTV
Snippets of video to dot into a ‘how to’ blog and to use on social media
A blog post that spurs a batch of social media posts and conversation starters (a transcript of an interview recording can do the same thing)
An email newsletter that delivers your latest podcast, ‘how to’ video, and newest blog post
The point is that even if you do decide to ‘invest’ in video creation - and not do it yourself - if you apply yourself to effective dissemination of that content it’ll be a worthwhile investment.
Let’s create quick and cost effective ‘how to’ videos
But we’re here to talk about doing it quickly and cost effectively, and we have a great example of how we did it recently for The Wool Company.
The idea: a blog post on how to wear a pashmina
The realisation: this needed a visual delivery too
The execution: me and Timma, and Emma who was on work experience with us at the time, videoing me putting the various pashmina styles into action
The delivery: short (30 second max) videos inserted into the blog post
The amplification: providing The Wool Company with evergreen content for their newsletter, their blog, their social media channels and their website
Now we’re not claiming high quality, TV ad worthy recording here. We’re talking about content that gave a brand a visual presence, real people for other real people to engage with, and flexible content for use across various platforms. You can read the post and watch the videos here.
You don’t need us to do this for you - you can do it! But if time, resource or creativity are lacking, we’d love to help. Drop us a line.