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February 19, 2018 KNOW HOW

Use social videos to excite an audience

Kham Inthirath is the founder and president of InThink Agency, a marketing agency focused on helping local businesses find and connect with their target audiences.

Video marketing and advertising is nothing new. Just turn on your TV to realize this. In fact, the first official TV commercial aired back in 1941 – a 10-second spot for Bulova, a watch and jewelry company.

But since the dawn of video, this form of marketing has almost exclusively been reserved for larger companies with deep pockets. Small to midsized businesses were often left out.

Until now.

A less costly alternative to TV ads is available for everyone these days: social video. I'd argue, in fact, that social videos are far more impactful than a TV commercial, because they focus on a smaller – yet appropriate – demographic. In other words, your dollars are spent more on the people who matter most.

What's important about social videos is they're not intended to advertise; rather, the most effective social videos break down barriers and help businesses become more relatable. I can't help but think of the MetLife Hong Kong video about a daughter who lets her father know how much she loves him and how he toils behind the scenes to provide her with a better life.

The video is an emotional roller coaster that demands attention and speaks directly to its intended audience – parents.

Believe it or not, your local business can produce a video of this caliber and, thanks to social media, get it seen by thousands of people for a fraction of the cost of a TV ad.

Facebook. YouTube. Instagram. The list is endless. Dollars no longer handcuff businesses from capitalizing on video. Now it's just about execution. Here are two tips to creating a powerful social video.

1. Connect with the heart.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to establish a personal connection within your video. When your viewer sees hardship or a relatable situation, they'll think, “I know this. I've been there.” This established mutual understanding bridges the gap between audience and brand.

2. Don't talk about yourself.

I said it earlier – social videos aren't ads. The more you talk about you, your products or services, and how you can help the viewer, the less engaged your audience will be.

It may seem counterproductive to everything you think you know about marketing, but the less your video is about you, the more impactful it'll be.

Your video should be about your viewers, in order to maximize the connection between your message and your audience. The stronger connection you establish, the more likely your viewers will share that video.

And that's the name of the game – chances are you don't have an enormous audience waiting with bated breath for your next Facebook post. But you likely do have some people in your social circles, and even a handful of followers are enough to make a single video go viral.

But it all starts with quality content.

So, how will you create your next great video? I'll leave you with this one final tip: Technology has made it easy to record and share video. Even your smartphones produce incredible images.

That being said, I strongly encourage you to invest some of your money toward hiring a video production agency to make your video. From lighting to sound quality, editing and more, there's no substitute for professionalism.

Kham Inthirath is the founder and president of Inthink, a Worcester marketing agency focused on helping local businesses find and connect with their target audiences.

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