Marketing Your Franchise: How to Create Engaging Video Content
Alice Tuffery, writer
Published at 28/01/2021, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min
Knowing how to create engaging video content is becoming more and more important for business owners as time goes on. Consumers are increasingly favouring videos over written marketing material; they’re usually short, informative and engaging. Keep reading for our best video production tips.
Creating video content to promote your business is probably easier than you think. Banish thoughts of external marketing agencies, professional camera crews and expensive editing software; you already have basic video marketing tools at your disposal.
These days, you can produce high-quality content with just your mobile phone. In fact, even directors have created full-length feature films on iPhones.
Why create videos for your franchise?
In our digital age, most people prefer watching a video to reading an article
Adding videos to your website encourages visitors to stay longer, which helps improve your search engine ranking position - you’re 53 times more likely to rank in the first position on Google if you embed a video on your website (Moovly)
Video marketing content has the highest average click-through rate of any digital advert format, at 1.84 percent (BI Intelligence)
Including a video on a landing page can boost customer conversions by 80 percent (HubSpot)
Videos allow you to convey your brand’s personality easily and effectively
How to create engaging video content - 16 tips
1. Develop a thorough plan
In order to work out what kind of video you should create and how you’ll create it, think about your target audience and the action you want them to take. Also, where will you distribute the video and how would you like people to share it? Plan every stage of the process carefully before getting started in order to avoid wasting time and money.
2. Choose your shape
Although this tip might seem odd, deciding on the format of your content is a crucial step in any commercial video-making process. Square videos get 30-35 percent more views and 80-100 percent more engagement than ‘landscape’ content, and are particularly suited to distribution on Facebook and Instagram (Buffer). Landscape could be a better choice if your video is staying on your website.
3. Keep it brief
Usually, people turn to videos for short, snappy content, so aim to create pithy sequences centred around a single idea. According to HubSpot, the most popular videos are an average of 26 seconds long on Instagram, 43 seconds on Twitter and a minute on Facebook.
4. Grab viewers’ attention
One fifth of people stop watching a video within the first 10 seconds, so it’s vital your content grips viewers from the start (Visible Measures). Why not start with a fact, pose a question or give a glimpse of your latest product to encourage people to continue watching?
5. Think about the bigger picture
The practical benefits of your product or service may not be particularly arresting for viewers, so try to think about what you could offer them on a higher level. For example, a bank’s new savings account will store customers’ money, but it’ll also help them reach financial security, improve their quality of life and buy their dream home.
>> Read more:
- What is the Marketing Fee and Why is it Necessary?
- Developing an effective franchise marketing plan
- Try Out These 8 Outside-the-Box Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Business and Engage Your Customers
- 10 Tips for Building Truly Effective Social Media Marketing Campaigns
- Franchising 101: 8 Essential Marketing Strategies for Promoting Your Business
- Franchising 101: 6 Tips for Building Customer Loyalty Through Marketing
6. Experiment with different formats
If you create more than one video, switch up your schedule with a range of different content types to keep things interesting. You could produce livestreams, Q&A sessions, interviews and product showcases, to name a few ideas.
7. Provide value
Think about what the viewer is getting from your video and whether it’s worth them spending five minutes, a minute or even 30 seconds watching your content. If you’re not offering interesting information, advice or inspiration, people may not watch to the end.
8. Tell a story
As humans, we love a story, and incorporating narratives into our videos is a great way to create engaging content. In simple terms, make sure your video flows from start to finish, guiding viewers through the information you provide.
9. Remember SEO
You can boost the chances of reaching a large audience by considering search engine optimisation (SEO). Use keywords in your video titles and descriptions and add links to your website, product pages and social media profiles.
>> Read more:
- Why Is a Business Plan Important?
- Try Out These 8 Outside-the-Box Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Business and Engage Your Customers
10. Don’t aim for perfection
As a DIY video content creator, you’re unlikely to end up with a BAFTA-worthy short film - and there’s no shame in that. Focus on making sure your lighting and sound is of high quality and use tripods or camera stabilisers to keep your shots steady. As long as your video is relevant, effective and engaging, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
11. Channel your brand identity
Present your business as a professional and credible brand by making sure your video content is consistent with your other marketing methods. Consider its target audience and make sure your approach to video reflects your brand identity.
12. Use music
Music can completely transform the meaning of your marketing video, so use it wisely. Just remember to secure the rights before you add it to your content or use a royalty-free music service like Epidemic Sound.
13. Add captions
It’s easy to forget to add subtitles to your video, but this small step can have a huge impact on your viewing figures. Many people watch content without sound, particularly if they’re just scrolling through social media feeds, and adding captions helps you reach them.
14. Publish at a busy time
Find out which days and times people are most engaged with your brand. Do your followers tend to leave more ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ on weekday evenings, in lunch breaks or around payday, for example? If you publish your video at your busiest time, you’ll achieve more views and engagement than you otherwise would.
15. Promote your video
You can stir up excitement and interest around your video by teasing its release beforehand. Use your website, blog page and social media profiles to let people know when and where they can see your latest project.
16. Include a ‘call to action’
Don’t forget the ultimate aim of the video - what do you want people to do after watching it? It’s always a good idea to make it easy for viewers to continue engaging with your brand. So, include your website address, social media profile names and other information in the video and the description box.
More guidance on marketing your franchise
For more handy tips and tricks on promoting your franchise business, see our guides on developing a website, creating compelling written content and using social media. You can also use the search box to find other relevant articles from Point Franchise.
Alice Tuffery, writer