Video marketing demystified

If the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taught us one thing, it should be that anyone can create a video, from celebrities to my brother to your brand. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge offered the content idea, and with that, videos popped up on Facebook and YouTube from all directions. Did you make one? How many did you watch?

I’ll admit, I watched a lot. I watched a lot of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos because videos make great content. They’re exciting. They tell a story. Video marketing is a great way for your brand to tell a story, too.

Why were the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos so effective and what can your brand take from these to create your own video content marketing? Let’s explore.

Story arc

Great videos tell a story. The means they need a story arc. The ice bucket challenge had a built-in story: someone was challenged, the challenge was accepted, ice water was dumped, subject reacts and adds a call to action. Simple. Brilliant. It worked every time. Even if the video quality wasn’t great, these videos caught and held attention.

A.1 Steak Sauce really knows how to tell a story using only a computer screen and music. It’s a great way of telling a story and putting personality into a brand:

Length

Videos should tell a story quickly. Ice bucket challenge videos had enough content to fill up a couple of minutes, and then they were done. If you can’t tell your story in a minute or two, you might want to rethink the amount of content you’re using or create multiple videos, like episodes.

GoPro only needs an amateur videographer and two minutes to tell a beautiful moving story that will leave you feeling great about their brand:

Call to action

The success of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was due in large part to the excellent call to action. Stories are great, but to work for your brand, you need a clear call to action. Every ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video I watched ended with a clear call to action, a new person challenged and a deadline given for a sense of urgency. The call to action was hard to ignore because it was very clear, specific and included a deadline: donate $100 or donate $10 AND take an ice bath within the next 24 hours.

The World Wildlife Fund uses a sense of urgency and clearly asks for help in this video:

You don’t have to take an ice bath to get attention with video. You do need to create a story arc, keep it short and add a clear call to action.

Now, I challenge you to use video in your content marketing plan. Made a video you’re proud of? We’d love to see it; share in the comments below!