Nail your video strategy in 3 steps so you never make a boring video again
Nobody wants to make boring videos. And even less of us want to watch boring videos. So imagine if you could nail your video strategy and never make a boring video again?
And no, you don’t need to drink every time you read the word ‘boring’ in this post but it will come up often because boring videos will get you nowhere. No clicks. No likes. No watch hours. No results.
So should you pack up your camera and call it a day? No, not at all! You just need to get familiar with that formula we mentioned.
Why? Because the video marketplace is a crowded one. More crowded than Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
The stats say a whopping 1 billion hours of YouTube videos are watched every day and 500 hours of video content is uploaded every minute. Yep, that’s a lot of video.
So if you’re in the business of making videos, you need to know the type of videos people want to watch. And even if you’re just toying with the whole video production idea, you still need to know the content your audience cares about.
Which is why’ve we’ve come up with a clear cut formula that you can apply to all of your projects so that you nail your video strategy every time. And never make a boring video ever again!
So what’s this formula we keep baking on about? Here goes …
Audience + Message + Call To Action
Voila! A sure-fire way to stop making boring videos.
Let’s break them down a little further.
Get to know the people you’re making videos for
We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again: get to know your audience. Before you hit record. Before you cast your talent. Before you even decide to make a video at all.
As creators, it’s way too easy to get lost in what you want to make. But you’re not making a video for you. You’re making videos for the people who watch your videos. Confused? Don’t be. You just need to work out who you’re talking to and create content for them. What do they care about? What makes them tick? Why would they pick your video over the millions of other videos on the internet?
Pause.
If these questions are making your head explode, can we suggest registering for our brand new online course? It will give you all the tools you need to research, define and understand your ideal audience. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Click the button below to sign up.
Ok. Shameless promotion over. Let’s jump back in.
So, who is your audience? Working mums? Eco-conscious vegans? Social justice warriors living in inner-city Sydney? It’s unlikely you’ll be able to box your audience together so neatly. Nine times out of 10 they’ll be made up of a diverse group of people with varying backgrounds and experiences. But they’ll have something in common. And that something will be …. caring about the message you (and your video) are sharing. And if you’re sharing something they’ll actually care about, your video is less likely to bore them. Phew!
If the word ‘Message’ has got you stumped, don’t panic. In fact, it brings us nicely to ingredient number 2 to help you nail your video strategy ..,
Figure out your message and wrap it up in a story
Another thing your audience will have in common? A short attention span. Apparently a human’s attention span is now shorter than that of a goldfish. Isn’t that a sobering reality.
That doesn’t mean you need to give up on that 10 minute video you’ve been storyboarding for the past 6 weeks. But it does mean you need to hook your audience quick smart if you want them to watch your whole video, not just the 5 second intro.
So what message are you trying to share with your audience? And how will you make sure that they stick around long enough to actually take it in? One word: storytelling.
Let’s back it up for a second. Your message is the information that you want your audience to retain. It’s why you’ve chosen to make a video in the first place.
If you need some extra help with this bit, you should check out our post on how to Master Your Message over here. But if you’ve got your message sorted, let’s keep going.
The next trick is making sure your audience actively listens to your message. Which is where the story bit comes in. Your video will be about as entertaining as watching paint dry if you just throw facts and figures at your audience. To really capture their attention, you need to weave an engaging story around your message.
Which is why understanding who your audience is and what they care about is so crucial. If you know your audience inside out, you can craft a message that will speak to them, and if you wrap up your message in a really good story that will interest them, your video will be anything but boring. It might even inspire them to do more than just watch and actually take some kind of useful action.
And that’s what the third point in our winning video strategy is all about.
End your video with a compelling call to action
Your call to action is exactly as it sounds. What are you calling out for your audience to do after they’ve watched your video?
You might have multiple calls to action and they may change video to video (even if you’re speaking to the same audience in each of those videos), but a single video should have a single call to action. Otherwise it gets too complicated, Your audience is more likely to do nothing than everything.
So what’s the most important thing your audience can do after watching your video? It might be hitting subscribe. Sharing it with a friend. Leaving a comment or clicking the like button. It doesn’t really matter – as long as it’s just one action and (ideally) they can do it straight away.
Another tip? Make sure you tell your audience why they should take that action, too. If they don’t understand what that action means, they’ll be less motivated to act.
No more boring videos. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3
Creating hours of video content that no one likes, shares or even watches is not worth your time. So our advice is to stop making boring videos and start making videos that people care about. And by people we mean your audience. It always comes back to your audience. Always.
Here are the steps to help you nail your video strategy once again:
- Get to know your audience
- Figure out your message and wrap an interesting story around it
- Ask your audience to do something at the end (otherwise known as a Call to Action)
If you do these three things in your next video, your video won’t be boring – it will be awesome. And you’ll be able to sit back and watch those views climb up and up.
Want some extra help in the video making department? Subscribe to our YouTube channel here. Why you ask? Because you’ll get the skinny on how to make killer video content that connects with your audience.