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Let’s kick this week off with a bang!

I’m hosting an in-person video marketing workshop for marketers and business owners on the 17th of August in London. Don’t create average videos, and instead learn the tips, tricks, and secrets to be able to create your own videos that stand out online!⚡️

Secure one of only three seats left at the workshop, and find out more information here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/641187217227 

Imagine this…

You've poured countless hours and resources into producing a compelling video, only to release it into the vast digital ocean where it quickly gets lost among a sea of competing content.

Your videos don’t receive the views, likes, and shares that they deserve, leaving you questioning your approach and searching for an answer amongst the thousands of ‘gurus’ on social media.

Well, the struggle to be noticed, engage an audience, and achieve incredible results is a very common obstacle faced by many businesses and marketers worldwide. But it doesn’t have to be.

In this article, I’ll be exploring why many struggle to make videos that move the marketing needle, and I’ll break down the ten most important elements of creating videos that will help you to stand out online 💁🏼‍♀️

10 essential elements to creating stand-out videos.

Over the years, I’ve made thousands of videos. From social media videos, talking heads, personal branding, big campaigns, adverts, and everything in between.

Naturally, I’ve tried and tested many approaches, tactics, and methods to creating ‘the perfect video’. Even though I don’t believe in ‘perfect’, you can get damn close by following these ten learnings:

• #1: Define Your Objective

Most People: Jump straight into making a video because it’s fun, and creative, without having a clear plan.

You can’t make a video without knowing its purpose. Start by setting a clear goal for your video. Identify the purpose behind it and align that purpose with your broader marketing strategy.

This clarity will allow you to tailor your content, and effectively track the success of your video.

• #2: Understand Your Audience

Most People: Don’t do audience research, and presume that their guesses about their audience are correct.

Take the time to research and comprehend your audience's preferences, needs, and pain points. Then, plan a video that resonates with them, offering valuable insights and solutions.

The more you connect with your audience, the stronger your impact will be.

• #3: Develop a Unique Brand Identity

Most People: Watch their competitors too closely, and are subconsciously influenced by what others are doing, to imitate and copy.

Create a consistent and memorable brand identity that distinguishes you from the competition, rather than copy somebody else already doing the same thing. This includes your visual style, tone of voice, and overall brand personality.

Infuse these elements into your videos to foster greater brand recognition and build trust with your consumers.

• #4: Craft Compelling Stories

Most People: Focus too much on the visual quality and professionalism of their videos, instead of crafting incredible stories.

Humans are wired to respond to narratives. So, lean into this knowledge and develop a compelling story that captivates your audience, evokes emotions, and leaves a lasting impression.

Follow the structure of setup, conflict, and resolution, which is what I’m using in this week’s newsletter!

• #5: Optimise for Search Engines

Most People: Don’t even consider SEO as a key element of making a video, as they’re just focused on the creative.

To ensure your video surfaces in search results, optimise them with relevant keywords, compelling titles, and detailed descriptions. Leverage SEO techniques to increase your videos’ visibility and drive organic traffic to your video through popular search terms.

Doing so will allow you to increase your reach and views to an audience that is actively searching for an answer to a problem they’re facing.

• #6: Be Creative

Most People: Use video as a tick-box exercise, and don’t spend nearly enough time thinking of great, creative ideas.

Break free from the mundane and the average. Experiment with innovative ideas, visual effects, and unique formats that you haven’t seen others do. Encourage your team to think outside the box and unleash their creativity to create videos that captivate and surprise your audience (Which is exactly what you’ll learn more about here).

This sets you apart from other businesses that are creating videos that may look and feel the same, or are just a bit average.

• #7: Lead With Value

Most People: Focus on themselves as the ‘hero’ of the story, when it should in fact be their customers that are the main focus.

Deliver valuable content that educates, inspires, or solves problems for your viewers as opposed to talking about yourself. By offering something of value you position yourself as an authority and expert in your industry and establish a loyal following that eagerly awaits your next video.

This helps to keep you front of mind when a potential customer is looking into the product or service you provide.

• #8: Calls to Action

Most People: Don’t include CTAs, and miss the opportunity to drive their viewers from A to B.

You can’t get great results if you don’t ask your viewers to take action and move to the next step. So, guide your audience's next steps by incorporating clear and compelling calls to action (CTAs) in your videos.

Whether it's directing viewers to your website, subscribing to your channel, or making a purchase, CTAs help drive engagement and conversions.

• #9: Personalisation

Most People: Are hesitant to be on camera, and stiffen up when it’s recording time, making them look like robots.

Nobody wants to watch a video that’s been created by a team of robotic, corporate individuals with no personality. Lean into making the filming of your video a fun experience, and this will shine through on camera.

Ultimately, people buy from people. More so, they buy from people they like. Likability will help to connect on a deeper level with your audience.

• #10: Look At The Data

Most People: Get so excited that their video is out, that they don’t ever look at the performance of their hard work.

Continuously monitor the performance of your video using analytics tools. Learn from the data, identify what works and what doesn't, and make informed adjustments and tweaks to consistently better your previous video.

This iterative process is key to refining your video marketing strategy and achieving long-term success.

Look, there’s a lot to ‘just making a video’. The ‘gurus’ tell you it’s easy, but in reality, it’s incredibly hard to make a great video.

These 10 elements are just scratching the surface, but from my experience, these have been the 10 learnings that have transformed my videos, and I hope they do the same for yours.

TLDR 💁🏼‍♀️

1. Define clear objectives for each video.

2. Understand your audience's preferences and needs.

3. Develop a unique brand identity.

4. Craft compelling stories to captivate viewers.

5. Optimise videos for search engines with keywords and titles.

6. Embrace creativity and innovative ideas.

7. Provide value by educating, inspiring, or solving problems.

8. Incorporate clear calls to action to guide viewers.

9. Personalise videos and show authenticity.

10. Analyse video performance and make data-driven improvements.

    Implementing these steps will help you rise above the noise and achieve impactful results with your video marketing efforts.

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:

1. Consultancy Sessions: Book an hour-long call with me today, and I’ll teach you the processes and systems, as well as creative tips and tricks, that I use to create videos that reach over 1M+ people per month.

2. Content Strategy Workshop: A full day of strategy development, creative ideas, and video production training to get you and your team ready to create regular videos without the need for an agency.

Until then, I’ll see you in next week’s newsletter!