< Back to all posts
Brand Building with Video: 10 Tips to Create Better Branded Content
Brand building has grown into a buzzword synonymous with successful business growth in the modern, digital era. And often times the phrase “branded content” isn’t far behind it. But with so much content on so many different platforms, it can be easy for businesses to get lost in the shuffle.
What does authentic brand building look like now? And where does video production fit into the equation? With video’s astronomical popularity still on the rise, the medium will continue to be the main source of content that a lot of companies focus on. Creating the most effective branded content through videos will help lead to better, more consistent growth. Here are 10 tips to focus your company’s branded video content.
1. Make Branded Content Feel Organic
Viewers today are bombarded with more advertisements in more ways than ever before. Between traditional mediums like television and even print and radio, to streaming platforms and endless social media platforms, it can be tough to stand out through conventional advertising.
Luckily great branded content is far from conventional. Approach your video production in a natural way. Even though in some ways most branded content is a form of advertising, it should never “feel” like an outright ad. Any branded content, especially video, should have a purpose beyond boosting your company’s name; whether it’s telling a story, providing new information, or simply delivering brief entertainment.
2. Create Content that’s Shareable
The best way for branded content to be effective is for it to be shared frequently and by a lot of people. And in order for video to be spread far and wide, the methods of sharing need to be easily accessible.
That means approaching every video release with its own marketing plan. Consider:
- How your company will share this video.
- How can this video be communicated to new audiences (social media, email newsletters, specific hashtags, etc.).
- Are there viral trends that can be taken advantage of?
- Content should be optimized to be viewed on any screen – from phones to tablets and laptops to televisions.
3. Experiment with Different Platforms
If your branded content is covering a lot of bases, that’s great! But it’s also important to consider how certain platforms are better suited for certain video content.
For instance, you could always upload to Youtube and copy and paste the link across all of your company social media pages. But that doesn’t always create the best viewing experience. Especially when considering that different video lengths are more effective on different social media platforms. For instance, via HubSpot:
- Instagram: 30 seconds
- Twitter: 45 seconds
- Facebook: 1 minute
- Youtube: 2 minutes
Consider where your target audience is viewing your video content. Determining the best platform and how your videos can be edited into different versions to best fit certain delivery methods will go a long way in your long-term brand growth.
4. Establish Industry Partnerships
Competition doesn’t always have to negatively affect one company over another. After all, a rising tide raises all ships. If it’s possible, creating partnerships across an industry can go a long way in boosting your brand. Especially in such a creative medium like video.
Companies that share similar visions can double down on their branding. For example, the Stratos campaign from Red Bull and GoPro. They’re technically in different industries, but they both share an extreme, adventurous lifestyle branding approach.
Working with a like-minded company helps unite two potentially separate audiences under the same overarching branding ideals. It can be a win-win situation for both companies, plus it’s an opportunity to learn and grow in a unique way.
5. Generate Can’t-Miss Live Moments
Your branded content should feel exclusive. In a perfect world, your viewers will be clamoring for the next piece of video to be released. One way to experiment with and help nurture that organic engagement is through live-streaming.
Live video content is growing on all platforms. And through IGTV for Business, Facebook Live, and conventional live-streaming methods on Youtube and other platforms, it’s more accessible than ever. Consider utilizing live video for:
- Exclusive event coverage.
- Behind the scenes “day in the life” content.
- Live Q&A sessions.
- Panels and live webinars.
6. Build a Narrative Around Your Brand
At the end of the day, great branded content is a form of storytelling. Great storytelling ensures that your videos and branded content are actually worth consuming. Beyond that, storytelling in branded video content adds to the greater narrative surrounding your brand.
A huge part of brand building is generating the narrative around your company. That starts with your company’s core values, brand voice, and the tone you create in anything you produce and the services you provide.
Your video content should echo those core values and tones. Trends will only get you so far, building a compelling narrative for every piece of video hooks a viewer and makes any time spent with your brand feel worthwhile.
7. Tell Your Story Across a Series
Sometimes it can be challenging to capture a single, open and closed narrative over the course of a 1-minute video. Or perhaps a successful campaign leaves room for multiple pieces of content to carry the message. In these instances, approaching branded content as a series can be particularly effective.
Last year Patagonia approached their “Worn Wear” campaign through a series of different videos. In an effort to subvert the Black Friday/Cyber Monday trends of buying new, the Worn Wear series celebrates the used, worn-in gear; the stories they tell and the lives they’ve effected.
It’s not only an effective way to tell multiple different stories using the same larger themes, the series was even parlayed into a single, larger documentary. Showing the advantages of long-form video in a time when everyone is going for shorter, attention-grabbing pieces is a brand-building effort of its own.
8. Connect with Emotion
Without an emotional anchor point, your narrative might not land the way you want it to. One of the biggest goals in brand-building stems from the idea of creating that organic, emotional connection with your audience, customers, and potential new customers.
Emotion doesn’t have to mean sadness, either. Your videos just need to have a core theme that viewers can identify with. Whether that’s humor, hope, or a powerful drive for change and action is up to you and your creative team. Again just make sure it’s compelling and worth-watching.
9. Utilize Real Stories
It’s pretty common for almost every video project to be scripted to some degree. Scripted content usually involves actors or some sort of professional speakers who are comfortable being in front of the camera.
But if it’s possible to use “real” people, potentially in the form of some sort of testimonial, it can be a powerful tool for brand building. Think about the Patagonia series above. It’s powerful because the stories are real and feature the real people they’re about.
Authentic storytelling and featuring actual customers that are affected by your brand helps to build trust in your brand. And when your brand is trusted, it helps to create that emotional connection with your audience that so many companies strive for.
10. Measure and Adapt
Strategies and approaches are an important aspect of not only video production, but marketing and branding efforts as a whole. But all of the perceived trends in the world really don’t mean anything if they’re not actually effective.
Which is why, on the technical side, it’s imperative you learn how to measure what’s working and what’s not. Learn how to use the right analytics tools to effectively measure your brand’s growth. Set goals for your video projects, and be ready to re-tool and hit the ground running again when something just doesn’t get the traction you’re hoping for.
After all, it would be a waste of time and effort to continually create the same type of content over and over again when it doesn’t actually help your brand’s overall growth.
Start Your Branded Content Overhaul Today
These tips should help you get started with your brand building master plan. It’s important to note that most of these points are dependent on a genuine understanding of not only your own external communication goals, but brand awareness and perception. Great branded content goes much deeper than aesthetics.
And once you have your master video project vision in mind, get in touch with us at Crews Control. We have over 30 years of experience and can help you shoot dream project to take your brand building to the next level. From first cut to the final edits, you’ll work with the best local crews that will help you execute your next branded content video project every step of the way. Don’t wait, get your free quote today!
Leave a Reply