Lockdown sucks, there’s no getting around it. And we feel for everyone who’s business is being impacted by the latest Aussie outbreak.
But you can use this time to get an advantage over your competitors by creating a series of videos to roll out over the coming weeks and months. And whilst we’d love to be out there shooting for you (Damn you restrictions), it is possible to do it yourself!
Use videos to stay in touch with your customer base, show that your business and team are “real” and help look forward beyond these dastardly – but necessary – restrictions. And it certainly beats feeling sorry for yourself.
Here are ten terrific video ideas for you to embrace (and do!) during lockdown.
BUSINESS UPDATES
Just because business is different, doesn’t mean your customers should be left in the dark. And just forget trying to personalise emails to each and every one of your customers, do it en-masse with a video!
Your shopfront’s temporarily on pause, but maybe you’re doing home deliveries. Gladys has turned your worksite into a ghost town, but your team are focusing on ordering, project management and research. Or perhaps you are still operating, but for emergency call outs only.
Where ever you’re at, record to-camera video updates to let customers know what you’re doing to help them
Do it from your desk, from your truck or even your morning amble. It doesn’t have to be fancy or well produced, but it does need to be personable and ideally folk need to hear what you’re saying. (Check out some gear – here)
Share it on your socials as a here-today-done-tomorrow story. Or use awesome video apps like Vidyard or Bonjoro to easily send via email to your dates base. You might even find you get into the groove so much it becomes a weekly -or a daily – thing.
How often you choose to do it, wherever you choose to record it and however you choose to share it, video will be good for business. So just choose to do it.
Here’s one of our regular Business Update videos for you to copy!
PRODUCT DEMOS
If you sell stuff, then nothing beats showing customers how your product works and their key assets and benefits. Shoot them in the showroom, on the factory floor or in the warehouse, but shoot themas they will better help your customers imagine those products in their lives after lockdown’s passed.
And don’t worry about being in front of a camera. If your regular day job sees you as a salesman or saleswoman, then you can just as easily use the same skills to sell your products on camera. Just imagine you’re talking direct to one single customer rather than broadcasting them to the nation.
If you sell more than one product line, bundle them together and show how they work together. Or compare different products – and sizes – and help your customers work out the best fit for them.
Simple, off-the-cuff videos will better help your customers make product choice and give them reasons to dip into your socials more often during lockdown and beyond.
HOW TO VIDEOS
Whether you sell stuff or services, how-to videos are a highly effective way to share your expertise with customers. Because honestly, you know a lot of things about your industry and people are interested in this knowledge.
How -to videos are not about hard sell, so it’s not all about demonstrating how a product works or how you can help people. Instead it’s offering impartial “help” advice or expertise about your particular field during tough times. (Just like we’re doing here)
As an accountant, share tips on preparing for tax time. As an electrician, talk about how customers can carry out their own simple home maintenance skills. If you sell a skin care rage, share your tips on a simple lockdown facial regime that folk might want to copy.
Not only will these type of videos offer genuine value to your audience, but it will place you as a trusted and considerate expert. And maybe, when restrictions ease and people head back to business, customers re more likely to have you front of mind for their accountancy, electrical or skincare needs.
As a business owner, these types of videos don’t just have to come from you. Get your team to tick a few off the list and show the world you’re a combined team of super skills and expertise.
Here is a really simple how-to video we helped a client create in a previous lockdown.
BEHIND THE SCENES
As a hospitality venue or retail store, photographic studio or tour operator, we get it, you’re likely closed. But showing your space through a behind the scenes video can help you build business for when you’re allowed to re-open.
Show your shelves of stocked goodies, the size of your dressing room, the conference facilities or your tech capability, but show it! Indoor or out, beautiful spaces sell even if they are – temporarily – empty.
Customers are equally fascinated by how business works. Record a time lapse of your warehouse staff re-stocking shelves, film your creative process assembling products, record your own skincare routine. Video is a supercool way to get creative about your business.
Help your potential guests imagine the possibilities, and – fingers crossed – they will be inspired to book and buy once more.
MAKE A DATE
Christmas may be half a year away, but it doesn’t mean you can’t think about it now!
Create a yule-inspired promotion and video it. Re-imagine Halloween in groovy dress-ups now. Think ahead to key moments in your business calendar and shoot videos to promote your date-specific deals and gift ideas.
Do it now whilst you have time and thank yourself in advance for a job well done!
ASK ME ANYTHING
Instead of forcing ideas on your audience, ask them what they want to know about you and your business. Take polls on your social channels for ideas and give the audience what they want by create a series of short videos that answers 3 or 4 of these questions in each video.
And for even better engagement, tag key people when you use these videos.
EXPLAINER VIDEOS
Promote your business and what you stand for by recording short explainer videos and editing together with footage of what you do or sell. Or if your DIY efforts are less than ideal, consider using an editor or one of the myriad of video making apps out there to create explainer videos.
Using templates, stock footage and production music tracks to create short and punchy pro-looking videos to order. Or if your service or product is better explained through animation, Doodly, Powtoon and Vyond offer a similar experience but with animation.
INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Embrace the opportunity of lockdown to get access to industry experts that your customer base would love to hear from. Think about who has valuable insights and who might share their knowledge and insights to your data base.
Use Virtual Conferencing apps like Zoom or Google Meets or Facebook or Instagram Lives to share these with the world.
FOUNDER STORY
Use the lockdown lull to share the story of how your business began. Look for visual ways to tell this story whether that be photographs, early customer testimonials and footage from old videos to weave together to tell you story.
Whilst a pro crew would usually be a better option for this evergreen content, consider pulling together assets and resource and make your own version for now or better still plan now for a bigger production when lockdown is over.
TESTIMONIALS
Testimonials are a sure fire way to tip an interested party over the line to buying your products and services, but hard to film during lockdown!
Instead ask your customers to record video testimonials during lockdown that you can add to your social channels.
To make it easy provide them with an easy -to-follow template (introduction, middle and outdo) or a list of questions to answer. Edit them together with stills into punchy case studies that showcase your business.
Of record yourself delivering a case study video, including valuable information on how you helped a client and the outcomes you achieved on their behalf. Use stills or slides to showcase this information.
So there you have it – 10 different ways you can create and share valuable and interesting content over the coming weeks.
And remember lockdown video really doesn’t have to involve expensive equipment or specialist skills, it’s about ideas-driven and simple video that connects with an audience.
If you want video inspiration, check out some of the recent videos we’ve made for our clients. And remember we’re always here to help with ideas: we’re in lockdown too!