How-to-Videos
How-to-Videos are an incredible way to drive organic views of your content. Providing content that is valuable to your customers increases engagement and can position your brand as an authority in your space. If you are thinking about creating some how-to-videos for your brand then why not contact us.
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How-To-Videos get high engagement and organic reach
Organic Views
By giving helpful advice and value, people are likely to share your content.
Long-Lasting
A good how-to-video can have a huge shelf-life. If its useful, then it will continue to perform for years.
Good ROI
They don’t rely on paid media to get reach which means you get a great return on investment.
What are How-To-Videos?
How-To-Videos is a catch all term to describe any piece of content that is educational and provides value to the viewer. This is video content that helps your audience in their daily lives. How-to-Videos are most commonly seen on Youtube but are equally at home on other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin. TikTok, the new video sharing platform has become a hotbed for how-to-videos with content ranging from recipe videos to life-hacks.
Common how-to-videos include tips and tricks for common hobbies like photography, art and cooking. Others include DIY guides, makeup tutorials and even Forex trading advice. There are how-to-videos for virtually any activity that the general population want to engage in. In fact, we live in a time where you can learn almost any new skill just by searching on Youtube.
How can How-To-Videos help your brand?
How to videos are the ultimate SEO tool for any business. Youtube is the second largest search engine after Google which means that when people go looking for answers to their problems, they will often look at Youtube. Not only that, but because Youtube is owned by Google, a great Youtube video can rank at the top of Google’s search results if it’s deemed both relevant and popular enough.
If you find a subject to focus on that aligns with your brand’s positioning, you can begin to build authority in that space and create content that will be both evergreen (long lasting) and extremely shareable. Many brands have had success with this from DIY videos from B & Q to makeup advice from Maybelline and even amazing cooking ideas from Waitrose.
Examples of How-To-Videos
Plenish Recipe Videos
In collaboration with the charity Veganuary, we created these simple breakfast recipe ideas for Plenish.
3 Ways to Grow your Business with video
At Small Films we practice what we preach. Here’s one of our own videos that we use to drive engagement for our business.
Datamettle
We helped Datamettle explain a complex subject simply for people trying to understand how our data is used.
What makes a good How-to-Video?
Remember that how-to-videos must be useful to your audience. They are designed to make your customer’s life that little bit easier. Focus should be on the content and making sure it is as valuable as possible. Resist the urge to make your branded message front and centre. This should take a back seat.
First, find a subject that closely aligns with your brand. If you are a food business then recipe videos are an obvious fit but perhaps fitness might also work if you are a healthy food brand. If you are a financial services company then tips on personal finance may be useful. And if you are a fashion brand then clearly fashion tips would align with your products.
Next, consider the types of problems your customers experience or the questions they want answered. What are they likely to be searching for on Google? For example: “how do I cook an apple pie” might be a question that you could answer with a video. Or “what’s in fashion this summer” might be another. Once you’ve got the idea for your video’s content then commission a professional company to create your video.
Here are a few quick tips for making sure your how-to-video gets traction.
– Give it a catchy title like “5 Tips for Longer-Looking lashes” or “How to cook the ultimate roast beef”
– Make sure it is searchable by including relevant Tags for SEO.
– Include an eye-catching and properly branded thumbnail for your video.
– Plan for volume and consistency. How-To-Videos don’t work well in isolation. You should have an ongoing series that people can follow.
– Boost your videos with paid-media. You aren’t a Youtuber with millions of subscribers, you are a commercial organisation, so don’t expect your videos to go viral. Pay to push them out to people and once they have traction, they will gain their own momentum.
At Small Films, How-To-Videos is one of our key areas of specialism. With a team that have a strong background in television programme making, the design and creation of compelling content is our bread and butter. So if you are thinking about creating a how-to-video then feel free to give us a call.
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