INSIGHT
SPEND TIME ON PREPARATION As with any other form of content , it ’ s important for your video concept to start with a brief . This will help you to outline the content , structure and tone for your video delivery . It ’ s also a good idea to do a bit of good old-fashioned competitor research . Look at the aspirational brands you admire and see what ’ s working for them . Remember to be authentic , though , as copycat behaviour is easily spotted and can have negative results .
“ You really can ’ t ignore the power of visual over text when considering your site content and design updates ”
Take a look at the tone and messaging you feel would support your site and your brand . Is it informational , ie do you want to share tips , or conversational ; or is it requiring multiple commentators to create a chat show format . Do you want it to be entertaining , for example a rehash of old fail clips from football games ; or perhaps viral , a clip of what you ’ d do to get yourself a seat at the World Cup final itself . The ideas for video are endless , but they need to have a purpose . For example , do you want your video to be promotional ( conversion lead ) or just generate reach ( branding and traffic to your site ) for new leads . Will you run a series of videos or just a one-off piece ? Consider what you want the video content to do , who it will appeal to and the action that you want them to take after viewing it . Write this down and when it comes to making decisions in the creative process you can easily refer back to it . Consider the time you have to get your point across – your message needs to be short , sharp and effective . According to Comscore , the optimal video time is 4.4 minutes but briefer snippets still win for user engagement for new brands . So if you don ’ t have a large brand presence , start by releasing a series of shorter vines to get customers engaged and wanting more . Lead them in with a snippet , followed by a story and then move on to longer recurring formats in later months .
You may want to use animations , real footage or live presenters to make your content stand out . No matter which route you take with this , though , you should have a clear brief in mind . If you ’ re doing it in-house you ’ ll need to ensure that your designers know exactly what you want developed ; if you outsource it , the brief serves as the document to outline exactly what you want delivered .
If possible , test your proposed ideas and content concepts on people that you know . Figure out if it will resonate with your target audience first before commissioning anything professionally . You ’ d be amazed at the tools and free software available on your iPhone such as Flyr , which can create quick , interesting visuals . Promo is another good tool that can be used to create great short videos that don ’ t require any prior production expertise .
PRODUCTION AND EDITING : PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER Once the brief is done and you ’ ve written up your script , it ’ s time to turn your ideas into a reality ! Depending on the depth and scope of your video , this will mean a variety of different things . If you ’ re using presenters and graphics , then make sure that they all work cohesively . Audio quality is very important for video production ; if the sound is poor then this can actually negatively affect your brand .
If you ’ re using pre-recorded footage or animations , then your production process will probably look a bit different . If you want to keep your investment in video to a minimum until you see actual results , then check out free tools like Splice . These tools will help you to quickly put together clips .
On social media , it ’ s becoming more and more important to subtitle your videos . Many users typically watch clips without sound and only unmute the footage if they find it of interest . However , they ’ ll be less interested in doing so if they ’ re unsure what your video is about .
Always start with a great thumbnail graphic as this is key to getting customers engaged . Similarly , make sure you have a call to action at the end of the video , and remember to represent your brand , logo and website easily . This way , people can follow on from watching the video to engage with your site .
SHARING AND GROWING YOUR VIDEO CONTENT Now that you have your video content ready to distribute , it ’ s time to share what you ’ ve been working on with your followers . It can be hard to rely solely on paid media to do this in igaming , so you ’ ll need to get a bit inventive . One idea is to get involved in online communities that have similar interests , such as football-focused groups or tipster accounts . This kind of community can catapult your video to success much faster and for a lower cost than paid media channels . Carve out a niche and respond to these users to boost the visibility of your videos . Giveaways will tend to get a lot of initial traction , but you also have to balance this with actually gaining new users .
Assessing the initial engagement that your videos get , as well as where these users go after watching the clip , is key . Going forward , this data will start to inform the rest of your video content and themes . With the World Cup on our calendars until July 15 , there ’ s plenty of room to grow and succeed .
On social media and in organic search , engagement is king . You ’ ll find that once your videos begin to catch on , this engagement snowballs and brings you better results . This kind of traction can be bought , but the outlay represents a huge outgoing for a small affiliate company . Instead of trying to outpace your larger competitors at their own game , then , change the game and do something better in an area they may be neglecting . The old saying “ work smarter , not harder ” really does work in this instance .
“ Consider the time you have to get your point across — your message needs to be short , sharp and effective ”
Video content doesn ’ t have to be scary , and it can certainly do a lot for your brand , so invest a bit of time in it and see what it might bring . If you don ’ t want to dive headlong in with a large production , then look for ways to produce your own short videos to test the waters first . After all , the numbers show that video really does have an impact on brand awareness and content reach . You can ’ t afford to ignore it .
48 iGB Affiliate Issue 69 JUN / JUL 2018