MiMfg Magazine
PREMIUM
ASSOCIATE
8
January 2020
Member
Spotlight
Brian Town
President & CEO
Michigan Creative
Member since March 2016 • Learn more at www.michigancreative.com
You don’t need to throw
thousands of dollars at profes-
sionals in order to utilize video.
Brian Town and his team at
Michigan Creative are among
the best video marketing teams
in the state and they’ll be the first
to tell you — manufacturers can
find success at video on their own.
“The untold ‘secret’ behind
video is that it isn’t hard,” said
Town, president & CEO of
Michigan Creative. “The editing
process can be challenging and
time-consuming but, if you go into
video creation with a plan, it is
something that any manufacturer
can do and do well.”
Michigan Creative can help —
75 percent of their clientele is part
of the industry and Town himself
hosts a regular podcast called Skilled
to help promote Michigan’s many
skilled trades career options. They
can assist with editing, marketing,
consulting and more, but Town
firmly believes manufacturers
don’t need Michigan Creative or
any other professional to create
video content that catches the eye.
“Like everything else manu-
facturers do, you need to start with
a plan and you need the right tools,”
Town advised. “Get a tripod, an
external microphone, a reliable
phone or DSLR camera and a
simple editing program like
Camtasia. For under $2,000, you
can set yourself apart from the
competition and create limitless
marketing options.”
But, many manufacturers will
argue, what in our business is
worth recording? For Town, the
answer is everything.
“Manufacturers have amazing
products, eye-catching facilities, cool
technology and great employees,”
I Motivate My Team
By letting them lead.
If I Weren’t Doing This
I’d be a charter boat captain
in Orange Beach, Alabama.
pointed out Town. “Showcasing
your culture doesn’t have to take
up hours of your day. Decide what
message you want to share, what
actions you want people to take
and how you get from recording
it to someone viewing it.”
Town offers these video tips:
• Preserve knowledge: Sit
down with a different long-
tenured leader every Friday
and record a few lessons they’ve
learned. Future employees will
benefit from the stories of the
company founder, a long-serving
CEO or experienced machinist.
• Train your team: Onboarding
is boring. You hand a new
hire a binder full of text and
expect them to absorb it all.
Mix in video clips, shot on-site,
of how to operate a machine
or fill out an important form.
Visual learning resonates better
than flipping through pages.
• Shorter is better: Get away
from long videos; it’s time-
consuming and people won’t
watch. Stick to 15-60 second
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videos to draw someone in and
they’ll come to you for more.
• Aim for real and raw: Realism
sells. Today people love short
videos shot in the moment. A
two-minute weekly vlog from
the company president or a
clip from your sales team at a
trade show will humanize your
brand and build connections.
• Everything can be video:
Think about it! Your 10
most-often asked customer
queries? Ten unique short
videos for a company FAQ
page. Celebrating an anniver-
sary or your one millionth
product getting shipped out?
Record the event as part of
your brand’s story.
“Don’t avoid video just
because you’ve never done it or
think that you can’t,” Town
recommended. “The generation
of people you’re looking to reach
have grown up with video. It’s how
they get their news and how they
share their stories. Make it a way
for them to learn about you.”
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