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Have you ever heard the phrase, “If you build it, they will come”? This line is actually misquoted as the phrase comes from a movie called the Field of Dreams. An ominous voice says to Ray Kinsella in the middle of a corn maze, “If you build it, He will come”. Regardless, I’ve heard this line used hundreds of times, and the meaning is pretty simple. If you build something great, people will listen, they will be captivated, they will join your story. But within a year of doing this video production company, I can honestly say this quote is misused.
I would be lying if I said at one point in time, three founders of a video production company in Charleston (yes, Matchlight, and yes I am talking in the third person for keyword density) truly thought that if we made great video content every campaign we created would turn into a rousing success. Little did we know the naivety of this statement. Quickly we discovered that implementation is just as important as the video itself. Too often we would give an organization an emotionally captivating video only to realize the organization doesn’t know what to do with it. It’s like giving a Ferrari to a person that only knows how to drive golf carts. This is what we call the strategy gap, and all of the energy, time, and money spent on creating a well-told story is wasted. But, at Matchlight we have evolved, we have adapted. Regardless of popular opinion, it doesn’t take thousands of dollars to run a successful video campaign. Here are a few steps that Matchlight encourages its smaller organizations to take to achieve maximum results!!
Step 1: WAIT
We know... you just got this awesome video in your hands and now we are telling you to wait? We have often seen that it is useful to generate a base level of excitement for your following before the release. Let them know something big is coming. Give them just a taste, and it will make the release of the video much more exciting.
Step 2: PICK A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM(S)
In the social media age, we have found that apps such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter make it easier for your following to share your newest video content. Facebook is the easiest platform to gain traction on longer-form videos (videos longer than a minute) and Instagram is most effective for content under a minute. However, IGTV videos are still very effective for longer videos on Instagram. Make sure to embed the video on Facebook’s native platform (simply upload your video), rather than posting a link to a YouTube or Vimeo page. General marketing studies conclude that making a potential viewer navigate away from a page to view content reduces the chance a video is viewed by 80%. Crazy right?
Step 3: GENERATE EXCITEMENT
We have found creating a consistent posting scheduling two weeks prior to the release of the video will generate the perfect amount of excitement. Tell your friends, family members, anyone who supports you personally.
Step 4: SELECT “INFLUENCERS"
This is the most important part of releasing your video. Come up with a list of 15-20 individuals and organizations who would be excited to share your latest project on their social media. They can be friends, family, clients, co-workers, etc. Grassroots movements are the most powerful and effective way to share your story.
Step 5: SHARE IN GROUPS
Sharing to Facebook groups is 100% free, and if you can find groups that are relevant to your video then it’s a win-win for everyone!
Now, I know this isn’t rocket science. But it works. Our very first video that Matchlight self-produced, Beyond Lesser Things, was able to get 200,000 views without spending a dime! We know video content is an investment, especially good video content, so at the end of the day, all we want is for our clients to be successful. Because Matchlight isn’t successful unless all of our clients are successful. Cheers!
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