Follow these "4 Es" to help your video stand out

Given the ongoing expansion of online platforms and streaming services, and increasing ease of and interest in producing user-generated material, there is more video content out there than ever before. Experts report that 93% of marketers are embracing video for higher engagement and ROI. So how can your company cut through the noise?

Pre-pandemic, the competition wasn’t nearly as fierce. If you made a video, you were likely to get some eyeballs. But with video now the fastest-growing type of marketing in digital advertising, you need to consider how you’ll stand out.

While high production value has its place, it really comes down to your messaging. We’ve developed the “Four Es” of video content to help guide your strategy to define your video’s purpose and maximize its impact on your target audience. When you're developing messaging for your video, it should serve at least one of these purposes to be most successful.

  1. Educate

  2. Entice viewers to take action

  3. Evoke emotion

  4. Entertain

If you find your videos are missing the mark, it’s worth going back to pre-production to ensure your content will be effective. If you’re not sure if your video purpose is coming across clearly, you can always work with a professional video production company, hire a strategist or even simply get feedback from friends, family or customers.

Finding your video’s purpose is critical. Otherwise, at the end of the day, you're really just creating noise. Everyone has watched a video that they’ve finished and thought “that’s a minute and a half of my life I’ll never get back.” That’s not the response you want for your precious time and resources. Pushing out a random cell phone clip for the sake of “having video” or thinking you’ll boost your stats won’t get you the kind of attention you’re looking for. In fact, poorly planned videos can be detrimental to your brand. Instead, focus on helping your customers and being solution providers.

Ideally, you should be thinking about your video’s purpose before creating any content. Consider your marketing goals. Are you trying to sell more of a service offering? Are you a nonprofit seeking to inspire people to join your cause? Are you looking to educate viewers about a complex product? It’s imperative to identify why you’re putting out video content in the first place.

Tips to remember:

  • Take a look at your current videos and consider their purpose.

  • Start from the very beginning in your video planning to ensure you have a solid purpose and your content supports it.   

  • Get some buy-in from your team and customers while you’re drafting your video to see if it’s resonating.

 If you're still really confused, reach out to us for help! We'd love to assist you with a video strategy.

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Flex Media