There are many reasons video projects go pear-shaped, and having terrible video marketing goals is the most common cause.
If you’ve used video marketing in the past, you might have started with a goal similar to one of these:
- I want a video to show people how to use our new software platform
- I want a video to attract more students to our university
- I want a video to get more conveyancing clients
- I want a video to get more likes on social media
These goals are unlikely to get you the results you want. They’ve vague, unambitious and hard to measure.
But most importantly, they’re not focused on your audience.
When setting video marketing goals, don’t think “What do I want?”, instead ask yourself, “What does my audience need?”
As a general rule, your audience will want one (or more) of four things:
- To learn
- To be inspired
- To be informed
- To be entertained
Once you find out which one (or combination) of these things they want, this will inform the rest of your video project and make for a much more customer-focused video.
So, if we were to rewrite those initial goals with the audience in mind, they might look something like this:
- My audience wants to learn how to use our new software platform
- My audience wants to be inspired to attend our university
- My audience wants to be informed about the conveyancing process
- My audience wants to be entertained on our social media channels
Here’s a breakdown of my four Golden Goals.
My audience wants to learn
One goal that you might have could be to use video to teach your audience something. If your audience has a problem that needs solving, giving them step-by-step instructions in a training video might be what they’re after.
Perhaps you sell a piece of equipment where the customer needs to follow a specific setup process. Or maybe you provide access to an online platform and want to ensure people get the most out of it?
With a training video, you’re telling people exactly how to do something and taking them through it step-by-step.
If you provide a product, an unboxing video like the one we did for Intelligent Energy is a perfect example. It’s essentially a video version of the user manual, explaining the product setup process in detail for new customers.
A screen-capture-walkthrough video is a very effective way of helping people acquaint themselves with a new platform, such as an app or online platform.
A training video, such as a health and safety video, works incredibly well as a teaching tool. It allows you to easily communicate things that can’t easily be replicated face to face, such as fire safety training, and distribute it at scale.
My audience wants to be inspired
One of the most persuasive video marketing goals is to inspire your audience to take action. If you want to persuade people to do something they hadn’t originally intended, like change a behaviour or make a purchase, you need an inspirational video.
Perhaps you sell a product or service that can dramatically improve people’s lives. Or maybe you want to inspire people to take action and get involved in a cause.
With an inspirational video, you want to motivate people using mental and emotional triggers, giving them feelings of hope, encouragement and enthusiasm.
This video for Loughborough University is an inspiring story of alumni Seth Burkett, telling his emotive story of how he achieved his success as a published author.
This promotional video I did for Century 21 inspires people to become franchises by showing how it can positively impact their lives.
Good causes can benefit hugely from inspirational videos. This charity video I did for Sense combines an emotionally engaging story with powerful visuals to raise awareness and inspire people to take action.
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My audience wants to be informed
A very popular video marketing goal is to inform your audience. If you want to tell people something they don’t already know, but you’re confident they’ll be interested in, then an informative video like a case study or video blog is what you need.
Perhaps you want to share specific facts or information on a topic. Or maybe you want to give people context, so they are more knowledgeable on a topic.
Videos like this share the facts and knowledge of a subject or situation, leaving the audience enlightened.
Case study videos are a great example of providing context to inform an audience. This case study video I did for Philips Monitors and EG Group gives the audience enough context around a project, so they are in a better position to get in touch.
Videos blogs like this one I did for JohnSlots share facts and information so the audience can make an informed decision and see JohnSlots as a trusted source.
My audience wants to be entertained
One of the most effective video marketing goals is entertaining your audience. If your audience are constantly bombarded with the same messaging and you want them to sit up and take notice, then creating an entertaining video is what you want.
Perhaps you want to grow your social media presence by producing more shareable video content. Or perhaps you want to tell a familiar story in a new way?
Creating an entertaining video prioritises enjoyment, perhaps with humour or a diversion, but always holding the audience’s attention.
Using humour is very effective at creating an entertaining video. This ‘fake movie trailer’ we did for Impero Software is a nice diversion from the usual video shown at corporate events!
We made a series of funny and entertaining PE lesson videos for young children. The combination of exciting settings, fun games and energetic delivery resulted in hours of entertaining content.
Using drama and strong storytelling can also entertain audiences. This short drama I did for YHA holds the audience’s attention much more than a traditional training video may have.
In summary, if you’re struggling to know which direction to go with your next video project, get into your customer’s shoes. Think about where they are and what they want.
- If your audience has just bought your product but isn’t getting the most out of it, they need to be taught how to use it.
- If your audience is apathetic or on-the-fence, they need inspiration to take action
- If your audience is interested in you, but hasn’t been in touch yet, they want more information first.
- If your audience is constantly bombarded with similar content, they need to be entertained to pay attention.
Once you do that, your video content will connect with them better than ever.
Study the four Golden Goals of ‘tech’, ‘inspire’, ‘inform’ and ‘entertain’ and decide which one (or combination) of these best suits where your audience is right now.
Can you spot any of these Golden Goals in your own video content? Let me know! Find us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and let me know your thoughts!
