Short videos: The future of marketing communication

The general consensus for those who have millennial (and younger) children or colleagues is the preference of this generation for videos.

For those who are 30 and under, YouTube and Facebook videos are the main choice of entertainment and communication. It is imperative for any business or brand targeting this huge market (remember: 50 percent of Filipinos are under the age of 23), to plan a marketing communication strategy with videos at its core.

We asked John Labasug, formerly the broadcast and production head of Inquirer.net, to give us some tips on how brands can use videos to inform and entertain, while still imparting their key message.

1. Invest in learning the basics of creative and technical video production.
Businesses get better response through visual communication and audiences are more receptive to creative concepts. Video content is also considered to be an audience amplifier—expanding the business’ reach and motivating a call to action.
Hence, it has become essential to learn video production as part of the strategic approach to reach a target audience. It need not be expensive—there are several online video platforms that are made available at no cost. And everyone nowadays has a smartphone.

2. Originality, uniqueness and relevance are key.
Having fancy and expensive production equipment helps, but it is not a differentiating factor of the output. Learning the creative aspects first, will help anyone build engaging video content. And if coming up with your own ideas is too difficult, partnership and collaboration with content providers is another way. Many are open to producing for “exchange deals” and at minimal cost.

3. Find your niche.
Steer away from the conventional overselling techniques. Monitor current trends. Tell a story through your videos and establish an interesting lead. Video is really about exposing emotions through motion. Learning how to do this helps ensure that you have impactful and possibly viral, videos.

Labasug will conduct a module under the “Digital Media Management Series” titled “Principles of Creative Video Production: How to Produce Interesting. Compelling and Viral Videos” on Jan. 15-16, 2018.

The Inquirer Academy is at 4168 Don Chino Roces Ave. corner Ponte St., Makati City. For more information about the workshops or if you would like to add your input on the article, you may email [email protected], call (632) 834-1557 or 800-8110 and look for Jerald Miguel or Judy Bondoc, or visit the website at www.inquireracademy.com.