Top Three Ideas From the Animoto Social Video Marketing Summit

Is your photography business leveraging the power of video to reach new clients? If not, you’re missing out on a great opportunity the likes of which haven’t been seen or may never be seen again. This was the powerful message that I heard at the Social Video Marketing Summit. Having been in attendance I want to share with you what I think are the top three ideas I learned from Gary Vaynerchuk, Brian Peters, Sue Bryce, and Sally Sargood that I think will help photographers take advantage of this medium.

Compete For Attention

Opening up the Summit was Gary Vaynerchuk, who put forward the idea that the number one challenge we all face is gaining people’s attention. Let’s face it, we live in a world where everyone is fighting to get our attention. From news outlets to companies trying to tell us about their latest specials, we’re constantly asked to take time out of our day to watch and listen. Where do you stand in this effort to create attention for your photography business? If you feel that this is an area where you’re not currently competing, the good news is that it can be easier than you think to get started. Start first by recognizing where the attention of your end consumer is at, and where this attention is under or overpriced. Brian Peters talked about how Facebook drives eight billion video views on average per day. Knowing this and having invested some of my own money on marketing via Facebook I can say that serving up your own videos to targeted demographics can be quite affordable. You can also promote your videos on platforms like Instagram for pennies on the dollar if you do it correctly.

So what if you’re one of the masses out there that are intimidated by the idea of creating videos to market yourself? This is where companies like Animoto, who were sponsors of the summit, come in to save the day. Sally Sargood gave a great demo of the platform and showed how you can quickly and easily create these video marketing pieces. As a content creator myself, I think this could be a great solution for anyone that is hesitating to get the process started. 

The Power of Storytelling

Brian Peters and Sue Bryce really hit home the idea that we have to understand what our story is, as well as what kinds of stories resonate with the viewing public at large. One of the ideas that Brian puts forward is to pull on people's heartstrings to help create brand loyalty. This is something that I see Sue Bryce doing well, and it may be one of the major driving factors in her own business. They both really drive home this idea that if you focus on the emotional aspects of a story it will have more impact and will likely be shared more organically. I'm reminded of a video by Ben Moon called "Denali" which is a powerful example of what good storytelling can look like. Figure out what kind of stories you can tell and put those in your video, plain and simple. 

Experimenting Is Key

Getting started is often the speed bump that we hit as creatives. It keeps us from reaping the benefits of using video to create attention for ourselves. The one thing that I felt all of the presenters mutually agreed with was the idea of trying out different ideas, especially if you aren't sure what kind of content you want to create. Creatives sometimes push off getting started with something unless they know exactly how everything is going to come together, but that can also shackle you from simply starting out and allowing yourself to make adjustments as you go. Sue Bryce really drove home this point as she started with basic videos that had a heartfelt story which she improved on over time. 

The Bottom Line

There were lots of great nuggets shared at this summit. Whether you're in a small or large, competitive market, video is the best way to capture the attention of the buying public. Utilize the tools available to you to make the process easier and you'll begin reaping the rewards before you know it. I hope to see you all on that journey.