This is my workshop from Wistiafest 2017. In this talk, I run through the my philosophy on modern video marketing from coming up with awesome ideas to selling them to clients, to actually bringing them to life. We cover a lot of ground.
Video Marketing 101: Tactics to go from vendor to marketing partner from Ian Servin
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Ian Servin, creative director and strategist at Animus Studios, says there are three crucial phases to video marketing: before you have a client and you want to land them, actively working and showing value, and distributing all the value you’re creating. Here he talks pitching, pricing, and performing to create better partnerships as well as specific tactics for each topic.
Typically, agencies have no problem thinking strategically, but when it comes to video, they approach it like a videographer. Agencies will only think about deliverables. Only working project to project doesn’t establish a strong relationship. Instead, it’s best to think about entire campaigns and focus on building long-term relationships with your clients. By spending time understanding your client’s business challenges and focusing on impact, you can foster better relationships and add trust to obtain more creative freedom.
For partnerships, the pitch isn’t actually the beginning of a client relationship. The real beginning starts with discovery. Learn all about your client’s business problems, who they are, and their goals so you can help outline a path to success. Hold a meeting with client and creative stakeholders to identify story opportunities for content. Establish a collaborative relationship during this creative jam.
When pricing, offer value-based pricing, which is the price a client is willing to pay given the amount of value your solution provides. Value-based pricing is a combination of positioning and calculating your value. It requires an understanding of your client’s business as well as the cost to budget out a project based on time and materials. To build a budget, segment your budget by individual projects, define your activities, and track your time.
Performing is the final phase, and it’s all about executing. Understanding distribution is the most important thing you can do besides making content. Every channel has different benefits and use cases. Client goals determine which channels are important, and audience determines what channels are relevant. Think about distribution at the beginning of a project, but remember not to fake your knowledge of distribution. Take time to learn how to distribute effectively.
Partnership is all about asking the right questions and making collaborative decisions based on learnings.
Credit: Wistia