If you are running an SME, startup or a personal brand, video marketing is already on your mind. ‘How to create good videos’ is probably a question you are grappling with in an age where the video is the preferred choice of most audiences. Most agencies would like you to believe that video production and marketing is very expensive and time-consuming.
Yes, it can be. But it does not have to be.
This blog is a quick run-through of the wisdom in the path-breaking book, ‘Fast, Cheap and Viral’ by Aashish Chopra. It is pretty much a synthesis of his years of work, delivering one viral video after another for his employer Ixigo.
If there ever was a playbook for ‘low cost – high ROI’ video marketing for startups and solopreneurs, then this is it.
I know that it is a bit of a disservice to not say that the book is more than relevant for corporates and for pretty much everyone in business.
But from what I know of corporate India, they will continue to believe that big agency, multiple crew members and expensive equipment are the only ways to create something of great quality. People ready to experiment and to push the boundaries of their learning are exceptions in corporate India(though that’s a personal opinion).
So let’s head straight to some of the many important tips recommended by Aashish in this book.
But before you read further, let me strongly encourage that you buy and read the book for yourself. What I am about to share is only 10% of the wisdom and set of techniques suggested in the book.
The book seeks to answer three important questions about how to create good videos:
How to come up with content ideas that connect?
Aashish shares that ‘great storytelling trumps production’. I say amen to that. Most of my work deals with story-telling for brands, and I could not agree more with Aashish on this point.
He insists that the only thing we need to be concerned about through the entire process from ideation to production is whether the video is shareworthy.
In fact, I have found having this question, ‘is it shareworthy?’, pasted on your desk or screen helps you keep the right focus as a video/content marketer.
But how to come up with share-worthy content ideas?
Here is Aashish’s holy grail of coming up with great content ideas.
I – Inspirational: content that inspires your target audience(Best beaches, great leaders, etc)
U- Useful: content that helps or informs your viewers(hacks, tips, tricks, other informational ideas)
C – celebrate: content that celebrates your audience’s pain points(10 problems only startup founders will understand, etc)
T – Topical: this kind of content is the overlap between your brand values and the current trending news(quick breakfast recipes during lockdown…)
But the book also reminds you that to come up with the content ideas that connect, you need to be aware of your brand values and target audience. Without this, you will still be shooting in the dark.
How to implement great content ideas(production)?
‘Fast, Cheap and Viral’ is mostly about creating content for smartphone audiences using smartphones. And rightly so, because we live in an era where our mobile phone is our window to the world.
Some of the interesting suggestions made by Aashish for production are:
Since it will be mostly on a smartphone screen, it is best to go with 1:1 aspect ratio while traditionally videos were shot for cinema and TV at 16:9 ratio
Think where will your content be played, as in on what kind of screen
1:1 aspect ratio gives you 78% more real estate than a landscape video on a mobile phone
As opposed to the traditional rule of the third, Aashish suggests following ‘Rule of the Selfie’. This basically means you need to shoot with the subject in front and centre
Another important point video producers miss out is sub-titles. To make the video viewing experience as smooth as possible, the author suggests ‘big fonts, big subtitles’ as videos play with the music on mute most times
Distribution: How to get maximum traction for your videos?
Great content needs to have a great distribution plan. Without the distribution push, all the effort of creating kick-ass content can be wasted.
So, a big question that many of us face is, when to launch?
Map it to your community:
While there are many different theories, the book suggests that you need to map it to the community that is going to give you an initial kick-off. With Ixigo videos, Thursday or Friday evening 5 pm was considered to be the ideal time.
Ixigo used to host video launch parties to ensure maximum employees watched the videos and shared.
Outreach:
Another important tool that most video marketers do not use according to Aashish is ‘outreach’. It may include simple things like…
– Making a list of community pages linked to your audience and sharing videos with them
-Tweeting/ Emailing digital media platforms like Scoopwhoop, Buzzfeed etc
-Tagging relevant community pages on Instagram, etc
-Once the video showcases promise in terms of engagement and reach, it is a good idea to boost it to reach a larger audience.
These are but just some of the tips suggested in the book. It is a treasure trove of content and video marketing insight.
With a final appeal that you buy and read the book, I’d let you ponder over a quote by Aashish in this book, and how that captures the essence of the book(and his work in many ways).
‘The key is not being creative, but being consistently creative’ – Aashish Chopra
