Every day, businesses are pushing through more and more content with video, to satisfy the needs of their audience. And it's clear that producing video is vital, just to stay competitive in your industry.
So the question that rises with this trend is: With the influx of video, how are you going to stand out from everyone else in your industry? What are you going to do with your videos, to capture the attention of your audience?
Let's explore that now.
By the way, if you prefer to watch video, you can scroll to the bottom of this page, to find a shorter, video version of this blog post. But if you want the in-depth view… read on.
Differentiating Yourself from the Competition with Video
Whether you've been creating videos for a while, or you're just getting into it, you want to consider differentiating now, to keep ahead of the rest of your industry.
Without differentiating, you'll either have to try and outwork your competition, or create something truly impressive to gain attention. And only those with a lot of time or money, will be able to do either of those two things successfully.
What is more achievable, is making sure your videos aren't carbon copies of everyone else in your industry.
So let's look at a couple of options to spark some creativity for you. I encourage you to think outside the box. The aim is to attract the attention of your audience, and keep them coming back for more!
What videos are you producing?
Your business, just like your personality, is multi-faceted. No matter what industry you’re in, you have different sides to your business. Often with social media, and especially video, people tend to show just one side of their business.
For example, if you are an infopreneur, selling your knowledge online via coaching or courses, you might have a corner of your office set up for filming. And you share your thoughts, tips and motivation in the same way each week on YouTube. Maybe you give your audience a peek into your weekend through Instagram Stories.
The problem is… that's what just about every other infopreneur is also doing.
So let's get a little creative.
Thinking Differently About Your Videos
To start exploring different ideas, here's some questions you can ask yourself:
- How you can you create a deeper connection with your audience, by showing them another side of your business?
- What part of your business can you show or talk about, that would be interesting or entertaining for your audience to watch?
- Is this something that others in your industry aren't doing? Or at least aren't doing quite in the same way.
- Is there another aspect of your business that you can present on video, in order to not only differentiate yourself, but also give more value to your audience?
- Is this idea something you can sustain, for at least 6 to 10 videos, to make it a series?
That's not to say you have to stop what you're doing now, if it's working for you. But it's wise to start thinking forward, to avoid stagnating. This can be as simple as including a different style of video that you publish once a week, along with your regular content, to see how your audience responds to it.
Using Different Social Networks for Different Videos
Another option, is to choose a different platform to show other sides of your business. This is a great strategy as you can choose just the right social network to suit the message you want to convey.
Here’s an example. Let’s say your business is centered around teaching people healthy cooking. Currently you might be creating YouTube videos showing your audience how to cook a variety of healthy meals. And maybe you repurpose some of those videos to upload to Facebook. But even if you have niched down to a specific type of cooking, say vegan, it's still going to be difficult to stand out from everyone else in your industry.
So how about filming something like you visiting an organic farm to talk about the importance of the ingredients you use. Or maybe you take your audience on a tour of your herb garden to discuss one type of herb once a week.
Showing this different side of your business, helps add depth to your brand. And it doesn't have to be long or complicated to be effective.
Here’s another example, for a super short and easy video. Let's say you're a wedding photographer and Instagram is your main platform. Everything you upload to Instagram is photos from people's weddings. Since you're already on Instagram, why not think about using a platform like IGTV to upload some two minute videos, of the different venues that attend. Just a quick video showing wedding venues would give your audience enormous value, as they would get to see potential venues through the eyes (and lens!) of a professional photographer.
Which social network should you use for your videos?
There’s one thing that’s important to remember with any social media strategy, including video. And that is you want to use each social platform in a way suits that specific platform. This will give you the biggest chance of success for your videos.
Here’s an example of how this looks. When IGTV came out, YouTubers were curious to see if they could replicate their Youtube success on IGTV. Some saw it as a place to quickly jump into before others, in the hope of getting more exposure by being first. But many people just uploaded the same types of videos on IGTV as they did on YouTube. And that just didn’t translate the way they expected. The simple reason is that YouTube and IGTV are two very different social platforms, and as such, they need to be treated differently.
If you are looking at adding another video platform, you want to make sure you have a strategy before you start filming. You want to match up your business goals to what your audience is interested in seeing. AND you want to make sure the videos are created in a way that suits the way people use that platform.
And now I'll turn the camera to you. Do you feel like your videos are different enough from others in your industry, to sustain the interest in the growing era of video? Drop me a comment and let me know.
Or if you want a second pair of eyes on your strategy to differentiate yourself on video, give me a yell. I'd love to see what you're doing on social media, and hear about your business.