Innovate Media

Online Video Strategy Experts

Why you need to earn Permission in your marketing

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Permission marketing was a term coined by Seth Godin (all hail) well before its time. From a book that was published in 1997 the concepts and ideals ring just as true today as it did then.

So what is Permission Marketing?

It’s the concept of engaging audiences who actually want to receive your marketing message. Either explicitly gained when a consumer ‘likes’ a page or subscribes to an email list, or implicitly understood when someone actively and happily consumes marketing content that excites them, provides value to them, entertains them or tells stories to them.

Permission marketing seeks to always create marketing content that people actually want to engage with. It’s no longer about interrupting you in the form of loud, attention seeking ads. Its about you allowing the brand to communicate their marketing to you.

If there is anything to take away from this blog post then it this:

REALISE THAT ATTENTION IS SOMETHING TO BE VALUED, NOT WASTED.

When you have someone’s attention it’s precious and should be treated accordingly. In our information heavy world attention becomes an important asset as consumers are getting better and better at ignoring brands messages.

Ok, so how do I get attention I hear you ask?

  • Be entertaining
  • Be engaging
  • Be honest
  • Be helpful

There could be a whole blog post on these traits alone however, what’s most important is when you gain your customer’s attention you need to show respect!

Permission marketing is very similar to dating. You don’t ask for the sale on the first date. You earn it over time and if you have done it right they will want you to come back again and again. This moves past traditional interruptive marketing efforts and allows for synergy like one-to-one or other personalized marketing activities and that leads to MORE ATTENTION and importantly MORE RETENTION.

It always comes back to the relationship with your customers … how do you keep your customers attention? What do you do to show respect?

Tell us about it in the comment box below, we would love to hear your experience.

Explainer Video Scripts: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet

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So you want to make an explainer video? One of those videos that explains what your product or service does and why people ought to buy it? We’re seeing them everywhere, nearly every website is utilising this tactic and companies are hoping that they will boost their conversion rate…sound familiar?

The reality is most explainer videos won’t boost your conversion rate or make you money. It isn’t because the idea sucks, but it’s because you are likely to take the wrong approach during the planning stage.

 But let’s not dwell on the negatives, here’s how you can create an explainer video that’ll convert:

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SCRIPT, NOT THE VIDEO

The most important part of a video is the script. Whether you have a high quality video or a mediocre one, if the script isn’t good, it won’t convert well.

Think about it from a viewers perspective. We’ve all seen explainer videos, if the voiceover is saying things that don’t resonate with you, don’t make sense or isn’t the advice you were after…You would switch off straight away. Every. Single. Word. In your script has to have a purpose and meaning to the viewer.

The first lines of your script need to ‘hook’ the viewer in. By grabbing the viewer’s attention early on, you’re ensuring they are invested in what you’re about to explain to them and that they actually care about your message. You’ll need to address the problems they are having straight up and how you’re going to provide the solution to this problem with your product or service.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU CAN WRITE A SCRIPT

Before you start writing your script, you need to survey your audience. You can use services like Typeform to ask your potential customers questions such as:

  • What’s the number 1 reason that you would  buy this product or service?
  • What’s are the main things that might stop you from buying this product or service?
  • Is there anything that is confusing or that requires clarification about this product/service?
  • What problem do you believe that  we can  help you solve?

By getting the answers to the above questions as well as other questions you may have, you’ll get a better understanding of what’s stopping people from purchasing. It could be that they don’t understand what you do or how easy your product is to use. Knowing what all their concerns are will help you create a better script.

HOW TO WRITE AN EXPLAINER VIDEO SCRIPT

Now that you have all of your potential customers’ objections, you can start writing your script. When you are writing it, you need to answer all of those objections, or at least the important ones. You don’t want to create a script that is longer than 2-3 minutes. If it becomes too long, you’ll start to lose people.

  • The ‘hook’ – the beginning of your script needs to force the viewer to sit up and pay attention. You only have a few seconds to do this, so make it short and make it powerful. You should address the problem/s that the viewer is facing at the beginning, which triggers them to engage and encourages them to stay tuned.
  • Create a transition – use common phrasing that your potential customers gave you during the survey to talk about specific problems they are experiencing. Then go into why you created your product or service.
  1. Show off your features – videos are visual for a reason. Show off your product or service. When showing it off, make sure you explain how specific features solve specific problems your potential customers are experiencing.
  2. Tell people to sign up or buy – after you explain what your product or service does, you have to tell people to sign up or buy it. During this process, you need to answer any customer objections or concerns they have about signing up or buying.
  3. Use proof elements to seal the deal – make sure you tell people to sign up or buy from you, while visually showing proof elements. For example; include testimonials of current or past clients or customers to help build trust.

Your script won’t be perfect at first, and it will take a few revisions before you get it just right. When you are writing it, keep in mind that 120-150 words roughly translate into a minute of video. Ideally, you want to keep your video to less than 2 minutes.

Spend your time writing your script well enough to bring to a video production company and spend money on quality video… Don’t waste thousands of dollars on videos that won’t convert well.

Remember, the most important part of an explainer video isn’t the video… it’s the script.

Starting with the ‘Why’: A Digital Marketing Framework

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“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it” – Simon Sinek

If you haven’t yet seen this powerful TED talk from Simon Sinek then stop reading right now, and go and watch it.

At the heart of this powerful presentation is the idea that is at the core of all effective marketing strategy, and influences the most influential business people in any industry (whether they realise this or not). In short, if people don’t buy into your ‘Why’ then they sure as likely are not going to buy into you, or your product, or service. The simple truth is that if you’re wanting to engage your market online, and in particular through video and you are not clear on your Why, then you will undoubtedly miss the mark, and definitely ‘miss’ your market.

So, how do you find your Why?

Simon Sinek describes your Why as the ‘purpose, cause or belief that inspires you to do what you do.’ It’s your reason for getting out of bed in the morning and for being (or staying) in the profession you’ve chosen. It’s the drive that pushes you to succeed with your clients or to grow and develop in your business. Your Why is not money, or financial reward – that’s a result not a reason. Your Why in your business will come from your people, it should be driven by your Directors or Founders, it should be embraced and personified by your team, it should be real, and at the forefront of your business everyday.

Let’s work through a framework for finding your Why, and consider how gaining clarity on this can equal real results for you in business and in your digital marketing strategy.

Step 1: Define Your Core Values

What’s important to you? What values drive you in moving forward in life? What are the main things that inspire you to take action, to do things that are difficult to do, or make one decision over another.  Write down your top 5, in order, on real paper.

  1. ___________________________________
  2. ___________________________________
  3. ___________________________________
  4. ___________________________________
  5. ___________________________________

(examples: family, health, freedom, adventure, service, impact, flexibility, success)

Step 2: Set Your Goals

Taking action means nothing without clarity on your journey, and where you want to end up.  Setting goals on both a macro and a micro level, that align with your core values, provides focus and accountability to your strategy. Your Why will reflect your goals, so take the time to get these on paper too.

Personal Goals:  (what are your top 5 to achieve in the next 12 months, or 5 years)

  1. ___________________________________
  2. ___________________________________
  3. ___________________________________
  4. ___________________________________
  5. ___________________________________

Professional Goals:  (what are your top 5 to achieve in your business or career the next 12 months, or 5 years) – NOTE: these should align with your personal goals above.

  1. ___________________________________
  2. ___________________________________
  3. ___________________________________
  4. ___________________________________
  5. ___________________________________


Step 3. Identify Your Intention to Influence

In the first two steps we gained clarity on our beliefs and our purpose in both life and profession however this really means nothing if we have not considered who we aim to engage with or influence through our work. Knowing your Why, needs to have a context for lasting change within your real world. If you are not clear on who you want to have an impact on in life and business then you’re destined to cruise through life achieving very little. Not least of which, in the context of your marketing strategy, having no clarity on the target audience you aim to influence is a great way to fail.

Those that you intend to influence should align with your goals (both professional and personal), be congruent with your core values, and tap into your passion.

Let’s work through a framework for identifying the target of your influence.

  1. What do you love talking about more than anything (in business or life)?
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  2. What is the problem that this passion can solve for someone?
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  3. What is your method for solving that problem?
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  4. Who are the people who have this problem?
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The answers to the above questions when driven by the results of the first two steps will become your why. Your next step… massage those thoughts into a clear ‘Why’ statement.

My Why?

I’d love to share with you today my ‘Why’ statement, which drives my business and frames my digital marketing approach across my multiple businesses. I’ve developed this myself using the framework above.

I’m passionate about engaging people and growing businesses. I’m a curious learner with a drive to innovate with technologies, whilst encouraging authentic marketing. I want to show inspired professionals and corporate influencers how to grow market reach and revenue in the real world by tapping into the power of online video marketing for their business.


What do you think? I would love for you to share your ‘Why Statement’ in the comments.