Social Media Campaigns
Video + Photo + Audio
The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic Schoolboard hired us to produce this extensive video campaign to promote the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship program to Simcoe County and Muskoka.
With restrictions in 2020 making it difficult for OYAP ambassadors to reach their audiences through in-person events, video content was an obvious alternative option for making that important connection with their target audience.
We planned out a series of videos, tailoring each one according to the key messages and the channels they would be distributed on.
For social media, our focus was on building brand awareness; grabbing the viewer’s attention, and quickly making a value-statement.
Square format videos are a fantastic choice for social media campaigns that involve multi-channel distribution. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube all support square formats and work well in both vertical and horizontal formats on mobile.
Social Media Video Campaign
Photography
Photography is an incredibly diverse medium to use for both in-person and online campaigns. Photos can be repurposed for all kinds of communications pieces, especially when they’re in the hands of a capable graphic designer. We often end up shooting still photography alongside video content during our production days, which is a great way to maintain consistency in the campaign look and feel.
No, your video doesn’t need to be less than 30 seconds.
Yes, some people will bail on watching your video in the first 3 seconds; we all do it every time we scroll our newsfeeds. This doesn’t mean you should make every video so short that everyone watches the whole thing to the end.
Is it a heart video, or a mind video?
Michael E Gerber, in his book the E-Myth, talks about the buyer’s journey. We all start with an emotional decision to buy; it’s a gut reaction or a feeling that we’d like to own this or experience that.
Most of us realize that our hearts can’t be entirely trusted - so we put our brains to work to defend ourselves from getting hosed or to build logical justification to buy that thing our heart wants.
We think about social media campaigns the same way; the early video content should quickly make a brand impression and get people excited about your offer. Once the right people see these videos, they’re going to want to take in some more information before deciding to take the next step.
In the case of this campaign, the next step is for students to talk to their guidance counsellor about the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program.
Adding Radio Spots to the Campaign
In addition to the videos and photos for their social media campaign and the SMCSB website, we conceptualized and produced radio spots as well.
Rather than sticking with a narrator and music, we wanted to try something a little more interesting — something that might grab attention a little better.
We were sitting in the office, and I noticed the tapping of Lydia’s keyboard and thought “That’s it!”
We hired a couple of local students and recorded the voice-over work in our home office.
Planning a content strategy upfront means greater opportunity. By planning ahead, we can ensure that we capture key content for use across all relevant channels.
If you think we might be a good partner for your next campaign, we’d love to hear from you.