PR and marketing professionals must constantly create original material. Whatever the medium, we’re always looking to whip up fresh and innovative content for our clients. Given the state of media today, both online and off, there’s no better test of a firm’s ability to do this than video and photography.
Video is dynamic. It gets our attention. It takes time to consume. Therefore, it’s no wonder social media sites like Facebook and Twitter serve videos more often than they do pictures or normal posts – they get more engagement. YouTube is the #2 most-visited website on the entire internet for a reason. Having original video content gives a brand the opportunity to go beyond words to tell a story or describe their brand experience.
Creating great video content is a skill. Though you don’t need to be Stephen Spielberg to shoot great video content, it helps to have more than a basic understanding of how a video should work. Our Franco team, along with Ashley DuPuy, our graphic designer, creates effective video for clients in a variety of industries.
Check it out:
Each video in this highlight reel was used for a unique purpose.
Franco worked with Pathways Academy in Detroit to develop a series of videos that told inspiring stories about the student experience. The videos were made specifically for Facebook and helped increase the page reach by 124 percent while the engagement rose by 330 percent. Overall, the video series reached our target audience, which spiked enrollment by painting the picture of what being a Pathways Academy student entails.
Hospice of Michigan held its 31st annual Crystal Rose Celebration – Chandeliers on the Riverfront in October 2016. The life, work and philanthropic passion of Kathleen Antonini was celebrated during the fundraising event with a Crystal Rose Award. Franco had the honor and privilege to interview and film those closest to Kathleen. Her friends and family articulated her efforts to promote the mission of hospice that left a lasting impression on the Detroit community. The video was shown during the event’s program before the award was posthumously accepted by the Antonini family.
The Stahl’s Automotive collection in New Baltimore, MI held an Open House to raise money for a local veterans charity. The video was used to highlight the event, help tell the stories of the attendees and promote the collection.
The University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI spiced up their annual fundraising event, Liggett Knight with this video helping showcase the breadth of options they provide their students. The video was played directly before the “Raise the Paddle” donation portion of the night and featured interviews with Liggett students of all ages. The video helped Liggett raise an unprecedented amount of donations, mostly being used for new technology at the school.
Franco created a promotional video for the Milford, MI Downtown Authority to promote the Currents concert. Milford was planning to use social media advertising and wanted a snappy video to accompany the post highlighting the bands that would be playing. The tricky part – footage from the previous year’s event was unavailable, so we needed to be creative on pulling video clips. Franco was able to use footage from the bands’ website (with their permission) and pieced together a lovely “commercial.” Through social media advertising, the video helped Downtown Milford more than double its typical reach.
Interested in learning how Franco goes above and beyond the basics of video creation? Have a video project that needs some direction or advice? Send an email to [email protected] and let’s work together.
Ashley DuPuy is Franco’s graphic designer. Follow her on Twitter at @ashleyydupuy
