#23. Let's Talk About Video. Oh, And 80s Music.
Video Killed The Radio Star...Again
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Hi, Friend!
First, here’s a general outline of what I’m covering in today’s newsletter.
Short video is taking over the world. Here are some free tools so you don’t miss the movement.
Brand discovery: I stumbled across an awesome brand that is killing it with short video content.
New interview alert! I got to do a Q&A about growth and personal branding with one of the lead writers behind Morning Brew.
Let's get to it then, starting with the gifts for you!
Is YouTube part of your digital brand strategy? How about Reels? Or TikTok? Any short video?
ICYMI YouTube launched a channel within its platform to showcase shorter videos in a move to compete with TikTok and Facebook Reels.
Shorts grew from 6.5 BILLION views per DAY at end of Q1 to 15 BILLION views per DAY by June.
Add to that, Mark Zuckerberg says that users spend 50% of their time on the platform consuming Reels and video content.
To give you some context, if you wanted to pay to get JUST 1,000 impressions of your social media content, here are the average costs:
LinkedIn: $33.80 (via TheB2BHouse)
Facebook: $11.54 (via WordStream)
Google Search Ads: $38.40 (via TopDraw)
YouTube Ads: $3.53 (via Store Growers)
So how does that impact brands, marketers & you?
“But Chantelle, video content is so hard to create! I don’t have the resources!”
Listen, here are some things you need to quickly realize.
Wanna go viral? Best bet is video content, whether you're B2B, B2C, DTC or other.
You don’t need a lot of money to make a potentially viral or even somewhat successful video.
Your phone camera is the most advanced piece of equipment you need.
Stop worrying about perfection.
Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Free Video Tools
As most of you know, I’m all about freebies. So here are some of my faves to help you with video:
1. InShot - Fully edit videos directly on your phone, including filters, cropping and text.
2. Projector - It’s supposed to be a bit more robust than Canva, with tools that make it more similar to the Adobe suite of products.
3. Veed.io - My favorite part of this tool is the auto-caption creation. If you’re going to create videos, you better have captions.
4. Kapwing - Love this one for snagging TikTok videos, removing the watermark, and repurposing for multiple channels.
5. XRecorder - If you have an Android and want to do screen recordings, definitely try this. Great for product walkthroughs, demos or for getting clips of other video to slice into your own. (Loom is an alternative here for PC.)
6. iMovie - If you have an iOS device, this is such a solid video editing tool. Just fantastic as a lite intro to video editing.
Every Little Thing They Do Is Magic
Ok, so here’s a brand that knows how to make a real thriller when it comes to short video. (Scroll down if you want a B2B example.)
La La Land Kind Cafe.
It’s a restaurant with only a few locations in Texas and California that provides job opportunities to youths in foster care and adults who were formerly in foster care. Many of these individuals end up homeless or struggle to find work.
I stumbled across their brand because their content was shared organically by another account. And I enjoyed it so much, I clicked on their account and watched a ton more videos.
What This Means For You
Here’s are some takeaways for you:
The brand mission and identity are the stars -- not a heavy sales pitch.
Their content fits the online culture of the platforms rather than feeling like an out-of-place ad.
There’s an authentic feel to it, which brings the viewer’s guard down more than something that is obviously marketing or advertising content.
Consistency is key. They’ve turned this into a regular series and post with a frequent cadence.
They don’t rely on any one channel. They’ve got great traction on Instagram and even better traction on TikTok (over 2.1M followers and counting).
Check out their TikTok here, but also swing by their website. What beautiful design!
P.S. If you're looking for a B2B brand doing well on TikTok, check out CopyAI. They've got well over 15K followers after only a few months being on the platform.
You're The Inspiration: Q&A With Morning Brew Writer Rachel Cantor
Organic growth shouldn’t be “Like a Prayer.” You’ve got to “Push It.”
(I am loving the cheese factor in today’s newsletter theme, if you couldn’t tell.)
So how can you generate tremendous organic growth for your content?
I got the chance to interview Rachel Cantor, one of the writers for the Morning Brew, a portfolio of business newsletters with over 3M subscribers.
We talked about:
How she started a newsletter that got her "acquired"
Using social media to promote and distribute content
The biggest challenges of building personal brand solely through organic growth strategy
I hope you had Nothin’ But A Good Time reading this.
Thanks for being a subscriber. You Make My Dreams Come True ❤️🌸
If you enjoyed this, I’m gonna ask you to Pour Some Sugar On Me and forward it to someone else you think might benefit.
Now I’m gonna Walk Like An Egyptian outta here because (I've Had) The Time Of My Life writing this. 😂🤷♀️ Until next time!
<3
Chantelle
Bonus Content: Any Way You Want it
A crash course in SEO: Learn the basics. [Read Now]
Tech CEO discusses the benefits of organic growth through content over paid acquisition. [Watch Now]
The importance of personal branding & community building for startups. [Watch Now]
Great examples of B2B influencer marketing campaigns and advice from some of my favorite tweeters [Read Now]
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