The Perfect Call-to-Action for Your Video

The Perfect Call-to-Action for Your Video

by | Nov 28, 2022 | General

What’s the point of spending all your time and money producing videos for your organization? The point should be to communicate your message and inspire your audience to take action, but getting from point A to point B is challenging. Ultimately, whether your video is successful relies on your call-to-action phrase. 

Crafting the perfect call-to-action takes effort and research – you must not only know your target audience well but also keep in mind how you will use the video as part of your marketing funnel. 

Common Call-to-Action Mistakes

One of the biggest mistakes I see organizations make with their marketing videos is doing too little or too much with the call-to-action phrase. Organizations often want to make the most of the resources they have, so they might add several different demands to their call-to-action. Other times, they might not think a call-to-action phrase is necessary or want to avoid seeming too “salesy.” In this case, they might only use a logo or offer links to resources.

Whether your call-to-action phrase is too busy or nearly nonexistent, your video will be ineffective. Without a concise phrase that directly tells the audience which action to prioritize, your audience will likely do nothing at all.

Know Your Audience and Your Intention

Without a clear idea of your target audience, you won’t be able to make much progress in your video production process. Knowing your target audience means doing market research and closely examining the services or products that you offer. Your audience will determine how you craft your call-to-action phrase, including which of their desires you intend to fulfill and the place where they watch the video. Further, your intention should be to move your audience to the next step in your funnel.

For example, if you are marketing for a private school that would like to improve music student enrollment for the upcoming semester, you need to identify what niche you can fill and how you will use the video. Does the private school offer a special program for music students looking to get into a top school like Juilliard? Your video could be placed on the music program section of your website, and the call-to-action phrase might urge serious students of music to sign up on a digital form to attend an informational meeting. Outlining your audience and intention in this way will set you up for forming the perfect call-to-action phrase.

How to Form the Perfect Call-to-Action

Overall, your call-to-action phrase must get your viewers to move to the next steps in your funnel. First, identify where in your marketing funnel the video will appear. Then, choose the right platform to distribute the video to your audience, such as on your website, as a social media post, in an email newsletter, or at an event. Third, decide which step the viewer should take next to get closer to the end of the funnel. Finally, use all this information to construct a concise sentence that speaks to the audience’s need and directs them to where they can fulfill that need.

For the private school music student example, below are some effective call-to-action phrases:

  1. “For more information about the music program, explore our website.”
  2. “To learn if the music program is right for you, schedule an appointment.”
  3. “Give us a call for more information.”
  4. “Send us an email with questions about enrollment.”
  5. “Download our free informational PDF about the program.”

All of these examples can fit into a typical marketing funnel, which takes your audience on a journey from prospect to customer. If the marketing video is only the beginning of your funnel, the call-to-action phrase might direct the viewer to watch more videos, explore the website, and even sign up for a newsletter so that you can collect information and nurture them as a lead. As more detailed videos show up later in the funnel, they might direct the viewer to the last step, whether that is to apply for enrollment, buy a product, or make an appointment.

If you need further help with crafting the perfect call-to-action, contact Monzo Media Productions.

How To Avoid Challenges With Narratives in Your Videos

How To Avoid Challenges With Narratives in Your Videos

by | Nov 15, 2022 | General

Would you successfully understand a message if you were trying to follow a story pieced together by several different voices, images, and lines of text? You might make out the narrative, but it will have been a difficult and frustrating endeavor. Ultimately, you might feel that it wasn’t worth the effort. As an organization creating a video for your target audience, the last thing you want is to lose a viewer’s interest due to a confusing narrative.

Many organizations experience unsatisfactory results from their videos, but don’t understand the cause of the problem. During my years of experience as a video marketing professional, the first question I’ve asked is whether there is a clear narrative. If you aren’t sure of the answer, below are some tips for identifying challenges with your narrative and building a better one.

The Dangers of a Confusing Narrative

The most successful video is one that leaves no chances for doubt or confusion. Your video should have a clear message and story arc. Many times, you’ll need to introduce several people, add in a few digressions, and make points to build an argument. It’s important to be very clear from the start about these elements and how they will flow together.

As an organization investing money and time into video production, you shouldn’t go any further in the process until you’ve identified your narrative and how to communicate it. Otherwise, you’ll lose viewers along the way and won’t successfully transfer prospects to the next step in your funnel. In other words, you’ll not only leave money on the table but waste it on a video that fails to capture leads, improve brand awareness, and generate income. An easy way to learn if your video is successful or not is to assess your analytics.

Building a Strong Narrative That Gets Results

As a professional videographer, I urge organizations to prioritize high-quality equipment, but I know that this equipment means nothing if it is not used in conjunction with smart pre-production story planning. When producing a video, the story is built using techniques like voiceovers, testimonials, interviews, motion graphics, and text. All of these tools are powerful, but in combination with each other, they can be your biggest downfall. Further, using them without a clear intention can be just as harmful. 

The 80/20 Rule

The best way to avoid a confusing narrative is to pick one primary narrative technique. If you must use more than one, then it’s important to follow the 80/20 rule. For example, it’s common for videos to use a strong narrative voiceover that is supplemented by some interviews or text. This method can be powerful, but only if it is well-planned and done in moderation. Make sure your primary narrative technique makes up about 80% of the narrative.

Keeping Intention in Mind

In addition to using narrative techniques in moderation, you should also make sure you have a strong intention behind using the techniques you choose. If you want to use a voiceover, text, motion graphics, or testimonials, make sure you can answer the question, “Why am I choosing this technique?”

If you can justify your choice with a solid answer, then you have a much better chance of building a strong narrative that your viewers will understand and feel moved to take action. Having a strong answer to this question means that you understand your story and message fully and will communicate it well to your audience. It also means that you’ll be able to finish with a strong call to action, which ultimately makes or breaks the success of the video within your funnel.

If you have any more questions about using narrative in your video, contact Monzo Media Productions.