Developing a Full Funnel Video Marketing Strategy

Summary

In this insightful discussion, Darren Suffolk is joined by Robin Showers and Katie Parks to explore the evolving landscape of video marketing and content strategy. They delve into the importance of storytelling and the need to rethink the traditional marketing funnel in light of changing consumer behaviors and technological advancements. The conversation highlights the power of video content in capturing attention, the challenges of creating resonant stories in a competitive market, and the strategic repurposing of content across various platforms to maximize impact.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The importance of video marketing is rising, with its ability to impact audiences becoming increasingly significant.
• 🎥 A full-service production offering can be accessed modularly or as an end-to-end solution, depending on the needs.
• 🚀 Content marketing is at an inflection point, with changes in technology and media consumption reshaping the landscape.
• 📉 Attention spans are decreasing due to the 'tick tockification' of content, with screen time dropping from 2.5 minutes to as little as 47 seconds on average.
• 🔍 The way people search for information is shifting, with platforms like Instagram and chatbots being used for recommendations and inquiries.
• 🤖 The economy and AI tools are changing the speed at which content is created and the approach to marketing.
• 📈 The bar for content quality has risen significantly, requiring marketers to produce more compelling and high-quality narratives.
• 🔄 Repurposing content is crucial, but it should be done with intention and purpose, not just as a shortcut.
• 🎬 Video content should be prioritized as much as written content, with a 'video-first' mindset necessary for effective storytelling in the current market.
• 📊 The traditional marketing funnel is no longer linear, and a holistic approach to storytelling across all stages of the customer journey is essential.

Q & A

How has the role of video marketing evolved according to Darren Suffolk?

Darren Suffolk has observed the rising importance of video marketing and its increasing ability to impact audiences, which makes the session they are part of more compelling. He sees video marketing as a crucial tool for reaching and resonating with audiences in a way that traditional marketing methods may not be able to achieve.

What does Robin Showers specialize in?

Robin Showers is a strategic content marketing leader with a focus on new content formats, building long-term programs, and creating surprising brand moments. She has over a decade of experience creating social and search-first content strategies for SaaS brands like Vimeo and HubSpot.

How has the attention span of the average screen time changed over the years?

The average screen time per participant has decreased over the years. In 2004, it was around two and a half minutes, by 2012 it dropped to just 75 seconds, and more recently, it's as little as 47 seconds on average. This indicates a trend towards shorter attention spans and a need for content creators to capture attention quickly.

What is the significance of the Creator economy and AI in content marketing?

The Creator economy and AI are driving a significant shift in content marketing. They are changing the ways in which media is consumed and how marketers reach their audiences. This has led to a need for content marketers to rethink their strategies and adapt to these changes in order to remain effective.

How has the perception of Vimeo evolved over time?

Vimeo started as a platform primarily for filmmakers to showcase their work and has evolved into a comprehensive video experience platform. It has expanded its offerings to include a range of tools for content creation, repurposing, and hosting, making it a versatile platform for marketers and video professionals.

What is the importance of storytelling in video content, as emphasized by Katie Parks?

Katie Parks highlights the importance of storytelling in video content as a means to engage and retain the attention of viewers. By telling a compelling story, brands can create a human connection and emotional investment with their audience, which can lead to higher engagement and a more memorable brand experience.

How does repurposing content play a role in a content marketing strategy?

Repurposing content is a strategic approach to maximizing the value of the resources invested in creating original content. By adapting and reusing content across different formats and platforms, marketers can extend the reach and impact of their messages, ensuring that the content serves multiple purposes and engages with audiences at various stages of the funnel.

What are some challenges in repurposing video content?

While repurposing video content can be efficient, it is not always easy. It requires a thoughtful approach to adapt the original content to fit different formats and platforms without losing the essence of the message. This may involve reworking the content to include different visuals, editing for length, or adjusting the narrative to suit the context of the new medium.

How does the concept of a 'funnel' need to be rethought in light of changes in content marketing?

The traditional, linear funnel model is no longer sufficient for the complex and multi-channel consumer journeys of today. Marketers need to adopt a more fluid and dynamic approach to the funnel, recognizing that customers may enter and exit at various points and consume content in non-linear ways. This requires a more integrated and cohesive storytelling strategy across all touchpoints.

What is the significance of the 'top of the funnel' in content marketing?

The top of the funnel is critical for building brand awareness and attracting potential customers. It involves creating content that captures attention, sparks interest, and introduces the brand or product in a compelling way. Effective top-of-funnel content sets the stage for potential customers to engage further with the brand and move down the funnel.

How can brands ensure their video content stands out in a crowded digital landscape?

To stand out, brands must focus on creating high-quality, engaging, and authentic content that resonates with their audience. This includes developing a strong point of view, leveraging storytelling effectively, and ensuring that the content is tailored to the preferences and needs of the target audience. Additionally, strategic repurposing of content across different platforms can help increase visibility and reach.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 Introduction and Importance of Video Marketing

The speaker, Darren Suffolk, introduces the session and emphasizes the rising importance of video marketing. He expresses gratitude to previous speakers and encourages the audience to engage through tweets and questions. Darren, the creative director for video services at Super Side, highlights the modular and end-to-end production solutions his team offers. He sets the stage for the discussion on scaling video strategy effectively, introducing the guests, Robin Showers and Katie Parks, who bring expertise in content marketing and video production.

05:01

📺 Evolution of Content Marketing and Current Trends

Robin Showers discusses the evolution of content marketing, from Ben Franklin's Almanac to modern digital platforms, emphasizing the role of technology in shaping content strategies. She notes the decrease in attention spans due to screen time and the shift in information search methods, including the use of social media and分散的 search platforms. Robin also highlights the impact of AI and the creator economy on content consumption, stressing the need to rethink the marketing funnel and video campaigns in light of these changes.

10:03

🌐 Rethinking the Content Marketing Funnel

Katie Parks and Robin Showers delve into the need to rethink the traditional content marketing funnel due to the changing customer journey. They argue that the linear approach is no longer effective and that storytelling across the entire funnel is crucial. The speakers discuss the importance of creating high-quality, engaging content that resonates with the audience and the challenge of standing out in a noisy digital landscape. They also touch on the potential of AI in content creation and the need to balance technology with the creation of valuable, resonant content.

15:03

🎥 Vimeo's Campaign: Raising Brand Awareness and Leveraging Video

The speakers present a case study of Vimeo's year-long marketing campaign aimed at raising brand awareness and changing audience perception. The campaign uses a Technicolor, animation-rich video to communicate Vimeo's value proposition: helping people create and repurpose videos at scale, and using video everywhere with consolidated reporting. They discuss the creation of various video formats for different stages of the funnel, including social media cuts, monthly event series, and product videos, all cohesively designed to reinforce the campaign's core message.

20:03

🛍️ Shopify Plus Campaign: Telling a Compelling Platform Story

Katie Parks shares the strategy behind Shopify Plus's video campaign, which targeted enterprise e-commerce brands. The campaign consisted of three distinct videos for the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel. The top-of-funnel video used existing customer footage to quickly communicate the brand message. The middle-of-funnel video was a product explainer, showcasing the product in various customer scenarios. The bottom-of-the-funnel video was an in-depth platform demo, initially gated for lead generation but later ungated on YouTube to own the product narrative. Katie emphasizes the importance of linking each video to guide the customer journey.

25:04

🌟 SEMrush's Emotional Storytelling and Content Repurposing

The speakers discuss SEMrush's campaign featuring Gabby, a DJ and SEO professional, as an example of effective emotional storytelling. The campaign created a series of hero videos and repurposed the content across various platforms and languages. The focus on Gabby's story, combined with a strong point of view and high production value, resulted in four times the typical performance for that stage of the funnel. The speakers highlight the power of a good story in engaging audiences and the importance of repurposing content to maximize its impact.

30:06

🤔 Final Takeaways and Audience Q&A

The speakers conclude the session with final takeaways and answers to audience questions. They emphasize the importance of starting with a core message and building a strong through line throughout the content. The speakers also discuss the role of story in tolerating longer content and the need for compelling narratives that engage audiences. They agree on the value of repurposing content and the potential for longer-form content when storytelling is effectively executed. The session ends with expressions of gratitude and encouragement for continued engagement and learning.

Keywords

💡Content Marketing

Content Marketing refers to the strategic marketing approach focused on creating, distributing, and promoting engaging and valuable content to attract, acquire, and retain a clearly defined audience. In the video, content marketing is discussed as a critical component of modern marketing strategies, with a focus on video marketing and its impact on audiences.

💡Video Marketing

Video Marketing is a form of digital marketing that involves creating and sharing video content to promote a product, service, or brand. It's a powerful tool for businesses as it can significantly increase user engagement and conversion rates. In the context of the video, the importance of video marketing is highlighted, with discussions on its rising significance and the need for businesses to adapt their strategies accordingly.

💡Marketing Funnel

The Marketing Funnel, also known as the Sales Funnel, is a visual representation of the customer's journey from awareness and consideration to purchase. It's a strategic model used in marketing to identify and track potential customers through various stages of engagement. In the video, the concept of the marketing funnel is discussed in the context of content and video marketing, emphasizing the need to rethink its structure due to changes in consumer behavior.

💡Attention Span

Attention Span refers to the amount of time a person can concentrate on a task or message without becoming distracted. With the advent of digital media and the abundance of content available, attention spans have reportedly decreased. In the video, the concept is discussed to highlight the challenge of capturing and maintaining audience interest in the context of content and video marketing.

💡SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to a website through organic search engine results. It involves optimizing both the website and its content to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). In the video, SEO is mentioned as a foundational aspect of content marketing, with a discussion on how search has evolved and the importance of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness in SEO.

💡Creator Economy

The Creator Economy refers to the ecosystem of individuals who create content, digital products, or services, often leveraging social media platforms and other online spaces to monetize their creativity. This concept is significant in the video as it represents a shift in how content is produced and consumed, impacting the strategies marketers must employ to reach their audiences.

💡Repurpose Content

Repurpose Content refers to the process of adapting and reusing existing content for different formats or platforms to maximize its reach and impact. This strategy is crucial in content marketing as it allows for efficient use of resources and ensures that content continues to engage audiences across various channels.

💡Brand Moments

Brand Moments refer to specific instances or experiences that a brand creates for its audience, aiming to evoke emotional responses and build a connection with the brand. These moments are designed to be memorable and can significantly influence brand perception and customer loyalty.

💡Customer Journey

The Customer Journey refers to the process or series of interactions a customer has with a brand, from the initial awareness stage to the point of purchase and beyond. It's a crucial concept in marketing as it helps businesses understand and influence the customer's experience with their brand.

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is the art of using narratives to convey information, ideas, or emotions. In marketing, it involves crafting narratives around a brand or product to engage and influence the audience. The video highlights the power of storytelling in creating compelling content that resonates with the audience and drives engagement.

Highlights

The importance of video marketing and its increasing ability to impact audiences is a key focus of the session.

The session aims to address the challenge of scaling video strategy to serve the funnel from a creative perspective.

Content marketing is undergoing an inflection point, necessitating a rethinking of the traditional marketing funnel.

The rise of the Creator economy, AI, and the decentralization of media consumption are driving changes in content marketing.

Attention spans have decreased over time due to screen time, with average screen time per participant dropping to 47 seconds.

The way people look for information has shifted, with search being decentralized and platforms like Instagram and chatbots being used for recommendations.

The quality bar for content has risen significantly, requiring marketers to produce high-quality, compelling narratives.

The challenge for content marketers is to create resonant content that makes audiences care, rather than producing subpar content using AI.

The customer journey is no longer linear, and storytelling across the funnel is crucial for brands to capture audience attention.

Repurposing content is essential, but it requires intention and creativity to adapt the content for different formats and platforms.

Vimeo's campaign aimed to change audience perception by showcasing the platform's tools for content creation and repurposing.

Shopify Plus's video strategy involved creating distinct videos for each stage of the funnel, telling an overarching platform story.

SEMRush's campaign focused on emotive storytelling, showcasing a DJ's life and how SEMRush helps her achieve her goals.

The key to successful video content is having a strong core message that resonates across all stages of the funnel and platforms.

Good storytelling can increase engagement and viewers' willingness to spend more time with the content.

Transcripts

[Music]

thank you

hey everybody hello hello

thank you uh thank you so much for

joining us I hope you all enjoyed the

previous session as much as I did

um and a huge thank you to all the great

speakers that we've had so far make sure

you stick around because there's plenty

more coming uh I'm Darren Suffolk the

amazing Darren suffolkest Phil Monica me

I mean I don't get that too often but

I'll take it

um I'm the creative director for video

Services here at superside and uh we

have a full service production offering

here as I'm sure you're well aware which

can be accessed as a modular uh you know

way or as an end-to-end production

solution and throughout my career

I've seen the rising importance of video

and marketing and its increasing ability

to impact audiences

um which makes this session we're about

to have you know all the more compelling

and I'm really excited to be to be

joined by such great guests

um before we actually get into the

content just a quick reminder to tweet

about what you're learning and make sure

to tag Super Side we've got some cool

prizes to give away so

um don't miss out and remember to submit

any questions using the Q a function and

we'll try our hardest to answer them

before the end of the session I know uh

some of the questions that Phil pose to

the guys from our audience were really

fantastic in the uh in the session we've

just watched

um now that the admin's out of the way

I'll get us started um as a creative

director with emotion specialist and the

idea of scaling video strategy to server

for funnel it's it's a puzzle that I'm

constantly trying to unpick and

constantly trying to solve from a

creative perspective so I'm really

excited to give our audience the

opportunity to hear from you know two

proper thought leaders in the space so

I'll give them quick introductions and

then I won't uh won't hold them up any

longer

um first of all Robin showers um a

strategic content marketing leader

currently heading up content at Vimeo

and the world's most Innovative video

experience platform if you're a marketer

or a video Pro you'll already be well

acquainted with their fantastic offering

which empowers everyone to create high

quality video experiences to bring ideas

to life

uh Vimeo is also a partner for this

event so big shout out to those guys

um Robin spent more than a decade

creating social and search first content

strategies for

um saas Brands like Vimeo and HubSpot

she's obsessed with new content formats

building long-term programs and creating

surprising brand moments

um she once got a SAS Company retweeted

by Lady Gaga which obviously is a is a

serious serious Flex so hi Robin thank

you so much for joining us

um and our second speaker Katie Parks is

a creative content marketing leader

who's got a lot of experience building

video teams and successful video

production

um she was most recently head of video

marketing at Shopify where she led a

team to produce a strategists and

external Partners in creating some of

the best e-commerce video content on the

internet I'm sure we all have seen it at

some point or another

um and she's a creative leader a film

producer a brand marketer with

experience from around the world she's

passionate about storytelling video and

the future and so I'll welcome these uh

two wonderful ladies we're really

excited to learn from you and I think um

we've got the presentation teed up so

I'll pass it over to you take it away

sounds good awesome

um and I do feel like you know Darren

you said that you're going through this

creative challenge of how to scale and I

feel like we're all kind of learning in

public here so hopefully we get some

great questions and we can yeah we can

talk through it

um if we can go to the next one very

exciting I think we have a quick agenda

um so we have really this presentation

is in three different sections so we're

going to talk a little bit about how we

see there is sort of an inflection point

in content marketing right now um and

really in marketing as a whole but we're

focusing on content marketing for this

session uh because of that step change

because of that inflection point we

Katie and I both feel like we need to

rethink the funnel and Katie's gonna

walk us through what we mean by that um

how to rethink it and then we've put

together three full funnel video

campaigns that kind of illustrate this

um how to rethink the funnel and how to

use video throughout that entire

campaign so hopefully you guys learned

something really excited to chat with

you all today we can go to the next

slide yeah that marketing is to changing

um I never do that well

um one of my favorite things about

content marketing is that content

marketing is older than content

marketing uh if we go to the next slide

as long as there has been media that

people want to consume and businesses

who want to sell things to those people

there have been Innovative folks

connecting the dots between those two

things so if you go all the way back to

the 1700s the 1800s you have Ben

Franklin launching Poor Richard's

Almanac which is actually just basically

a Content marketing program selling uh

his printing press to people

um the very first soap opera was

actually on radio and it was Procter and

Gamble selling you guessed it soap

um to Housewives listening to radio

shows

um and then actually uh later on Procter

and Gamble or no never mind L'Oreal

bought makeup.com way into 2011 as we're

kind of like into the internet era so

across the entire at every single stage

um there have always been companies

looking for ways to inject themselves in

their audience's lives in a more

meaningful way right in a way that that

tells a story that helps them with their

pain points that does more than just

advertise to them

um what what tends to change across this

entire uh across this entire timeline

and I've kind of cheekily named the

different eras of content marketing uh

we can have a nice argument about that

in the comments

um but what what tends to change what

actually brings us from one era to

another is actually the technology it's

the ways we consume media and how the

technology leads to those changes so

that's why we feel like there is a step

change right now with the Creator

economy AI The Tick-Tock vacation of

everything

um owned media the way that we actually

reach audiences as marketers all of it

changes the way that audiences are

consuming media and therefore consuming

our stories and messages so if we can go

to the next slide

uh I want to talk through a few of the

things that are driving the most recent

shift in content marketing and I think

this slide could have been 20 slides

there are so many tiny nuances but we've

we've sort of grouped them into a couple

of different buckets um one is attention

so that ticked off tick tockification of

content marketing we consume things in

six second sound bites and that has been

actually studied by researchers that

2015 stat about the attention spans

being shorter than a goldfish is

complete rubbish by the way but there is

actually evidence that screen time has

dropped over time um so back in 2004

um psychologist Gloria Mark found that

the average amount of screen time per

participant spent on any screen was

around two and a half minutes which

honestly anybody who is keeping track of

their blog uh engagement metrics like

that's great I would love for people to

spend two and a half minutes on every

single every single nickel that we put

out I'm fine with that

um but by around 2012 this had dropped

to just 75 seconds and more recently

it's as little as 47 seconds on the

average screen

um additionally and I find this really

interesting because of all of the work

we do with filmmakers at Vimeo actual

film and TV shot links have dropped

themselves um so the actual like between

shots and how long we can spend looking

at one single setup uh filmmakers are

hip to that and they're they're making

that they're making that quicker they're

making that briefer

um and even ads have decreased in length

you know the average ad 10 years ago was

around 60 seconds today in art thanks to

tick tock it's around six seconds

um so there are a lot of things just

competing for our attention and our

filters have gotten so good that you

really have to grab people immediately

Additionally the way that people look

for information has shifted a little bit

we still use search but search has been

decentralized slightly people are using

Instagram to look for restaurant

recommendations they are asking chat gbt

questions that's obviously in its

infancy but it's starting

um and even within search I actually

think that search is the best uh the

best evidence of this next point about

points of view even within search they

are starting to put more emphasis on who

the information is coming from so

forever Google has you know if if you're

an SEO you probably know the um acronym

eat eat expertise Authority and

trustworthiness I think are the three

um so that's been a part of the

algorithm for a really long time but

even recently Google has been releasing

Pro um products like perspectives which

brings in stuff from Reddit and from

other different social platforms from

quora because they know that people who

are searching for different answers

don't necessarily want what we

businesses are always serving up to them

they want what other people are saying

they want a they want to actually talk

with fellow folks

um I'm going to go through these next

couple really quickly uh because I think

they're they're a lot more self-evident

um we all know or anyone who works at a

tech company has certainly felt the

economy get a bit wobbly uh in recent

months and years

um and Ai and tooling is also completely

shifted how we're working

um how quickly we can create things um

and even the ways that we think about

going to Market with things

um and then finally and this I think is

maybe the biggest shift in content

marketing that's been happening much

more slowly uh as the market for Content

as the um amount of businesses who are

creating content has increased we've all

kind of gotten hip to the strategy uh

there's so much noise out there that the

bar for Quality the bar for what

somebody will give their email address

for even just stop scrolling through

their social feed long enough to take it

in for has just really really risen uh

so what used to be impressive

um you know a PDF ebook or something

specific fairly static just doesn't cut

it today uh so the key is really to find

that sweet spot between high quality how

do you tell a really compelling complex

narrative but quickly have that

breathity still in there

um so this is a really interesting

challenge to us as marketers and uh I I

think that what it really has done is

that whereas the biggest challenge to us

used to be reach it used to be how do we

actually get this in front of people how

do we find people where they are today I

think the biggest challenge facing

content marketers and marketers in

general is resonant if we find them how

do we make them care uh and so I think

that that's actually a bit of a

challenge to all of us here today is how

do we be a part of the people creating

content who create things that are worth

caring about rather than uh using AI to

create things that maybe are subpar

which is obviously incredibly possible

but it's also incredibly possible to use

those powerful tools to tell better

stories so we're going to talk a little

bit about that today

yes yes I know that one thing you and I

chatted a lot about uh Robin was just

that with these admin of all these tools

we're just gonna see so much more video

content than we ever have before we

already are like most of the internet is

video and but that is going to mean that

there's going to be a lot of crap and a

lot of digital garbage and so it's like

wading through that

um you know is is going to be really key

for any brand and so making sure that

you have that really strong point of

view and that eye for Quality um you

know is that's the only thing that's

going to set you apart

uh and so with that being said uh with

all of these changes uh it definitely

means that we need to rethink everything

uh we need to change you know the way

that we think about the content

marketing funnel

um and uh sorry next slide thank you uh

uh especially with video because it

lives on so many different channels um

and can you know exist uh in so many

different places across the web

um I think that the biggest shift that

we are seeing here and this has been

happening over the last few years um is

really that the you know the customer

Journey that we used to look at with

this perfect funnel in mind of like you

know we're going to create something for

as a hero video and then they're gonna

go and watch this thing and then they're

gonna watch the demo video is just not

clear anymore it's not linear like like

it used to be uh you know there are so

many channels that a customer might find

you on and interact with you on that

expecting them you know to take that

traditional journey of you know seeing

that brand video then the educational

video then the demo is is this really

not a super helpful way to think about a

customer's content experience with you

anymore

um we still believe that you you

definitely need to create all of the

content that you're making with the

specific goals of the funnel in mind you

can't throw that out the window it's

still really important to be creating

with intention and and where you might

want to catch that person along their

Journey

um but with knowing that that customer

might you know see a bottom funnel asset

first and then they might watch multiple

other pieces of content and see a bunch

of video ads maybe listen to a podcast

you know Etc before or like during their

entire Journey

um and then to add on top of that they

might talk to sales you know a few times

in between watching a bunch of different

pieces of content uh and I finally get

to you know the purchase phase

uh and so really what all of this means

is that the storytelling across the

funnel is super key and that before you

know you used to be able to kind of

uh you know own you know a topic at a

specific stage of the funnel and now you

really need to own that topic for every

stage of the funnel you know it's it's

not enough anymore to have that one

Great Piece

um you need to tell that full story

about a topic and capture that audience

attention across their journey and

across all these other channels

um and you know like Robin had said

content marketing is really just no

longer only SEO and your company blog

you know you kind of need to be

everywhere

um you know everywhere that makes sense

for your brand and your audience and the

resources that you have of course

um but prioritizing video content you

know as much as written content

um is in the new Norm

and because every brand you know should

also be leaning into different learning

styles you know some people like to go

for a walk and listen to a podcast to

learn something new um I know I'm very

much like that others want to read and

they want the full thing they want to

highlight stuff and digest it all um and

have it you know written out step by

step which is still incredibly valuable

but the vast majority of us you know as

we're seeing through data is that we

want to watch content we want to see it

we want to hear about it from another

person on video and so

thinking you know of each stage of the

funnel in terms of formats is also

really important

and then approaching your content

strategy from this video first mindset

is just necessary to tell your story and

to get your message out there in a

competitive market

um and you know another piece to kind of

rethinking the funnel is to rethink what

content you get and really why you gate

anything

um you know testing ungated content more

often or doing both at the same time I

think is also something really

interesting to experiment with and we'll

get into that in some of the examples

later

um and you know it's because again

keeping in mind that you know adding

that value to your brand and the

customer Journey at the outset will just

increase the likelihood of them coming

back to your channels and seeing you as

that you know trustworthy source

foreign

I think we all know at this point that

you know creating video content and

looking at you know how do you do video

content is uh you know or sorry why we

make video content and that having that

battle internally your organization is

just really no longer a question

um you know 82 of all internet content

is video people are watching hundreds of

hours of videos a day and you know

YouTube of course is the second largest

search engine in the world

and so because the format of video isn't

a question the real question you know

for you and your teams is is to you know

ask yourself how you create a smart

strategy around video

and Robert and I talked a lot about this

and and we feel like you know and this

word is kind of a buzzword right now in

content marketing but it really begins

with thinking about repurposing content

you know and and repurposing isn't

always easy that was something that we

really wanted to call out you know a lot

of people are like oh yeah just cut this

into all kinds of different formats and

you know it's a shortcut exactly like

it'll be so easy we'll just chop this up

into little bits and it's like no I was

just having this conversation with

someone yesterday actually and they were

like do you know how long it takes me to

go through an hour-long podcast and find

all of the right clips and the right

moments and put together like a 15 or 30

second you know Sizzle reel to then

promote that podcast or you know cut it

down for social like when it's done

right it's not always easy

you know and it it doesn't like I said

just mean that you're copying and

pasting that same work into a different

format what it means is that it's

reusing the research and the ideas in a

new format

um and we still need you know humans at

the Helms who be finding those really

great

um you know sound bites and looking at

that research and thinking about okay

well we wrote it out this way but how

could we actually visualize that with

Motion Graphics or you know how do we

bring this to life through you know a 3D

example or you know how do we make a

mockumentary about this instead and then

do something really fun for tick tock

and so

um it is looking at the idea and

challenging that to you know

um or traveling you're challenging

yourself to figure out how you might

display that in a new format

um but with that being said I do also

want to call out that it can still mean

using the same content across you know

the funnel and on different channels

just to experiment

um I was also speaking with someone the

other day who was

trying to kind of um speak to the idea

that you know creating specific types of

video content across Instagram and Tick

Tock uh excuse me is like dead because

they had tried you know by using the

same video across all those channels and

they had really great success and

because at the end of the day if you're

making something of quality with that

really strong point of view like we

talked about earlier you're cutting

through that noise that video should

still perform you know really anywhere

that your audience is resonating with it

and so I think you know both of these

things when it comes to repurposing are

really key to keep in mind is you know

it's you you need to do it with

intention

um and purpose but then also be looking

for you know how you can experiment

um and you know so many there's so many

great examples of of repurposing you

know one way to look at it could be you

know taking a longer form blog post that

breaks down a specific topic and then

you know using that data and content to

produce you know a thought leadership or

how-to video for YouTube then taking

those insights from the blog and sharing

them on social and then you know maybe

you invite you know a customer on your

podcast to talk about the same topic and

so on so it's it's really again about

what we spoke about earlier and in

looking at how do you tell that story

then across the funnel and break that

out across multiple different formats

and channels

um and so speaking of repurposing and

exploring the video formats across the

funnel we have three really great

examples to walk you through um and so

yeah we're going to move on to those now

I'm super excited

awesome yeah and I do think that a lot

of what we're doing here is repurposing

the ideas right we're telling the same

story we're turning it around and kind

of examining it from every angle

um so I'm putting our own team under the

spotlight here and this uh this campaign

is actually very much still in play this

is a year-long campaign

um so I won't be sharing a lot of stats

just yet um apologies if anyone is

disappointed by that

um but I do think that it's a good

example of a campaign that was born out

of a very top of funnel need to change

in audience's Awareness levels right

um so Vimeo as many of you may know um

has a bit of a history as kind of the we

like we've said it as the the Hipster

cousin of YouTube

um

I've never heard that before I love that

it originally was a place for filmmakers

to put their videos and it's still a

great place for filmmakers to put their

videos and obviously we see a lot of

people host content and embed content

um but I've been doing a lot of these

marketing uh marketing presentations and

one of the things that always shocks me

is how few people in the audience and

this is on our team to do a better job

of but have a few people in the audience

know that we do so many other things

right and so that was that's really the

impetus behind this campaign was us

saying okay how do we change the

perception how do we tell marketers that

we see them that we understand them and

also that we have like all of these

tools for repurposing content we have

creation tools we have record tools we

have webinar tools

um we have hosting tools we have

trimming tools like really the list goes

on it's a very horizontal platform which

is part of what I love about it

um but yeah so uh that was really where

this campaign film which you'll see uh

kind of big on the top here was uh

that's where that idea came from so it

was a bit of a it's very Technicolor

it's very fun it's got a lot of

unexpected moments a lot of Animation

um and it was definitely the top of

funnel play

um but all of the main messages that

were in here which were we wanted to

help people create brand new videos at

scale repurpose with ease and then also

use video everywhere with Consolidated

reporting we then pulled through to all

of the other campaigns that were rolling

up to this larger audience initiative so

we have a ton of Social and AD cut Downs

of this video and others that were sort

of like you know uh related to this

basic idea

um we've actually been doing a monthly

event series and we'll talk about uh

someone that we had on the monthly event

series uh in two slides from now

um but that's been exploring this idea

kind of more tactically so sitting down

with folks who are already doing this

really really well and asking them

really to unpack their process for us

and to you know walk us through how are

you using video across the funnel how

are you chopping these up into different

pieces how are you creating different

videos what does it actually look like

internally

um and then finally uh bringing this

idea all the way through to our product

videos so reusing a lot of the same

imagery we're using a lot of the same

animation because we really wanted it to

all feel very cohesive and like it is

part of the same story

um but we dreamed them up as part of one

campaign even though they're very

different videos and so they're all kind

of like different sides of the same

story the story of how do we how do we

make marketers lives easier how do we

make it easier for people to how video

and if we want to go to the next slide

yeah

Katie take it away yes so um the Shopify

example that we have here is is very

similar actually to the way that Vimeo

approached it where we had three

different distinct videos that we

designed for each stage of the funnel um

and really the intent here was to tell

the overarching platform story of the

Shopify plus product

um for those of you who don't know

Shopify plus is the plan and product for

Enterprise e-commerce Brands and you

know the there were product different

traders that we needed to speak to

um and you know it was a bit of a

different brand and a bit of a different

Earth sub brand I should say in a bit of

a different approach um than you know

the traditional Shopify marketing and so

uh what we decided to do was was look at

how do we how do we tell that story like

I said across the funnel and and

leverage you know existing footage that

we already had while also investing in

some net new content that we um hoped

would you know have some Revenue benefit

for us and so the first thing that we

made was it 36 second Sizzle reel um and

this was the top of the funnel you know

brand awareness play that's lived on the

home page of the website it also lived

on YouTube

um and you know there were ad cut downs

and we even tested out on YouTube like

just you know using the 30 second real

as an ad itself to drive more traffic to

the channel and to drive more demand and

build up those audience pools uh this

one was actually really interesting

because we used a ton of existing

customer footage so we actually didn't

film anything like net new for this

video it was just repurposing like I

said content that had already we'd

already shot

um we even you know used and leveraged

some of our customers video footage as

well and then really just you know added

some super slick music and and figured

out which value props we really needed

to speak to that would share our unique

point of view and kind of then package

it all together in this super spicy way

with like you know flashy Motion

Graphics

um and then we also actually translated

this video into multiple languages we

use it at events all over the world and

so it really became a kind of a

multi-purpose brand message for us which

was awesome

and then when we looked at the middle of

the funnel the kind of step below that

was in how do we then take this you know

the the bigger uh point of view value

prop messages and bring them down

another level so that we can start to

explain to people you know not just like

what we're about but what the product

can actually do for them and so this was

really a product explainer video at the

end of the day we used you know actors

we created a fake shoe store

um and the idea here was really to show

off our products

um in different customer base scenarios

and it really just told the story of the

product you know in the context of our

customers customers so you know the

people that are actually buying from

Commerce Brands and we did it this way

so that you know our customers would be

able to see the impact that our product

could have on their operations but also

the lives of their customers themselves

and you know we use this video you know

across our website also existed on

YouTube as well and created ad cut downs

and did a lot of experimentation and

with advertising here the main kind of

use of this was really by the sales team

and so it also it lived on kind of an

open landing page that you know sales

team members would send to prospects you

know in initial cold emails or you know

after they've had an initial call to

just kind of reinforce the messaging

reinforce what the product could do and

that landing page alone you know brought

in you know influenced millions of

dollars in revenue and so I'm really

just taking a look at yeah how can you

extend that product message then one

step further um had a ton of a benefit

for us

and then the third video that we looked

at for the bottom of the funnel and

really the conversion piece here was you

know a 10 minute long platform demo that

went super in depth into the product

offering with actual real demos of the

product

um and this was initially designed to be

gated uh and to drive leads but we

actually ended up experimenting with

putting it on YouTube as well we

acknowledged that there was kind of a

um

something happening on YouTube where

there were other people kind of telling

our product story for us there were a

lot of videos out there that were like

oh this is the difference between the

Shopify plans or this is what you get

when you sign up for Shopify plus and we

were like hey we should probably own

that narrative or we should at least you

know be um speaking to what the product

offering is and we already have this

awesome demo video and so

um you know even though it was designed

for this purpose of generating leads we

you know ungated it put it on YouTube

and actually kept both

um you know experiences in play at the

same time we had them running

simultaneously and you know there was

some discussion about whether or not

that was the right decision to be made

here with the bottom of funnel asset and

whether or not it would take away from

you know the conversion effort but what

we saw is that it actually just overall

enhanced our ability to tell the story

of our product and not to mention that

on a new platform on a new channel and

and just really further that product

narrative for us um overall and so um

you know when I mentioned before about

experimenting with ungating and gaining

assets I think this is a really great

example of doing that and and you know

not being afraid to

just kind of explode that narrative

across the board and and remember that

that customer Journey isn't linear and

that you still might be able to drive

leads by gaining an asset while also you

know owning your narrative on a

different Channel

um and the other thing the last thing

I'll call out here

um was that with this video funnel

um the the one thing that we wanted to

make sure we did really well was to link

each video to each other and so you know

all the videos that lived on our.com

pages were there were ctas that drove

people to the next video to watch so

even though the customer journey is not

linear we still did everything that we

could to try to drive people down this

funnel um and we did the same thing on

YouTube as well so you know if someone

had watched this is a real the next

suggested video would be the platform

story and then from there the next video

to to suggest was the demo and so on

um and we even had them kind of

backlinked um to each other and so I

would recommend you know when we you are

looking at kind of building out these

systems on the actual channels

themselves to there is still an

opportunity for you to try and create

that um that kind of moment for your

customers um that you you know designed

all this content for to begin with

um anyway uh next example

I love that I feel like that is often

overlooked the last little details

um which are so so important to the

journey

um so this is a story that is not my own

but we had um some Rush uh all that

Andrew are amazing we had them on the

show a couple weeks ago on debrief

um and I have honestly not stopped

thinking about their campaigns since

then

um they did so they are also a software

as a service a SAS brand

um who do very like they basically beat

us see or B2B marketing is pretty much

outlawed at some rush they very much

focus on emotive storytelling on

lifestyle content on how do we get to

the human behind this story

um I actually find it really impressive

that this is a story about an SEO who

works at peacock which is a pretty

well-known well-known company and I I

think they barely mention it right

because the focus is really on Gabby as

the hero of this story

um and so they did a series of really

beautiful Hero videos of um Gabby kind

of she's a DJ by night she's an SEO by

day and so they're telling her story of

how she lives life in her own terms in

New York how semrush is a big part of

how she's able to do that because she

has all the tools at her disposal to do

her job and do her job well

um and they really I feel like customer

stories are almost always

um middle or bottom of the funnel and we

kind of we kind of put them there often

their serving sales and we kind of give

them a job to do and we don't really let

them out of that box and what I love

about this campaign is that they so from

one shoot in New York they created

actually hundreds of pieces of content

that lived across all different channels

across landing pages across YouTube

across social my cat is going to come in

and pay us a visit so apologies everyone

um or not apologies

um and all of those all of those um

pieces of content kind of they were

native to the platform but they told

very much same story right they were

really showing Gabby's perspective

building Gabby's World in semrush which

I just thought was brilliant like the

entire thing was really really well

thought out and put together

um and uh the team shared with us that

they it showed in the results that they

saw four times the typical performance

that they saw in this stage of the

funnel

um and that it also that this campaign

while it was I'm gonna pull him up yes

hello

he's very fluffy he's like we're talking

about video

I should be on that exactly

um but yeah it was just I thought this

was a great proof point of you know a

great story is going to it's going to

sell it's going to go it's going to kind

of perform at every level if you if you

find the right story if you find the

right narrative to pull through

it really speaks to me as a creative

this this idea because it's that thing

of even if you're doing B2B or B to C or

whatever version of communication you

are talking to a person right it's

always somebody you need to have an

impact on on the other side of that

video and this idea of making it a human

connection and getting somebody

emotionally invested in your brand this

way like it makes perfect sense and it

also allows you to make beautiful films

so it's kind of a win-win for everybody

isn't it 100 yeah I completely agree

um I know that we let's see I think we

have some final takeaways I know we have

like 10 minutes left should we do final

takeaways or do we want to skip to q a

what do y'all think

I'm easy we've got some awesome

questions I've I've saved up some

questions of my own as well to kind of

make the most of my opportunity to to

pick your brains but um yeah I'm happy

to jump into some questions first do we

think yeah sure cool we can also just

like put the slide up if you want well

people ask questions it's really a

summary of the presentation yeah

just in case it prompts a question

itself right

um so my first I think my first question

before I jump into these great questions

we've got from New York from the

audience I know something really

resonated

um with me

um on the Shopify example we shared as

well

um which was this idea of

um really sweating assets right making

the most of what you've shot and

obviously we talked about that in the

semrush example as well and and it's

kind of it's something that the

relationship suicide tries to create

with its Partners is is built on this

idea of a longer term engagement rather

than a brief by brief interaction so you

gain an understanding not only of the

the goals and aims of of your your

partner but also the material you've got

to work with and and how you can rework

these things and and certainly you get

the most out of your content that way I

mean what what do you think was key

Katie to you at Shopify reimagining that

kind of initial thing in so many

different ways is to serve so many

different parts of the funnel yeah

that's a great question

um I think I think really at the end of

the day it's like about the

relationships that you're building

internally and I mean I know that that

might be a little bit different with the

agency side of things but it yeah for me

it was really about how how do I go

about you know building out these briefs

for these videos and making sure that

like every single person who is you know

attached to a distribution Channel at

this company

understands what we're trying to do that

understand the goals behind the video

and they they understand that there are

opportunities for collaboration and

getting that done ahead of the shoot

date so that you have like a really good

idea of you know what these other people

might be looking for you know with that

being said it didn't all the ideas

didn't always happen and sometimes we

parked some of them and then you know

turn them into assets later down the

road or we just you know have to go

ahead and create anything anyway because

other teams weren't ready but then we

still had like set it up in a way that

would have enabled them to use it in the

future and I know you and I were talking

about this the other day that even that

shot in the platform Story video of like

the the fake store that we've created

and all the assets you know within that

of the person walking with the shoes and

the fake AR you know videos and stuff

all of that was able to get like broken

out from that video and then used on

different product pages on the website

and the different social ads and an even

different demand generation campaigns

and I think ultimately at the end of the

day if you're creating a video you you

know with all of those key aspects of

the story that you're trying to tell

about your product

what you're making should reflect all of

that and then have the ability to have

that long of a life I think you know if

you're creating something with that much

intention and that much purpose

um you know the hope is that yeah it

could live everywhere and that you could

pull out a lot of that juice to use

elsewhere

cool and I think the other question I'd

have for you guys before we

um we dive into the the questions from

the viewers

um is this idea of when you start now

knowing that we've created this more

fluid version of a funnel that doesn't

really have a top and a button you can

engage with it in any way

do you think there is a key or an

important thing to start with when

you're starting the creative Journey

about thinking how

you know imagining how content feeds

this new version of a funnel what do you

think there's any kind of key

consideration there

I think you have to stay

um start with a core message you know

which I think was always true for a

great creative brief and Katie I love

what you said about like there's such an

art to a good creative brief it really

kicks off the right collaboration

um but I do think that this version of

The Funnel that becomes even more

important like finding what is universal

rather than finding what is really

distinct

um and uh and and probably also like

building out like it you can if in a

brief you're building out okay we want

the like in The Gabby example like we

want the audience to feel you know like

they can do anything right or we want

them to feel you know like bold and

daring like you can you can build that

into product content you can build that

into a customer store you can build

those feelings I think into so I think

like getting that it'll it becomes a lot

more important to get that core really

really right

yes yeah I would Echo that it's almost

like you got to figure out what your

through line is right and and if you can

figure that out I I to be honest I would

normally start with like almost looking

at a mid funnel approach too and like

because that is typically encompassing

some of your product messaging but then

also some of your brand messaging at the

same time at least when it comes to you

know video assets

um and that would always really help me

then go like okay this is like

everything that we're trying to say and

that one's usually the hardest because

it also has to be like the most succinct

and then you're taking everything and

trying to pair it down into like a

really concise strong message

but that lets you like save stuff for

the top you can go like okay well if we

can't use this message here then we're

gonna really drive home that message at

the top of the funnel and then bring

this up and other stuff back down you

know to the demo and so on

um and so that looking at it that way

always helped me but then yeah I'm

making sure that that through line is is

going through everything is just it's so

important

and I suppose if you've got that through

line there's always a value to to what I

I an end user Reviewer is seeing in your

content right because you've got to see

that as a value exchange someone's

giving you their time that idea of

brevity being super important and people

having a low attention span as long as

every piece of content actually has a

return on the investment of time then

the likelihood is that engagement's

going to continue and people are going

to keep in interacting with the content

right yeah one of the funniest things

about attention is that even though our

attention spans are going down it's not

like they're zero right like um there

was a I'm trying to remember the source

of the stat I think it was Deloitte that

said that 70 73 of people have binged

five and a half hours straight of

Netflix

we will pay attention to stories right

we'll pay attention as long as it's

interesting as long as it's compelling

but that's hard that is not something to

be taken lightly it's really hard to

find things that are interesting and

compelling which is part of why the

repurposing is so important once you do

you want to get as much juice out of it

as possible

um I'll dive into our viewer questions

then to make sure we get to answer a

couple

um first of all I've got

um will Who on this subject

um asks us how much do you think story

plays into the tolerability of length

um so we talked about Gabby's example

and I think it's quite an important

question right he's got some examples he

said I think about Apple's nine minute

escape from the office advertisements

and I've been obviously this idea of you

know hour plus long podcasts as well

um you know have you guys got any

thoughts on that as a subject I would

watch an entire series of Apple's

Escapes in the office

um so I guess quite High yeah I I agree

with that I do think that um a really

good story you will earn people's uh

evil earn the ability to take more time

to tell it that being said I also think

it's not necessarily how good the story

is it's also probably how complex it is

what channel you're consuming it on like

there's definitely a difference in you

know if you're um if you're scrolling

the feed your attention span just

because by nature of where you are no

matter how good the story is it's going

to be really difficult to get you to

stop for longer than a couple of minutes

at the very very you know most

um Katie please what do you think of

that yeah I mean I think it's incredibly

important I I would even like my team

sometimes would go back to those what is

it like Pixar's like nine rules of

Storytelling I can't remember how many

they have but

um you know and essentially their idea

is like you you throw an obstacle in

front of your character and then you

like throw another one and another one

another one as soon as you think you

can't anymore throw another one and then

it's like yeah you know and so

especially when it came to like customer

storytelling and there was one uh kind

of docu series that we worked on about a

year or so ago where we told kind of the

Inception of a new brand

Shopify plus and and with that like it

was so key to think about like how do we

just amp the drama and like make sure

that we are like continuing to keep

people engaged

nested

um because they were like 10 long minute

episodes and it was kind of the first

foray that we were doing into longer

form content and

I am here to say that it works like at

least for our experiment like that those

kinds of videos alone that were

extremely storytelling driven like

increased our average watch time on

YouTube by like a minute and a half

um and so I think there is definitely

like you were saying Robin with

attention spans like there is there are

there's an audience for longer form

content and I think when you take

storytelling seriously and you really do

try to put a ton of effort into that and

look at the Beats properly and and

especially from that human perspective

of like how do you make those pieces of

drama really relatable to someone else's

life

um you know and you can do that in

product content too yeah it's just it's

a matter of like yeah looking at the

principles and figuring out how to make

them work for your brand yeah we have

someone on our team who uh who focuses

specifically on courses and educational

content and she uses the hero's journey

to map out the educational courses yeah

which I just I love as an approach um

and I do think makes them

so much more fun to consume um yeah

which is really awesome yeah and uh and

guys it absolutely breaks my heart

because I could genuinely talk to you

guys for another hour I mean maybe we

should carry on afterwards I'm I'm game

um

yeah 100 that's

um but um just to finish that off I

guess I'd I'd love to say thank you

thank you so much to Katie and to Robin

for taking the time to talk to us it's

been super super interesting

um we really appreciate the insights and

and all the knowledge I know I'm going

to take something away from it that I

can apply to what I do so thank you

thank you

[Music]