Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When it comes to video marketing, most franchisors in the industry haven’t risen to the challenge of producing quality content that resonates with both their B2B and B2C audiences. This is due to many factors and even a few misperceptions, but there are some innovative tips and secrets on creating engaging video content that can be beneficial to both franchisors and franchisees alike. Even for the franchisors who have made a nominal investment in video content, the benefits typically don’t extend down to their network of franchisees who operate in multiple locations, markets, and territories.
That being said, there are solutions and strategies franchisors can employ to solve this problem. What follows are tips, insights, and advice designed to help brands get the most bang for their video marketing buck. After all, why should corporate get to have all the fun?
Related: Why Franchise Brands Need to Start Utilizing Video Marketing
What franchisors get wrong about video marketing
Obtaining high-quality video content does require an investment. Mistake No. 1 — while many franchisors tend to flinch at the thought of this added cost, they rarely look inward and compare the network of franchisee fees that fund their often bloated coop advertising programs. While it’s true that these coop expenditures do fund a wide variety of marketing and promotional programs, dozens of franchisees kicking in up to thousands of dollars each month shows that the majority of brands are already in the financial ballpark to consider the impact of localizing their video content. Mistake No. 2 — even when brands do invest in video, outsourcing this work to agencies all but guarantees content of stock variety quality that can’t be repurposed for any of their independent franchisees who operate in their local markets. Franchisors who invest in slick videos may be successful in attracting additional candidates to add to their network. But how does that help dial-up business for their network of franchisees? It doesn’t. Which is a shame, because there is a way for both sides to benefit from investing in high-quality video marketing content.
Related: How to Effectively Utilize Video in Your Franchise Brand’s Marketing Strategy
A way forward
Producing mutually beneficial video content isn’t that difficult, but it can have enormous benefits. The solution is to secure three to five high-quality videos that highlight the brand’s value proposition and key differentiators. The next step is to localize these videos through the post-production editing process. It’s entirely possible to take the same high-quality video content that features the brand’s best attributes and then localize it through the editing process for the benefit of individual franchisees. By adding hyper-local elements such as SEO-driven scripts, jump cuts of local footage, drone shots of the city, quick soundbites from the local franchisee, voiceovers, or copy layovers (individual website addresses and phone numbers) specific to local audiences, what began as a slick national ad can be subsequently transitioned for each franchisee by adding an individual call to action (CTA) for each owner’s market.
Seizing the power of utilizing real people, local offices, and real human faces can make a big difference for franchisors and franchisees alike. And believe it or not, it’s not at all difficult to replicate this process, market-by-market. The benefit of targeting localized videos is no longer up for debate. Numerous surveys and studies reveal that locally tailored content has up to six times more engagement than non-localized.
Related: Give Video Marketing a Try and Watch Your Business Grow
A hypothetical scenario
Suppose a well-known franchise brand decides to adopt this strategy. Here’s how it would work: the corporate franchise office can secure all the content needed to create up to 300+ individual franchisee videos in just three to five days. What most people don’t realize about video is that most of the post-production legwork needed to individualize the content for each franchisee’s location doesn’t take an immense amount of time to complete. Franchisors can cover the cost themselves or work out a 50-50 arrangement with their franchisees (again, back to the bloated coop ad funds).
In the end, each franchisee gets the same video as corporate, but the text overlays, animations, and calls to action are unique to their specific location. The end result? Each franchisee ends up with a high-quality video that not only humanizes them but gives them the same social proof that corporate initiated for themselves.
If consumers visualize a product or service in use, they’re more likely to make a purchase or invest. Franchisors should use videos to tell their brand story, showcase franchisee testimonials, or highlight different aspects of the business on a local level, among other things. Publishing videos on your website, sharing them on your social media pages or including them in your email newsletters are easy ways to gain traction and engagement and get more eyes on your content — thereby increasing the life of the video.
As with most vendor and supplier-related work, there’s almost always a more cost-efficient way to go about it. But if you take the time to evaluate all of your options, you’ll almost always find the mutually beneficial outcome you’re looking for. You just have to be willing to explore innovative solutions to complex challenges.
About the Author
Trevor Rappleye has been an entrepreneur since 2003 — beginning his first company at age 13, converting VHS to DVD and filming family events. As the president and CEO of FranchiseFilming.com, he’s obsessed with storytelling, leadership, video marketing and filming social proof for brands and franchisors. The company includes A-list clients such as Neighborly, CVS, Home Depot, ADP, and FASTSIGNS. For more information on FranchiseFilming’s VIP Subscription Model with no travel fees, no scripts and videos in just 10 days, visit www.franchisefilming.com.
This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur
