9 Video Branding Strategies to Get More Followers Right Now

9 Video Branding Strategies to Get More Followers Right Now

1. Be known for doing one thing insanely well

With so many people accessible online, it's temping for brands and individuals that are creating an online persona to make video content for everyone. But by doing so, you'll be stretching yourself too thin, and sending mixed signals about what your brand is.

That's not going to get you anywhere. 

The best way to retain and build followers is to pick one defining thing, and and create video content that reinforces that message. Be the first place people go for that one thing. 

BRAND STRATEGY EXAMPLE: DOVE

When you think about soap, chances are a number of different brands come to mind. Dove was sick of that, so they decided to rise above with a video campaign that focused on respect and self esteem. 

Their "Real Beauty" video has been seen almost nine million times. Now "soap" is synonymous with Dove.  

9 VIDEO BRANDING STRATEGIES TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS RIGHT NOW

2. Know your strengths

Similar to the previous point, you don't want your content to go all over the place. A common problem new YouTube channel have is that they cover too many topics and may lack focus. But, if you have a clear idea of your brand's key traits, that can keep you on track.

We recommend making a list of your brand's strengths, and then rank your top three. These should be the focus of all the video content you produce.  

So let's take StudioBinder as an example. Our top 3 strengths are: 

1. Great Design
2. Education
3. Innovation

So it doesn't matter if we're launching a new feature....

Or producing a video for Youtube....

...we always make sure that we incorporate great designs and keep an eye on education and innovation.

So how does this apply to you?

Define your top strengths. Think of it as a checklist. Share it with your team. Get everyone on the same page, and make sure it's present in everything you create.

BRAND STRATEGY EXAMPLE: GATORADE

Gatorade was a beverage company interested in the science behind hydration. Who needed to be hydrated the most? Athletes. So the company combined its knowledge of sports, beverage acumen, and hydration science to create a coherent brand. And then they made sure every video they produced reinforced that.

Now Gatorade controls 77% of the sports-drink market.  

9 VIDEO BRANDING STRATEGIES TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS RIGHT NOW

3. Always be promoting

We all know promotion important, but the average tweet disappears in 4 seconds. We live in an era where promotion is a 24/7 job. If you're willing to embrace promotion as a constant, then you can start cutting through the competition.

How?

Plan and promote your clock around the clock. 

That may sound daunting, but there are scheduling tools like HootSuite or Buffer that make it easy for you to schedule your content to go out 7 days a week. Make a recurring notification or reminder in iCal so to get up early to promote your content daily.

Don't be shy about asking your friends and family to retweet and share to get the ball rolling.

9 VIDEO BRANDING STRATEGIES TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS RIGHT NOW

4. Cultivate your page

One of the hardest things about building a video brand is how long it can take. You want instant results but rarely see them. Instead, think about your brand like a garden. You have to plant the seeds and then water them daily. 

It's easy to get edgy or impatient, but you have to let it grow. 

Make a schedule for yourself where you release new content so that your audience always has something to share and like. 

At StudioBinder, we have a useful task manager built into our software. That way, we can plan ahead and assign tasks to different people.   

• HOW CAN I TRACK MY BRAND'S GROWTH?

  
  In an article by Kurt Braget, we learned a simple formula called PILLARS that can help you effectively track your brand's growth over time. 

  THE PILLARS STRATEGY

• Place — Where you'll be posting. Instagram? Facebook? YouTube? 
• Idea — What's the topic of the video? 
• Labor — How long did it take you to create the video? 
• Link — What's the call to action for the audience? 
• Audience — Who are you trying to reach? 
• Result — Did it get views? Shares? Likes?  
• Spend — How much money did it cost to create this project?
• We've created a free PILLARS template so you can track your growth.

9 VIDEO BRANDING STRATEGIES TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS RIGHT NOW

5. Get emotional

We can all agree consumer interaction can be a challenge. It's hard to connect with your customers at first. But if you speak on an emotional level, they'll come back for more. That's a scientific fact! 

Psychologists Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary created something called the "belongingness hypothesis" which states "People have a basic psychological need to feel closely connected to others, and that caring, affectionate bonds from close relationships are a major part of human behavior."

Your goal is to give the followers the support they need from your video series. You and your followers are in a marriage. That takes constant communication. If you like them, you better put a ring on it. 

READ THE COMMENTS

Nothing is worse than negative feedback. But if you're going to build your brand you need to develop a thick skin. You need to be socially engaged on every level. If a lot of people are calling out something that's not working, think about changing it for the better. 

BRAND STRATEGY EXAMPLE: SOUTHWEST AIRLINES 

According to Southwest Airlines' corporate fact sheet, they monitor up to 3,900 flights per day. They use social media to respond to and manage their customers’ questions, delays, concerns, anything and everything. They have over 30+ people that work in their “Listening Center” that carefully analyze and respond to tweets and other social mentions.

9 VIDEO BRANDING STRATEGIES TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS RIGHT NOW

6. Try new things

Once you've mastered the one thing you do well, it can be scary to dip your toe into uncharted territory. You always want to move forward. Falling back is not an option. But you have to be willing to expand with the market.

Switch up your video's style or tone to see if you can tap consumers from another market.  Check out your top competitors. What do they do different than you? What can you emulate? 

Remember those top 3 strengths we covered earlier? What were strengths 4 and 5 on that list? How would you communicate that through a new branded video campaign.

BRAND STRATEGY EXAMPLE: DOMINOS

When pizza sales were stagnant, Dominos knew they needed a revamp. Instead of hiding their rebranding, they developed short-form video content that zeroed in on why they were changing. This admission let the consumer in on the process and felt fresh. They weren't selling pizza like everyone else, they were selling the people who made the pizzas.

9 VIDEO BRANDING STRATEGIES TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS RIGHT NOW

7. Stay in your lane

I know we just said, "try new things," but there is danger to going too wide and chasing markets that don't relate to your brand message. You could overextend and fall on your face! Still, if you keep focused and make sure you embrace what your audience loves, you'll have no problems.

There's always room to try new things, but make sure you're making calculated decisions about what you try.

Don't try to jump on a bandwagon. Stay in your lane. Do what you do best.     

BRAND STRATEGY EXAMPLE: PEPSI

PepsiCo is one of the largest manufacturers in the world. Pepsi's brand was known for sexy or funny commercials, but when it wanted to quickly jump on the "social consciousness" bandwagon with its "Peaceful Protest" ad spot featuring Kendall Jenner all hell broke loose. There was a ton of backlash. 

Pepsi is no stranger to innovative ads, but it strayed too far away from their brand identity, and had to work to clean up the negative attention. 

9 VIDEO BRANDING STRATEGIES TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS RIGHT NOW

8. Work with influencers

When you're making video content you can feel like you're on an island. It's hard to find people who simultaneously identify with your struggles and also aren't your competition. But when you find some allies, you can work in tandem and find new customers along the way.  

The best way to attract new followers is to do a crossover with a video-maker whose audience you want to lure. Do your research. Make a list of influencers that align with your audience, and reach out to them. You may be surprised by how open influencers are to collaboration. Chances are they did the same thing with someone else when they were coming up.

Plus, this will help your brand positioning.

9 VIDEO BRANDING STRATEGIES TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS RIGHT NOW

9. Hang in there

The uphill climb while breaking your video content is a marathon. There are going to be plenty of moments where you might want to quit. If you keep climbing, even a little at a time, you'll eventually hit an inflection point.

A lot of it boils down to working hard until you catch a lucky break. If you make great content on a recurring basis, you'll eventually get discovered. People will retweet it, and you're off to the races.

You can't really plan for those moments, so you can do is buckle down and keep working on your craft until it happens.

Up next

161 Creative YouTube Video Ideas to Try

Now that you know all about video branding strategies, you'll need to start coming up with video ideas. We know there's a lot of different directions you can go, but don't worry.

We have 150 Creative YouTube Video Ideas for you to try out. Check them out and think about how you can weave them into your brand strategy.

And when you're done, drop us a line. We can't wait to watch them. 

Up Next: 161 Creative YouTube Video Ideas to Try →