Features

Video is a near- essential part of any company’s marketing plans in modern business, but how do you make it work for you? SuperSprings International’s director of marketing, Tom Bateman, explains how the company is successfully creating engaging video content that is giving it access to more customers.

CTW: Right from the start video content has been a central part of your marketing mix as a company – why is it so important?

Tom Bateman: Adam Weisner took on marketing in June 2019 and his primary focus was to hire someone to take on video marketing and social media. This was pre-pandemic when most people hadn’t made that shift. Adam is often ahead of the curve and knew it was a game-changer for our company. So, he hired me in July of ’19 and my single focus was to shoot, edit, and post high-quality video – as much and as often as we could. It became a huge priority for us very quickly because we all know from experience that video is more powerful than an email, or a call, or a blog, or anything else! Videos are shared 1200 per cent more times on social than links and text combined and more than 65 per cent of consumers make a purchase after they’ve seen watched branded video content on social media. One thing Adam taught me quickly was to fail fast. To try new things, to test and learn. This has been the most freeing and effective mindset in the success we’ve had.

CTW: Much of your video content is about stories and people, rather than just being glorified advertisements – is this the key to creating engaging videos?

TB: People are drawn to people. It’s why we watch vlogs, docuseries, click on a thumbnail of a face rather than a product. Adam’s vision from the beginning was to tell stories because that’s what life is made up of and that’s what makes us tick. It just so happens that our suspension is one small part of a bigger story. It’s our honour to tell those stories through video. Our passion is to build a brand and vision that people want to be a part of. We’re seeing that start to happen.

CTW: Has your video content creation helped to engage and grow the SuperSprings International online community?

TB: No question. When Adam and I started creating video and running social media together, we had next to no following. Instagram was at 300 followers and today we’re at 32K. There was no TikTok and again, today we have 30K followers. Then add to that our Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest. Video is king on every single platform. We’ve also built the right team, with Josh Perez, our creative associate, joining us a year ago and driving the growth and social community.

CTW: A lot of companies know they ought to have some video content but aren’t always able to produce stuff of high quality. Do you think it could be counter intuitive? Is it better to only use video if you can produce content of good quality?

TB: I think people hear “high quality” and get nervous. I know I did. But I think all that really means is being thoughtful about your company, your audience, and your vision, picking up a camera and going for it. It’s also no secret that hiring agencies to create video can be expensive and it’s common to pay $25K for a five-minute video. It was always the vision to build an in-house creative team and develop the skills on our team to create video from conception to completion. At the end of the day, the real question is, how much do you want it and are you willing to take the risk?

CTW: What are the three key aspects to making a great marketing video?

TB: Identify your goal, think about your audience, and plan your distribution. For your goal, decide what you’re trying to accomplish, whether it’s brand awareness, sales, education etc. For your audience, create something that you either know your audience needs or have researched what is relevant for them. For your distribution, plan the types of edits, video length, and promotion around the channel, be it YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, or your website. Then hype it up as much as you can for visibility. Above all, take what Adam gifted me with – fail fast, try new things, test and learn.