3 THINGS THAT MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE WHEN CREATING YOUR PROMO

You might be new to making video for arts marketing and want to know some easy tips on what to think about when starting to put together your first video promo — Or you might be a seasoned marketer who has made tons of videos, but is searching for simple ways to make them more effective.

With so much more need for video across social media — it’s easy to get lost in thinking about the important messages you are trying to convey to your audiences, and how to make them clear. Here are three things that could make a big difference in creating a clear idea for your next video promo.

#1 CREATE YOUR OWN TOOLS (DON'T RELY ON THE ASSETS YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN)

You might be up against the same common challenges that many arts marketers face when it comes to obtaining assets for the shows you are presenting. Many times, you are limited in your thinking when it comes to what you can create with the assets you’ve been given — which is really working backwards!

The trick here, is to not make your video choices based on your limitations, but instead to focus on what you’d like to accomplish. You don’t first find the tools you need to build a house and then build it; you design the house and THEN find the tools to build it!

For example, Can your message be created with bold text and color instead of with show B-roll? Can you show images of your venue that will help audiences feel comfortable with a purchase? The idea of this tip, is to try to think outside of the box when you don’t have all the obvious tools.

#2 HAVE A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION

You may only have one opportunity to get people’s eyes on your video — so you don’t want to jumble so many ideas into it causing them to either click away, or not know what to do after they’ve watched.

Think about what you want the viewer to do exactly after watching the video. What steps should they take when it’s over? Click on a link? Visit the box office? Spread the word? Fill out a form to get more information? The call to action is your chance to make it clear what you’d like for them to do next!

This is also a good time to think about how long any information the audience is seeing is visible as well — is the URL in a font that is readable? Is it up long enough for people to read and remember? Keep the call to action as simple and clear as possible, so that viewers will know exactly what to do and where to go after watching.

#3 SHOW WHAT THE AUDIENCE MIGHT FEEL (VS. WHAT THEY MIGHT SEE)

Sometimes using visuals of sets and costumes to entice someone to see a show is a bit like showing someone a picture of eggs and a bag of flour and promising them what they will actually get is a delicious chocolate cake. This requires them to fill in the blanks — the ingredients are there, but it doesn’t come together to reveal its’ magic.

One might think that the best way to communicate the value of a production is to show a video of what’s happening on stage — but sometimes the video of a production misses the most valuable selling point.

The truth is, what your audience finds valuable is actually NOT what’s happening on stage — because the real magic of theatre is what’s happening in the MINDS of the audience. This makes it pretty hard to show audiences what they’re getting — so instead, we need to think about how to sell the FEELING that will occur when the audience experiences the performance. Sell the taste of the cake — not the ingredients!

These are just a few tips you can think about when it comes to creating your perfect promo video.