What can you learn from best practice? Video and visual-based platforms

Best practice examples can be a source of inspiration and ideas for your own content. Here are some stellar examples of organisations getting it right with video and visual-based digital communication, and three things you can learn from each example.

Click each Youtube link to watch the provided example, and consider the points outlined below.

Example 1: How to do pushups

This video comes from Hybrid Calisthenics, a fitness-focused operation in the USA looking to educate people about fitness as well as sell through their online store.

Three things you can learn from this example:

1. Use the heading and captioning of your video to hook people in. This title – You CAN do pushups, my friend! – speaks directly to the audience.
2. The opening shot isn’t a logo. It’s a person – in fact, it’s the trainer who will guide you through the program. There is instant personal connection there.
3. The use of chapters here gives total control to the viewer. You can skip ahead if you like, and by using chapter breaks you can guide your own journey through the video.

Example 2: Introduction to SmileMate

This video isn’t about awareness and it isn’t about branding. Instead, it visually shows people exactly how they should provide information to help with the dental appointment they’re about to have. This does a number of things: it streamlines the process by which people on-board into the clinic (which saves time at both sides of the equation) and it shows the patient that this is highly professional with great customer service.

Three things you can learn from this example:

1. Videos don’t always have to be promotional. This video is procedural, and it saves time for the business as people are better prepared when they arrive, or when they have their online consultation.
2. Even though this could be perceived as an ‘internal’ video with no promotional impact, it has still been written, storyboarded, filmed and produced professionally. It enhances the reputation because it’s come from this business.
3. It is very directive and specific in terms of how it portrays what the clinic wants from the patient. It’s hard to misinterpret it – and if it is, then it’s short enough for you to watch it more than once.

Example 3: Dolan Auto Group

This company could have simply said ‘we’re closed on Sunday,’ but that would have been a missed opportunity. Instead, they’ve focused on why they’re closed on Sunday and made it about people, which is one of their strengths.

Then they went a step further and got their own staff to supply the footage, to really hammer home the point about them being a people-business first.

Three things you can learn from this example:

1. Don’t tell the world you’re a people-based business, show it. Better still, show it through the eyes of your own staff. They’re people too.
2. This could have been a negative announcement – they’re not open one day a week – but instead, they’ve used this as an opportunity to reinforce one of their key values.
3. Even though this is a corporate announcement, the opening shot is people and it’s a particularly heart-warming shot. This has put the focus straight onto people from the beginning, and they haven’t then fallen into the trap of making it about themselves.

Share your thoughts

How could you adapt one of the strategies you’ve learned about here to improve your own digital content project? Did you notice any other effective strategies in the examples presented? What were they, and why did they stand out to you? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.