I made this video Tuesday for one of my shops, to promote it on social media as well as YouTube. below I explain how I made the video and, more important, why I made the video.
I took the photos on my iPhone and used promo.com to assemble these, add text and lay music underneath. All up it took less than 10 minutes. I share these details to illustrate how easy it is for anyone to make a video like this.
Now, the why.
This video is important as it is us pitching a narrative for this shop. For decades, the narrative of the local Aussie newsagency has been controlled by others. Today, in 2023, the narrative about our shops is rooted in decades ago. It is out of date. It challenges our relevance. It does not help us.
I wanted to have a crack at recasting the narrative for this one shop in a suburban Westfield centre in the bayside area of Melbourne. While for sure I am biased, I think it’s a good video that does re-cast the narrative for this newsagency, while at the same time making a statement about the channel, calling for others to see us differently and not as others so wrongly and ignorantly pitch us.
I’d love to see more newsagents do this, make videos and other social media content that pitches our businesses with a fresh and relevant to 2023 narrative. Points about lottery jackpots and the major seasons are predictable, expected. The more we play outside of what is expected the better for us, the more we are likely to attract new shoppers to our businesses.
As I noted above, this video took less than 10 minutes all up. There are plenty of platforms you can use to make videos just like this one. While I pay a commercial licence for promo.com, there are others out there that are free.
As for the products I chose to highlight, plenty are made in Australia. In fact, half the air time of the video features Australian made, small business sourced, products.
I want to call out the final frame. This features a pair of colourful stud earrings on a card that says you inspire me. That is a very deliberate choice to pitch that message at the close of the video.
Hopefully all this background is helpful enough that other newsagents create content to recast the narrative of not only their newsagency businesses but the channel more broadly.
But back to the video. In 24 hours it passed 20,000 full views thanks to a nudge through the YouTube ad platform. That’s 20,000 people in the area of Melbourne I targeted who watched the video in maybe the first newsagency pitch they had seen in years.
I appreciate it’s not call to action advertising. It’s not intended to be. As I wrote above, this is about the narrative relating to the Aussie newsagency. We all need to invest in this. It’s far more important than think tank meetings and the like by people who do not have their own capital tied up in this channel.
UPDATE: 26/05 @ 3:11pm. I’m pleased this video has not been played 32,000 times.
UPDATE: 06/06/2023 @ 7:18am. This video has now been viewed more than 102,000 times.
Hi Mark, I really like this video. I could do something like it in my shop because I have many gift items just like you. My shop looks nothing like a newsagent. I don’t know how to make the video. Is there any way you can help me?
Hi Rose I have emailed you with more information on what to do but it starts with photos taken using your phone. Next you choose a free or low cost platform for making the video. I use promo.com. You can also use canvas. You can even use iMovie.
What I found was that starting was the best way to learn when I started making these videos years ago.
If you’re in a marketing group, ask if they would do it for you. I know newsXpress does.
Good luck and let me see how you go. Check your email inbox for my email with more details and tips.
385,000 views now.