Ready to leverage the power of the sometimes aggravating and impossible moving target of Facebook Video? Great! I’m going to give you a simple formula to get them done.

Video makes all the difference between posts that get engagement on and those that don’t. Most importantly, when running ads, video ads cost less, and allow you to track how many seconds are being watched, and determine who is engaged, and sequence them to other ads.  But that’s the complicated part, that an agency like Dojo Digital Marketing can help you with. Although image posts have their place, video is really the most efficient way to tell your story. The best part is that if you have a blueprint like what I’m going to share with you, it’s actually much easier than you might think to create videos that not only increase your school’s brand awareness, but also will eventually allow you to convert viewers into members.

Believe me, I get your pain. Sometimes it can feel like even though you’ve tried everything, nobody is listening… It’s time to give in to video and view it as a marathon, and not a sprint. You should view video making as building a content library for your future prospects, as well as your current viewers.

What you need:

Get in the habit of making 60-second videos that hook the viewer in 5 seconds with a problem (5 seconds is the average view time of a Facebook video! You MUST get right to the point!), relate to your prospective customers, provide a solution to their problem, and then invite them to engage with you and your program, which will help them overcome their obstacles..

It is statistically proven that 80% of online conversions happen between five and twelve “touches” with your advertising. A touch is just them seeing any kind of advertising you put out there or interactions with your business.  Touch one may be driving by your school and seeing your school’s sign. Touch two may be a brochure in a local sandwich shop. Touch three may be an ad on Facebook, that leads them to the fourth touch, your website. With each touch, they get to know you a little bit better and go from “Cold Audiences” to “Warm Audiences”, ready to trust you to take you up on an offer.

So the trick is to create the video content that inspires them, helps them with a problem they have, and motivates them to want to know more. It really is that simple.

Your videos will look like this:

Note; I mention making 9 videos (3 for each stage) so that you can have different videos to test.  You will eventually pick your “winners” and bench the other 2. Winners you should run ads on.

Awareness Videos:
3 videos that introduce you, your school, your program and/or your staff. So maybe those break down into:

1. Who you are and what inspired you to start your school
2. A peek into one of your busy classes showing someone teaching
3. Sharing about your experience and what you’re passionate about when it comes to martial arts

Engagement Videos:

3 videos that offer valuable tips, advice or tools. So maybe those look like this:

1. 1. How martial arts helps your child build self esteem
   2. How the skills they learn will give them tools when they’re bullied at school
   3. How the program helps kids communicate with adults more effectively

Conversion Videos:

3 videos that invite people to sign up for your trial class, open house, workshop or other program. These are your pitch videos, and come only after you’ve gained their interest and trust with the others. They might look like this:

1. Talk about a promotion you have going on for a free trial class
2. Talk about an event or open house you have coming up and tell them where to RSVP
3. Talk about a free workshop on self defence and let them know how to sign up

Once you test these videos (you can even do simple boosts for 10-15 days in a 10 mile radius of your school and see which get more likes, comments and shares, we are testing engagement anyway), the video sequence works like this; when your prospect watches at least ten seconds of your first video, they will be shown the next one, and so on. Or you could use these videos as retargeting for website visitors, if they engage on your website.  Remember, it usually takes them nine touches for them to take action so the more you can be in your prospects path, the higher your chances to win their business.. Also keep in mind that your ad budget and audience sizes will determine your reach. You may find that you are needing to show (or can only afford to pay) one retargeting video, and have more dedicated “warm audience” campaigns where you target them with the other videos.

The first three videos are building rapport (know). The next three are establishing you and your school as an authority (like). And the last three are inviting them to engage with you, your offers, and your programs (Trust). You want to duplicate online the same relationship building actions you practice in real life. As in dating, meet someone, get to know them, ask them out, date, propose.  You don’t ask someone to marry you on the first date, so don’t ask strangers who never heard of you to give you their money. Build the rapport.

Here’s the 60-second framework we suggest you follow for your videos:

The hook – Introduce a problem: get your viewers interested with a bold statement or statistic, do not introduce yourself yet or you’ll waste time, no logos or graphics.  You have a few seconds to get their attention, 0:00-0:05
“Back to school is around the corner, this is not only a stressful time for parents, but it is extremely stressful for children

Inject pain/pleasure? Introduce fear or pleasure depending on your subject.  Fear: During this delicate time of the year, many kids that start off with the wrong foot can compromise a year of education.  Furthermore, it is in the first weeks of school that kids typically become victims of bullying, or even worse can become victims of predators.

You have the solution – talk about how your martial arts school can  help them overcome that challenge. They need to understand that you have the solution.

“Our (your) Martial Arts school is not just kicks and punches; We also teach children the awareness skills to avoid dangerous situations, and the confidence to confront their peers with …” You get the point, you know this drill better than me after all!

Call to action – For Ads, you want to have a call to action.  There is definitely a benefit in just creating content of value, but in most cases you will want to make sure to tell your viewers to take action,  whether it’s to “click here for more info” or “buy now” or “learn more here” you need a clear call to action (CTA) on every video.

You can make video work for you if you follow this simple formula. Trick is to get started before you’re ready and get yourself out there. We’re not out for perfection, just progress. Do what you tell your students to do every day; do your best and never give up.

PS: Can’t edit video?  Watch the clip below!

Are you a member of Dojo Digital University? It is free with every Website Dojo subscription, and we discuss these very topics on a regular basis!

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