Hatch Communications
Hatch Communications
Hatch Communications
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Thought Leadership

How Video Content Can Elevate Your PR Strategy

by Matt Vowles

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We all know how important PR is, we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t. The unrelenting challenge is proving that value and importance to your clients. Of course, the best way to do this is to provide them with a solid PR strategy that is effective and gives them, and you, the best chance of securing coverage.

There are a lot of things to consider when developing a PR strategy but one that often gets overlooked is content. It can often come as an afterthought that you need an image or video to go alongside your press release when, in reality, these are equally as important. You wouldn’t try and sell something on Amazon or eBay with just a written description alone and your PR sell-ins should be no different.

A video or set of high quality imagery is the strongest tool you can have to amplify your copy and help you sell in to journalists and the media. It gives them an immediate visual representation of your product, brand, news or event and helps shape the narrative that your press release will then detail them on.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, surely then a video is worth a million?

Video content can ultimately be a deciding factor in whether your sell-in gets picked up or not. High quality imagery is great and ideal for print media, but even these have digital channels and online sites these days where video content is preferred. This gives you a perfect opportunity to get noticed and stand out to the journalist you are pitching to.

You need to ensure that your content is easily accessible for the journalist. Don’t clog their inboxes with huge files and loads of WeTransfer or Dropbox links where they have to search for the content. My recommendation is to host your video on Vimeo or a similar site where you can include just one link for the journalist to click, watch your video and easily download in whatever format or size they require. This link can then be sent in the outreach emails or attached to the Notes to Editor section on your press release.

One consideration for your video content though is to make your branding placement much more subtle within. Journalists are less likely to accept your content if it is covered in logos and on-screen graphics promoting your product. Subtlety is key and you still need to think about who you are pitching to and if your video is going to fall in line with their style and demographics.

When it comes to pitching to broadcast media, they absolutely love video content. Whether it’s B-Roll footage playing in the background of a live broadcast or video content for their website, video is so important. There’s a reason that radio stations are now putting cameras in their studios and that is because they understand the power of video online and the engagement it draws with their audiences. PR is no different and video content needs to be a real consideration from the start.

Having a background in PR has allowed me to set up the Content Team here at Hatch that works hand-in-hand with the team on a daily basis; devising integrated strategies that will give the PR team the best chance of securing coverage for our clients. We love it and as our latest campaign for Nationwide Building Society goes to show, it works as well!

Top Tips

  • Don’t forget about video content and imagery when devising your PR strategy.
  • Make sure your videos aren’t overly branded. Subtle product and brand placement is much more likely to be picked up.
  • Try to host your video somewhere and attach an easy to click link for the journalist to watch, rather than attaching huge files to emails.
  • Consider B-Roll footage when you are pitching to broadcast media.
  • Videos don’t need to cost the earth but make sure they align with the media you are pitching to. Don’t send a shaky video off your Nokia flip phone you’ve had since the early 2000s to Esquire and hope they’ll cover it.

If you’re interested to know how video content can elevate your PR strategy, email us at hello@hatch.group

We all know how important PR is, we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t. The unrelenting challenge is proving that value and importance to your clients. Of course, the best way to do this is to provide them with a solid PR strategy that is effective and gives them, and you, the best chance of securing coverage.

There are a lot of things to consider when developing a PR strategy but one that often gets overlooked is content. It can often come as an afterthought that you need an image or video to go alongside your press release when, in reality, these are equally as important. You wouldn’t try and sell something on Amazon or eBay with just a written description alone and your PR sell-ins should be no different.

A video or set of high quality imagery is the strongest tool you can have to amplify your copy and help you sell in to journalists and the media. It gives them an immediate visual representation of your product, brand, news or event and helps shape the narrative that your press release will then detail them on.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, surely then a video is worth a million?

Video content can ultimately be a deciding factor in whether your sell-in gets picked up or not. High quality imagery is great and ideal for print media, but even these have digital channels and online sites these days where video content is preferred. This gives you a perfect opportunity to get noticed and stand out to the journalist you are pitching to.

You need to ensure that your content is easily accessible for the journalist. Don’t clog their inboxes with huge files and loads of WeTransfer or Dropbox links where they have to search for the content. My recommendation is to host your video on Vimeo or a similar site where you can include just one link for the journalist to click, watch your video and easily download in whatever format or size they require. This link can then be sent in the outreach emails or attached to the Notes to Editor section on your press release.

One consideration for your video content though is to make your branding placement much more subtle within. Journalists are less likely to accept your content if it is covered in logos and on-screen graphics promoting your product. Subtlety is key and you still need to think about who you are pitching to and if your video is going to fall in line with their style and demographics.

When it comes to pitching to broadcast media, they absolutely love video content. Whether it’s B-Roll footage playing in the background of a live broadcast or video content for their website, video is so important. There’s a reason that radio stations are now putting cameras in their studios and that is because they understand the power of video online and the engagement it draws with their audiences. PR is no different and video content needs to be a real consideration from the start.

Having a background in PR has allowed me to set up the Content Team here at Hatch that works hand-in-hand with the team on a daily basis; devising integrated strategies that will give the PR team the best chance of securing coverage for our clients. We love it and as our latest campaign for Nationwide Building Society goes to show, it works as well!

Top Tips

  • Don’t forget about video content and imagery when devising your PR strategy.
  • Make sure your videos aren’t overly branded. Subtle product and brand placement is much more likely to be picked up.
  • Try to host your video somewhere and attach an easy to click link for the journalist to watch, rather than attaching huge files to emails.
  • Consider B-Roll footage when you are pitching to broadcast media.
  • Videos don’t need to cost the earth but make sure they align with the media you are pitching to. Don’t send a shaky video off your Nokia flip phone you’ve had since the early 2000s to Esquire and hope they’ll cover it.

If you’re interested to know how video content can elevate your PR strategy, email us at hello@hatch.group

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