Over a decade ago, one of the mainstays of early YouTube traffic was ‘How To’ videos. Whether it was for assembling a piece of flatpack furniture, creating the perfect brow, building your first website or doing anything that truly tests the limits of human patience, many people chose the shortcut of watching ‘How To’ videos on YouTube. In fact, many of social media’s most recognised and famous influencers started by showing people how to do things – often quite simple – on YouTube and built a loyal audience. In later years, these ‘How To’ videos started to wane in popularity, with influencers taking a more commercial and sponsorship approach to sharing content with their ever-increasing audiences.
Interestingly, the recent pandemic and resulting movement restrictions meant that people had spent more time trying to solve problems at home. The rise in ‘How To’ video searches on YouTube and now other social media channels have ranged from DIY hair colouring to DIY drain unblocking and everything in between! This has led to branded salons posting professional-grade kits to clients and then posting tutorial videos to guide nervous spouses or housemates through touching up roots or tradespeople posting videos to help the DIY-challenged occupants diagnose common problems within their homes and gardens.
Some brands, particularly home decor and gardening companies, have quickly used this opportunity to chat with consumers and help them. In doing so, these brands have effectively built relationships of trust online – which is incredibly difficult – and positioned themselves as the ‘go-to’ brand for that particular product or service.
As Ireland sees the return of pandemic-responsive restrictions this month, people will likely continue to spend more time at home for the foreseeable future. This is likely to increase the time spent browsing, shopping, and looking for solutions to everyday problems online. This will also likely mean more home upgrades and more furniture being delivered. People will be driven to look for solutions through their mobile devices to avoid visiting hardware stores or accessing another in-store customer service.
This opens up a new marketing opportunity for brands to use ‘How To’ videos to educate consumers and their new client base on how to effectively use their product or how to troubleshoot minor issues remotely.
Great examples of this include mechanics giving simple tips to keep your car in good running order throughout this period of reduced use – until it’s time for the next in-garage service! Also, property management companies have been doing this well, showing tenants step-by-step how to resolve minor issues that are common in every home.
If your business or brand needs to reconnect with your audience and perhaps find new ways to add value during these challenging times, let the Lensmen team help you create a video strategy to lift your social media and delight your following.
Founded in 1952, Lensmen is one of Ireland’s most established and accredited press and commercial photography and video production agencies. The Lensmen team also specialise in capturing drone and time-lapse video footage. Contact us at: https://www.lensmen.ie.
