If your goal with finding creative video ideas is to show your expert know-how and increase your authority in your niche, it’s extremely important that the video content you create is what your ideal client wants to watch.
Not what you want to teach them.
Not what you think they want to know.
You must create content that they have explicitly said they want to see.
Want to learn how to find these insights?
Read on because in this post I’m sharing 6 ways to find creative video ideas that will appeal to your ideal client, to grow your audience and connect with your community.
Before we jump into that, let’s talk about what the goal of your video content should be: educating your audience.
6 Ways to Find Creative Video Ideas
I’m a big believer that the best type of content marketing focuses on answering questions your audience is asking, in relation to your niche.
What this means is, for the most part, you shouldn’t be talking about your love life, your travel adventures, or what you did last weekend unless it is in some way addressing a concern or point of confusion your ideal client is dealing with.
Caveat: If you’ve already amassed a large following, then go ahead and talk about whatever you want.
The tip above is aimed more at new content creators, or creators who are finding their content isn’t connecting with their ideal clients. If this is the case, you should work towards building up the “trust” factor in your business by consistently providing valuable content that will help your ideal client solve a problem.
Let’s work through this post with an imaginary small business, Bijoux Photography. They are a high-end wedding photography agency based in Paris, France and we will use the tips below to help them find some video content ideas to market to their ideal clients.
If You Have an Existing Audience
1. Survey Your Audience
If you have an existing audience, finding out what they want to know is simple: ask them! There are various ways to do this but the most popular way is by using surveys, which you can create on Google Docs, or ask them directly using the poll feature on Instagram.
You can also use websites like Typeform to create your survey.
It’s important to ask open-ended questions. Asking yes/no questions is limiting, and doesn’t give them space to really go in detail.
For Bijoux Photography, they would get much better information (and ideas) by asking…
“What is your number one question about posing for engagement shoots?”
Instead of “Do you want to learn about how to pose for engagement shoots?”
The second question will only get a Yes or No, but the first question will get them answers that are really specific about the challenges potential clients are facing when it comes posing. They can then use the answers to this question to craft an editorial calendar and answer those questions on video.
Not getting as many survey participants as you’d like?
Sweeten the deal (and get more responses), by throwing in a free gift for anyone who fills in the survey (such as a 10% discount code if they book within 30 days) or enter them into a giveaway with a killer prize that would attract your ideal client (like a free 30 minute engagement session that comes with 10 digital photo files).
2. Review what’s proved popular on your blog or social media channels
Another way to get content ideas is to look at your blog posts and review which ones get the most traffic and engagement. These posts are popular for a reason, they’ve connected most with your audience and it’s likely that this content would do well if converted into video format.
Using a blog post as the starting means, you’ve already got the content of the video figured out (although make sure the info is up to date!).
No blog? Look at your other posts (on FB, IG or Twitter).
Which posts gained the most engagement? List them out, then review. What can be turned into video content that would be relevant to your ideal client?
For example, if Bijoux Photography got a lot of traction on a Facebook post sharing one of their favourite spots to take engagement photos, they could create a video all about the top 10 places to do an engagement shoot in Paris.
GRAB YOUR FREE VIDEO PREP GUIDE HERE via La Chispa Studio.
3. Check your emails and DMs, what are people always asking you?
Make a list of the questions you’ve been asked in emails, comments on social media post, or on DMs. Then, evaluate whether they are relevant to your niche and ideal clients and if so, create a video on that topic.
For example, Bijoux Photography made a list of questions they’ve been asked and noticed that they were often about how they decide to price their packages. While this question is relevant to their niche, it’s not really relevant to their ideal client. This question is most likely coming from someone who is interested in becoming a wedding photographer, not hiring one for an event.
On the flip side, if they’re noticing a lot of questions asking why they are priced as they are, this could be a great opportunity to create a video explaining what’s included in their packages, making sure it’s clear to their audience why they’re worth every cent.
If You Don’t Have an Audience Yet
4. Source Facebook groups
At their recent F8 conferences a few weeks ago, Facebook made it clear that they would continue to focus on growing the groups feature on their platform. This is great news for content creators because FB groups are an amazing resource for finding client data-if you choose the right groups to look into.
When looking at Facebook groups to use for market research, it is extremely important that the group you’re sourcing your info from is made up of your ideal clients. If not, any answers you receive from them will not be an accurate reflection of the topics and pain points your ideal client is dealing with.
Let’s go back to our wedding photographer example.
Bijoux Photography has been shooting weddings for years and has crafted a high-level experience, and thus her prices are on the higher end of the scale. It wouldn’t make sense for her to do client research in a group focused on planning a wedding on small budget. Any answers she gets there wouldn’t give her relevant insight into the mindset of her ideal clients because they are approaching wedding planning from two different mindsets.
It would be better to find a Facebook group that contains her ideal clients, even if it’s not wedding related. (For example, a Facebook group around luxury travel.)
After you’ve found a couple of groups filled with your ideal client, it might be tempting to post a link to a survey and call it a day, but
- (1) unless you’re already an active member of the group (or the group is very active in general) you might not get as many replies as you’d like
- (2) that might be against the group’s rules (ALWAYS read the group rules and make sure you follow them!).
So what should you do?
First, use the search function to look at what has already been asked about your niche. Bijoux Photography could search for terms like:
- newly engaged
- wedding photographer
- photographer in Paris
- engagement shoot in Paris
Take note of what comes up, and decide if it’s something you want to address in your videos.
Let’s say Bijoux Photography notices that in the past, members of the group have commented on how hard it’s been to find a wedding photographer in Paris who speaks English. They could make a video about their favourite English speaking photography agencies in Paris (this is an especially good option if Bijoux Photography has English speaking photographers) or a video on 10 French words/phrases you must know when working with a French photographer.
Next, if the groups allows surveys, feel free to do ask them to fill yours in. However, I strongly suggest that before you share the link, provide value in the group by answering questions or giving helpful feedback on others’ post. This helps build some of the “know, like and trust” factor between you and the members in that group. This also shows you’re invested in the group and not just trying to use it for your personal gain by dropping your survey link without ever offering anything in return.
*PRO TIP: I suggest choosing 2-3 groups that you will be consistent in showing up and giving value.
5. Use Google’s Suggestions
Google is an amazing resource for creative video ideas.
Every day, millions of people use the search engine to get answers to their questions, and you can use its data to craft relevant video content for your ideal audience.
To start, in the search bar enter your “how +” your niche or industry.
Then, scroll to the bottom and look through the suggested searches. These searches are the most common, which means they’re the most popular questions or topics people are looking for.
Here are the suggestions for Bijoux Photography:
Evaluate the suggestions, and decide which could make good video content that will attract your ideal client.
The first three aren’t very good because they’re attracting people who want to become wedding photographers.
But wedding photography tips for brides, wedding photography poses, and wedding photography shot list should attract couples looking for a wedding photographer.
6. Competitor and complementary brands to your business
Other brands in your niche are also a great source of content ideas if you know what to look for. There are two types of brands you can use to get content ideas: competitor and complementary brands.
Competitor brands are the businesses that offer the same service as you do. For Bijoux Photography, her competition would be other luxury wedding photographers. Similar to how you would go about doing research on your own blog if you had an audience, research what blog posts are popular on your competitor’s blog. You can use a website like UberSuggest to see which posts are resonating most with their audience.
After you’ve found a few posts, read it and ask yourself how you can make it better. Is the information outdated? Can you add a different spin on the article? If so, that’s a great video idea right there.
In Bijoux Photography’s case, she saw that a few of the most popular post on an NYC-based competitor’s blog was a top 10 listing Amazing Locations for an Engagement shoot in New York City. She can add her own twist by creating a post about the top 10 (or 15, or 20) beautiful locations in Paris to do an engagement shoot.
Important: Do not straight up copy the piece of content! You must add your own spin to the topic, and make it stand out from the other piece.
Another great way to use competitor brands is to have a look at their social media channels, like Instagram or YouTube. Take a look at the comments they’re receiving, and note the questions their followers are asking them. If a question falls into your niche, create a video that will provide an answer to that question.
Bijoux Photography follows a huge wedding photographer on Instagram and notices that many of her followers often ask her about tips for what to wear in an engagement session. She takes note of this and makes a video that answers this question.
Important: Don’t use someone else’s social media comment section to promote your brand. It’s fine to get ideas or learn about your ideal client, but never try to poach a client from a competitor. If you’re doing your job right (creating great, relevant content and promoting it) people will find you.
Complimentary brands are the businesses that work in the same niche as you but don’t offer the same services.
For our wedding photographer, some complimentary business would include wedding planners, florists and wedding venues.
Similar to competitor brands, you can search their comment sections for questions that might make sense for your brand to answer.
In addition, I believe that creating relationships with other business owners is important, so I suggest genuinely putting time and effort into getting to know complimentary brands in your niche.
From a business point of view, having a close network of business contacts in your niche means you can refer clients to each other. From a personal point of view, having a group of friends who understand what you do and the frustrations of being a business owner can help with staying motivated and moving forward.
Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or a newbie to the online business world, finding video content ideas is literally at your fingertips. Do the research, take the time to show the value you and your business can provide, and engage with your audience.
What have been some of your favorite video content you’ve watched from your favorite brands?
Meet Estrella of La Chispa Studio
Estrella is the founder of La Chispa Studio, a video branding and editing studio which helps creative entrepreneurs produce video content to educate and empower their community. Originally from Toronto, Canada, she now calls Madrid, Spain home.
Enjoyed this post? You might like these, too:
How to Incorporate Video Content in your Brand Strategy
How to Plan your Content Strategy for More Visibility
5 Tools to Upgrade your Content Marketing Strategy
How to Prepare your Content Strategy for the New Year
Looking for some help with creating content that connects AND converts? Grab your FREE content-generating machine here!
