Today I want to talk about videos on your social media because we are trying our best to get videos to work. Most of my clients find this really overwhelming simply because everything's changed, hasn't it? The businesses I deal with, generally, are the older generation. Yes, I know there are 20-year-olds and people in their late twenties who've got their own businesses, but generally, the ones we deal with as an agency are from an older generation—my age and above, around 35.

We've seen marketing change so much in the last few years, like a massive shift, especially in the past 15 months to two years. What’s going on in social media now is like what happened over the last 20 years in advertising. Putting an advert in the newspaper, writing some copy with a headline and a hook, and an offer—that stuff has been around for years. We still use the same techniques now, but the challenge is that content is now all about vertical video. It's being used more and more on Reels, TikTok, etc., and the copy we once relied on is now becoming part of the video itself.

In a way, to keep it simple, you're writing your copy or script, and that’s turning into your video about the product or service. It sounds easy, but it's not. The amount of time that needs to go into creating these videos is really overwhelming for the people making them. I can attest to this personally. I’m trying to build my personal brand, and although I have a team to help, it’s still hard to find time to think of content, record it, have it edited, and put it out there.

This is something I hear from businesses every single day. But if you’re doing videos and you’ve found one that works, I want to share some techniques on this podcast that will help you create winning videos. If you’ve got a winning video, I’ll also share ways to keep it winning.

The problem is, the days are gone where we could run a winning ad for months or even years. Now, ads fatigue very quickly. I had a call with a client today, in the finance sector, who mentioned that all his ads are suffering from fatigue. Why? It’s because your audience is a lot smaller than you think. Even if Facebook says you’ve got 4 million in your audience, only a fraction might see your ad. Facebook is only going to show your ad to people who are engaged with it, and that might be as few as 10,000 people. So depending on your budget, your frequency can quickly climb, meaning the same people are seeing your ad multiple times in a short period.

From a sales perspective, we want multiple touchpoints, but on these platforms, ad repetition isn’t great. Platforms like Facebook don’t like it when users are annoyed by seeing the same ad too often—they’ll just go somewhere else, like TikTok. So, it’s critical that your content is fresh and relevant.

While I’m talking about video, this also applies to static images. If you’re building your statics in Canva, you can use the same technique I’m about to discuss, and that’s text overlay.

Let me give you an example. I have a client in the skincare industry. They use a video of their product in use, and above the product, they have a text overlay in a white box with black text. The text is the hook, similar to how we used copy in the past.

Because we’re now in a vertical, full-screen format, the traditional copy is harder to see—users won’t click to “see more” unless they’re interested. So, you need to build your ad around getting attention right from the hook, which is often text in a prominent place on the video. For example, my client’s winning hook for the last six weeks has been, “My morning routine in my forties so my skin glows in my fifties.” A 40-year-old woman sees that and thinks, “That’s me. I want glowing skin in my fifties.”

Here are a few more examples of winning hooks:

• “Skincare secrets I wish I knew in my thirties for flawless skin in my fifties.”
• “No more wrinkles: My five-minute routine in my forties for glowing skin.”
• “How I keep my skin glowing in my forties with just these three products.”

You can apply this technique across different sectors. For example, in fitness and wellness:

• “The one workout that keeps me fit and energized in my forties so I can stay active in my fifties.”

In finance:

• “The money habits I’ve developed in my forties to secure financial freedom in my fifties.”

You can adapt these hooks based on your product or service. For instance, in nutrition:

• “What I eat every day for energy, glowing skin, and longevity in my fifties.”

Another trend that’s working well right now is POV (point of view) content. You want to create a connection between the user and the product or service. For example:

• POV finance: “You’re watching your savings grow while your financial plans take you closer to your goals every month.”
• POV nutrition: “You nourish your body with meals that fuel energy and make you feel your best.”
• POV self-care: “You’ve found a self-care routine that keeps your mind calm and focused, no matter what the day brings.”

You can use this technique not only for video but also for static images. It’s about getting the information in front of the user quickly and hooking them in. It only takes a second to read a headline and pull them into the content.

If you start implementing this now, watch what happens on TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms. Notice what hooks you as a consumer, what stops you from scrolling. That’s the strategy working at its best.

If you can get this right, you’ll 10x your ads. You can also apply these techniques to static images. It’s all about presenting your product or service in a way that hooks the user quickly. The more you do that, the more likely you’ll convert followers into buyers.

Thank you for listening, and I’ll see you on the next one.