8 Types of Video That Can Help Your School Stand Out

by John Graden | May 9, 2019 | Offline Marketing & Sales

8 Types of Video That Can Help Your School Stand Out

In case you haven’t noticed, video is huge for marketing. Studies show that 3x as many people will watch a video rather than read the same information.

Since virtually every school website uses the same stock images and promises the same benefits, video is where you can make a strong personal connection that is virtually impossible to do with text and/or images.

Here are eight videos to include on your website and Social Media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, to help grow your martial arts school.

1. Promo Videos
Short videos that are less than 30-seconds for Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Sample Promo

2. School Highlight Videos
Everyone has a video camera with them. Each year, ask your students to submit their best clips to you. Combine those with your own and edit a one-minute highlight video that you can share on social media and your website.

These samples are from many moons ago but they have energy. Imagine a highlight reel for every year of your school’s existence.
Sample 1992
Sample 1988

3. You Teaching
Rather than just advertise your trial program, why not show highlights from an actual class? You don’t have to post the entire class, but edit together a 3-minute series of segments that best convey what your school stands for and how it is delivered.
Sample

4. Testimonials
Shoot these from the chest up. Make sure there is no ambient sound unless you have a lapel mic on the speaker. Then, it works if there is action around the testimonial as long as the audio is strong.

Edit the full video into short sound bites. Let the subject know that they can do a retake if they feel they stumbled. Some people get really nervous in front of the camera.

Here are some questions.
Why did you choose our school?
What improvements have you seen since starting here?
What was the biggest surprise for you once you began training here?
How would you describe our school to someone who was looking for a martial arts school?

Sample USA Karate
Sample Tim McCahan After-School Sports

Here are some tips on creating a good testimonial video.

5. Media Coverage
Every school needs to have a PR strategy to keep you in the news. Media coverage is like an implied endorsement. Have a Media section on your site that is a gallery of your media hits.

You can also take advantage of the powerful, “As Seen On” line. Even if you didn’t get on the news broadcast, maybe your press release got picked up by Fox News Tampa. You can then use the Fox News Tampa logo with a link to your article. This positions you as an expert.

How to Get Major Media Outlets to Run Your Articles

6. FAQ
What are the common questions and concerns people have about joining? Answer them in person via video. This helps create a connection and personalize the experience.

7. Overview of Your Program
Without going into detail, you can create a fast-paced, exciting rundown of your various programs. This helps people to visualize the program in ways that text and images can’t.

8. Your Bio
This can backfire if you go deep into your personal martial arts lineage. Which do you think the average visitor to your website will understand easier? You earned your Shidan or you completed and passed the Martial Arts Teachers Association Instructor Certification Program?
Sample John Graden Bio
Sample John Graden Bio 2
How to Write a Bio

Don’t be afraid to use humor. It never hurts to bring a smile to someone’s face.

Here are more tips to improve your video marketing.

Best Martial Arts School Testimonial Videos

by John Graden | May 1, 2019 | Offline Marketing & Sales

Empower Boxing Testimonial Video

See the Dojo Karate Testimonial Video at the bottom of the page

Smart schools use video testimonials. Why? Because when prospects see everyday people talking about your school, they can relate. Video builds the trust factor much faster than text or imagery. It provides content that is engaging, human, and relatable.

When recruiting students and family members for video testimonials, understand that some will be nervous about going on camera. It helps to let them know that you can start an answer over so they don’t feel they have to be perfect.

A good structure is for the person to describe:

Who they are.
What benefits they were seeking and why.
How your school helped them.

For instance:

“I’m Nancy Smith. I have two boys who are 8 and 10. We were looking for something that they could do that would help them with their self-control. They were getting a little wild. My husband suggested martial arts so we looked around and picked USA Karate. It was a great decision. The boys are much more respectful and disciplined. That’s HUGE for us. Plus, they’re learning how to defend themselves, which I think every parent wants their kids to be safer, so we’re really happy with the program.”

A good question to start with is, “If you were telling a friend about our school, what would you tell them?” A variation might be, “If a friend was thinking of enrolling her kids into an activity, what would tell them about your child’s experience here?”

Shooting

You can use an iPhone to shoot these. Here are some things to remember.

Keep the light behind you, not the subject.
Be aware of backgrounds. You don’t want anything to distract the viewers.
Listen for ambient sounds that the mic may pick up. Air conditioners, cool drink cases, and fans are typical culprits. You hear them so often it just becomes part of the white noise, but that noise can ruin the audio.
Use a lapel mic when possible. You see in these videos, everyone has a lapel mic which is why the sound is so clean.

Editing

While you want to show the subjects face at the beginning after about 5-seconds cut away to “B-roll” video. B-roll is footage that shows and supports what the speaker is describing.

For example, “I’ve lost 20-lbs since I started…” You might cut away to footage of the speaker sweating in class.”

“My child has better concentration and focus…” Cut away to a shot of him or children in general focused on what the instructor is saying.

At the end of the video, cut back to the speaker.

Speed

Since you’ve made it this far, I’ll give you one of my secrets. Increase the speed of the video by 10%. This makes everything faster but not to the point of distraction. It makes the video more engaging, especially when there is only a face to watch on the screen. The Empower Kickboxing video above was sped up by 20%.