How Media Training Gives Your Video Content The Edge

Today’s digital marketplace gives companies immense control over their content. Anyone can become a broadcaster or publisher. And in 21^st century media terms, that means video. It’s the most shared and commented on social content.

So why do many companies stop short of learning to do this well? Certainly, the old school style of media training has a lot to answer for. I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about clients being door stopped on the way into training and hammered with hard questions throughout.

Thankfully, those days are gone. Yes, journos are still pretty tough, and elements of this strategy still have their place, but today’s media training is a far more nuanced, multi-disciplinary experience.  Or at least it should be.

Effective media training should be tailored to your business, your industry and your capacity to craft content for all your channels, including traditional media.  It also means a lot of work on brand awareness, message delivery and press education should be done on your website, video and social media, not to mention niche industry publications, before you get anywhere near traditional press, which is already reading all of the above and forming views on you. And it should show you how to get your message across your preferred channels.

Case study 1: Getting smart (phone) about strategy

When body building nutrients company Glanbia contacted me last year, the brief was to media train a group of 15 buffed, tanned and beautiful brand ambassadors, each chosen for their enormous social media following.

That these influencers wanted to create amazing video content for social media to promote Glanbia’s nutrients was nothing unusual. The kicker? They wanted to learn how to film it all on their smart phones. In other words, video blog training.

As an ex-TV journalist, I saw it as classic piece to camera training. Either way, the objective was clear. And so, my video creators and I designed a bespoke video media training program for Glanbia that was light on theory, big on practice

Leveraging our television, journalism, PR and content experience, we guided the group to create around 10 recordings each, all without editing and following a practical ‘how to’ format:

1. How to create short and engaging workout videos
2. How to create dietary and cooking tips videos
3. How to film and participate in interviews
4. How to create and deliver messages for all of the above

Case study 2: Tuning the [You] Tube for more traffic

With 80% of internet traffic being video, it makes sense for every business to have a strong YouTube channel. But a YouTube channel or any other media will only work if the content is strong and the person delivering the content reflects audience expectations.

So, when finance start-up Lincoln Indicators asked me to train their market analysts to present stock market education for video, I could see clearly that the solution lay in media training, not presentation skills.

We designed a custom video media training program for the client which gave the analysts the skills they REALLY needed to shine on video, like:

1. How to structure a piece to camera
2. The importance of influential body language and voice
3. Creating and using messages
4. Delivering a great start
5. Creating a video that matters

As you can see, two diverse industries with very specific needs each found their form through media training. I’m a firm believer that this training can be anything the client wants it to be, but with video becoming the daily content of choice for over half the population, video presentation skills are no longer optional, they’re essential for business. And provided your media trainer can accurately read your industry and media needs and tailor the right course, you’ll be well on your way to creating valuable video content people WANT to consume.

Who impresses you in the media? Who do you think has the edge with their video content?

Tell us below in the comments section.

Want to get your staff media-ready?

We provide media training led by experienced journalist Tony Nicholls, who has covered international stories and worked for many of Australia’s major news networks. Find out more about the types of media training we offer here.