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📹 Video Marketing - For local, small cottage bakeries.

In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 217 - Video Marketing for Local Small Bakeries, Corrie wanted to talk about the wild world of Reels. Well, Reels, TikToks, YouTube Shorts - you know, vertical video. A topic made all the more important by Meta's announcement last week that all videos uploaded to the Facebook platform would now be categorized as Reels, thus shutting the door on horizontal videos (* Lives are still Lives, though).

It's what's in right now, and as small businesses who want to increase reach, we gotta bite the proverbial bullet and say cheese (trust me, I hate it too).

🎞️ 1. Start with the setup

The setup will make or break your quality, but pro-tip: it won't be perfect when you're just getting started. Don't let that stop you! The old adage was right when it stated, "Practice makes perfect." So yes, you may be tripping out of the gate, but the long-term benefits of Nike's "Just Do It" will make the juice worth the squeeze. 

Products Recs from this Podcast:

• 🔗 Tripod - Canvas Lamp
• 🔗 Dummy Phone - iPhone 13
• 🔗 Editing App - InShot
• 🔗 Backdrop - The Backers Co in White Matte Finish
• 🔗 Teleprompter - Search Amazon for one that fits your setup

You'll want to find a natural indirect light source - this means the sun, but in a bright room where the sun isn't creating harsh shadows. If you can't get out of the sun because of the positioning of your house, using a silk curtain can diffuse the light enough to make it work.

📐 Most bakers struggle with the positioning of the tripod in relation to the cookie. Don't be afraid to position the camera at an angle - if you pay attention, you'll find most decorating videos are not directly overhead, although Corrie tells ya how to make it work with the Canvas Lamp (heads up - she does not use the lamp's light ring, just the phone mount).

🎞️ 2. Types of videos to record

Once you get your setup dialed in, you may be tempted to become a one-dimensional "cookie decorating video ASMR" content machine, but ya gotta mix it up. 🔑 This is the key point to the podcast - small, local businesses need to feature local content. 

Consider who is watching your videos. ASMR-type decorating videos appeal to a wide audience - 🌎 like, "the whole world" wide. Not the goal if we want to increase our local customer base, but good for impressions (the number of eyes that watch your videos). When we feature hyper-local businesses, farmers markets, and event coverage, we appeal really just to our local demographic. That's the goal.

🪣 Here are some content buckets you could pull from to make a diverse content strategy that covers both broad and narrow targeting:

• 🎬 Read customer testimonials and give order details
• 🎬 Local event coverage - farmer's markets, new restaurant opening, town events
• 🎬 Tell a story or series - "I'm on my journey to open a brick and mortar - I'm taking you with me!"
• 🎬 Behind the scenes - "I have an order for 30 dz. Let's do it together."
• 🎬 Presale QVC-style video - "Here's what you'll find at my pop-up next week."
• 🎬 Baking Tips - "Here's how to make Royal Icing at home!"
• 🎬 ASMR-type decorating vids

🎞️ 3. Things to include for extra reach

Finally, try to include these when recording - it'll help your audience better relate and discover your content. And the more people who see your content, the more likely the algos are to show your content to more people = the endless cog in the marketing wheel.