What happens when you combine influencer marketing with branded content in a web series format? Some brilliant video marketing, that’s what!
We always like a little friendly competition, which is why when we saw that web development platform Wix had released a new branded web series, we had to follow up last week’s piece on Squarespace’s latest clever ad campaign with a look at what one of their biggest competitors was up to. Without picking favorites, covering them both is a good way to highlight two different video marketing approaches from similar companies in the same industry operating at similar levels. Let’s dive in.
The “Up for Anything” series by Wix follows “bold and inspiring professionals who use Wix to showcase their creativity,” by teaming them up with each other to do crazy things, like hosting a fashion show while skydiving, directing a music video while surfing, or parkouring through an airplane boneyard. In a word, it’s epic.
Check out the first episode here, where YouTube influencer Jesse Wellens teams up with fashion designer Josh Kercher to dive “head first” into the fashion world:
Pretty clever premise, and because of the talent involved, it’s just fun to watch. The best part about it is how Wix teams up two influencers to create content that’s technically independent of the actual series, so we get a behind the scenes look of what a production would look like. Obviously it’s staged for the series itself, but it’s easy to get so wrapped up in the fun of pulling the production off that you can overlook the obvious set-up.
The best part is, these creators actually use Wix for their website designs, and you can go to both Jesse and Josh’s Wix pages to check out the content in question, among whatever else the creators have going on.
Here are the other two videos in the series, featuring Grammy-nominated DJ and producer Steve Aoki teaming up with Hawaii-based video creator Amanda Beenen-Cantor, and extreme video director DevinSuperTramp teaming up with 14-year-old parkour athlete Elise Bickley.
Episode 2:
Episode 3:
Here’s a few quick takeaways you can learn from this video series for your own video marketing efforts.
1. Mix and match video formats to make something new.
We often talk about different types of marketing videos, whether it be a customer testimonial, product video, tips and tricks video or influencer-generated content. What’s brilliant about this series is how they combined some of the different types of video formats in one video.
Wix created a branded series combined an influencer video in a web-series format filmed and edited in a vlog style. You can similarly mix and match different video types to create unique branded videos that are fresh and original.
2. Work with influencers who are creators first.
There’s a misconception that influencer marketing is all about finding models to promote products on Instagram, when really it began with big brands working with talented creators on YouTube to create sponsored videos on their channels. As the trend of influencer marketing has become more mainstream, it can be easy to forget that it’s not just about follower counts, but quality content that really matters.
That’s why it’s cool to see Wix partner creators like Jesse, Amanda, and Devin with talented artists like Josh, Steve, and Elise. In your own marketing efforts, try to seek out creatives to help give their own spin on the content you’re creating. When you let the talent you hire showcase their skills, the quality increases exponentially.
3. When making a branded series, let the content come first.
The brilliant thing about this series is how much it features Wix as a service, without it really being about Wix at all. Wix is more of an auxiliary aspect of the video than a central part of it. In the same way that top brands pay for product placement in big Hollywood movies, branded series can still provide value without having to make the whole series about the brand. In fact, we would argue the series are better when they’re not about the brand at all.
Think about how you can create your own branded series without revolving the idea around your product or company. While it can be tempting to heavily plug yourself, it’s good to take a step back and ask what your target audience actually wants to watch, not just about what you want to sell them.
And if you’re struggling with creative, hire a creative team, whether it be influencer creators or a video production company, to provide their own take. You never know what great ideas someone else might bring to the table!