Tips from FranchiseFilming Expert Trevor Rappleye
A video can do a crackerjack job of marketing a franchise – so long that it’s a crackerjack video. But all too often, franchisors’ DIY videos miss the mark.
Enter Trevor Rappleye, CEO of FranchiseFilming, and his national team of videographers, editors and storytellers that produces engaging footage for clients. Rappleye began shooting event videos in 2013, and he started FranchiseFilming after seeing a slew of weak, uninspiring franchise development videos at the International Franchise Association Convention in 2019. “Only 5% of the brands I saw even had a video at the booth or on their websites. If they did have video, it was a long, boring video or stock footage,” he says.
Tips for Making an Effective Franchise Development Video
After capturing 500-plus clients’ stories and events since 2013, Rappleye has come up with the following tips for creating effective franchise development videos.
Keep it Short
When it comes to franchise development videos, 60-90 seconds is the sweet spot. 66% of consumers prefer watching a video to reading about a product (Wyzowl). If you want more leads to your franchise of interested, qualified franchise buyers — then video is the answer.
Grab Their Attention Right Away
According to Diode Digital, 60% of site visitors will watch a video if available before reading any text. Rappleye discourages showing your logo in the first five seconds. Instead, he suggests beginning the video with something highly attention-getting that encourages the viewer to stick around. Find a moment of emotion, a blooper, or a happy situation to begin the video – hook them to keep them watching! Naturals2Go is a great example of how they did this!
Avoid Large Venues
Don’t only make these videos at the annual convention or at company headquarters — that’s cutting corners. You’re missing 50% of the reason why people buy into a franchise — to make their life better, to control their destiny and to see their family/friends more. Film these successful franchisees at work or at home with their kids playing in the backyard & around the dinner table. In short, avoid making videos of just your talking heads. An Animoto survey revealed that 80% of consumers say a video showing how a product or service works is important when learning about a company.
Show the Personal Side
Let your franchisees know that filming at their business and home is so important to the story, with the time split 50-50. Show the franchisee’s fulfillment and contentment! This lets viewers see how franchising has improved the owner’s life, given the person control of his or her destiny and provided work-life balance. Capture the franchisee playing with their kids in the backyard and similar snapshots of personal, day-in-the-life experiences. Check out how Franchise Filming told stories with Batteries Plus!
Don’t Use Scripts
Rappleye suggests asking questions to evoke emotion and to illustrate the franchisee’s unique story. Just have a conversation with them! You’ll be surprised by what someone shares when in front of the camera. You want emotion and story here — and that cannot be scripted.
Go Deep
Film everyone you interview for one to two hours. Rappleye recommends having subjects discuss loving their job and fun times with their team. He also suggests following the franchisee home to film him or her with family. You don’t want to just grab a talking head — that’s boring!
Tell a Story
Within a story, have the subject focus on the emotional benefits of being a franchisee — their happiness with the decision to invest in a franchise — and reinforce how the franchisor’s brand is responsible for that happiness. Storytelling is absolutely crucial, Rappleye says. “It’s all we do at FranchiseFilming. If we aren’t telling a story, then we’re just creating a boring video. We create inspiring, unscripted videos that evoke action, make your brand stand out, and cut your sales cycle in half.”
Easing Franchisors’ Pain With a VIP National Membership Model
As you can tell, video creation can be time-consuming: from travel and setup to shooting, editing, posting/duplicating, etc. “The pain point we would always hear is, ‘My videos take months. We don’t have the resources or time, and I hate paying extra fees to videographers,’ ” Rappleye says.
“We solve that. With our ‘no travel fees and handle everything’ VIP Membership Model, which is used by Neighborly, Batteries Plus, Fast Signs, CVS and more, we are built for speed, quality and quick turnaround time. We have full-time editors standing by waiting to edit our videos. We guarantee our clients they receive the first video within 10 business days from the filming day. FranchiseFilming is here to help tell your story and save you the time and resources you need to help your business grow.”
FranchiseFilming videos require minimal time for VIP clients. “All we ask is for a 45-minute onboarding call and a 30-minute monthly call. Only six hours a year — that’s it,” Rappleye says. There’s no need for a franchisor’s team to hit the road, incur expenses for travel and lodging in a franchisee’s city to make a franchise development video. FranchiseFilming first videos are finished within 10 days, saving clients time and guaranteeing a crackerjack result.
If you want to learn more about Franchise Filming, visit FranchiseFilming.com, contact Trevor@FranchiseFilming.com or call 562-583-3456.