The value of a marketing campaign for your Main Street is difficult to overstate: pictures, videos, and stories that shine a little light on the wonders of your town can encourage tourists (and even locals!) to step out and contribute to your community. A well-run campaign can even be a gift that keeps on giving, encouraging people to capture their own experiences and share their time with friends and family who might, in turn, do the same. You don’t need to be a big-name district to make a video that goes viral; you just need to know what you’re doing.
But like the old saying goes, if it were easy, everyone would do it! Managing your limited time and budget and designing a campaign that showcases the year-round magic of your district — or perhaps highlighting a few main events — can be hard for a busy office with limited time and seemingly unlimited demands on it.
Thinking about making the best use of those resources, there are a few things to keep in mind to maximize your impact. Our experience working with businesses, entrepreneurs, schools, and local tourism boards to create marketing and brand campaigns led us to some of the best practices we encourage customers to think about when working on projects. The best projects match the skills of the videographer with the clients’ local knowledge — experience that can make a good campaign into a great one. Whether you’re directing your next campaign in-house or looking to work with professionals, these tips can prepare you to make the most of your project.
Bring your calendar. You might want to get something out next week, but if you know this is a slow time in your neck of the woods, it might be valuable to wait until the busy season to film. If you’re in Fairbanks, Alaska — where hours of sunlight vary drastically month-to-month — ask yourself what you want it to look like when you film. Or if your town is known for its Asparagus Festivals, it may make sense to film during the season. By picking a great time to film, it’s easier to have a great campaign.
Make some introductions. You know the people in your district who can speak about its charm. Small business owners, elected officials, lifelong residents, or dedicated volunteers are often great people to feature in a project. Picking a few spokespeople (whether official or honorary!) can start your project off on the right foot, and help you craft a final product that you know represents the best your community has to offer.
Google yourself. While you might not feel the need to feature it, it’s helpful to know what someone from out of town will learn if they look you up online. A quick search might turn up a movie or a book (Fargo and Osage County, we’re looking at you!) Whether it’s a famous festival or an ignominious claim to fame, it will be part of your online identity for out-of-towners. A well-executed campaign can help you put that feature in the broader context of your town, and keep you from being written off as a one-trick pony.
One size does not fit all. Think about what medium you’re using to share your campaign. A 10-minute video might look great on a website, but it would be hard to use effectively to advertise in social or traditional media. That’s why movies have trailers, and people love highlight reels. An effective campaign will involve still images, short videos, and longer videos, and its release might occur over days, weeks, or months. It’s not a matter of adding more projects to your schedule. It’s a matter of creating the right content, and using that content — whether it’s a series of great images or a 10-second clip from your final product — strategically.
Have an interesting point of view. It’s all about perspective. Think about the best days you’ve had in your district — the sights! the sounds! the food! — and make sure that is how the video looks. If you’re not careful, an art gallery can look like a place where people watch paint dry, and not like the tremendous resource you know it is.
Get futuristic. It can be tempting to focus on your district’s past, since you already know it and it’s easy to show. But keeping an eye on what is modern, or even futuristic, about your town can help it stand out. How does your town stand out today? What sort of programs or business will be coming in the future? By focusing on the new and the novel, you extend the shelf life of your campaign and avoid telling visitors what they probably already know.
Have a budget in mind. Create a budget and discuss with the production team what sights and sounds will resonate most with your audience. A production team can capture those sights and sounds while working within a budget, but knowing what your “must-haves” are can help you direct your money to maximize its impact. Your final product probably won’t be free! But just like new street lamps or wayfinding signage in your downtown, it’s an investment in how people see, enjoy, and talk about your district.
About GAH! Films:
GAH! Films is a full-suite creative and production service helmed by Joseph Sliker and Joseph Wilinski. They’ve helped tourism boards, schools, and entrepreneurs to tell their stories to audiences all over the world. https://www.gahfilms.com/
Editor’s note: In addition to our downloadable video series on the power of Main Street’s potential, we rounded up a few of our favorite Main Street video examples below. Have you recently completed a campaign? Add your video to The Point’s resource library and include any additional tips/best practices that could benefit your fellow members.