Empower local operators: The power of short-form video for multi-location businesses

In today’s dynamic digital landscape, short-form videos have emerged as a potent tool for businesses to captivate audiences, share compelling narratives, and drive engagement. For businesses with local operators like real estate agents or franchisees, harnessing the potential of short-form video for multi-location businesses is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. 

These bite-sized videos offer a powerful way to connect with local communities, showcase unique offerings, and amplify brand presence. 

In this article, we delve into the significance of short-form video for multi-location businesses and provide actionable tips for marketing leadership to empower local operators to create impactful videos that resonate with audiences.

Short-form video for multi-location businesses: A glimpse into the numbers

The numbers paint a vivid picture of short-form video’s influence. On platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, users consume billions of short videos daily. These videos deliver information quickly, entertain effectively, and leave a lasting impact. 

Over 93% of businesses got a new customer because of a video on social media. That’s incredible! 66% of people prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product or service (only 18% said they would rather read an article). As attention spans dwindle and scrolling becomes second nature, the concise and captivating nature of short-form videos makes them a prime candidate for engaging audiences.

Challenges faced by multi-location businesses

While the potential of short-form videos is undeniable, multi-location businesses face unique challenges when it comes to creating impactful videos that align with the brand’s identity and resonate with local audiences. Ensuring consistent branding across diverse locations, providing local operators with accessible video creation tools, crafting content that appeals to local sensibilities — all of these factors require strategic planning and thoughtful execution. The delicate balance between maintaining brand integrity and infusing videos with local flair is a tightrope walk that marketing leadership must skillfully navigate.

In the following sections, we provide actionable tips for marketing leadership to address these challenges and enable local operators to harness the power of short-form videos effectively. From setting the stage with clear brand guidelines to fostering authenticity and collaboration, these strategies pave the way to create impactful short-form video for multi-location businesses that leave a lasting impression on local audiences.

Actionable tips for marketing leadership

Set clear brand guidelines

Consistency is key when it comes to building a strong and recognizable brand. Clear brand guidelines ensure that local operators understand the visual elements, messaging tone, and core values that define your brand. These guidelines act as a roadmap for creating content that aligns with your brand’s identity while allowing for the flexibility required to cater to local nuances.

Marketing leadership plays a pivotal role in effectively communicating these brand guidelines to local operators. It’s crucial to provide accessible resources that detail the do’s and don’ts of your brand’s visual elements, logo usage, color palette, typography, and other essential elements. Make sure these guidelines are easily accessible through a centralized platform or digital resource hub.

Ideas to consider:

• Webinars and workshops: Host webinars or workshops to walk local operators through the brand guidelines. 
• Video tutorials: Create short video tutorials that explain different aspects of your brand guidelines. 
• Templates: Provide templates and assets that local operators can easily incorporate into their short-form videos. 
• Good video examples: Share examples of short-form video for multi-location businesses that successfully incorporate brand guidelines.

Provide accessible tools

User-friendly video creation tools empower local operators to become content creators without the need for advanced technical skills. By providing these tools, you enable them to focus on what they do best – showcasing the unique attributes of their location while adhering to brand guidelines.

Marketing leadership should research and select video creation tools that strike a balance between user-friendliness and functionality. Look for platforms that offer customizable templates, drag-and-drop editing, and intuitive interfaces. These tools should enable local operators to add brand assets, customize video elements, and create engaging short-form video for multi-location businesses with minimal effort.

Examples of user-friendly video creation tools:

Canva: Known for its versatility, Canva offers video editing features that make it easy to create visually appealing short-form video for multi-location businesses. Users can choose from a wide range of templates, add brand elements, and edit videos seamlessly.

Animoto: Animoto specializes in simplifying video creation. With its user-friendly interface, local operators can create videos using customizable templates, add music and text overlays, and create compelling narratives.

InVideo: InVideo offers a library of templates and stock footage, making it an excellent tool for local operators to create professional-looking videos quickly. Its drag-and-drop interface ensures a seamless editing experience.

OpusClip: If you have longer videos already recorded, OpusClip is an AI-powered video creation tool that analyzes footage to identify the most compelling moments. It allows users to easily turn long videos into short shareable clips optimized for social media.

Leveraging Evocalize’s platform for short-form video distribution:

Evocalize’s platform specializes in efficient video distribution across channels like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Although video creation is not currently supported, the platform optimizes corporate videos for local operators to customize and share. This approach maintains brand consistency while infusing content with a local touch, enhancing audience engagement.

Marketing leaders can centralize brand resources, making it easy for operators to add local elements. Instead of uploading a video to each channel, Evocalize’s distinctive strength lies in its multi-channel distribution and optimization. The platform ensures videos reach the right audiences on the right platforms that have the best performance. This makes it easy to enhance engagement and make a big impact.

Craft engaging content

Creating short-form videos that resonate with local audiences while maintaining brand identity is a delicate balance. Marketing leaders can play a pivotal role in empowering local operators to achieve this harmony. Here are some strategies to consider:

• Storytelling: Encourage local operators to tell compelling stories that connect with the community. Stories humanize the brand and create emotional connections, making content memorable. Provide storytelling guidelines and share success stories from other locations to inspire creativity.
• Showcase unique offerings: Highlight the distinct aspects of each location. Whether it’s a special menu item, a community initiative, or a standout employee, showcasing uniqueness helps videos stand out. 
• Local events: Capitalize on local events and celebrations to create timely and relevant content. Leaders can provide a content calendar highlighting upcoming events that align with the brand’s identity. 
• Analyze performance: Track the performance of videos to understand what resonates with local audiences. Share insights with local operators and guide them toward content that garners the best engagement.

Evocalize provides metrics for both local operators and marketing leadership to analyze performance of their short-form video for multi-location businesses. This includes data on engagement rates, click-through rates, shares, and comments. The centralized reporting dashboard makes it easy for marketing leaders to identify top-performing videos and share best practices across locations.

Encouraging authenticity

In the realm of short-form video for multi-location businesses, authenticity reigns supreme. Authentic content resonates deeply with audiences, forging genuine connections that can greatly benefit multi-location businesses. For marketing leadership, fostering an environment that encourages local operators to share authentic stories and experiences is pivotal.

• Authenticity breeds trust: Encourage local operators to showcase behind-the-scenes moments, employee stories, and even challenges overcome. These narratives humanize the brand and create a stronger bond with customers.
• Embrace imperfections: Perfectly polished videos can sometimes feel distant and impersonal. Encourage local operators to embrace imperfections and share candid moments. 
• Testimonials: Encourage local operators to share success stories and customer testimonials that highlight the positive impact of your business on the local community.
• Capturing local flavor: Local operators understand the community better than anyone. Encourage them to highlight local events, traditions, and landmarks in their videos.

Feedback and collaboration

Constructive feedback and open collaboration are the cornerstones of refining short-form video content to align with the brand’s vision. Marketing leadership can play a pivotal role in nurturing a feedback loop that empowers local operators to create impactful videos that resonate with audiences.

Here’s how to foster a culture of feedback and collaboration for short-form video for multi-location businesses:

• Regular check-ins: Schedule regular check-in sessions with local operators to review their video content. These sessions provide an opportunity to discuss their ideas, share insights, and offer guidance for improvement.
• Constructive critique: When providing feedback, focus on the positive aspects of the video first. Acknowledge what’s working well before suggesting improvements. This approach encourages local operators and makes them more receptive to constructive critique.
• Goal-oriented feedback: Frame feedback around the video’s goals and objectives. If the goal is to drive foot traffic, discuss whether the video effectively communicates that message. If it’s about showcasing a unique offering, evaluate how well the video highlights it.
• Encourage experimentation: Create a supportive environment that encourages local operators to experiment with different content styles, formats, and approaches. 
• Share best practices: Share successful video examples from other locations to inspire and guide local operators. Demonstrating real-world success stories can offer tangible benchmarks to strive for.
• Recognize efforts: Celebrate and recognize the efforts of local operators who create impactful videos. Publicly acknowledge their contributions through internal communications, newsletters, or social media posts.

Summary

In an era defined by fleeting attention spans and boundless digital choices, the potential of short-form video for multi-location businesses shines brighter than ever. By embracing these bite-sized visual narratives, local operators, real estate agents, and franchisees can forge stronger connections with their communities, showcase their distinct offerings, and amplify their brand resonance. 

As marketing leadership, you hold the reins to empower local operators with the resources, insights, and tools they need to create impactful short-form videos. By setting the stage with clear brand guidelines, providing accessible creation tools, and encouraging authentic storytelling, you create a fertile ground for local operators to flourish as content creators.

To navigate this exciting landscape even further, consider exploring how Evocalize’s platform can streamline the distribution of your short-form videos across diverse channels.