Views aren’t customers. Plenty of local businesses have a video take off and get nothing from it, because it was made to entertain strangers, not to help the people who might actually book.
This guide is about the other kind of content: posts your future customers watch, trust and act on.
1. Make it for customers, not for views
Every idea should start with a question: would someone who might buy from us care about this?
A trending dance might get views. A 30-second video explaining why your quote is higher than the cheap guy’s gets you the job.
2. The idea formula
Their painful problem + your way of solving it = the idea
Fill it in a few times and you’ll never run out:
- Leaking shower + how we waterproof properly = “Why your shower leaks again six months later”
- Nervous first-time patients + how we explain everything first = “What actually happens at your first appointment”
- Office lunches that all taste the same + our weekly specials = “This week’s specials, made for a team of 10”
Where to find problems: the questions customers ask on the phone, your Google reviews, the comments under your posts, and the “People also ask” box on Google.
3. The structure: say it, show it, wrap it up
Every good video does three things:
- Say it: the first line tells people exactly what they’ll get. “Three signs your hot water system is about to fail.”
- Show it: you go through it in order, with no detours.
- Wrap it up: you deliver everything you said you would, then give one simple next step.
If the opening line says three signs, the video has three signs. Short-changing people on what you promised costs you more trust than a slow start ever will.
4. Openings that don’t sound like ads
Lead with what the problem will cost them. “Do you have a blocked drain?” is easy to scroll past. “That gurgle in your drain means you’ve got about two weeks” isn’t.
Need more? Grab our 40 Fill-in-the-Blank Hooks.
5. Say something only you would say
If your post could come from any business like yours, it won’t be remembered. Add your opinion, your process, your people and your local details. Use the Stand-Out Worksheet to find them.
6. Follow the numbers, not your gut
How you feel about a post matters less than what people do with it. Once a month, look at which posts were watched to the end, saved and shared. Make more like those and fewer of the rest.
The habit that makes it work
Consistency beats brilliance. One good post a week for a year will do more than ten great posts in a month and then silence.
If keeping that up is the hard part, that’s what our monthly shoots are for. See Social Media or Get Online™.
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