Halloween Video Ideas So Good They’ll Haunt You

Want to give your audience a treat?

Hallowe’en is coming up (it’ll be here faster than we think!), and the creepy/crazy/awesome holiday is a perfect opportunity to have some fun entertaining your leads and customers.

It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that if they’re entertained, they’re more likely to remember you and engage with your brand. That win is better (okay, almost better) than free candy.

Mmmm…caaaaandy….

Oops…I mean…I digress.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Our brand is too serious to have some off-the-wall Hallowe’en video”, or maybe you’re thinking, “It’s just Hallowe’en, you can’t do anything worth the effort that will have any real impact.” Maybe, you’re just plum (or pumpkin) out of fresh ideas.

Well, Hallowe’en is one of those rare times when brands can be silly, scary, creepy…or whatever. Hallowe’en lets you be whatever you want to be. Your video doesn’t have to be boring, and it certainly can have an impact on your audience. Here are some ideas for a memorable Halloween 2015 video:

Personalized creepiness for each viewer

You know what video viewers eat up faster than a bowl of candy? A personalized experience. Any day of the year, customers want to feel like they’re recognized and understood as the unique person they are, not marketed to as part of a mass group or list.

So give them what they’re ravenous for on Hallowe’en: with a personalized video, you could add into the video details about that specific viewer, like their name or company logo for example. Your customers would be blown away! Put a creepy spin on it (think: “we’re watching you”, “we have what you want”, etc., etc….imagine the possibilities!), and your customers will be freaked out…and even more engaged, watching a story that includes them all the way to the end.

Are you wondering, “Holy crap, I could do something like that for my video?! HOW???!” Well. Either I’m just playing a trick on you, or you’re in for a really bloody awesome treat…to find out, you’ll have to check back soon!

Choose your own spooky adventure

Go even further with your Hallowe’en story by allowing your audience to interact with you and determine how the story progresses. How can you do that? Through multiple players and calls-to-action. Here’s how:

The viewer watches your initial video, which ends with a CTA containing several options (that are actually links). Ask them brand, product, campaign, or story-relevant questions, and provide clickable options that each link to their own video player (What should the character do next? Where should he go? What should he buy/eat/wear/build etc?). When an option is clicked, the linked player plays in the same frame on the page. Then the new player can its own CTA options that link to even more players, giving the viewer a real “choose your own adventure” experience. Who wouldn’t keep watching a video like that? It’s the perfect way to get past audiences’ ridiculously short attention spans.

Share a product or service message

Your awesome, entertaining, or spooky Hallowe’en video doesn’t have to live outside your brand or relevant messaging. There may be a ghoulish slant to your everyday marketing – in the telecommunications industry? Pretty much every horror movie includes a phone that doesn’t work or a phone that rings off the hook with a freaky voice on the other end. In the software indusry? What if a computer was doing something all on its own? That might be exciting and intense for viewers who then learn that it isn’t actually a ghost doing it, it’s just your awesome software that’s programmed to do the work itself. You get the idea.

Check out this video from IKEA that shows how simple and effective this can be.

Or LG’s video that shows how realistic their screens are.

But sometimes it’s fun to just…have fun

Sometimes a special day calls for a light-hearted fun video that acts simply as (very) top-of-funnel, brand awareness content. Audiences love to get inside, behind-the-scenes looks into an organization; it humanizes a brand and can help your viewers relate to you. These types of videos are often shared as well, and while view counts don’t matter in the greater scheme of converting leads to customers, getting your name out there never hurts!

You can create a haunted video that doesn’t necessarily include product messaging, like the one Vidyard released for Hallowe’en last year:

Keep it even simpler, if you want. Film your hallowe’en office party, for example. Videos don’t have to be a big production. After all, Jimmy Kimmel’s audience videos weren’t exactly Hollywood material, but they were a great success for the late night show!

What ideas are you excited to try for your Halloween video? Let us know!

The post Halloween Video Ideas So Good They’ll Haunt You appeared first on Vidyard.

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