Social Ape Marketing is adding video to tell its clients’ stories

If you’ve been on social media at all in recent years, you’ve seen video content explode in popularity. 

Why it’s important: While some social media trends come and go, it’s clear that video is here to stay. 

• For brands, video is an increasingly important tool for connecting with potential customers.

The story: Social Ape Marketing, one of Charlotte’s top marketing and PR firms, recently expanded its service offerings to include videography. We talked to founder and CEO April Smith about the video production process and the results her clients are seeing. 

Editor’s note: Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.

What made you decide to add video services?

The popularity — video is performing really well right now. 

Looking ahead: It’s becoming the preferred medium (over photography).

Do you create platform-specific content, or do you aim to allow cross-posting?

The videos can definitely be repurposed for multiple platforms. 

The strategy: We start out with a four-hour video shoot. From that, we can create enough videos for three months. 

Even better: Those videos are mainly created for Reels and TikTok, but clients can also use them for Instagram stories, social media ads and website placements. 

• An example: This reel that encourages remote workers to set up shop at The People’s Market for a day could also be used for an Instagram story or TikTok.

Walk us through the client experience of leveraging your video services.

First things first: We storyboard what those videos need to look like. 

• In other words: We’ll figure out beforehand what the client wants to accomplish. Maybe it’s brand awareness, or maybe it’s promoting specific products or services. 
• For example, if it’s a restaurant, they may want to highlight specific menu items or upcoming events. 

Next steps: From there, the client doesn’t need to do much — just ensure we have the right products, staff or models. Then, we:

1. Conduct the video shoot. 
2. Edit the videos, which may include audio and text overlay.
3. Send the products to the client for review. 
4. Incorporate any edits from the client. 

The goal: It’s pretty hands-off for the client because we already know their vision. 

What kind of success have you seen with video content?

Increased engagement — video is so much more interactive than photos. It’s also helped with brand awareness by allowing us to better tell the story of our clients’ businesses. 

An example: One of Social Ape’s clients is Hydrate Medical, a hydration and IV therapy clinic. 

• Social Ape made this Reel using footage of Hydrate Medical’s facility and treatments as a backdrop while explaining membership tiers. 

The impact: Instead of just seeing an image of someone getting an IV drip, videos allow potential customers to learn more about the entire process. This can make our clients’ services and products more approachable.

Learn more about how Social Ape Marketing uses innovative practices to tell brands’ stories.

Produced in partnership with Social Ape Marketing.