The 3 Videos Every Brand Needs, with Tim Bradley

Unlock video marketing success with strategies from an award-winning producer!

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of video marketing with Tim Bradley, founder of Pennant Video and a multiple Telly Award winner. Discover the critical components of successful video marketing campaigns that not only engage but also convert followers into customers.

Tim shares his journey from being a kid with a VHS camcorder to working as a video producer and ultimately founding his own video production company. Learn about Tim's 'Video Marketing Trifecta'—Anthem videos, Explainer videos, and Endorsement videos—designed to boost your brand's visibility and trust. 

The episode also includes practical advice on building relationships, structuring content, and the importance of visibility as a key component of content strategy. Perfect for business owners, marketers, and content creators looking to enhance their video marketing efforts.

Thanks for listening! Do you have a comment or question about a topic or episode? I'd love to hear that. Feel free to contact me via Instagram or the Contact Us page, and check out our merch for content creators.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Video Marketing
• 0:32 Meet Tim Bradley: Video Marketing Expert
• 3:55 The Birth of Pennant Video
• 11:07 The Video Marketing Trifecta
• 20:23 Maximizing the Impact of Video Content
• 26:57 Balancing Content Creation and Visibility
• 34:38 Engaging with Communities and Mentors
• 37:49 Final Thoughts and Continuous Improvement

Transcript

[00:00:00] Tim K: Video content can be one of the most effective and engaging tools we have in our digital marketing toolbox. But to get the most from video content, video marketing campaigns need to be structured in the right way. Because without the right strategy in place, videos that fail to engage or convert just become part of the noise. And we all know your business and the world does not need more of that.

[00:00:22] So in today's video, we're gonna talk about what a video marketing campaign that converts followers and sales looks like, and it's a lot more than good cinematography, although that's part of it. And my guest today, Tim Bradley, is the perfect person to talk to about this.

[00:00:36] Tim is the founder of Pennant Video, the winner of multiple silver and bronze medals at the prestigious Telly awards. He's got more than 15 years of experience in video marketing. And you can see some examples of the cool work they've done with clients like Phillips, Revolution Cooking, and Legit Security from the 2025 winners list of the Telly awards. I'll add a link to the description so you can check these out because there's some great examples of cinematography, directing, motion graphics and music that you'll wanna see.

[00:01:06] But before you get to that, in this episode, we're gonna talk about Tim's career as a video producer; the three videos he says every brand needs, which he calls the video marketing trifecta; and a little bit about LinkedIn growth, where Tim has accumulated over 6,000 followers, which is not too shabby at all.

[00:01:22] And if you stick around to the end, I'm gonna tell you about three ways I think that we can strengthen what, in my experience, is the weakest part of the video marketing trifecta for brands and creators.

[00:01:32] So if that sounds good, sit back and relax and let's get into it.

[00:01:36] 

[00:01:40] Tim K: Hey Tim, welcome to the show.

[00:01:42] Tim B: Hey, thanks for having me.

[00:01:43] Tim K: I was really, interested in hearing a little bit, about how you got started in the industry.

[00:01:49] Tim B: Yeah. The long version is growing up my dad had, this VHS, like big clunky camcorder thing for 

[00:01:56] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:01:56] Tim B: Home videos of me and my brothers and birthday parties and things like that. As we grew older, he allowed us to use it. 

[00:02:03] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:02:03] Tim B: have, fun in the backyard using our imagination, reenacting famous movies and things. We'd also do stop motion animation stuff with Legos. So it just was like hindsight, kind of an entry into just like the, the sort of spirit of creativity, and craft, and exploration and all that, right? So I think that was pretty foundational.

[00:02:24] Couple chapters later went to school for communications and that was, at a radio program and worked at the school paper, and we would do community programming, things like that.

[00:02:35] After college did the classic thing of, opened my first credit card and dropped thousands of dollars on a camera and a MacBook pro. Be immersed in the doing, right? That sort of DIY nature to start was just like, I was living in Lake Tahoe at the time, so it was a lot of, outdoors and action type of thing you just put yourself out there and into the elements and you had to learn on the fly.

[00:02:57] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:02:58] Tim B: Found a really tight group of creatives to be around and, that community is always such a good support system Point being was I learned shoot, how to produce, like how to coordinate people and logistics, and set expectations, and things like that.

[00:03:12] Then when I moved back to Massachusetts, found this role for video production specialist.

[00:03:18] So it was, a burgeoning, public relations company that wanted to start offering video and creative, and so was at that agency for 12 years and it was an amazing experience. This was 2011 when I started there and YouTube was a couple years old known as the platform for cat videos, that this sort of early evolution through adoption, rampant adoption, really, of video marketing, digital marketing, right? Such a breeding grounds, for me as that sort of intrapreneur within this agency to help produce lots and lots of different types of content for brands and of every shape, size, discipline industry, right?

[00:03:54] Tim K: Nice.

[00:03:55] Tim B: All of that led me to, was it part pandemic, part becoming a father, time will tell, but it was this moment of really looking for a better sense of focus and the impact that our work can and should be doing on behalf of people that brands that are really trying to make, for a better world, so to speak. 

[00:04:11] Tim K: Oh, it's a lot. there'd be interesting to, explore. Like, one thing, I was, wanting to ask is when you first graduated, and you're in Lake Tahoe, were you, immediately creating videos for other people? Were you doing it yourself as a passion project? There are a lot of, students in our programs who are kind of at that stage.

[00:04:30] Thinking about how do I get my, career launched 

[00:04:33] Tim B: Yeah.

[00:04:34] Tim K: Build my portfolio.

[00:04:35] Tim B: I mean it's so hard to encourage people to invest in equipment and

[00:04:40] tech that's always changing.

[00:04:42] But just to have a couple tools that are yours that you can really

[00:04:46] focus on exposure, white balance, depth of field, focus, framing, and movement.

[00:04:51] All the things that come with cinematography, right? 

[00:04:53] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:04:53] Tim B: Really hard to teach that stuff if you don't have the tools yourself. 

[00:04:57] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:04:57] Tim B: I was in debt to myself the credit cards, it was like, I couldn't see any other path

[00:05:02] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:05:03] Tim B: there was that aspect of letting the passion breed and foster in and of itself,

[00:05:07] Tim K: Yep.

[00:05:08] Tim B: But there was also a sense of community sort of to empower that, right? A lot of those friends that I made during that short sort of four-year part of my life are now like peers, collaborators, like other creative founders 

[00:05:20] each other. So there's this culture that, you really have to put yourself out there in both ways, like in the doing and in the showing up for others.

[00:05:28] Tim K: Yeah. and one thing I realized, when I got my first camera at that time was that Touching the camera every day was really important having access to it and not renting it or needing to borrow it from someone, that does make a huge difference, especially when you're first developing those skills. You can read about stuff online and get a general sense of what you're supposed to do, but you only, have a deeper understanding once you're doing it, and there's so many little things, of course, that aren't part of the theory you learn.

[00:05:56] Tim B: Yeah. And those are called mistakes, right?

[00:05:58] Tim K: Right?

[00:05:59] Tim B: I always say this to early career folk 'cause you were actually going to make every single mistake in the book.

[00:06:04] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:06:04] Tim B: all of these mistakes. it's inevitable. The best thing you can do is make all of them as fast as possible.

[00:06:10] That sort of gives you that 10,000 hours and the of experience. 

[00:06:13] Again, that hindsight of.

[00:06:14] just diving in the DIY, I learned so many mistakes so 

[00:06:17] Tim K: Mm-hmm. 

[00:06:18] Tim B: was great, now I have an edge.

[00:06:19] Tim K: And then when you landed the industry role, what do you think was key in helping you get your foot in the door?

[00:06:26] Tim B: The funny part is that I applied for the role. I knew it was between me and another person who now I'm very friendly with. Neither of us got the role. the CEO was like, actually we're

[00:06:36] Tim K: Okay.

[00:06:37] Tim B: And like, oh, that's too bad. But I was already, editing

[00:06:39] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:06:40] Tim B: programming shows. 

[00:06:41] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:06:41] Tim B: Everyone was concerned for me, at 24, 25. I got a call, someone out of the blue like a couple months later and like VP over there was like, Hey, so that guy, he's not really working out.

[00:06:54] Your resume on file.

[00:06:56] you want to give a go at this? I'm like, yeah, definitely, because I was largely miserable that other job. And so it was like just sort of, serendipitous. I feel grateful in hindsight that they could explore. What they don't want, 

[00:07:08] Tim K: Right.

[00:07:09] Tim B: And so then I could come in as a sort of young whipper snapper, trying to make a name for myself that energy I think just helped

[00:07:16] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:07:17] Tim B: get that thing going, 

[00:07:17] Tim K: It's a great example of how, you should never close a door and just keep in touch. The more you, make these industry contacts, keep in touch with all those people because they might not have something today, but you never know what's gonna happen, six months a year down the road.

[00:07:30] Even longer sometimes.

[00:07:32] Tim B: And now as an employer myself, I take those words respectfully, when

[00:07:36] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:07:36] Tim B: I'm gonna keep your resume on file. 'cause

[00:07:38] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:07:38] Tim B: that experience 

[00:07:39] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:07:40] Tim B: be part of the bad job cycle. 

[00:07:41] Tim K: You got into creating, what was your goal when you first launched your business? You're talking about impact?

[00:07:46] Tim B: So Pennant, when I founded that, 

[00:07:48] for a bit more selfish reasons and one for longer-term

[00:07:52] Tim K: It's like that with the best business models.

[00:07:54] Tim B: Of course.

[00:07:54] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:07:55] Tim B: So the shortest through line on the selfish one was like, there's some days you wake up and look in the mirror and I am leading a robust team.

[00:08:03] sizable book of business I'm responsible for, A large part of the marketing,

[00:08:08] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:08:09] Tim B: The client relationships have been like, I've owned them. I'm helping build this team, like all parts of a business except for being responsible for the p and l and 

[00:08:18] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:08:19] Tim B: Also doing a lot of the sharing of invoices and things like

[00:08:21] As much clarity as I thought I had. once you've become an entrepreneur yourself, but that was like, part of the reason was like, I have to bet on myself, the more complex part of it was well, what is this business?

[00:08:33] back in 2011 when it Was barely a thing, digital video, the DSLR had just come to

[00:08:39] Tim K: Right?

[00:08:39] Tim B: There was this early adoption thing that had to happen.

[00:08:42] especially in most B2B marketing and 

[00:08:44] brands have started to invest in video 'cause it is the preferred medium everywhere.

[00:08:49] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:08:50] Tim B: They started investing in people, they started investing in teams.

[00:08:53] Or they'd have a small team 

[00:08:54] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:08:55] Tim B: It could be animators and writers and producers, or whatever the case may be. We love working with those types of brands because we know that those internal teams are taking care of the steady drumbeat of communication, right?

[00:09:07] Care of the event coverage, the recruiting and needs. The sort of thought leadership, the, you know, the sort of CEO messaging.

[00:09:14] A podcast or the episodic content, right?

[00:09:16] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:09:17] Tim B: internal communications. There's so much of that really considered until working at an agency and we produced

[00:09:22] internal messaging work for these brands, right?

[00:09:24] And so for that reason, these brands. have adopted the mentality of we have to produce video. 

[00:09:30] Tim K: Right.

[00:09:31] Tim B: The challenge is those teams are strapped for bandwidth, for time, or even just creative experience or knowhow. You know, like they're

[00:09:39] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:09:39] Tim B: into a very specific work. The pressures of sales, marketing, recruiting, all sorts of stakeholders

[00:09:47] Tim K: Right.

[00:09:47] Tim B: The four walls, right? Then on the other end is working with, an ad agency to produce work, to support their awareness.

[00:09:55] The fact is that awareness is like big investments in big campaigns and these big moments in time, right?

[00:10:01] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:10:02] Tim B: But in B2B business where I'm largely focused these sales cycles are like nine to 12 months. 

[00:10:09] Tim K: Right.

[00:10:10] Tim B: Drumbeat of all sorts of smaller activities. And then the big awareness, there's this

[00:10:15] in the middle, right? This is really where trust is earned and built and

[00:10:20] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:10:20] Tim B: belief are formed, right?

[00:10:22] And so for me and for starting Pennant, this was like a thing we recognized.

[00:10:25] Evolution of how teams are or how brands were building teams and how agents, like ad agencies, are working, but this gap that we could help close. And so for us, we came to market and we continue to use this framework,

[00:10:38] The Marketing Trifecta.

[00:10:39] And it's really just a framework to help build

[00:10:42] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:10:43] Tim B: buyer's journey for their buyers 

[00:10:46] Tim K: Right.

[00:10:47] Tim B: their audiences, right? In a thoughtful way that ultimately answers the age old questions of why, what and how,

[00:10:55] And we do that through three specific types of tools or videos, which I can explain if you want. But ultimately the goal is to help them differentiate, and validate their offering, to empower decision making really.

[00:11:07] Tim K: It sounds like we're, getting into the video marketing Trifecta. 

[00:11:11] Tim B: Yep.

[00:11:11] Tim K: I think it's a great insight because so much of, what we see in video marketing is focused on that awareness piece, but as many brands and creators discover,

[00:11:22] it's not just about capturing awareness, it's about what do you do with the awareness once you have it.

[00:11:27] Tim B: Yep.

[00:11:28] Tim K: maybe that's a good segue to talk about what you're doing with at a high level, what is the Video Marketing Trifecta.

[00:11:33] Tim B: It's that framework, That answers those, But in, practice or in deliverables framing, they are Anthem videos, Explainer videos and Endorsement videos.

[00:11:44] Tim K: Okay.

[00:11:45] Tim B: customer stories. 

[00:11:46] Tim K: Yeah. 

[00:11:46] each of those Great.

[00:11:47] Tim B: The Anthem videos, again, they're that expression of why, 

[00:11:51] Tim K: Mm-hmm. 

[00:11:52] Tim B: you exist, why your audience should care, why you're different from your competition, right? These are like the upper edge of that mid funnel to top funnel, right? 

[00:12:03] Tim K: Right.

[00:12:03] Tim B: I describe it is like. Okay.

[00:12:05] your agency or your SEO, your banner, or whatever mechanics you have for top funnel, you've finally sold that click and someone's landed on your home page. 

[00:12:15] Tim K: Right?

[00:12:15] Tim B: This should be that really punchy,60-second,

[00:12:20] manifesto or mission type of piece,

[00:12:23] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:12:24] Tim B: that speaks to the hearts of this audience. And so it's less we as brand, it's about you

[00:12:28] Tim K: Yes.

[00:12:29] Tim B: as prospect, right? And so those are really, amazing tools to have because they're like flagship asset, or kinda like blue chip asset, that can be used. 

[00:12:38] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:12:39] Tim B: 24/7 sales person, which is your website, but

[00:12:42] In events, and sales kickoffs, one on small group sales situations, at trade shows, employee onboarding, this rallying cry you're trying to build for, and on behalf of this brand. Those are really popular for all of those reasons. And it's really that first impression counts type of thing

[00:12:58] Tim K: Yes.

[00:12:59] Tim B: Now, the Explainer videos, speak more to the minds, right?

[00:13:03] The mind of the audience. So it's what you do and how you do it.

[00:13:07] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:13:07] Tim B: But you're not trying to just turn over a PowerPoint into a video. You gotta make it driven by story and have pain point solution, resolution type of situations, right?

[00:13:16] It's like center of the target you can get with this, it's often not a single explainer. usually several of them that are respective to the situation or category,

[00:13:25] really empowers the sales team inside this brand too. 'cause great, I have this quiver of tools here

[00:13:30] Tim K: Yes.

[00:13:31] Tim B: Those are the sort of most popular for all of those reasons. Like you have a product or a new, solution you're putting to market.

[00:13:36] having that Explainer not only helps the audience understand, but also the internal teams and stakeholders are like, all right, what is this new thing? All that's great. of course, that validation, that third party, by your customers, those endorsements from customers, tremendous weight and value in the consideration phase, right?

[00:13:54] Tim K: Right.

[00:13:55] Tim B: the sort of bottom of the middle where it's like, all rightabout to convert here, right?

[00:13:59] Tim K: Right.

[00:13:59] Having a library of customer stories is really supportive for all the same reasons as those Explainers, right? Right.

[00:14:05] Tim B: The industry cross-section, or the pain section, or the size and scale of the business, right?

[00:14:10] Having a number of those is really helpful for those sales teams to

[00:14:13] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:14:14] Tim B: So now you've built this journey over that 9, 12 months,

[00:14:17] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:14:18] Tim B: like good touch points in building that sense of trust and belief in curiosity turns into decision making, which is the whole framework.

[00:14:25] Tim K: I love the way you explain that. It's so clear about how it connects from that first contact down to, really understanding, will this help me? And then helping, the buyer make that final decision about, yes, this is the tool for me because I've seen it work for other people who are like me in my same situation.

[00:14:43] Tim B: Yeah.

[00:14:44] Tim K: Maybe start with the Anthem story. How do you help them orient it more towards something that people will care more about, which is how it will help them?

[00:14:55] Tim B: Absolutely..

[00:14:55] that's why it's so challenging for internal creative teams to produce this work, is because

[00:15:01] they're just way too close to the subject matter. Close to the internal sort of desires and politics that are

[00:15:07] inherent in any business.

[00:15:08] And that's just the nature of it. So to work with an external partner.

[00:15:11] It allows the internal team to be as objective as possible to make sure that you are creating this work on behalf of the audience, right? If any point you feel like this is speaking too much to me, you're probably doing it wrong.

[00:15:24] to the audience, you know, and it's like, yeah, of course there's 

[00:15:27] this sort of.

[00:15:28] thin line there. I would say some of quick tells are like, if you try to just take your brand narrative or your brand and just make it an Anthem video, a good intention of a start.

[00:15:40] But that's certainly not enough,

[00:15:41] because it's too much.

[00:15:43] we are we do that in there and it's all this needs to be flipped.

[00:15:46] Tim K: Narrate the mission statement, 

[00:15:47] Tim B: So I think a lot of people, for whatever, for all, I'll tell all reasons. That's their sort of oh, I just translate this to this.

[00:15:54] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:15:54] Tim B: Okay, that's a starting point, right? For us,

[00:15:57] It's like the, that sort of you want this process in the beginning of like, talking to this,

[00:16:01] Tim K: Yeah. 

[00:16:02] Tim B: messaging house, and like tone of voice, and their ICPs, and their, where their channels are. Like all of that is really helpful jumping off point. Then we like to talk to the brand marketer, explain what the logo and color palette 

[00:16:15] identity is meant to express. So it's great, we have the sort of like side of the story for the brand, But then we like to talk to a head of sales type of person or head of customer advocacy,customer marketing, To really understand the desires of these buyers and like why are they showing up in the first place? What are the most pain points that they're trying to resolve as professionals or as a business. Who have they helped in this way?

[00:16:38] So really pretty immersed, and there's even times when we can talk to customers too, and that's always super beneficial to, the creative development process.

[00:16:46] And this is, for us, it's like we have a team of writers creative directors art directors producers, and we scale on production, motion, design, animation, editing, and sound design, music composition. So there's so many different 

[00:16:58] creative things, which is like why we do this. Because it's oh, we get

[00:17:01] to explore and then make a decision and go down the path and create it. And so for that, it's a lot of milestones and guidance of, expectation setting along the way. and for us, it's kind of like an eight, 10 week process.

[00:17:14] It's very deliberate in this sort of process. And that's what I like about it, is the business owner, instead of every channel for every type of customer, for every type of content, every shape, size, length, anything.

[00:17:26] this is very clear and therefore the process is reasonably consistent, 

[00:17:30] Tim K: Yeah..

[00:17:31] Tim B: And that's really helpful for everybody's sense of clarity. 'cause

[00:17:34] putting this work into action having to work on the brand's behalf is actually the whole point. So the closer and tighter we can make this bookend everybody can execute on, the program, and get it to market right.

[00:17:47] Tim K: You must run into a lot of cases where there's multiple customer avatars or lack of clarity about what the main avatar actually is how do you deal with that on the creative side?

[00:17:58] Tim B: Yeah, it's a good one. And we love to play devil's advocate when the time is right, 

[00:18:03] Tim K: yeah.

[00:18:04] Tim B: again, it's really easy to lose the. forest for the trees or trees for the forest, whatever way you want to put it when you're the brand, where it's no, this is how it is.

[00:18:12] And it's you're probably not wrong, but I'm sure you're not totally right. 

[00:18:16] carry the onus of the project so that they can be as true to 

[00:18:18] as objective as they can be and be. reactive to the moment because that's what video is supposed to do, is like ideally spur a reaction, an action. And so that's the goal.

[00:18:28] Tim K: Yeah. And so you get the customer interested. they've identified this as a product that can help them. We get into Explainers. I think a lot of content creators and, brands have a decent understanding of Explainers 'cause they're like tutorial videos. You're talking about their product.

[00:18:44] But I think the other stage they struggle with in many cases is, the customer testimonials and how you get, how do you acquire authentic testimonials, of your product. 'Cause a lot of people aren't necessarily interested, right? They're like I got the product and it helped me. Thanks.

[00:19:01] Tim B: And for better and worse, a lot of them, come in all shapes and sizes, I think the pandemic sort of supported like everyone has become comfortable talking to the little green dot on their computer.

[00:19:12] Tim K: Right.

[00:19:13] Tim B: to another person. So therefore there's a lot of, remote tools for capturing and recording testimonials and part of the reason why we call them endorsements is 'cause like not in this way, answer a couple fluffy questions.

[00:19:26] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:19:27] Tim B: It's like, no, we want to tell a story here and be Cinematic as possible. Not for the sake of it, but to tell a rich story.

[00:19:33] And the reason for that is that if you're a prospective buyer and you have these two types of options here of work to watch to help with your decision making and validation.

[00:19:45] Tim K: Right.

[00:19:45] Tim B: The amount of care that's put behind each of these is largely night and day. if you put yourself in the buyer's shoes, care is the thing. You wanna make sure you're being taken care of. 

[00:19:55] Tim K: Right.

[00:19:56] Tim B: And so when you have these two against each other, like these two options 

[00:19:59] one is the sort of remote, 

[00:20:01] Tim K: right.

[00:20:01] Tim B: great.

[00:20:02] the other is a bit more robust and tells story challenges and pain and opportunities in future state. And you're immersed in their space and you get a sense of culture and their personality, and their ecosystem, like the stark difference

[00:20:16] care, by comparison, is very clear.

[00:20:19] Tim K: So important

[00:20:20] Tim B: Super important. It's this moment of trust decision making. The other sort of healthy byproduct the camp that we're in, included with Explainers and Anthems and the whole Trifecta at large, is that, yes, you're investing as a brand, as a marketer, you're investing in these singular,

[00:20:37] these singular tools help support your marketing and sales, 

[00:20:40] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:20:40] Tim B: And buyer's journey. You also have an incredible ripple effect across all of your digital, right, in the visuals, in the library that you've just amassed, right? Whether you're doing motion design and animation. It's like all those assets can be put across decks, sales decks, onboarding decks, any social media, emails. You can create animated gifs. We've had brands use our art to create trade show booths.

[00:21:05] it just has a huge ripple effect a brand identity standpoint. Similarly the customer stories, the endorsements, It's gonna get a small mountain of footage outta this, including a robust interview that you're trying to squish down to, a punchy 90 seconds,

[00:21:20] Tim K: Right?

[00:21:20] Tim B: for this singular video, yes.

[00:21:22] You can get cut downs in 15 seconds, 30 seconds, whatever sound bites to support the social machine, which is like table stakes nowadays, right?

[00:21:30] Could also use that transcript to do written cases. You can put them throughout all of your collateral. You can use multiple stories and reedit, compilations or montages for industry sets or, types or pain point solutions sets. 

[00:21:44] And so that investment in the library and ecosystem for your brand, really separates you.

[00:21:50] Especially now with stock video galore, but AI and video generation, right? 

[00:21:56] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:21:56] Tim B: It's like another whole animal that's creating this gray across the ecosystem, right? to be unique, and on par, and on brand, to your visuals is really important right now.

[00:22:08] Tim K: Hugely valuable for the brands. How do you incentivize the, customer that's giving the testimonial?

[00:22:14] Tim B: Yeah. So it's usually a couple, couple stakeholders involved there, like of course, the person you're trying to feature, right? So

[00:22:20] Right now we're working with a client of ours, we're in the midst of producing three global customer stories for, including their clients.

[00:22:30] And a lot of it's about, the amount of data

[00:22:33] Tim K: Right.

[00:22:33] Tim B: making that can come out of that situation. And so right now, this brand that we're working with, they, our client's client, they're in, fraud prevention, really like emotionally impactful situation. And so we know, of course we want to, create a hero. Like, 

[00:22:49] Tim K: Right.

[00:22:50] Tim B: This person, could make them the hero in this instance. So it's really simple from a relationship standpoint, right? It's usually, you know, you have, the customer marketing person, the marketing, the sales person or whoever, the customer, success person, like our clients purview has the relationship, right?

[00:23:07] And so the ask is a comfort thing, but usually they're willing to say yes, especially, if you know the persona type where they're like is good for my career to put myself out there. 

[00:23:17] Tim K: Exactly.

[00:23:18] Tim B: Then there's usually some layers of complexity from there.

[00:23:21] There's some sort of legal, some sort of marketing or comms or public relations.

[00:23:25] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:23:25] Tim B: The more you can involve them early, the better

[00:23:28] like your program and your project will be because it's

[00:23:31] not hey, we're coming in, this is what we're gonna do. It's more Hey, we want to tell your story and this is about your goals and how we're empowering that 

[00:23:38] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:23:39] Tim B: is through the resolution of this pain we've solved for you. This is really about you all and your situation to really ring true, like authentic.

[00:23:47] So getting those marketing teams, and the PR teams and legal by, 

[00:23:51] extension.

[00:23:52] involved early is really helpful.

[00:23:54] The other side of that is yeah, of course we're like investing in a

[00:23:59] brand, or investing in you, with robust, production value. And you're gonna get some really amazing imagery out of this. We're gonna put you up on the pedestal, put you out, in all sorts of media relations types of situations.

[00:24:10] We're gonna create all sorts of content that lives on, on,

[00:24:13] our website, and beyond, and all that's really good for your traffic, We can also give you a b-roll package. So like

[00:24:18] all the footage, the best footage of your site and team and, and, drone, or whatever it is we got going on in the production standpoint.

[00:24:25] Of course they're gonna say yes. Now I can use my content creation, and my media relations, and things like that.

[00:24:31] So people recognize the power, the opportunity in investing in quality video, right? So it eventually becomes a no brainer, right?

[00:24:40] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:24:41] Tim B: That's always it. But when we're working with a brand that aspires to do what I'm describing but hasn't done it yet, it's a little hard 'cause you don't have an example, right?

[00:24:49] It's, you have an example like,

[00:24:50] Tim K: Yes.

[00:24:51] Tim B: like this for you, and immediately like light bulb goes off.

[00:24:54] Tim K: Yeah. 

[00:24:54] Tim B: So what I encourage is if you've already produced and written case studies, those are great ones

[00:25:00] to go to the well for, 'cause. you can be like, oh, this was a good story,

[00:25:03] we have good rapport with them. Basically, you just approach 'em, be like, Hey, remember how we did this last time? Now

[00:25:07] in the medium of video.

[00:25:08] And so that's usually the quickest way to turn it around.

[00:25:11] But you have to respect and appreciate that these folks are gonna take time outta their workday to do this on your behalf. So there has to be a good experience. 

[00:25:19] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:25:20] Tim B: You're really white gloving the day. Making sure it's worth their time. Because then otherwise yeah, like they'll probably be like, yeah, sure, I'll jump on soon, but ... 

[00:25:28] Tim K: Yeah. 

[00:25:28] Tim B: for 10 minutes. And it's yeah, but that doesn't like actually help in the long run.

[00:25:32] Tim K: Yeah. Yeah. No, that's a great, explanation I think sometimes, brands, they can struggle with like, how do I get my customers to come on board with this? 'Cause, they are busy and it's like, they're my customer, and now I'm gonna ask for something from them.

[00:25:47] so to set it up in a way that, it's really mutually beneficial and to show the person giving the testimonial, what they'll get out of it too. Like in terms of profile, in terms of strengthening the strategic partnership with the company. I think those are all, great starting points for approaching prospects.

[00:26:05] and I think, content creators that even work as individuals struggle with this sometimes too. You know, 'cause you have a relationship with a customer, you don't necessarily want to impose upon them. But then I think it's shifting that thinking. It's not necessarily imposing upon them. You can offer them something in value.

[00:26:22] Tim B: Yeah,

[00:26:22] We've had situations where we'll be like, oh, and if there's anything you want to capture on camera, like sentiment or otherwise, we can do that and just give you the clip.

[00:26:30] Or you need a new headshot.

[00:26:32] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:26:32] Tim B: What are these little bits that you can add to the production,

[00:26:36] Tim K: Yeah. And your business is B2B sales. There's a longer time horizon to that, as you were saying. But what are some of the other differences when you think about what you're doing, and then what, a content creator might be doing in their efforts to attract customers and bring them through that journey, like in a B2C kind of situation?

[00:26:56] Tim B: I love that. I'll equate it to what I do for my own business and

[00:27:01] Tim K: Okay.

[00:27:01] Tim B: So it's like we, we as a culture, my team, had this mental switch early that was less like, how do we fill our content calendar? 'cause, I don't know about you, but that can just feel like exhausting, 

[00:27:15] Tim K: For sure.

[00:27:16] Tim B: How do I show up? You know, like authentically, day in and day out on these channels, on all of the channels. a full-time job in and of itself.

[00:27:23] Tim K: Absolutely.

[00:27:24] Tim B: There are social media marketers in that way, right?

[00:27:27] Tim K: Exactly.

[00:27:28] Tim B: But for that, the solution we found is turn it from content strategy to visibility strategy.

[00:27:35] How do I wanna be received? 

[00:27:37] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:27:38] Tim B: How can I best resonate with 

[00:27:39] the people that either I'm closest with on the collaboration front 

[00:27:42] prospective buyers, right? And

[00:27:44] there's a lot of power of three in our business, but 

[00:27:46] Tim K: yeah.

[00:27:46] Tim B: What are these pillars, themes that as an individual on our team, so for me it's like founder entrepreneurship, video marketing, at large, and then

[00:27:56] Tim K: Right?

[00:27:57] Tim B: of catchall bucket that's a bit fatherhood or

[00:28:00] things I'm seeing in the sort of industry, it's a little bit of a catchall, right?

[00:28:04] Tim K: Personal relatability kind of stuff. 

[00:28:06] Tim B: So that has helped me show up and focus, honestly, going on podcasts and things like this is a perfect example. I can take the materials, the talking points from this, the transcript and help more readily write and conceive posts. We have an amazing, creative director, writer on our team that

[00:28:25] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:28:26] Tim B: I would encourage you to consider who's that confidant, that person that can give a quick glance at some of these posts. For example, I had one, preparing to put out where it was like, I started with a, you statement, you this. And the sort of caution I got was like, well, that can sound a bit like you're coming across very brash. So, it's like those notes that you're too much in your own head.

[00:28:47] Tim K: That's right.

[00:28:48] Tim B: So, anyway, It's like that decision of it's not about content, it's about visibility. It's about showing up at the best way that I can with

[00:28:56] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:28:57] Tim B: Finding the moments throughout my week, just going about my business, like talking to prospects, 

[00:29:01] Tim K: Exactly.

[00:29:02] Tim B: to my team, preparing for production. And it's are those little moments that are either hinge points, or a bit of gold, from a story perspective? 

[00:29:10] Tim K: Absolutely.

[00:29:11] Tim B: First draft, have someone proofread it for me, then I have a pretty good backlog or a queue rather

[00:29:17] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:29:18] Tim B: ready to go. I'll also encourage and it's tough, it's content creators especially, you got TikTok and you've got Instagram and you've

[00:29:25] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:29:26] Tim B: and you've got YouTube, and it's a lot of everything, right? 

[00:29:29] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:29:29] Tim B: I only do LinkedIn and It's made it so much more clear,

[00:29:33] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:29:33] Tim B: Is where my buyers are too. So I think that's the like, where are the people that are gonna buy from me.

[00:29:38] Tim K: Yes.

[00:29:40] Tim B: Where are they at the most? Largely just focus there. Like you could do the other things if you have the sporadic time or energy or you, like maybe you have this queue and you're like, cool, I'll batch, like port it over to another channel. But, like just really, hone in on one because then you can see your calendar a bit more robustly and if I can show up, whatever, two, three times a week, each of these pillars that best represent business and what my buyers need, then I think that's a success.

[00:30:07] Tim K: Yeah, I went through, three phases, with that. I started out mainly focusing on Instagram and then I kind of realized, hey, there's all these other channels out there. I tried to post everywhere. I can't keep up with this. And also realizing it's not effective, right?

[00:30:21] Because it's partly the content you put out, but you also have to engage with people on that platform. 

[00:30:27] Tim B: You're absolutely right.

[00:30:28] Tim K: The nuances of it. so then I've kind of gone back to like, okay, I'm, succeeding the best on Instagram. I should probably focus on that. And then, you know, YouTube and the podcast are part of it. They at least connect with it.

[00:30:40] Tim B: They kind of like feed the other.

[00:30:40] Tim K: Yeah, exactly.

[00:30:41] Tim B: The strategy is always worth revisiting,

[00:30:44] Tim K: Speaking of LinkedIn,you've done well in building up an audience there. And you talked about platform focus. What do you think are some of the other, success factors you've had in working with that platform?

[00:30:55] Tim B: I think, showing up and engaging, right?

[00:30:57] Consistent. 

[00:30:58] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:30:59] Tim B: can apply to any platform, right? 

[00:31:01] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:31:01] Tim B: consistent, like 

[00:31:02] Tim K: Yes.

[00:31:03] Tim B: shouting out others, like joiningcommunities that are extensions of that. So I'm in like a B2B SaaS marketing community Am I the most active participant in it? do I share things? No, but it's a great way for me to see the challenges that my buyers are up against and there's an in-person networking aspect

[00:31:20] Tim K: Right.

[00:31:21] Tim B: I'm attending a pretty robust event that it's

[00:31:23] Tim K: Yeah,

[00:31:23] Tim B: in September. showing up in person is way more impactful in the short term 

[00:31:28] Tim K: for sure.

[00:31:29] Tim B: gotta plan and mentally sort of, 

[00:31:31] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:31:31] Tim B: like emotionally, keep the ambition for that. 

[00:31:34] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:31:35] Tim B: consistent on the one channel and engaging and, 

[00:31:38] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:31:39] Tim B: It is. Networking, and then. Showing up at in-person events and community gatherings. And then just the sort of habit building that I have formed of cool, I just wanna

[00:31:47] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:31:47] Tim B: show up with these pillars two or three times a week.

[00:31:50] Tim K: Yep.

[00:31:50] Tim B: on a Friday,

[00:31:51] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:31:51] Tim B: chunk out a couple hours.

[00:31:53] and that really helps build

[00:31:54] a queue.

[00:31:55] Tim K: Yeah. And I think, what you're saying in terms of depth of relationships is important, not just quantity. A weird thing happens when you start focusing more on the depth, that you actually get more quantity from that

[00:32:08] Tim B: Yep.

[00:32:08] Tim K: as opposed to I think that's another mistake I often see is trying to maximize reach on a platform, but not paying attention to the depth of any relationships you're building there.

[00:32:19] Tim B: Yeah. it is

[00:32:21] Tim K: an endlessly leaky bucket that you'll never really fill.

[00:32:24] Tim B: that's a good analogy. 

[00:32:25] Tim K: Yeah,

[00:32:26] Tim B: it can feel like a hamster wheel, 

[00:32:27] Tim K: yeah.

[00:32:28] Tim B: I've come to the resolution that I don't need to show up five days a week.

[00:32:31] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:32:31] Tim B: days a week. 

[00:32:32] Tim K: Yeah. I like what you said about Documenting what you're doing as you're doing it, that can be, launch points for content. That can be the content itself. But I totally get what you're saying about like, you still don't wanna do even that all the time. sometimes I just wanna focus on doing what I need to do and I don't need to make content about it. I think it's trying to find that balance,

[00:32:52] Tim B: I,

[00:32:53] Tim K: is tricky.

[00:32:54] Tim B: People talk about the rollercoaster, right? 

[00:32:56] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:32:56] Tim B: But I also see it as. A pendulum, right? Where it's like you don't wanna live in a way that you're just violently swinging from side to side. 'cause you just can't, find a better sense of center.

[00:33:07] That you're gonna get the, 

[00:33:09] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:33:10] Tim B: like the things you're trying to build towards 

[00:33:12] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:33:12] Tim B: From a process standpoint for us, we have operations jams as a team, assure that we're building towards the right systems internally that we wanna do.

[00:33:19] Tim K: Right.

[00:33:19] Tim B: have content jams every other week so everyone can show up with ideas and we

[00:33:23] Tim K: That's great.

[00:33:24] Tim B: that to, 

[00:33:25] Tim K: Mm-hmm.

[00:33:25] Tim B: We have our sales meetings weekly. 

[00:33:27] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:33:28] Tim B: what are the things that can really close? How can we help support?

[00:33:30] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:33:31] Tim B: Close them, but also build for the long term, point towards our North star. So those regularly scheduled things are hugely impactful in the moment. 

[00:33:40] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:33:41] Tim B: be consistent and we may not see it the small moments week over

[00:33:45] Tim K: Right.

[00:33:45] Tim B: it's gonna prove itself.

[00:33:47] Tim K: And you know, what I've found, helpful is being, intentional about when you're gonna create the content. I have the week that is coming up and I'm like, I'm gonna make content, here, here, and here are the opportunities. And then I don't worry about those times in between.

[00:34:02] Tim B: That's that mental break I'm describing, right?

[00:34:04] Tim K: When you're thinking about it every day and you're thinking like, oh, should I create something? it just becomes,

[00:34:10] Tim B: Yeah. 

[00:34:10] Tim K: this low level stress in the background all the time.

[00:34:13] Tim B: That's exactly right. I work with an executive coach, shout out Coach Dave. He describes it as not like the back burner, but 

[00:34:19] and on low 

[00:34:20] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:34:20] Tim B: When you're like, how about we just turn it on at max and then turn it back off for the thing you're trying to cook

[00:34:25] Tim K: That's great.

[00:34:26] Tim B: So I try to think of that too, and.

[00:34:28] Tim K: I love that 

[00:34:28] Tim B: like a lull in showing up. I think that's healthy

[00:34:31] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:34:32] Tim B: Then when you show back up, it's with the right energies

[00:34:34] Tim K: yeah.

[00:34:34] Tim B: You do want to be as consistent as possible, but for the right reasons.

[00:34:37] Tim K: Yeah. And then finding a community is, important too. Like if you have, your own organization, you've got an internal community, but then it's also good to be connected with external communities. And if you're an individual creator, I think it's worth, finding a community if you don't have one.

[00:34:54] Tim B: Those folks, really help you, get a sense of clarity and focus and keep writing your ship back to the

[00:35:00] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:35:01] Tim B: that you want. I really encourage that too, find those mentors, in your life.

[00:35:05] Tim K: Definitely, maybe that's, one, the last things we cover is like, a lot of the, people in my audience, they're interested in video content creation and they might be looking at like, trying to be, start their own agency. what advice would you give to someone starting out?

[00:35:22] Tim B: Look to those you want to be like, 

[00:35:24] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:35:25] Tim B: I have, past college, classmates that have really amazing agencies. And so it's,

[00:35:30] they were the first call because it's like,

[00:35:32] you have a rapport with them. And, his name's Josh in this case, was like, really helpful.

[00:35:35] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:35:36] Tim B: Everything from how to structure the partnership agreement to what is the first three months, six months? what does that look Like very practically I'm immersed in these, creative founder communities, 

[00:35:47] show up in those too. 'Cause you can get so many, impromptu bits and tips of information. And there's round tables that you can show up and ask the dumb question 'cause it's a safe space.

[00:35:57] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:35:57] Tim B: those are great, but you can also find other mentors.

[00:36:00] I have a couple right now that I can just text and be like, Hey do you have five? 

[00:36:03] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:36:04] Tim B: It

[00:36:04] just helps you.

[00:36:05] Tim K: Exactly.

[00:36:05] Tim B: I also have really found a lot of power in, working with that executive coach. Where it's just a month I

[00:36:10] get the spiderweb a bit more like aligned, right. And like make sure we're working

[00:36:15] Tim K: Yeah.

[00:36:16] Tim B: towards those bigger incremental goals. So that's another thing too. That's, an investment, but it's one of the best ones I can have because it just keeps me,a bit more leveled.

[00:36:24] Tim K: Yeah. I've been part of a YouTube community and print on demand community, and found them both very helpful just for those exact reasons. There's people you can reach out to and you just learn so much, even if you're just in the background, 

[00:36:37] seeing the conversations.

[00:36:39] Tim B: I also think you becoming a mentor yourself, like at whatever stage you're at, you can help send,

[00:36:45] like i call it, sending the elevator back down. 

[00:36:47] I learned

[00:36:48] so much, about myself in

[00:36:50] talking to 

[00:36:51] earlier career folks because you get a sense of perspective

[00:36:54] and space that you've look how far I've come type of situation.

[00:36:57] Tim K: Yes.

[00:36:57] Tim B: And that is very invigorating. I wouldn't do it. So much. But every once in a while a real benefit to that mentee. But as a mentor you take a lot away from it too.

[00:37:07] Tim K: Yeah, sometimes makes you think of things, differently. Just seeing it from

[00:37:11] Tim B: Hindsight.

[00:37:12] another perspective. Yep.

[00:37:13] Tim K: That's great. thanks very much for, spending some time, and how do people get in touch with you if they want to learn more about what your company does?

[00:37:20] Tim B: So I'm on LinkedIn, Pennant Video, like you throw in the search bar, you'll find me there. Pennantvideo.com or Pennant Video, both go to our website. Those are the best places. And then on our website, there's like a little popup to throw your email in there, but we also have a un gated piece of content.

[00:37:37] It's called Funnel Focus. It's about a robust, marketing buyer's journey through video. So you're welcome to download that too.

[00:37:44] Tim K: Thank you. Alright, well, thanks Tim. I hope you have a great rest of your day.

[00:37:47] Thanks, you too. Enjoy your weekend. So today's episode I think is a great reminder about the importance of the full marketing funnel, whether we're talking about a video marketing campaign or really any kind of digital marketing. And it's got me thinking about how I'm integrating this with my own businesses, including this podcast and my merch store.

[00:38:06] Like a lot of education based creators, I'm most comfortable creating videos at that top and mid part of the funnel, but not as much at the bottom where the conversions happen. And so like I got all these different. Video offering tips on like photography and video content creation. And then I got my funny YouTube video tips to attract attention.

[00:38:27] But if we think about the video marketing trifecta that Tim outlined, I've got a lot less in terms of anthems and endorsements. In other words, videos pertaining to why you do what you do and whether you're any good at it.

[00:38:41] So one of the things I've done to address this recently is I created this introductory carousel and pinned it to my Instagram page. And it goes through a bit of my history, and how I got into content creation, and how I hope to help other content creators through my content. You know, and that's through sharing content on photography, video content creation, social media strategy, and online business.

[00:39:06] And the other place I've tried to add the Anthem aspect is in the merch store. We, I talk about the vision behind the merch, and I talk about making apparel and accessories as statements of creative identity, specifically designed for content creators, and that the intention is to spark conversations, forge connections, and celebrate the creator spirit.

[00:39:25] So that's coming along. But the other area I need to improve on now is endorsements. And here's three things I'm doing to work on that. And the first is to just be more active in actively soliciting reviews. And so that's my cue to say that if you have feedback about the show, I'd love to hear it in the form of review or comment.

[00:39:42] This can be a great way to help support the show or help me improve in what I'm offering. The second way is through applying the principle of reciprocity. So if you've had a really great collaboration with another creator or a brand, you can ask them for a positive quote for your media kit or for your website.

[00:39:57] So in this example of my media kit here, I've listed some brand collaborations. That I've done, uh, some podcast guests who have been on the show and also a couple of testimonials. Dana from De Hanser and Lauren, one of the publicists I've worked with and the things that, you know, they had to say about what it was like to work with me.

[00:40:16] And I think this is totally legit 'cause it's obvious it's your media kit and you've asked for testimonials from people you've had a good working relationship with. It's actually labeled testimonials right there. And then the third way is using tools like email marketing, customer surveys, or various online applications that help you to collect customer feedback.

[00:40:35] You just have to be careful that you're not incentivizing reviews, but you're just asking for feedback and it's clear that you're soliciting. Both positive and negative feedback, you know, whatever it is. And then also just being very transparent in all these things about why you're collecting the feedback, how you intend to use it, and then when you do use it, disclose where it came from and how it was collected.

[00:40:57] The last point here, when you do get negative feedback, responding to that and using it to improve your service offerings is a great way to build trust. Easier said than done, I know, but it is just such an important part of continuous improvement in business. Speaking of continuous improvement, one of the best things you can do in this area is to conduct periodic audits of different aspects of your business.

[00:41:19] And I've got a great episode here that I did with Grace Clemens, where she did a digital marketing audit of my merch store. There's a lot of value there, so check it out and, uh, I wanna say thanks for watching. Hope you have a great day, and we'll see you in the next video.