Module 9 - Reusing the assets you already have from Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

We have been through storyboarding and scripting, and colleagues cover more on filming elsewhere, but one thing worth mentioning, especially for clients without a massive budget, though it applies to bigger budgets too, is that YouTube does not have to be Steven Spielberg. You can repurpose video content from other social channels. Many clients run testimonials as Facebook ads, and those testimonials can work brilliantly inside a YouTube ad, in fact we often do exactly that. Take a pair of walking boots as an example: four or five testimonials of real people talking about the product could slot straight into that script, and I would thoroughly recommend using testimonials in YouTube ads, because they give people a real sense of what something is actually like. The same goes for product demonstrations you may have done on Facebook, or even something more creative like drone footage. The point is you have probably already got a lot of usable material, so when you look at the script, check what footage you already have and rejig the script around it rather than starting from nothing.

Look at your current assets on the social platforms you already use. Some people even work in a few stills, though I would not particularly recommend that, unless it genuinely fits the story, such as a moment about meeting up with relatives or going walking with mates, where a still picture or two can work. There are lots of creative ways to use existing material, so always look at what you have got and think about how it could be used. Your first ads might just be built from existing footage with a few new top and tail clips filmed to bookend it, and once you get more familiar with testing and have more budget to play with, you can reshoot sections, bring in someone better at camera work, or move to a stronger production company if the budget allows. Start with what you have if you can, and do not be overly critical, YouTube is genuinely forgiving in many respects. People respond to authentic content, and a lot of what you have already filmed for Facebook will likely already be authentic, since it was made for a social platform in the first place, so it can work really well. Get creative with it.