How Josef Newton Creates Remote Video Content for B2B Companies at Sway
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How Josef Newton Creates Remote Video Content for B2B Companies at Sway
Find out how this video producer creates content remotely
At ease, Captain!
Welcome to a free edition of the Content Captains Newsletter where I answer your questions about creating content, generating traction, and becoming a full-stack content marketer.
Introduction
Josef Newton is a remote video producer based out of the Manchester Area, United Kingdom.
Near the end of 2021, Josef co-founded Sway, a remote video production company that supports B2B companies supercharge their video content strategy, creation, and distribution. When asked about the importance of video content, he said:
Any company can churn out written content. But very few can consistently put out quality video content. And while I’m not saying written content doesn’t build trust…video just adds a whole other dimension and level of connection.
In today’s interview, you’ll learn Sway’s origin story, why video content matters, and how to get started editing your own videos.
1. What’s Sway’s origin story?
Well, it really started way back when I was 16. After leaving high school (16 in the UK), I started freelance podcasting for a handful of B2B SaaS companies.
Creating shows for audiences in social housing, marketing, in-house legal, adtech and a few other spaces. While working on those shows, I started to notice how a lot of the value wasn’t really coming from the shows themselves but instead the short form podcast clips we were distributing across LinkedIn and social. Podcasting was really just a smart and efficient “content vehicle” (still is) to allow B2B companies to create video content at scale.
And that was really the core idea that gave birth to Sway: help B2B companies create quality video content at scale by leveraging alternative production and delivery methods to reduce the traditional cost, friction and complexity that comes along with creating video content.
My co-founder Sergey Ross is the technical genius (and incredibly smart sales wizard) that’s made it all possible for us to be able to actually deliver on the concept remote video production…which was all really just a lofty idea 12 months ago.
2. What’s the main problem you solve regarding video production?
We make it easy for B2B companies to implement, maintain, and leverage video content in their marketing mix.
From the actual video production to identifying distribution channels, we do it all–remotely, no less.
Over the last year, we’ve come to realize video is still such an unknown medium for most B2B companies…and it’s that ‘confusion’ we often see when clients first come to us. That’s why we always focus on teaching our clients how video can fit into their entire marketing funnel.
I’d say a big reason why video programs fail is the lack of connection to the wider marketing and content strategy. Video tends to get created in its own silo, which means its value becomes a little unclear and therefore difficult to tie back to real business results.
A quick fix here: view video as an “amplification tool” to your existing written content strategy i.e. convert your written blog articles, reports, whitepapers and case studies into video versions.
That’s why when you’re in the early days of building out your video program, you need to create a plan that’s not going to make leadership axe it before there’s really been enough time to see results. How come?
Because video can also get very expensive and time consuming. And before you know it (if you’re not careful), you’re three months deep into a ONE video project with $20,000 down the drain and nothing really to show for it.
Leadership will look at that and NEVER want to commit budget to video again.
So my best advice is to start small. Both production budget and timescale wise, and stairstep your way up to a more complex video program. And understand that getting buy-in is going to be a very incremental process.
This is the same advice we implement with our own clients, and it works very well.
3. What benefits can B2B companies expect by using video content? Please share a real-world example.
The core benefit is the deeper level of connection and trust you build with your market and future buyers.
Any company can churn out written content. But very few can consistently put out quality video content. And while I’m not saying written content doesn’t build trust…video just adds a whole other dimension and level of connection.
The way people consume content has fundamentally changed–both at a channel and medium level. People are now spending significantly more time on social media than they are on Google. And spending significantly more time watching video content (on social) than they are reading written content.
Now, that’s not to poo-poo SEO or infer that “written content is dead” but just that behavior around content consumption has changed. You can either fight against it or adapt - your choice.
One of our biggest client wins this year has been for a UK demand gen agency we’ve been working with called Ziggy. Their co-founder, Chrisitan Radley, initially approached us because while he instinctively understood the power of video, he wasn’t sure a) where to start and b) how to turn it into a scalable marketing activity. That’s where Sway came in.
We first helped him get set up with our studio level remote production setup, which is the first critical step in being able to produce video content at any real scale.
Once technically set up, the strategy we implemented was designed to help them build brand awareness and pipeline. Our core approach to do this was by creating a series of weekly short thought leadership clips showcasing the founders expertise and frameworks the agency had developed to help their clients.
While I can’t share exact numbers, since implementing 4-5 months ago it’s helped them win new accounts and demonstrate a high level of expertise to their existing accounts.
4. How did you learn video production?
So, I learnt video production in a very non-traditional way i.e. through video podcasting and kinda completely self-taught, so I’m probably not the best person to answer this question.
But I would say the best way to learn is through a real life project and actually just jumping into the deep end. The barrier to entry has come down so much for video and all that’s now required is an iPhone and a simple editing tool like Capcut.
For example, let’s say I’m working on a talking head YouTube video that’s SEO-oriented.
We’d first start by assessing their highest performing blog articles and look to convert them into videos. Once we’ve chosen the article and understood the topic, we then work with the client to create the script and creative concept for the video.
The key thing with the script is to make sure it doesn’t sound like a robotic re-reading of the blog article…that’s the fastest to kill your viewer retention on the video.
After we’ve got the script, we then roll into production (remote production of course) and editing which is where we’d then also chop it up for LinkedIn/YouTube short form clips.
In short, here’s the five steps I recommend you take if you want to learn video production:
Start with a project in mind, i.e. a 5-minute YouTube video
Work on the script first, this is the pre-production side that’ll help you work smarter
Then choose a editing software program like Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro
Add your video clips to the timeline and begin editing, it may take a long time at first but who cares, you’re trying to learn!
Watch YouTube videos, read articles, and find resources to guide you along the way
You don’t know what you don’t know. Just start. Figure out your gaps as you go. But what I don’t recommend is “learning” about video production too much before trying to edit. Start there.
5. What’s your superpower? How does it apply to video?
I’d say my personal superpower is in storytelling and boiling down complex ideas into easy to understand concepts (at least, I think so haha). That’s a good skill to have when it comes to video because it’s all about being able to deliver interesting stories and ideas.
Thank you, Josef, for jumping aboard and sharing your story with us.
If you want to make video a more core part of your content mix in 2024 but are not really sure how to make it happen, head over to usesway.co. Book a call and we can see if we’re a good fit.
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Thanks for reading,