An Introduction to Help, Hub, Hero Video Strategy

Modern audiences are digitally aware and are consuming content at increasingly impressive speeds. As the content landscape has evolved, consumers are also demonstrating a more refined appetite and have a far keener understanding of the types of content they want to engage with.

Establishing and maintaining a sustainable digital presence through video is complex. Too many brands fall into the trap of trying to do too many things at once, which results in showering audiences with shallow content that just doesn’t have the intrinsic value that people are looking for.

Investing in great content is a commitment and if you are willing to put in the effort to create it, you should also be willing to ensure that it gets the chance to truly shine with a properly considered activation strategy.

What exactly is the help, hub, hero framework?

Video marketing content can be broadly divided into one of three different groups; help, hub, hero.

Hero

Big budget content with high production values and an inherent ability to capture attention can be described as hero content. This type of content is particularly adept at creating brand awareness and making a big splash upon activation.

Hub

Although less overtly showy, hub content is highly valuable and typically aimed towards a very specific audience. Hub content works particularly well when it is serialised and designed to deliver highly valuable information.

Help

Primed to help create brand loyalty, help content is evergreen and can include everything from product and software demos and tutorials to FAQs and explainer videos. This type of content is generally created in direct response to audience needs and is highly discoverable through search engine queries.

How to establish an effective help, hub, hero video strategy

Implementing this type of video strategy will require you to think a little more like an editor and a little less like a marketer. Segmenting content by audience and platform is not a new concept but pushing for a help hub hero approach will ensure that all your content gets the attention it deserves from the right subsections of your target audience.

1. Go big with hero content

Designed to inspire and entertain, your hero content should endeavour to tell a story that will make a genuine emotional impact on your audience. Hero content will often command the largest budgets but won’t generally be released any more than a few times per year.

Effective hero content will immediately capture attention, even from individuals who aren’t necessarily already interested in your brand. Shareability is key because you want your hero content to ensure that you are the brand that everyone is talking about when it is released.

2. Encourage regular viewers with hub content

The individuals behind successful YouTube channels have understood how to create content that will encourage people to subscribe for more. Hub content should be created and released on a consistent schedule and deliver value that your audience is looking for.

Effective hub content should be carefully marketed and can include everything from industry events, product launches, behind the scenes glimpses and Q&A sessions. Whatever topics you choose, your hub content needs to be crafted to nurture an interest in who you are, what you do, and what you have to offer. A quick glance at the Waitrose YouTube channel will give you a good idea of what effective hub content looks like. Each video is branded consistently and encourages viewers to ‘like, comment and subscribe’.

3. Address customer questions with evergreen help content

Created to last, the best help content is often designed around search results. If you know that your audience is turning to search engines or platforms such as YouTube to look for answers to very specific questions, create a video to address those issues.

Your primary focus should be on engagement and avoiding overt or aggressive marketing messaging will help you to create a sense of brand loyalty amongst your audience. If people view your business as a source of valuable information and interesting insights, they will continue to come back for more.

Gillette is a brand that does help content very well. Their guides to shaving are an excellent way to answer what is likely one of their most-asked questions whilst also giving them an opportunity to illustrate their products in action without aggressively selling them.

Establishing a comprehensive content strategy and schedule is essential to the implementation of an effective help, hub, hero approach. You will need to ensure that all your teams are fully on board and understand what needs to be done and when, but with a touch of integrated thinking and a dynamic shared editorial calendar, your business will certainly benefit in the long run.