How to leverage hero, hub and hygiene content for kick-ass results

Want to use video marketing to grow your audience, nurture community engagement and capture user intent (via search-friendly content)? Then it’s time for Google and YouTube’s definitive guide to video strategy – the ‘hero’, ‘hub’ and ‘hygiene’ model. Since Google introduced hero, hub and hygiene (now called ‘help’) content as recommended YouTube programming in 2014, the model has dominated marketing executions – and not just for video content. It relies on content pre-planning to produce a regular, consistent variety of videos, with a focus on more rather than less. The rewards? Raising brand awareness, influencing consideration, driving sales, and promoting customer loyalty (and advocacy). But just what is hero, hub and hygiene / help video content – and how can you leverage it for kick-ass results when it comes to your business and content goals?

Why you should tier video content

The answer is simple: not all videos are created equal. Different types of content have different content goals, and which is best for any given situation will largely depend on the outcome you’re pursuing. Things have changed since the traditional, pre-internet days of print and television advertising. With the advent of digital technology like social media and video streaming, people’s content consumption habits, and the way they engaged with brands, changed – fast. And so did the buyer’s journey. What was once believed to be a relatively linear process, can now be so multifaceted across online and offline channels that you simply can’t afford to just rely on that one big hero ad any more. And now that purchases can be completed 100% end-to-end online (and increasingly on mobile), there are more opportunities than ever for brands to meet people where they are, no matter what stage of the buyer’s journey they’re at. From a digital marketing perspective, this means aligning your video content with your marketing/sales funnel (or flywheel), to help solve problems and add value for each stage of the buyer’s journey. The good news? Hero, hub and hygiene content exists to do just that.

What is the hero, hub and hygiene content model?

 

The hero, hub and hygiene (or help) model is Google’s content creation strategy for YouTube, and video in general. It serves as a branded content framework within your overarching brand strategy – and while clearly a marketing tool, is no less useful for non-marketers planning and creating content. The essence of the hero, hub and hygiene model is that in addition to the traditional hero content of television-style commercials, your online videos should also add value by inspiring, educating and entertaining your audience… And not just with ads. This is where hub and hygiene / help content come in. But first, let’s revisit hero video content.

Nail the hero, hub, hygiene model with Shootsta

The great thing about Google and YouTube’s hero, hub and hygiene / help model is that it’s perfectly aligned with Shootsta in the hub and hygiene space. Traditional video production companies have made video look too hard and too expensive for too long, but we’re here to say – it doesn’t have to be that way! When it comes to your content marketing strategy, pieces of content like hub and hygiene videos are some of the most value-add, user-friendly videos that even new-to-video content creators can produce. With Shootsta, we teach you how, we do your editing, all so you can share more videos, fast. Because video should be easy! Shootsta’s high-quality, cost-effective scalable video solution helps brands deliver hub and hygiene video volume like never before, and with turnaround times to not just surprise and delight, but simply amaze – did someone say 24 hours? So you can meet your content calendar’s weekly, even daily output goals. It’s time to take advantage of the role tiered video now plays in brand content, and solve the video content problem once and for all. From hygiene to hero content, Google and YouTube’s model has what you need to deliver engaging, effective video content. And so does Shootsta!