Lowe’s is a popular chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Along with Home Depot, it is the place that millions of consumers turn to each year for appliances, tools, hardware, paint, etc.
What is Lowe’s doing online to convey their message that they are a place that anyone can feel comfortable to turn to for home improvement solutions?
And, what exactly could a large or small Jewish organization learn from Lowe’s?
Nowadays, messages to consumers, congregants and students start online. After all, this is a place that people can build relationships in a non-threatening fashion. In some measure, people could decide if they want to enter the doors of a store or synagogue based on their online interactions.
To that end, Lowe’s is creating short videos that are popular on such services such as Vine (see our post on how you can use Vine videos here and here) and Instagram.
Why are these effective?
Their videos aren’t just full of “shtick”. Each one is short and is designed to be useful. They say to the consumer, “You can feel comfortable to turn to us online or in our stores to improve your home.”
For an example of these videos, see this recent one below that demonstrates to customers how they can lay out their gallery wall with paper templates to make arranging their frames easier.
Plus, all consumers who aren’t on Vine can easily enjoy these videos called “Lowe’s Fix in Six,” as they’re also featured in a Tumblr blog (see here) and Pinterest board (see here), all devoted to useful, six-second household tips.
This type of marketing idea is beginning to be replicated by several Jewish organization. For example, you can create a short fifteen second video on Instagram called: How to Put on a Tallit in 15 Seconds!
You can also use this popular short video format to highlight your location or programming. See for example, the Instagram video below in which the rabbi of Pacific Jewish Center used Instagram video to remind people about their annual Chanukah party:
Here’s a video from NCSY that quickly helps people feel and relive the special moments from their recent Yarchei Kallah:
Here’s a short video from the Instagram account of Chai Lifeline in which they highlighted the music of Avraham Fried singing at their National Winter Retreat.
Remember that you don’t need to have a twenty thousand dollar budget when it comes to creating video content to attract donors, students and congregants.
In fact, it’s short videos on platforms such as Vine and Instagram that are incredibly effective as they have a strong likelihood of being seen by your students and congregants.
You can do it!
You are relatable, and can easily create an instructional video as simple as: How to Wash Your Hands in The Morning. Feel free to also create short videos that highlight your location, events, programming, etc.
We hope that the above videos inspire you to ask yourself how your organization can create on a tight budget helpful and useful content in the places where people are already aggregating!
For more ideas like this, check out Jay Baer’s book, Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help Not Hype.
