The city of Arlington, Texas recently launched an advocacy marketing campaign with a big bang, so we broke down their strategy to see what the keys to their success are. Learn how to recruit advocates into your advocacy platform faster!

“We’re recruiting a Dream Team!”

That’s how the newest recruitment video for the city of Arlington, Texas’ advocacy marketing program begins. And boy did Arlington show up! While Arlington isn’t the first client to create a recruitment video to help build excitement and anticipation of an advocacy marketing program, Arlington has clearly taken things to the next level with their “Dream Team” video!

Arlington’s advocacy recruitment video features not only local Arlington citizens, but also local celebrities, chefs, brewers, athletes, and even the Mayor of Arlington himself, Jeff Williams.

Check out the video here:

The results? This video, along with other select marketing initiatives, helped Arlington recruit 222 citizens to the “Dream Team” within the first few days of going live. The program has continued to grow every day since launch.

What Recruitment Lessons Can We Take Away from Arlington?

Don’t Skimp on The Production Value

We’re not saying you need to finagle a way to film inside a major football stadium or have a high production budget, but we are saying that you need to take efforts to ensure your production value is top-notch. People will instinctively formulate an opinion or bias about the program based on the look of the recruitment materials that promote the program.

Be sure to avoid:

• Out of focus images
• Shaky cam footage
• Poor sound
• Bad framing

Again, don’t feel you need to Spielberg this video up, but the more polished the production, the more professional the program looks.

Showcase Your Audience

Arlington prides itself on its diverse heritage and demographic makeup, so it’s no wonder the video featured a multitude of ages, ethnicities, and other demographics. When you’re creating a recruitment video to support your advocacy program, be sure to showcase your entire target audience.

If you’re video only features men, women might think (even subconsciously) that the program isn’t for them. Likewise, focus only on Millennials and Gen Z, and you’re going to alienate Baby Boomers from joining.

Attract and Leverage Your Heavy Hitters

Arlington got the mayor of the city to be in their “Dream Team” video – and that’s on top of the athletes and other local celebrities that were also tapped to be featured in the video. While it might not be possible for you to get a local mayor, your brand can focus on securing influencers and program-specific celebrities to join your program.

Conduct an audit of your current audience to identify potential influencers (individuals with larger followings) and approach them about developing a recruitment video. They’ll benefit from added exposure on a larger brand platform and you’ll benefit from their endorsement of the program.

Don’t have any large-scale influencers in your program? Reach out to potential influencers and start cultivating a presence within your target audience.

Make the Program Fun

Don’t just assume people are going to want to join your recruitment program just because it has your brand’s name on it. You need to showcase how fun being in the program can be. Arlington does this in their video by showing smiling faces, beer cheers, athletes making perfect shots, and a general spirit of camaraderie.

Make sure your recruitment messages aren’t boring. If someone would rather read the dictionary aloud to a recently painted wall than watch your recruitment video, your video is not likely to drive any recruitment.

Clear Calls-to-Action

The most critical aspect of any marketing video? The call-to-action.

Throughout the Arlington video you’ll hear citizens and celebrities alike encourage viewers to join the “Dream Team”. People don’t typically follow up on an action the first time they hear about it; it takes multiple touches to break through a potential recruit’s consciousness to convince them to join.

Take a note from Arlington: don’t wait until the end of the video to share your request. Have multiple calls-to-action throughout the entire video.

A Great Video Is Just Part Of Great Recruitment

While amazing, Arlington’s video wasn’t their sole recruitment effort. As we mentioned, their video was a critical part of a larger strategy that included:

• Multiple emails
• Direct mail pieces
• Lapel pins

In each case, the additional recruitment messages married the look and feel of the video. Every piece of collateral shared the same message and call-to-action: “Become a member of the Arlington Dream Team.”

Ready to take your recruitment efforts to the next level? Let SocialToaster help you build your advocacy marketing audience today.