Media department approached manager to help with students’ practice

Charis Christian Books & Gifts recently unveiled a short promotional video that has proved to be a successful marketing tool. 

“Our store video was the brainchild of the teacher who oversees the middle school and high school media department of our Christian school,” said Martha Brangenberg, manager at the Largo, Fla., store at First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks. “They stream all of our sporting events, and he wanted them to be able sell banner ads and videos to local businesses to help support the expense of the media department. He wanted to use my store as an example, which was wonderful, because I didn’t have to pay anything to have it done.”

The students filmed her video for a practice session, learning how to produce a quality video of a commercial property. Charis’ video took them about an hour to complete.

Brangenberg said there wasn’t much preparation for the store other than writing a brief script, giving it a community focus and getting comfortable with what to say on camera. Because there are no seasonal displays featured, the video can be used as a promotional piece any time of year. The use of a boom camera also captured much of the store’s 2,400 square feet in just seconds.

Innovative manages the store’s website and placed the video on Charis’ site so it appears each time a user visits the page. With such prominent placement, the video is gaining traffic from people the church and in the community. It also appears on the school’s website.

Brangenberg said she has received “positive comments” about the video. 

“When I am out in the community trying to promote the store, I send potential customers to the website and they can get a taste of what the store is like and what it has to offer from the video. It has helped so much. They can see firsthand, for themselves, in the privacy of their own homes that it’s not just a book table in the corner of the church.

“This also allows me to reach out to a group of people that I would never have reached out to on my own,” she added. “I can send the video link in an email blast or post it online to a social media site.”

To watch the video, go to the store’s website, www.shopcharis.com.