A little mystery, an open-ended question, a challenge, unfettered authenticity – these are all proven marketing concepts that are good tools for connecting with your customer and encouraging engagement. When it comes to using video, however, mystery in the form of blurry camera angles, muffled audio or a confusing “plot” will send those same customers packing.
Your marketing video will act as an ambassador for your business, making a first impression to newcomers and helping prospective customers who are on the fence… hop to your side. Doing all of this right builds momentum you can ride out from there, IF you are prepared. Don’t worry. Here are a few expert tips to help you get your script together:
Find Your Purpose First
Do a little soul-searching when it comes to the message you want to send. Are you a value player like WalMart? Are you a high-end brand like Mercedes ? Why should your customers choose you over company X down the street? Once you’ve found the right question to ask, the answer will eventually be transformed into the idea that guides your marketing video efforts. Without this purpose, you’ll flounder through the steps that follow, and ultimately end up with a choppy, scattered video product that will miss the mark.
Plan it Out
Sure, it can be tempting just to switch on the camera and start chattering away, but do you know approximately how many words a human being speaks in a minute? Add in hesitation pauses – um, uh, like – and you’ll inevitably end up with a video that’s unfocused and typically far too long for useful application in the marketplace. Stew Crosen of VoiceOverWorkshop recommends using a stopwatch to time yourself and get a feel for your speaking speed before going “live” on camera.
Sketching out a storyboard, even something as simple as “Bob sits at a desk and talks about the company history. He gets up and walks over onto the production floor as he talks about our product” will enable you to plan for where a camera and microphone need to be placed, which lights should be turned on, and so on.
Additionally, don’t be afraid to get a little fancy with drawings for more elaborate videos, this will ensure that your employees and your video production team understand your vision and what you expect. Have several ideas, or a complicated topic? Sounds like a series of marketing videos is in order. Plan those out too and shoot several stories at once, if possible. This will give you an instant library of fresh video content to leverage at a later date.
Tap into Professional Help
When creating a specialty media product like marketing videos, trying to go it alone can leave you short on patience and without much to show for your efforts. A professional video production or video marketing company, on the other hand, has the high-end equipment you need to look and sound professional as you move through your storyboard. As Kern Lewis points out in a piece for Forbes, sound quality is especially important when it comes to shooting your marketing video; muffled, static-filled or echoing voices will tank your production value and hurt your finished product. A good Austin video production house or video marketing firm can examine your shooting space, make suggestions and mitigate many issues that would be major obstacles to a lone amateur camera operator. If you can’t afford to hire an outside company, make sure you reach out to an expert in your network. Get their opinion on best practices.
Just follow the “3 Ps” of shooting video pieces – Purpose, Planning and Professional Assistance, and you’ll be on the road to a sensational marketing video for your business in no time.