Video marketing is not a new idea, but it has always seemed like a big deal due to the notion that you need high tech equipment like camera, props, lens, etc. However, all you may need to create an amazing video is a good phone with a good camera, great lighting, and less noise. Most times, prospective customers connect easily with videos that are not edited professionally because they appear real.
Why Video Marketing?
Videos appeal to people more than pictures do because viewers assume they’ll get better value for their time when they watch a video of the same product/services. Video marketing simply means the use of video to endorse, your products/services to the right audience, engage them on your social networking sites and educate them on what your brand stands for.
Over the years and especially in 2019, many brands have used video marketing as a major content marketing tool on their digital spaces. The use of video in marketing can boost conversion volume up to sixty-five percentage. Hence, the increase in the use of video on social networks and as product previews on landing pages.
Conversion rate of video on landing pages can increase to as high as eighty percent and the inclusion of video in an email boost chances that the email will have higher engagement.
There are various types of marketing videos that can help you achieve your marketing goals. Some of them include:
- Description Video: this describes the usage of your product or service
- Awareness Video: this creates the impression you want viewers to have about your brand
- Event Video: this gives a highlight of events in your organization.
- Interviews: could be interviews of experts within your niche to boost your brand
- Informative Video: this gives your audience adequate information about your products and services
- Animation Video: this is an illustration using animated characters. It helps those who find it hard to digest information.
- Explanatory Video: this presents a fictitious storyline that depicts problem and solution with the view to project your brand
- Feedback Video: customers testimonial videos is vital to gaining the trust of potential customers.
- Live Streaming: this allows engagement between marketers and customers. Questions and answers can be easily exchanged.
- Personalized Video: a fun way to make your customers feel special and help you keep them for longer.
- AR Video: the use of augmented reality to make onscreen l objects appear real
- VR Video: virtual reality enables the viewer to feel like they are a part of what they are watching onscreen.
Obviously, video use is beneficial for more than entertainment purpose. It has changed the way interaction occurs between brands and consumers, how marketers convert visitors to leads and buyers. Beyond brand awareness, videos have become extremely valuable, but as important as making a video for marketing is, if you don’t know the right way to put one together, your endeavor might be futile.
What then constitutes a good video or what steps can you take to create a sellable video?
- Have a blueprint of the outcome of your video
Do not just pick up a camera and start recording. Making a video is time-consuming and sometimes expensive depending on purpose and budget. Therefore, you should have your steps written out to avoid repetition and quick burnout.
Discuss with your marketing team what you hope to achieve with the campaign; who will be your target audience, and most importantly what platform will it be used on.
It is certain that despite this overview stage, you will still go through a rigorous planning stage to avoid re-shooting. It will also save you time, stress and resources because you’ll have a sense of direction.
Start by asking relevant questions. The questionnaire should ask who your target audience is, what purpose it is to serve, time of release, platforms to be aired, the budget limit, the yardstick to measure campaign’s success. You should be aware of the words, people and overall message to pass across.
Knowledge of the purpose of the campaign will guide what you promote in the video. Is the goal to launch a new service or brand or boost awareness of an existing one? The platform you will post to will be determined by the target audience and it will also determine the length and format of the video.
Facebook has an unlimited duration for videos while Instagram is limited to 60 seconds for each video. While there is IGTV, but before any Instagram user will click on Instagram TV, your video content has to be gripping, your target audience has to be one that is willing to watch your kind of video in the first place.
The question of duration is very important too because deadlines will help you stay on track. It will also specify how large or small the project will be. Setting a budget is also important because it will restrict you from spending beyond what is necessary. It will help you answer the question of how many external professionals you need working on the project with you. Will the overall expenses incurred to bring a massive ROI?
And after the campaign, what yardstick will you use to measure the success of the campaign? The number of clicks? The number of shares, comments, likes, visits to the website from social media pages? It could even be the number of direct messages/calls that may lead to eventual purchases.
- Create content for your video
As such, whether your campaign is in text, audio or audio visual format, your content should be explicit, informative, captivating and suitable for the audience you are targeting. Especially when it comes to a marketing video, you need a script to work with to achieve your purpose within a specific time and budget.
Although you may create unscripted and impromptu videos, they will most likely be used on your social feeds. For a business video, you should definitely script your content in a way that is natural yet professional enough for your audience. Failure to adhere to this step may lead to repetition and waste of resources.
Your video script can also be outlined in Google Docs to aid teamwork. Add a table and have your script on the left column and supporting image on the right.
This format will adjust easily. You can outline the rest of your script like you would that of a blog post; write out the major points, then flesh them out with appropriate keywords in a logical arrangement.
If you skip this step, you’ll find yourself editing more than you need to, releasing a video longer than it should be, and probably losing your audience along the way. Having a sense of direction and being able to imagine your output even before you shoot your video is the best way to create great videos.
The first 2-3 seconds are most critical. Audiences have very short attention span, so instead of starting with the introduction, start with something that will get your audience glued. This is particularly true when you are creating promotional videos for social media.
Therefore, get the attention of the viewers at the beginning. This approach will hold them to watch your video.
- Have adequate knowledge of how to use your camera
You shouldn’t panic because you’re an amateur when it comes to using a professional camera. What you should do is invest time into learning how to use it. Alternatively, if you possess a smartphone with a good camera, preferably an iPhone, you just might not need to use a standard camera all the time. Note the following important things when using your camera; either a standard one or phone inbuilt:
- Lighting
- Shutter speed
- White balance
- Focus
- Resolution etc.
Read up on how to use your camera settings to suit your purpose.
- Create a makeshift studio: your camera is not enough to shoot a good video because other factors like sound, picture angle, and lighting need additional equipment to you the best outcome. As you advance in the use of video marketing, you will need to add tools like external microphone, microphone clip, tripod, lights, light stand, and so on.
Apart from equipment, you need to have a location that has minimal noise in order to have the best audio production and set up good lighting for a perfect backdrop.
- Have a performance crew in place: your performance crew refers to those who will be part of the video. You need to make them comfortable and rehearse properly before you start shooting. If you’re lucky to have talented actors in your organization, fantastic. If you don’t, you can train them or hire professional actors to take the parts. As long as they give realistic and effective performances, the purpose is served.
- Shoot the video: during the main shoot, shoot with the editor in mind. You ideally want to prevent stress while editing footage. Give clear instructions for the editor and for everything you do try and take 2-3 shots so that editor has more footage to choose from. If possible, shoot with two cameras in order to select clips with the best angles. The purpose of this precaution is to make the editing stage effortless and at the same time get a satisfactory video.
- Label your footage properly: it is a boring and seemingly unnecessary task but it will reduce the difficulty of locating your files. Organize your footage files in one place and if necessary, add sub-categories within the same folder and with names, you will be sure to recognize quickly. Also, save clips with the original format to avoid error messages and transfer large files to an external hard drive.
- Edit the video: there are levels to editing and you get to choose based on your level of expertise. If you used iPhone to shoot, you can use iMovie, an editing app for iOS and Mac devices or an advanced editor like Adobe Premier Pro.
- Select the most suitable music: selecting the right music is vital because you want to set the appropriate tone that will put your audience in the perfect to get the message you’re passing. Note: pick a song that is royalty-free and doesn’t infringe on copyright law guarding existing songs. To avoid the latter, you can hire an expert to compose an original song for your video.
- Record a good voiceover: a voiceover is a narration of the visuals in your video and it is necessary because you’re creating a business video. To tape, the perfect voiceover, get a noiseless location, avoid rustling clothes, practice your script beforehand and use a teleprompter to avoid many mistakes.
Follow the above points and plan to use video marketing more for sales generation in 2020.
Lastly, there are a lot of video marketing courses available out there! Avoid wasting time, effort and money on those courses. Instead use the time, effort and money to create actual videos.
We help start-ups create amazing videos at a low cost! If you need assistance, contact us.
