If you have paid any attention lately to marketing advice streaming from all corners of the internet, you have noticed one recurring theme: content marketing is king. A lot of businesses will quickly see some of the more obvious paths to utilizing content marketing to grow their business, from blogs and articles to social media. But one of the most effective ways of marketing your business with content is through quality video production--after all, video is taking over the internet slowly but surely.
Video in 2019 will account for 80% of all internet data. That's a lot of eyeballs watching a lot of videos. 52% of people say watching a video about a product will help them make a purchasing decision, and 88% of people forward or share videos they like to other people. So what does that mean? It means that you want to work with a professional video production company to create video content that grabs these potential customers' eyeballs and attention, and do it in a way where your investment goes the extra mile through viral sharing.
So where to start?
Video production: the basics
Video, as ubiquitous as it is becoming, is still niche on the production side. Even though we watch videos online and movies and TV shows in whatever format we can get them, many people don't realize what goes into a professional video production company's process of producing tailored content for you. Understanding this process is vital to being able to leverage videos as effectively as possible and maximize your return on investment.
A good video production company will function as a partner and consultant as much as a firm that is providing a technical and creative service. They should be in it for the long haul, and that means every project is worth your while and your dollar in terms of financial and psychological return with your customers.
So what does the process look like?
First you will meet with your production company, possibly multiple times, and really let them get to know you and your business. This is one of the most vital steps you can take. Expecting a production company to be able to put together an effective video production for you without intimate knowledge of not only your business, but also your clients and industry isn't realistic, and you may pass over a great video vendor if you don't give them enough of a chance to move through this step.
You can help this process along by having a lot of concrete examples, statistics, and brand guidelines and philosophies ready to share. The video production companies you meet with should jump on the chance to immerse themselves in your business at this point, and noticing which ones do and don't will help you select a good production partner.
From there they will develop a concept and take you through the pre-production process. When it comes time to actually create the video, you may be surprised at the amount of equipment and people it takes to make a high-end video production. Big cameras, lights and more can be intimidating, but it can also be exciting.
Finally, post production will include several passes at the editing, coloring, animation and more. Often times the first draft is meant to elicit feedback from you and put something in front of you to react to, rather than to aim for a final product right away. Be sure to communicate openly with your production company, and don't panic if it's not exactly the way you want it. If you've chosen a good vendor, they'll be able to get there with some input from you.
It's all in the planning
The first thing you want to consider from the planning phase is what your messaging is, as well as what format will work best to communicate your brand to your customers. There are so many ways of approaching video, from
TV commercials to brand overview videos to explainers, testimonials and more, that one of the most important decisions you will make for your business is how to best attack the message. Is your business focused on a service you provide to customers? Then testimonials might be your best bet. Is your offering a complex technical service that needs to be explained clearly to high level executives? Then an explainer video might be the way to go.
A great video production company has likely created dozens if not hundreds of videos for a wide range of clients, and they will be a great guide for you during this process. Ask them for input on what format your business could best utilize video, and if they don't seem to have any ideas, you may want to start looking for a different production company to partner with.
Another point to consider when planning out your videos is who your audience is. This will dictate what sorts of details they might be looking for, how long their attention span is, and what aids will be most effective in eliciting buying behavior and creating conversions. Videos that target CEOS, for instance, should be higher-level, impart a feeling more than details, and should be very brief. Videos for a consumer looking to buy a very technical product should speak directly to their buying behaviors, and can be longer and more detailed if necessary. All of these pieces will help dictate the form of your video.
Where will your video live?
After all of the pre-production, production and post production (which we will outline in a subsequent article), you're left with a video produced by a great production company that really nails your messaging. So now what? What do you do with it? Here again you want to have a plan in stone from the outset.
You may want to create different versions of your video that can be used differently depending on where they live. Landing page videos are a great way to immediately capture attention and drive people to find out more--potentially sending them further into your site to a video that spells out in more details information that that customer might want to know.
Social media is also becoming a great way to utilize your video production investment. Even a TV commercial production that wasn't originally intended for the web can be a great asset to deploy onto Instagram or Facebook. All you need to do is have your production company tweak the visuals and add on-screen text (most people watch Instagram and Facebook videos with the sound off) and with little extra investment you have a second version of your video production that you can utilize effectively.
Unlimited possibilities of video
There are so many ways that you can utilize video content marketing, this article barely scratches the surface. We will continue to cover a wide variety of ways to not only produce the best videos you and your production company can, but how to use those investments to create new customers and drive revenue.