Video: The Powerful Tool You Should Be Using

Successful video content is one facet of marketing that most brands should have in their back pocket. In a recent HubSpot Research study, more than 50% of consumers want to see videos from brands more than any other type of content. That’s a lot, and the key to video success? Authenticity.

If that still hasn’t sold you on how vital video marketing is to your brand, what if I told you that video on landing pages is capable of increasing conversion rates by over 80%?! Video marketing is virtual storytelling, and a great story can tug on the heartstrings of consumers leading them to take action in supporting your brand. The possibilities are endless, but as to not overwhelm you, we’ll dive into the basics of what makes a great video.

Bringing your story to life

Let’s start by saying that any content, including videos, should provide value to the audience. For instance, focus on stories, and not sales! Attention spans these days are short. Your audience wants to know what you’re showing them will provide a solution for them in some way, not some pushy sales tactic. Connect with your supporters by creating a compelling story of who your company is, and what your company is offering with a solid script.

The base of your video will start with a strong script. We could write a whole blog about how to create an effective script, but let’s jump to the key points:

Start by asking each other on your team what the goal of this video is, who it serves to target, the topic, and main takeaways by the end of the video. This will be the framework that sets the script in motion.

Make the first few seconds count; this is your hook to grab their attention! You want to stand out amongst the noise of your competitors on the Internet. Much like an article, within the first few seconds if the reader doesn’t feel engaged with your content, bounce rates will increase.

Write simply and conversationally. This isn’t a research paper, and the participants or actors need to be able to easily understand their role in the video. Keep your sentences short and to the point. Be thorough! Are there multiple camera shots, scenes, or voiceovers? What B-roll might be needed to help facilitate interesting visuals so you don’t run into talking head syndrome? Include each element into your script so that if you handed it over to anyone, they clearly understand your vision and provide you with the proper footage and elements for your video.

Know your audience. Seriously, really take the time to understand who you’re speaking to. Whether you’re speaking to animal lovers or a younger audience, place yourself in their shoes to understand what they’d want to hear from you.

Once you think your script is done, do a final read through out loud with others from the team. It might sound great on your template, but might not verbally when you host a table read.

You finally have a script! Next up: Storyboarding

A storyboard is a visual script. Using imagery is an even more powerful way to convey the point you’re trying to make, especially to those that are visual learners. Break your script down step by step, shot by shot. Think of a comic book. You’ll be outlining your storyboard in lined cells. Label scenes, add your scripted dialogue, and finally, add in your imagery.

Once you’ve laid these out, your video is coming to life! Always, always be sure to triple check these cells for accuracy and detail so that it properly aligns with the script. There will always be revisions, like most forms of content require! These final tweaks will provide the best step-by-step guide when it comes time to shoot your video.

The process of storyboarding might seem intimidating, especially after you went through the process of finalizing a script, but with an experienced agency on your side, they’ll be able to take your vision and seamlessly craft each element together!

With proper talent acquisition comes proper audio and lighting

Once you’ve taken the time to gather actors and narrators, it’s time to start shooting your video.

Pro tip: since the beginning of your video is the most important, make sure you film this when your talent is feeling their most confident! Their confidence will shine through in the video, hooking and selling your audience.

If you’re new to the world of video, you’ll quickly learn that video equipment is quite the costly investment, which is why it pays off to hire a videographer to bring your video to fruition. Audio and lighting obviously play a crucial role in your video’s success.Your audience needs to be able to hear and see what you’re showing them. Ensuring you have the best equipment will make for a quality video.

Depending on the space in which you’re shooting your video, there are multiple options for audio equipment. Either way, you’re not going to want to rely on the built in mic on your DSLR. Even for iPhones, an internal mic isn’t adequate enough to pick up voices or sounds. It is important to note that most viewers will forgive lower video quality, but very few are forgiving to poor audio. If there is a lot of background noise, pops, crackling or it just sounds bad, expect your audience to quickly turn off the video and move on to something else.

Obviously the best audio equipment will vary amongst a videographer’s personal preference , but a tried and true piece would be a shotgun mic. Shotgun mics are a trusted and reliable way to keep it out of the shot and record background noise the most natural way. Lasting for years, shotgun mics are best used in a controlled environment, such as a smaller space.

When staging your space, LIGHTING MATTERS! A simple lighting setup can take your video from looking like you shot it quickly on your cell phone, to looking professional…even if you did shoot it on your cell phone. In traditional filming, a three-point lighting setup is what’s commonly used. Why three? These lights are strategically placed around the subject in the video, casting proper shadows and drawing the attention to them in the frame. These three lights are known as key lights, fill lights, and backlights.

Editing and post production are just as important to a video. Stay tuned for our upcoming Q&A with our own videographer on this topic!

Video placement and analyzing results

Once you have all the proper elements in place and the video is completed after editing, your biggest focus should be the role your video will play on a specific spoke of the marketing wheel. Step back and think of the full customer journey. Within this evolution, your content should guide consumers through the process of learning what your product is, evaluating how it helps them, and finally purchasing your product or service.

There are so many types of videos that speak to each element listed above, such as how-to videos, thought leadership videos, and brand films. Determine what type of video you have and will need for each platform as social media, landing pages, and even television perform completely different. The overall goal for each video? Earning the audience’s trust and expanding your reach.

Ready, Set, Analyze!

Tracking your video’s KPIs will not only help you know that your video worked on that platform, but that it actually resonated with your audience. Before launching any type of campaign, it’s important to determine the goal behind creating your videos. Is it to increase brand awareness, engagement, or conversions? There should be at least one of these goals in mind when creating your video. A few KPIs to keep in mind when tracking your video’s success rate:

• View count
• Clicks
• Watch time
• Conversions
• View-through rate
• Social sharing
• Comments

Press play on video marketing

Creating video content has changed the marketing game. Producing high-quality content that’s unique to your brand will elevate your digital marketing efforts by personalizing your brand, showing how you can help your audience, and stay connected more than ever before.

Did you know that 95% of your video content is retained when watched by viewers as opposed to reading it? That statistic alone should be enough to motivate you to start writing a script right away!

If you’d like to take your digital marketing game to the next level, our seasoned experts would be glad to help you start filming today!