Take Time to Plan Your Next Marketing Video

How to Make a Great Marketing Video

Video marketing—if done properly—can be extremely lucrative for your business. Unfortunately, the biggest misconception most people still have is that it costs a lot to make a great marketing video. So they forego video marketing altogether, or they use it sparingly by shooting mediocre videos to throw up on their social media sites.

It doesn’t matter if yours is a large, established business or a small start-up just coming out of the gate; what you get from video is all the same: The results you get are a direct reflection of the effort you put in.  And believe it or not, the most important part of your video isn’t even the video itself. Yes, you need great content and your video will leave a better (and lasting) impression on your audience if the overall production quality is excellent, but to make a video people will want to watch you need just one thing: a solid plan for your marketing video.

Plan Your Marketing Video Backwards

If you’ve hired a video production company like Xtreme Media to create your marketing video, everything from pre- to post-production should be taken care of, only leaving you with the task of providing your vision.

If you’re venturing out on your own with your marketing plan and foregoing the help of a professional video production company, there are key steps must take if you want to make a truly great marketing video, one that’s successful and effective.

Planning a marketing video is no different than coming up with an overall marketing plan. Your goal is to generate a demand for your products or services, and to make those products and services accessible to the people who are looking for them. No one goes into business to break even; your end game is to make money

So before anything else, establish the purpose of your video. Are you trying to persuade the viewer to buy your product or service? Is it a training video to get new hires up to speed? Are you shooting a tutorial to help existing customers get the most out of the product they’ve already bought from you? When the viewer comes to the end of the video, what do you want them to do (or how do you want them to feel)? Until you know that, you can’t properly plan the steps to get them there. Start backwards by identifying your end goal.

Next, know who your intended audience. This goes beyond just knowing they’re in the market for your product. Who are they? Create a whole persona and shoot your video as if you’re speaking directly to them. What are his or her pain points? What, specifically, are they looking for in a product like yours?

Here are other things to include in your marketing video plan:

Budget – How much can you afford to spend on videos? Will you hire a video production company or shoot, edit, and post them in-house?

Content – Whoever you choose to write the script should be well versed in such a task and understand how script writing differs from other forms of writing (e.g., blog posts). How long will your video be? As a general rule, the shorter the better, but some videos require more detail and length. Whatever the case, your script writer needs to be effective at getting your message across clearly and concisely. Remember, if a viewer doesn’t know the point of your video within 8 seconds, you’ve lost him.

A Production Schedule – So many companies just “wing it” with their marketing videos and it shows. Take the time to really plan out the process of your video and put it into a production schedule so everyone is on the same page. And speaking of schedules, build a little extra time into the schedule for incidentals. You may think it will only take an hour or two to get the footage you need—until there’s an equipment malfunction or your star gets the flu. Overestimate the time you’ll need; running ahead of schedule if things go smoothly is a lot less stressful than limiting your time and falling behind.

By the way, even a livestream video needs a production plan. They’re the worst offenders for looking unpolished and unprofessional.

Is a Video Production Company Part of Your Marketing Plan?

Video is such an influential tool for businesses that we don’t ever suggest creating just one. There are so many ways you can use video to connect with your customers and boost sales that it seems shortsighted to create one or two, post them to your website, and then forget about them. Your customers want easy-to-digest information, and video delivers exactly that. Give them what they want in the format they desire and they’ll keep coming back for more.

For more tips on creating great videos, social media marketing, and more, be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.