As video producers, we see too many people getting excited and jumping straight into production when creating brand videos. Whilst it’s all very exciting putting a video together, the lack of pre-production planning often backfires on business-owners and marketing teams; resulting in an aesthetically poor video or having a brilliant-looking video which does not perform as well as expected, either way it often lacks a return on investment and a disappointed team.
So, as usual, we are here to share the wisdom! Before you even think about putting a video together, consider the following…
1. Define your Goal
Make it a specific goal; by having too many different goals in a single video marketing campaign, the campaign is going to lack focus and you’ll struggle to communicate your message, the calls to action to your audience and it will be difficult to measure the true success of the campaign.
Your goal may be any of the following;
- Boost sales
- Lead generation
- Increase audience engagement
- Raise brand visibility and awareness
Once you have a goal set, you’ll have an easier time figuring out all other aspects.
2. Look at Logistics
Now for all the black and white stuff; consider all of the following when looking at the logistics of your video;
- Figure out your budget – what is your expected ROI?
- Type of video – informational videos to boost sales, product videos for lead generation, or emotionally engaging videos for audience engagement and brand visibility?
- Location – do you want to shoot in the studio or on location?
- Time – how quickly do you need to produce and release the video?
3. Establish a Marketing Plan/Distribution
Different distribution channels have different best practices when it comes to video content.
For example, when it comes to video length, two-minute-long videos on Facebook perform best, but on Instagram 30 seconds is the optimal viewing time.
People use different video and social media platforms differently, so you should account for this and optimise accordingly. For example, if your video is for a website, you may need to assistance in embedding this onto the page. Alternatively, if you are using YouTube, optimisation using keywords is extremely useful in targeting your key audience. If you are using Instagram, you may also want to alter the sizing of your video to a square format, whilst leaving the video for landscape viewing on Facebook.
By adapting accordingly, this will increase the likelihood of your marketing video getting the results it has set out to achieve.
4. Execute
Finally, time to execute! If you have followed the above steps; setting a goal, arranging logistics, and establishing a marketing plan, the actual video production process is likely to be a lot smoother – this way everyone is on the same page, and you are more likely to deliver your marketing goals!
