So you want a video for your business? Now What? Well you are off to a good start, educating yourself. Kudos to you for taking this important step.
Most small business understand the importance of a video but, working without the luxury of a creative team, in which a big corporation can lean on, owners are often ill prepared to know what they want to accomplish with a video and how they might go about doing it.
It can be a daunting task. Who do you turn to? Is it affordable? What kind of video? Sure everyone realizes the power of video these days, but if it doesn’t hit the target with a clear goal, it can fail to deliver desired results. To effectively produce meaningful content that delivers your message to your audience, be prepared to answer some questions.
Before you produce a Video you will need to ask yourself these 8 questions.
1. What is the Goal of this Video? Simple, but important. This is the foundation and purpose for all to follow. Is your goal awareness and Brand Recognition, are you introducing a new product, educate, train, entertain, deliver a specific message or lead generation, drive traffic, new customers
2. What is the key Message or take away? What do you want the audience to feel after watching? Key emotions
3. Who is your Target Audience? Is this geo targeted, local or national? Gender/Age/ Interests?
4. How will this video be hosted and distributed? Youtube, social sites, in-store Display.
5. What is your CTA? (Call to action) What do you want your viewers to do after watching, purchase, “”Like” Engage, Share, send to Landing Page, sign up for news letter, Call? If producing an ad or preroll, focus on the CTA
6. Will this be part of a bigger campaign? Is this video augmenting other materials. ads. brochures/print. Are there multiple videos needed. In todays world of social media it is not one size fits all world for video. Each platform is unique, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter. and requires a different approach to be effective.
7. What type of Video will best achieve these goals? Showcase Video, Product Demo, Testimonials, Mini-Doc, Viral, sizzle reel, explainer animation, Profile Video, Lifestyle.
8. What is your Budget? Be realistic about your goals and what you are willing to spend.
You’ve decided on your Goals and have a budget range in mind, now you need to identify the best way to pull it off.
Now let’s move on to development and production.
1. Brainstorm: What is the concept? Why is this video useful or worth sharing? What emotions will you be tying into to make it resonate with your audience? Informative, shocking, happy, funny, anger, are just some of the strong emotions that get engagement. Collaborate and discuss. Test market ideas with friends who can give genuine feedback. And do listen and pay attention to what is working with you followers, what they are interested in.
2. Will there be a written script or will someone or multiple people be used to weave a story together told from their eyes and voice?
If a written script, a professional Voice Over artist will be required.
3. Where will this video be shot? In studio, on location. How many days are needed? Will permits be required?
4. Are actors needed? Are these included in your budget?
5. Are you providing materials to supplement the final edit, assets such as Music. Photos, logos? (music needs to be Licensed and must be purchased)
6. Describe the keywords your audience uses to find your business, pertaining to this video. Keywords are an important part of SEO even within the spoken video content or text overlays.
7. What will the length of the video be? Is this going to be used in Ad buys, a commercial, which will can be from :15 to :30 Web videos can vary in lenght, but generally for branded videos less is better :30 to 1:30 Showcase videos can extend a bit longer, People have already visited your site and want to know more. For social you need to start off strong, the first 6 seconds must captivate. Here are some helpful guidelines to what are suggested length for different style of videos.
8. Is there a video you have seen that you really like and would like to emulate.
9. What is your deadline for delivery?
How will you distribute your video?
• Will your video live solely on your site, be distributed on social. Is it for presentation, display monitors, or digital displays?
• For most businesses using the power of Youtube for its SEO is a powerful, inexpensive way to gain leads. Make sure your titles, tags and descriptions are in order. For more specifics on exactly what you should be doing refer here or Youtube SEO Ultimate Guide or another from buffersocial
• As we mentioned in planning, keywords are an important element in creating your video and getting it ranked. here are 5 keyword strategies from Backlinko.com or watch video bellow.
• Do distribute across multiple platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, however be aware that each has it’s own unique strategy of what works best. It is not one size fits all. Here are some good insights from our friends at Sproutsocial
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