- Who, What, Where
Who is your audience? What message do you want to convey? Where will this video be seen? The answers to these questions go a long way towards creating an effective video. Be sure to get input from all of the departments/decision makers in your organization.
- Make it professional
These days everyone has a friend of a friend’s cousin who “makes videos.” Just because someone owns a camera, it does not make them a videographer. Do your homework to find experienced, credible video production professionals. You will spend a little more but ultimately it’s well worth it.
- Make it “Evergreen”
If you are investing in one video to tell the story of your company it’s not a good idea to mention the sale you are having this week. Making your video timeless means it can be used for several years and remain relevant.
- Make it a priority
Be sure to assign a point person from your company to work on the video. Your point person conveys the message, tone and other important details to the video production team. The point person keeps the project on time (and on budget).
- Make it short
Of course this varies across industries and platforms but in general, viewership drops off dramatically after about one and half minutes. If you think about it from your own experiences online, you are more likely to click on 30 second video than a 25 minute video.
- Always include a Call to Action
Viewers should be asked to do something as a result of watching your video.
- “Call now for a free estimate”
- “Visit our website to learn more”
- “Click here to share this video”
- Have a plan of action for your completed video
- Make your video embeddable/shareable with clickable links when possible (YouTube allows you to do this)
- Encourage employees to post and share via social media
- Add the link to your video to your email signature
- Make sure it is easily available on your mobile devices
- Brand it!
The video should be an extension of existing brand standards. Be sure to update logos/images/graphics that appear in the video as branding changes. Watermarking it with your logo ensures that viewers know the video’s origin and protects against reappropriation of your content. Be sure your video always points back to your company.
-Team Creative
