Video is a powerful medium that can speak volumes about your brand, even if it's only a minute. And while we are aware that everyone is shooting videos easily on their smartphones nowadays it's really important to realize that content creation is not a click of a button. For many businesses videos can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate. That is why we created this quick guide with our recommended tips to help you produce quality video content that can boost your brand.
1. Who Are You Creating the Video Content For?
Before we take a deep dive into how you can create good video content, it's important to know why you are doing so. Who is this content going to be directed towards? This is a key question to ask about your consumers. It's also important to have knowledge of consumer behavior and how they react to that given content. To put it simply your content depends on two insights:
Demographics- Age, gender and geographic location
Affinities and preferences- how your consumer reacts and what they like/dislike
What is clear for the current market environment is that video is a strong tool. In fact, in a study conducted by Wyzowl marketers have noted that there is a positive relationship between Return On Investment (ROI) and videos.
Which is why video should be a key aspect of your marketing strategy. There are many types of videos that consumers respond to positively. Wyzowl recommends explainer videos as one of the top forms of video that people respond to citing that 96% of people learn about a product or service through watching them. They also note that a whopping 84% of people are more convinced to buy products after watching a branded video.
We recommend creating a buyer persona profile that really helps you zero in on who your audience is and what they're particular preferences are. With these insights in mind, it's clear that audiences are more likely to respond to brands through this visual medium.
2. Quality is key
Quality not quantity is not just a saying, with video, it is really important to not cut any corners. Which is why we recommend allocating a reasonable budget to create and edit quality content. This is definitely where a good portion of investment should go, more so because of the high ROI as suggested by the data above. With video, the phrase "content is king" does not ring true, because it's not just a matter of creating content and generating traffic. In fact, a market insight by Brightcove Inc. suggests that videos that are of low quality can actually discourage consumers from a product or service. That's why we recommend you plan out a video shoot prior to implementing it, and to really consider the look of your desired video as well as how you can allocate a budget to achieve that look. It may well be that you have to set a schedule to acquire the necessary tools in terms of props and equipment before you can go ahead with filming. While this might seem like a cumbersome process, especially if you're ready and willing to film a video. Taking the time to gather and collect the necessary tools to create quality content will help you get your desired result more so than making several videos that might not perform as well.
3. Pick the Right Format and Channel
Again, this all depends on your particular consumer's behavior but general insights have shown what most users preferences are when it comes to video viewership. Brightcove's Global Video Index for 2020 shows that there is a marked increase with 253% of video views year-on-year for smartphones. Which means that you should likely be adapting your videos to suit viewers watching on their phones. That being said, this particular quarter saw people spending more time at home than ever before which also meant that computer viewership was increasing as well. Selecting the proper format all depends on how your consumer behaves, and where they typically access your content. Another important point depends upon selecting the right social media channel to distribute your video, YouTube still reigns as the top social media channel but there are other platforms and it makes sense to apply a multi-platform approach when it comes to distribution. From the tips above you can see that market research plays a big role in creating content. But considering that videos can be costly it makes sense to have everything planned out before pressing the record button.
4. Lighting, lighting and lighting
When you do get to the point where you're ready to shoot, we really recommend you take the time (and we cannot stress this enough) to invest in lighting. Lighting is a key component of any video because you can literally achieve anything with lighting even on a bare-bones set. The right lighting can set or off-set the mood, tone and message of your video content.
Lighting can make or break. It is integral to really assess what you're filming and experiment with lighting as much as you can before you get a head-start on shooting. Is it necessary to have artificial lighting? The answer is yes, and no. It all depends on your budget, but if you want your videos to have a consistent look we definitely don't recommend that you rely on sunlight, which is as changeable as the weather or time of day.
5. Prep a production schedule, and be prepared for delays
When it comes to creating a video, setting a schedule for when you want things done is important because there are several steps to the process from pre-production which could require collecting props, talent acquisition and getting approvals on shooting locations. To production which could require several shooting days, to post-production which includes editing and eventually distribution.
The whole process can be challenging to organize without a schedule in mind and itemized lists of everything. Since producing a video is very much similar to managing a project we recommend you use Gantt charts when creating a schedule.
Not only do Gantt charts allow you to have a long list of all the tasks needed, divided and assigned to different people. But, they also allow you to adjust and shift the schedule should delays occur. We recommend the platform Team Gantt which actually has a tailored and user-friendly display of the Gantt Chart that even allows you to view the schedule, weekly, monthly or daily.
6. Subtitles and text
While we all know the power of video as a visual medium, we should also be aware of how most people are watching videos and statistics have shown that 85% of people watch Facebook videos with the sound turned off. Which means that your videos should ideally come with accompanying text especially if you want to make sure its reach remains high. This is a sure-fire way you can ensure users are coming into contact with your information while also watching your content.
7. Get technical
As your videos start gaining ground it's really important for you to begin investing in learning and acquiring the software and hardware that will help get your videos to the next level. You can start off with simple programs like iMovie for your first few videos, but you will definitely have to upgrade your quality through the use of other software such as Adobe After Effects or Adobe Premiere Pro. If you also know that you will be creating a steady stream of videos then you should invest in getting the necessary hardware from lighting to backgrounds, to filming equipment (cameras, tripods, microphones). This might seem like it has a heavy price tag but it will pay off in the long term.
With all these tips in mind, we hope you get to the point where you can confidently record and publish your first video. Feel free to reach out should you have any questions or comments about video content creation.