Video is forging new ground every day in the business world, but that doesn’t mean every video is successful. We’re dedicated to educating clients so they can experience earlier success with their video content, and that means accepting a universal truth:
Your video will not go viral and it will not produce instantaneous results.
There, we said it.
By no means is this a reason to give up on video content. Video marketing is an essential part of a marketing program that can be highly effective in gaining attention, reinforcing your brand, and building a client base.
Here are 4 important tips, plus video examples, to keep in mind that will help set realistic expectations as well as help your video production team make the best creative possible to produce realistic results.
1) Don’t just research your audience, get to know them.
You should know your audience better than anyone. Don’t make assumptions about what matters to them. Dig into the past to see what creative you have used that achieved results. Talk to existing customers about why they use your services. Find out what convinced them to choose your business over another.
When was the last time a provider of any service asked you the question: “Why did you select US over THEM?” Instead of asking, “Are you pleased with our service,” ask, “What did we do that made you happy?”
3) Be genuine.
There is no replacement for genuine passion. It motivates, surprises, inspires belief and prompts action. Your video should convey with great energy, that you understand what is important to your customers. And you should understand what is important to them, because you’ve spent time getting to know not just their buying habits, but what really makes them happy, just like we discussed earlier.
Genuineness is rare in advertising and your audience will know it when they see it. It’s in the voice over, the visuals and the effort that goes into perfecting every shot and every word. It cannot be scripted, but it can be achieved with a video production team that is well-seasoned in setting up opportunities to capture a perfect representation of your true value proposition.
4) Be a little daring.
We’ll openly encourage our clients to take risks, because video is a wild new world with plenty of space to experiment. Daring doesn’t mean gimmicky. It could be changing up the music that typically accompanies your commercials to highlight a new offering. Or use of a filming technique, like aerial footage from one of our drones, to offer a different perspective. Instead of a scripted commercial, let our director interview a few of your customers on camera to tease out a surprising and welcome testimonial.
Daring is in the details, so don’t underestimate how one unexpected gem — a second or two of a child’s elation, a well-placed emphasis on happiness, a glimpse of the ordinary from a new perspective — can elevate your video content performance.
Just like we’ve discussed in our previous posts, in-depth planning, research, audience development and analysis are just as important as the creative itself. Before you start your next, or first, video project, take stock of what’s important to your viewers and how it will compete with all the noise out there: be realistic, be original, be thoughtful, and be daring!
