Corporate videos give you new ways to tell your story. They allow you to provide unique, authentic content to your current and prospective customers, investors, and other stakeholders. However, today’s videos need to entertain and engage your audience as well. Videos are a great storytelling tool, but there are a few things you should keep in mind as you create them.
Purpose
First, determine the purpose of your video. For example, are you telling your corporate story, selling a product, or attracting quality employees? A sales video may have multiple customer testimonials about your product, whereas a recruiting video may provide employee testimonials and sharing all the benefits of working with your company. “How to” videos will explore your website, products, or services in detail.
Target Audience
The natural next step should be identifying your target audience. Avoid creating videos for a wide range of individuals. Instead, focus on one type of audience, e.g., customers, investors, or employees, not all three in one. Speak with some of your prospective audience members to determine their needs and expectations. Then, make sure your video states and illustrates the benefits for your target audience.
If you plan to play your video at large events, such as conferences, conference management companies may provide a little guidance in your video’s focus based on the audience that will attend. Although every video should raise your brand awareness, the content needs to be focused on the video’s purpose and target audience.
Message
Your message should be specific. It should focus on a single topic. For example, you may identify the benefits of working with your company. In this case, don’t add in too much information about the product or service you provide, but do state how your company promotes from within and provides discounts to your employees. Avoid long, drawn-out videos that ramble on.
Your message should also encourage an emotional response because most decisions are based on emotion, at least initially. Discuss how people’s lives have changed through their use of your products or by being a part of your company. Use a storyline to connect with your viewers emotionally. Choose your music wisely, and don’t ignore sound quality.
Visuals
A great video shows; it doesn’t tell. Therefore, show off your product or company. In addition, every person, place, and thing in your video should reflect your brand and your company’s corporate culture. You can work with any type of production, such as animation or interviews, but make it consistent throughout the video. Your imagery and colors should add life and motion to the production. This includes the wardrobe, location, lighting, and background.
Your production does not have to be perfect, but it should look professional and intentional. Working with a company that does corporate video production in Sydney can help you with some of your production challenges.
Plan
Whether you will consult with companies that provide corporate video production in Sydney or you will produce your video yourself, you need a plan. Produce a script or storyboards to help you organize your ideas. Your goal should be writing a video sequence that builds to a conclusion and inspires your audience. For example, if you are writing a product video for prospective customers using testimonials, start with those that discuss smaller benefits first, and end with the customer who experienced the greatest benefits. If you are writing a recruiting video, start with line workers and end with the person who grew with the company and now holds a management position.
Release
You put a lot of work into creating your video, so find the right places to share it. However, how individuals interact with your video will greatly depend on where they see it. Therefore, you shouldn’t share the same video on different social media platforms and during a conference. You need to be intentional about your release and direct your content to meet the audience’s expectations. For example, will it be released online? Where online? If it will be released during a conference, consult with conference management companies for their suggestions on audio and visual content.
Marketing
Your final focus should be on gaining viewers. Therefore, optimize the video title, call to action, and description based on what platform you will use to release it. Also, promote your video. Post it to your website and online video platforms. Use email newsletters and PR outlets to share your links and discuss the video. Then, use analytics to evaluate its performance.
Videos provide great opportunities for you to share your company and spread brand awareness. Well-planned videos lead to customer conversions, excellent employees, and interested investors.