How many of you have seen the recent explosion of videos being shot on an iPhone inside a car? They’re all over social media. While it’s most often being done by small business owners, it’s not exclusive to that group. People have caught onto the idea that video sells and that Google demands it, but they missed the subheading. Bad video isn’t good for business.
No matter what the size of your company, corporate videos are an investment. And here’s the truth, no matter how big (or small in the case of the do-it-yourselfers) the budget sometimes they miss the mark.
Most business people need help creating good video. Business owners are experts in the work they do, but producing watchable video is most likely not part of the skill set. Just reading about video production techniques online or monkeying around with an advanced iPhone video app, won’t give you the polished, creative content and visual presentation that showcases a business in the best light. It’s likely you aren’t telling a story that engages your audience.
You really have to spend some time and a little bit of money to get started in a professional way. You do not need lots of bells and whistles, green screens, drones or dancing dogs to create content that counts. You simply need to put a professional polish on it, just like you would when building your website. Potential customers or clients need to know you care enough about your business to invest in quality work, including your marketing materials. You and your videos need to be professional. Your video won’t promote your expertise, your passion or your work effectively if the audio and the lighting are bad.
People often know they should be using video in their business but both the technical aspects of shooting, editing video, the content part and deciding what to say in their video, scares them. They may think, “Oh, well, I can’t possibly make the video. I don’t know what to say.” Or a lot of people also say, “I’m not good on video. I don’t want to be on TV.” Or, they “go for it” and embarrass themselves.
In your marketing video, you simply have to talk about you in an engaging way. You’re the expert in YOU. You’re the expert about your business. Your video shows that you’re the passion behind the product. What you need is to find someone who can help coach you through this process. Find someone with the knowledge to ask you the key questions to develop your message:
You’re going to talk about WHO? That’s you.
WHAT? What’s your business do or what products do you offer?
WHY should a consumer buy your product or service? Explain why you do what you do!
You also have to think about how much time your potential client will give you to consume your content. When I say that, I mean sometimes, its 15 seconds and other times its 30 seconds. Maybe your video is a minute long. It just depends on your story and the visuals that go with it, because, above all, this is a visual medium and you want robust pictures to go with your story. The days of doing a 5-10 minute about your business, and calling your video needs met, are over. The modern YouTube viewer won’t give you that much time.
Whether it’s a corporate profile, a television commercial or a product promotion, it makes no difference. You’ll want an emotional hook to engage viewers. And most importantly, put your best foot forward, so you’re not creating videos that are painful to watch. I firmly believe and advise all clients that poor quality videos will attract the wrong clients. Simply put, bad video makes you look bad.
You’re good at what you do and you want it to show. You don’t want to look like one of those amateur auditions. The old advertising slogan of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas does not apply online. The modern expression is, “What happens on Google stays on Google.” And it might stay there forever, so you’d better make it good the first time.
