Video has been the new standard in marketing for a while now, and—spoiler alert—it’s not going anywhere. Having a video that tells your story and engages your audience has become an expectation, whether you’re a B2B or B2C company. And the constant evolution of technology has made the process more time and cost effective, enabling businesses with even modest marketing budgets to get in on the game.
Methods and platforms for video marketing are constantly evolving. Video marketing on social platforms like Snapchat and Instagram have recently become a popular option, but there always seems to be something new and exciting around the corner. Despite the fast pace and frequent changes in video marketing trends, some things about working with a video production team will always remain consistent. (The same is also true for working with a graphic designer.)
Whether you’re making a motion graphics video or trying out 360° technology for the first time, here are some tips that will help the video production process go smoothly and ensure that your story is told in the most effective way possible:
1. Know Your WHY
The pressure to simply have video as part of your marketing materials shouldn’t be the only reason you hire a video team. Why does your business need a video? What are you trying to convey to your audience?
Knowing the purpose your video will serve can dictate a lot about the process—the why ultimately determines the style, tone and approach of the video overall. Spend some time thinking about and developing your why before approaching the video team. A clear focus and purpose makes for a much easier production process.
2. Collaboration (and Context) Is Key
When you hire a video team, you’re leaning on their technical and creative expertise to tell your story beautifully and effectively. But don’t forget—you’re the expert, too!
No one knows your industry or business better than you. Don’t be afraid to speak up and share your insights and knowledge with us throughout the process. Maybe a creative effect the video team thinks is amazing is not something you think is right for your audience—if that’s the case, tell your video team. Open communication and collaboration are key to a great video.
We use our expertise of our medium to create something that tells your story, but remember that sharing your expertise will help situate the video in the proper context, ensuring you get a product that is appropriate and relevant to your audience.
3. Provide Specific, Thorough Feedback
Videos are complicated. There are a lot of things happening at once—visuals, audio, music tracks, graphics—it’s a lot to process. When reviewing videos, the most helpful thing you can give your video team is specific and thorough feedback. You may feel like a list of timestamps with comments about specific seconds in the video is tedious, but trust us, we love it. Knowing exactly what needs to be adjusted helps us understand your vision, and allows us to quickly and easily implement changes.
For example, here are some pieces of feedback that will make your video team cringe:
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right.”
“I’ll know it when I see it.”
“It’s not what I had in mind…” (and then not explaining what you had in mind).
Instead, try something like:
“Around the 1:00 mark, the energy dips and I think we need something to continue the excitement through that part.”
“I don’t like the shot of the guy at :30, his facial expression is weird.”
“The music is too aggressive; can we try something a little subtler.”
Even if you don’t know the specific solution to what you want changed, it’s easier for the video team to understand where you’re coming from when you give detailed examples and descriptions. And it’s much easier to find a solution for the above comments than to guess what “I’ll know it when I see it” means.
Finally, being thorough is just as important as being specific. After receiving your list of revisions, your video team still needs to implement those changes, in addition to re-exporting and uploading the video—a time consuming process. By eliminating unnecessary rounds of revisions, you help your video team stay on schedule and save your company money in billable time.
Review each video draft multiple times to ensure you’ve communicated all desired changes. If there are several people reviewing the video, collect and consolidate before sending feedback to your video team. This will ensure a speedy revision process that will allow you to share your awesome new video with your audience sooner.
Creating videos for your business can be a big undertaking– but it’s well worth the effort. Approaching your video project with a clear focus and open communication will help your project go smoothly and result in the best possible product.
Questions about the video production process? Looking for a high-impact way to showcase your product or service? Reach out to de Novo’s video producer (hey, that’s me!) to get the conversation started.
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