Before you begin your next video production project, check out these simple tips to making sure it’s a success.
1. Find a story to tell
Studies show that video is the most effective medium for creating an emotional connection with a viewer. If you want your video to be interesting and memorable, find a compelling story to tell. People remember stories, but they forget sales pitches.
What’s the story behind your company? Who are the people impacted by your products? Your brand story is an opportunity to connect with a viewer beyond the vendor-consumer relationship. Not only will consumers be more likely to buy from you, they’ll be more likely to advocate your brand for you, which can be much more meaningful.
2. Choose the appropriate medium
Market research is a critical aspect of successful marketing campaigns. Where is your target market consuming video and where is the most meaningful place to interact with them? Before you can select the medium, you need to have a good understading of how your consumer behaves and what they care about. A good rule of thumb is that you want your content to be where your viewers are. If your viewers spend a lot of time on Facebook, you should make sure your video is there; if your consumer loves Mythbusters, you should consider advertising during the show.
3. Identify what success looks like
I know it sounds simple, but many companies undertake large video production projects without any specific idea of what they want the video to accomplish. Remembember, you will only recognize success if you know what you’re looking for. To start, ask yourself these questions:
What should a viewer do after they watch the video? Do you want your customer to buy a product? Follow you on Twitter? Call a sales person? Identify these actions before you begin production.
How many viewers need to take a specified action for your project to be a success? (Warning: middle school math problem ahead!) Let’s say the goal of your video is to sell $10,000 per month online and that the average purchase amount on your website is $100. By forecasting conversion rates of your website and the video, you can have an idea of how many views the video needs in order for you to increase sales. So let’s say that 1 out of 10 people that watch the video buy a product from your site. That means you’d need to get at least 1,000 unique views on the video in order for 100 of the viewers to spend roughly $100. This information is incredibly valuable when predicting ROI is important.
4. Have well-executed, on-point creative
The difference between an OK video and an amazing video is in the details. To people not in the profession, aspects of video production like lighting, sound, music selection and thousands of other creative decisions may not seem that important, but video production professionals know these aspects are truly critical. That’s why it’s best to hire a professional video production company instead of the CEO’s “artsy” nephew.
Once you’ve told your story in a creative way and placed your video in front of the correct people, you can move on to the final step.
5. Track your results and optimize
After your campaign has launched, have a plan in place to track the success of your video. If your video lives online, you can refine aspects of the video to optimize it for search engines and maximize the viewership. In many cases, you can see in real-time how many people are watching your video, how many people are talking about your video, and how many viewers are taking the desired actions you established in step 3. Analylzing these results provides you with valuable information to use on your next marketing projects.
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