Video content marketing is more important than ever.
Not only does video account for the vast majority of all consumer Internet traffic, but it does something that text cannot – it shows, rather than tells.
This simple truth alone is enough to warrant the marketing industry's newfound obsession with video. If you have a product or service you are looking to market, video content will be your most important tool for the foreseeable future.
But you are not the only one. Marketers all over the world are harnessing the power of video to cultivate leads and drive inbound marketing strategies. To make your videos stand out, you will need to learn valuable tricks of the trade – the video production tips that professionals use to make content easier to create and more rewarding to consume.
Consider the following useful video pre-production tips for improving your video content.
1. Create Unique Content for Individual Channels
One of the most common mistakes brands make when testing the waters of video content marketing is trying to blast the same content through every channel possible. Just because you hire a high-powered corporate videographer to create a compelling, in-depth product tutorial doesn't mean it's going to gain traction if it isn't used in the right way.
Longer content often works well on YouTube, but generally doesn't reach far on Facebook or Twitter. 30-second ads like the ones you commonly see on TV may generate leads on a platform like Twitter, but may not perform as well on LinkedIn. Each social media channel has its own rules concerning content length and messaging – your content should speak to consumer needs within those guidelines.
2. Tell Stories
The one thing you can always rely on video content for is its storytelling capability. No matter what industry you work in, there are countless ways you can incorporate compelling narratives into your video marketing strategy.
One of the easiest approaches is telling customer stories. This is simple because your customers all share one thing in common – you. The part your product or service played in satisfying one customer will resonate with another who has a similar problem and is looking to solve it. But you can go further – tell stories about your company, your employees, or your executive leadership.
3. Instruct, Explain, and Review
Videos are a perfect medium for tutorials, guides, and reviews. Generally, people who view video content are already aware of the brands they are interested in. By the time a potential customer is interested in a video that instructs, explains, or reviews a product or service, they are almost certainly actively considering making a purchase.
By focusing on audiences that are further along the buyer's journey, almost at the point of making a decision, you pour resources into more valuable outlets for consumer interaction. Instructions, product comparisons, and reviews help customers make the right decisions concerning their purchases, and they pay closer attention to this type of content than to generic awareness-oriented videos.
4. Invest Wisely in Production Equipment
With video content surging in popularity, high production standards will help you stand out. Most newcomers to video marketing are hesitant to invest because they think quality video production equipment is prohibitively expensive. If you're looking at a $50,000 RED Weapon, then you're right – but in fact, the camera is the last investment you need to make for creating quality video content.
Your smartphone camera may very well be enough to get the job done. What you need to invest in are lights, image stabilizers, and microphones. If you can get your makeshift film set well-lit, obtain a stable image, and accurately capture high-fidelity sound, you are well on your way to creating world-class video content on a budget measured in mere hundreds of dollars.
The most useful video production tips center around ways to maximize the impact of video content marketing without incurring huge costs. There are lots of ways to optimize video to promote your brand without having to support large financial outlays:
Another way to generate high-impact, low-cost videos is by leveraging user-generated content. If you can get your customers to film themselves using your products or delivering testimonials, you can potentially cast a much wider net, while skipping over much of the actual manual production work. This is a useful tactic for brands with highly dedicated "superuser" followings.