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Videos (And Podcasts)
BE SEEN! (AND HEARD)
VIDEO ALLOWS PEOPLE TO SEE WHO YOU ARE AND HOW YOU WORK.
THEY TRUST YOU MORE WHEN THEY CAN SEE YOU SPEAK.
Video Strategy
Video marketing is growing more in more in popularity. With people spending more and more time consuming videos, its only natural for you to include it in your marketing. There are different strategies when it comes to video marketing and all have pros and cons.
The low budget strategy just involves using a phone to record video and have little to no scripting or preparation. These low budget clips are perfect for Facebook live, Instagram, and even YouTube or social media posting.
The opposite strategy is to produce highly polished, scripted and edited shots. These cost significantly more and have a high-end feel to them. They look professional and could even be television commercial quality. Both strategies hold water and are effective. In fact, some studies argue more people watch the low budget video content on social media feeds than the more polished content. In general, consistency and quality play bigger roles in the success of your videos than the dollars spent on them.
YouTube Strategy
In addition to the videos you make, its important to have a clean and polished consistency on a platform like YouTube where you have all your videos next to each other. This includes style and branding, watermarks, and even titles.
Not only do you have to worry about the aesthetic, but with all the videos out there, its important to also optimize your YouTube channel so that your videos can get found and are watched. This means the descriptions matter, the title matters, any and all tags and keywords you use are just as important as the content of the video.
Lastly the process of releasing is something to consider. How frequently will you be making these videos. When do you want to release them (including time of day). All of these decisions should be decided on and mapped out ahead of time for the most professional look.
Video Content Creation
Now that you have an overall strategy for your videos and a strategy for your channel as a whole, the next step is to actually make the videos. There are multiple parts to this. Scripts can be good for not missing information but if read poorly, they can destroy your brand. Outlines have less info but usually cause more editing.
The filming itself is important mostly for easy of viewing. Don't look into the sun and dont face the camera into the sun. Make sure there is nothing distracting in the background or on you. Speak up and make sure people can hear you on the camera. It might take multiple takes to get it right. Test different things and don't go live until you're happy with it.
100 Days of Video
Now that you've made your first video and have worked out all the kinks in your process, the idea is to make more videos. I like to map out all of the topics I can talk about ahead of time and build up the outlines for all of them. Then I pick out the ones I feel most comfortable with or that are the most relevant in what's going on today and film those first.
By making a database of all the topics I ever think of, I now know what to talk about and don't have to worry about writer's block when I need to make a video by the end of the day.
Explainer Video Scripts & Creation
Explainer videos are awesome. They're usually the ones you see with a white background and stick figures or cartoon characters while the entire video is voiced over. These are great for catching people's attention and explaining complex things in a very simple and visual way.
The keys with explainer videos is knowing everything you want to talk about ahead of time. Then you write the script. Next you send in the script to be turned into a video and you record yourself reading the script. You send your recording in with the script so that the creators can match your timing to your talking and bam! You now have an explainer video. If you want to know if your script is any good, be sure to reach out and I'll let you know.
Webinar Scripts & Shooting
Webinars are a slightly different strategy when it comes to videos. They are usually between 20 minutes and 60 minutes long and are an infomercial about a topic or selling a product. These scripts are CRUCIAL to get right ahead of time and there is a lot of science that goes into the information, how its conveyed and when its conveyed to get the desired result.
On top of the script itself, there are a few ways to create a visual for a webinar. You can do a PowerPoint with text, a video of yourself, an explainer video, etc. The trick is in the word you use and how you put them together to get the sale.
If you want help making your webinars, we won't hold it against you. These are not easy nuts to crack and it can get expensive when they don't get the results you want.
Educational Video Scripts & Shooting
Educational videos cover a wide variety. You can knock these out in a 30 second shot on your phone or you could invest some big money into your videography and create a 3 hour documentary about a topic of your choice. The advantage to educational videos is just like blogging. It helps reassure your clients that you are an expert on the topic and exactly the person they need when it comes to that topic.
For example, me posting all these notes on all these different marketing strategies helps you understand all the services I offer, but more importantly, helps you to realize that I do really know what I'm talking about so when I tell you a script is rubbish, you are more likely to fix it.
Hype Videos
Think of commercials and high energy videos you see on TV or on YouTube. Those are hype videos. Your goal is to sell a product, service or business by showing it in the best light with a powerful and evocative hype video. There's usually popular music playing as well.
These are great as initial intro videos to your YouTube channel, posting on Facebook every month, sending out in email newsletters, and just introducing people to your product. It will probably take a little more convincing than one hype video to get someone to buy your product but it does the first step of introducing them to your brand and it does it well.
Owner Interview Video
I think owner interview videos are way underused for the value they bring. All you need is the business owner and a camera. I recommend writing down and preparing the questions ahead of time just to look clean and professional as you answer them but its up to you. (It does make the owner look good when they can spit off accurate numbers mid interview).
You can do this with a second person actually asking the questions and film both sides of the conversation (like the TV show: 60 Minutes), you can cut out the interviewer so its only on the owner, or (this is top secret) you can do this all by yourself by setting up your camera and answering each of the questions as if you were asked them and then cutting out all the pauses so it looks like you just cut those portions out.
too complex? Don't worry, we can help you with your video marketing from start to finish.
Pre-Production, Post-Production, & Editing
This is all the behind the scenes part of video marketing. The easy part is when you're on camera. It gets a lot more challenging and time consuming in the post-production phase. (video editing.) On top of that, if you give 10 people the same raw footage and tell them what you want, you can get 10 entirely different results. Editing is everything when it comes to videos, and the more editing required, the more skilled you want your editor to be.
Sharper Steel will handle all your editing after you've made your videos but we'll do the planning, scripting and filming before we get to that point too. In fact, you can come to our studio and we can knock out that owner interview together if you want. Let me know how we can help.