Planning An Online Video To Market Your Company Or Product
Online videos are big news in marketing right now. This is partly because everybody is aware of the phenomenon of the viral video and wants a slice of that action, and also because it is so accessible. You can create the kind of advert that would cost thousands to broadcast on TV and bring it to a highly targeted audience for no placement cost, and you can also be as creative and innovative as you want when it comes to the style of content you want to create, because the internet has no rules!
Creating a video to market a new product or your business as a whole is a very good idea, as it offers you a way to visually show things off in a way that you just can't do with text and photographs alone. If you would like to get started with your own video, here are some tips for how to plan it:
How Long Should It Be?
The first decision to make is how long your video should be. Unlike TV advertising, there are no limitations on this – your video can be an edgy ten second clip or a thirty minute lecture, whatever works best for you and what you are trying to promote. Keep in mind that most people have short attention spans and are unlikely to commit to watching something longer than three minutes unless they are certain it is going to be interesting to them, but also consider your target audience. If, for example, you offer training services to companies, you may want to do a longer video that actually includes some free training. If you are launching a kitchen product, you can go for a punchy thirty second commercial and also a longer 'infomercial' style video people can watch afterwards if the first one piqued their interest.
What you do should depend on who you are pitching to and how much information you have to give out, but make sure you decide this before you do anything else – don't script first then just see how long it comes out.
Scripting and Planning
Once you know the length and the concept, the next thing to do is come up with a script. This can be largely ad libbed if it suits you better to do that, or it can be formally scripted with a number of people involved. As well as your script, you'll need to decide on a location and cast. Once you know all of this, you can take your plan to a video production firm or use the people you have lined up in house to make the video happen!
When your marketing video has been made, edited and finished with any overlay graphics and titles, it is ready to go online. If you plan to make a series of videos, you may choose to create a YouTube channel to post them on. If it is a one off, you can simply post to YouTube and then embed on your site and anywhere else you choose. Don't forget to share it on all of your social media accounts!
This article has been contributed by Phil Raymonds, an online marketing professional who is equipped with the latest news in the online media world. He enjoys helping others by giving them useful information through his articles.
Image Credits, in order of appearance: Alpha(flickr), Sorosh Tavakovi (flickr), Vancouver Film School(flickr).
