Considering a branded video for your brand or company? You = smart person. After all, the research shows us that “90% of online customers report that a business’ product or service video helps them make a decision to buy.” The question becomes not “if” but “how”, and then “how do you do it successfully”? At Front Runner Films, we consider the following to tips to be essential. They will help you take advantage of the power of video for your business.
1. Focus on Narrative
Traditionally, corporate video featured two guys in suits talking to each other or to camera in uncomfortable, stuttered, partially memorized script. Unappetizing, predictable and boring. You have the first 10 seconds to wow your audience before they switch to more engaging content. How do you do that? By telling them a story that’s so original and encapsulating that they just have to keep watching to find out the end. We don’t mean a storyline that involves your CEO playing the character of gunslinging cowboy, instead we mean using the basic principles of storytelling; create a beginning, a middle and an end. We mean taking the viewer on a journey. With professionally written storylines, expertly crafted videography and with keeping with the true values and authenticity of the company, branding videos with a narrative can add a level of “humanness” and trust that traditional videos do not.
2. Define Your Goal Before You Begin
Tell me your marketing goal in 1-2 clear and decisive statements…Go! Can’t do it? Then you’re not ready to begin. Deciding upon a very specific goal before you create your branded video will save you time, money and heartache later on. Every brand or company has a unique story to tell, and a group of people they want to tell it to. Taking the values of the business into account, you must decide if your goal is to: educate, entertain, introduce, or define your USP, or something else entirely. As a first step, try answering the following questions:(a) What will our videos help our audience do?(b) How will it help them do that? (c) What will our audience take away from our videos?
3. Short, Sharp, Successful
Statistics for how most of us consume online video are at best eye-opening and at worst, kind of scary! These numbers confirm our shortening attention spans, and lessening ability to focus for longer periods of time. How long is longer? 30 seconds. Yup, on average only a portion of a 1-2 minute video is watched by the majority of the audience, most lose eyeballs at the 30 second mark.This essential tip is self-explanatory; keep your branded video at 30-60 seconds, and as mentioned earlier in this article, the first 10 seconds have got to have wow factor.
Bonus Tip: Optimize for Mobile
With more and more of your audience watching your videos on their mobile device or laptop, it’s imperative that you create something that is pleasurable to watch on smaller screens. Professional video production companies should be very aware of this important element of branded video – if they’re not, proceed with caution (or drop us a line below!). Optimization doesn’t only refer to file weight, frame rate and player dimensions, it also encompasses a focus upon more close-up shots, elimination of tony, hard to read text or product images and more.
We love to help companies tell their stories in fun, heartfelt and humorous ways. If you’d like to know more and chat about some original ideas for your company, then send us a message info@frontrunnerfilmsllc.com.
