Happy new year! The experts have been touting the benefits of business’ using video for the past few years, and the stats continue to grow and become even more impressive and difficult to ignore. This year will be no exception, in fact some are predicting that video will become the only type of content marketing to really matter.
We create A LOT of corporate video, it’s what we love to do! So we thought we’d gather our thoughts on what will be the most important areas to focus on when producing video for your company in 2018.
Be A Human Being
In the same way your average print magazine has become 50% (or more!) advertisements, the online landscape becomes more and more sponsored content. This creates a problem for those attempting to be noticed amongst the throngs of YouTube Influencers and Instagram profiles for hire. The more we are bombarded with obvious sales content, the more we ignore it. Just as we did for TV commercials, except that there were some exceptions – those television ads that made us laugh or challenged our expectations. The same trick can (and should) be applied when creating online video content for your company. Using humor humanizes your brand, creates a warm and friendly aftertaste and has a better retention rate that any other type of video. Funny or conversational content is also mostly widely shared. So get your audience laughing and then sharing their joy (and your brand!) in the process. EXAMPLE:
What’s In It For Me?
Perhaps the most common mistake we see in marketing video is a misguided focus. Your online videos should not be the equivalent of the blurb on the back of a package. Customers respond much better to video that educates them about the BENEFITS of your service or product. They don’t want to know the cold hard facts and stats, instead they want a preview of how it will make them feel! That’s the superpower of really well produced video – unlike still images or text, video is able to transport the viewer, to make them think, to laugh and to cry. Giving your customers an emotionally-charged summary of the benefits of choosing your brand should be the basis for every video you create.
EXAMPLE:
Consistency Is Not The Same As Boring
A toolbox of videos for your company should be your goal. A ‘family’ of different video content will help to present a full overview of your company and products that will build buyer trust like nothing else. The key to the success of creating video for different purposes (testimonials, product education, company culture, etc) and for different platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) is to make sure that they all share branding. Your company’s color palettes, the feel of your brand (bright and modern versus handmade, authentic, etc.) should remain consistent throughout. Using the same music, talent or the same style of on-screen graphics are other great ways of pulling your video collection together. In the same way your packaging shares design traits that make your products easily identifiable as uniquely yours, your video marketing materials must do the same.
EXAMPLE:
