A marketing video is much more than just an advertisement. It’s actually your most powerful tool for engaging in business. A well-made, creative marketing video can strengthen your brand, promote you as an individual, or even inspire people to take action.
It’s easy to create a short YouTube clip or feature of your product online, but writing a script and filming a longer version takes time and energy. That’s why there are many people out there who don’t quite understand the value of creating a video story.
Luckily, we have some tips here for you to try. Read on to learn how to write your own video stories!
Disclaimer
Before you dive into writing a script and recording your video, make sure you have done your research first. Make sure your products and services live up to their promises, and check out similar videos to see what works and doesn’t work.
Also remember that this article only gives you general guidelines, not hard and fast rules. If you feel that something isn’t working then try another approach.
Different types of videos
A marketing video is any type of visual communication that uses dialogue to tell an audience or individual what you want them to do next. Videos can be for websites, apps, advertisements, etc.
Most people agree that YouTube is a great platform to create content and upload your videos. You get free access to the software and users enjoy watching their favorite brands make fun of themselves so it’s definitely worth producing some funny clips.
Other sites like Facebook and Instagram now have live streaming features which allow you to connect directly with your followers or watchers. This is another way to use these mediums to promote yourself or someone else.
Feature stories are also very popular at this time as they grab attention and keep viewers interested. Creating our own feature stories is not too difficult if you are familiar with Photoshop or other similar graphics programs.
Marketing videos should always contain a clear message and goal. If the viewer does not understand the message then nothing has been achieved![1]
General tips: instead of telling your audience something, ask them what they need help with and then give appropriate answers. Your audience will feel more connected to you when you show how well informed you are in certain areas.[2]
And remember, a personal connection will influence them more than just a “buy my product” kind of appeal.
Touchpoints in videos
A marketing video is like a piece of cake – you have to eat it before people will want to try it for themselves. That is what makes them so powerful as an advertising tool.
A video is a way to advertise or market a product or service. Videos are usually lengthier than short clips, with more content. They can be about anything!
Most companies will create at least one video per month to promote their products. By incorporating some key components into your business’s videos, they will help your company stand out from the rest. These components include:
The setting of the video
Introductions
Talking about the product/service
Demonstration and use of the product/service
Testimonials and feedback
Return policies and links
At the end of the video, there should be a call-to-action (CTO) asking viewers to do something such as buy the product or visit the site online.
Some examples of a CTO would be “call now”, “visit today”, or “buy this”. Make sure to give enough time after the CTA for someone to actually click on that link before moving onto the next step.
ByteDance, the creator of TikTok, also put up a picture saying goodbye.
Creative tips for marketing videos
A video is much more than just a way to broadcast an announcement or message. It can be a tool in and of itself! With that, it makes sense that there are many ways to make your video creative, engaging, and powerful.
Here are some easy ways to do this.
Record and edit your video
After you have your main topic and bullet point, then it is time to start recording your video! There are two major ways to do this: using YouTube or an external software program like Windows or Google-owned Shotmaker.
You can use both of these to create your marketing videos with! Both have free versions that are adequate for most people’s needs, but if you want more features than that, they are not expensive. I will go into more detail about each one below.
There are several different qualities of videos that make up the length of a good marketing video. The first quality to look at is how professional looking the end product is!
After that, determine what part of the business you would like to include in the video. This could be just yourself as a person, some products or services, or all three. Once done, choose either a casual setting or something formal depending on which style fits your company best.
Last, decide where you want to publish your video so that readers can find it.
Invest in good quality filming equipment
As mentioned before, you do not need a professional camera to create a marketing video! Many people believe this is untrue but it is very false. While having great-quality film stock and software can help you polish your videos slightly, investing in a decent smartphone or computer camera will give you enough footage for many videos.
Most professionals have at least one of these in their kit as they are sufficient for most purposes. A few more advanced users may have higher end cameras, but they are still not necessary if you are just starting out.
Many digital media companies now offer free or low cost editing accounts that are suitable for beginners (sometimes even with pre-made templates!). This gives you somewhere to start building your YouTube channel before moving onto bigger things.
What we recommend is to try shooting some short videos using your own device first to see how well you cope under pressure before investing in better equipment.
Choose the perfect location
After deciding what type of video you want to make and picking your genre, now is the time to choose the setting for your video. You can use these settings to emphasize more positive aspects about your product or service.
For example, if your business offers yoga classes then you could make a teaching style video or an exercise video.
By using this format, your audience will be able to watch more of your content since you have established yourself as an expert in your field.
You can also do a quick review or summary of your products or services.
Plan out your video
After you have determined what area of the market to target, what messages will appeal to that audience, and what time frame you will want to run your videos within, it’s time to actually create your video!
The first thing you should do is make sure your camera is fully functioning before you start filming. You don’t want to be wasting money buying extra equipment because you didn’t take the time to test yours beforehand.
Once your camera is all set up, it’s time to pick your location. Make sure your setting is appropriate and contains no distractions such as other people or heavy traffic.
Your setting can be anywhere there’s enough space and light for you to film comfortably, but we recommend keeping it close to home since this is where most of our daily activities occur.
If you are able to find yourself a room with a white wall, you can easily add some decoration by using an image or text coverup and creating a quick graphic.
Create your theme and theme song
Many professional marketers have hard time staying motivated to create marketing videos due to the expensive cost of filming, editing, and producing videos. These costs can add up quickly!
That’s why it is so important to start off with an idea or theme that you already know about.
You can then develop a catchy melody and lyrics that fit the theme well. After all, people will be listening to this for advertising purposes!
Your potential audience members will also likely recognize some parts of the video if they’ve seen it before.
