Video content online is growing at a rapid pace and some believe that in the very near future most content online will be video content. In our previous blog, “Alternatives to Blogging”, we touched upon how video could be great alternative to normal blogging as content can be more engaging.

As a small business or start-up it is always good to consider all forms of marketing and video is definitely one to look at. In this week’s blog we will talk about why video marketing is a great tool and how to get started.

Let the stats do the talking…

According to Forrester Research, a video has the exact same value as 1.8million words. That is the equivalent of 3,600 webpages, I mean just think, all those hours trying to write 1.8million words?!

Youtube is the second most used search engine in the world (behind Google, of course) and Search Engine Watch predict that by in the future, 90% of internet traffic and 66% of mobile data will be video. In addition, Cisco have reported that in the last three years alone, the use of video on the internet has increased by 5000%.

Putting the stats in perspective, it shows how powerful a video can be to communicate a message to its target audience and how using it as a marketing tool could be great for your business.

How can video benefit you?

With social media, most companies can be a bit more laidback with what they post and that is similar to the video marketing. While you should always be professional and keep your company at the forefront, you can have a little fun and be creative when producing a video. Remember, it is all about engaging with the audience, so you can start thinking outside the box!

So how does this benefit you? A more creative or helpful video can help you reach a new audience, bring you more customers and a positive brand image, and of course if your video reaches viral status then the amount of people you target could be limitless!

A great example of video marketing is if you were selling knives. The market is saturated with many knife brands but you know your knife stands out - you sell a range of knives that you know are a lot sharper. So you make videos that show this, be creative, cut through any object you can think of.

This is what Blendtec did. They started a YouTube series called “Will it Blend?” and 10 years later are still going strong. The reason why the videos work is because they are entertaining but at the same time they demonstrate how good the product is.

Another example of video marketing is producing videos that are helpful. Not all companies that start producing videos will have products to show off and test, others may offer services or web tools and more.

One of the most searched term is “How to…”, so instead of trying to be fun or quirky, you can always make videos that show how to use your product.  For example, take TweetDeck, they are a social media platform that allows you to share and schedule tweets. You could then make a video that shows “how to” schedule a tweet.

These videos are great as it can help reduce the amount of people who contact customer services asking how to do something.

So, where to start?

First and foremost, before you even get equipment, is to strategize! You need to ask yourself these to help you get set-up:

1. Who is your target audience? Will videos suit them?
2. What kind of videos do you want to create for your audience?
3. What kind of results are you looking for?
4. Time and budget?
5. Who will be in the video and where will you shoot it?

These are all important questions to ask before you start as having everything in place and planned out will allow for a smoother (and probably cost effective) production. These questions are also important because you may find that video isn’t suitable at all and then you save yourself time and money that could be put to other marketing tools!

What next?

Once the strategy is in place , the next thing to do is plan everything:

1. Equipment: make sure you have the basic equipment to film a video, a high resolution camera is a good way to go, plus a tripod to keep the camera steady when filming. Lighting is important as is a tool to record sound, while a computer and editing software is good for post-production.
2. Pre-production: This is an important stage of video marketing as this is where you talk about the project, the goals of why you are producing a video, how you want to achieve them, and of course the ideas. Make sure everything is clearly defined and planned, this way then you won’t have to film over and over.
3. Storyboarding ideas: Once all the above is done you can start storyboarding ideas, which is basically a visual representation of your ideas, frame by frame. It will give you a good idea of how it will turn out and whether or not it is achievable.
4. Script: having a rough script is good as it gives the people starring in it something to say or start with. It will make things go smoother as people won’t be trying to find words to say and it will help you know what goes next.
5. Finally, double check everything!

And...ACTION!

So now you have everything planned out, from script to location, the next thing to do is film! If everything is planned out accordingly, then filming should run smoothly but to be extra organised, below are a few tips:

• Do a run through of the video before you start so you can see how it flows in person and if there needs to be any quick changes
• Try and have more than one person behind the scenes. Two is a good start as you will have one who is filming and one who is directing. Splitting the responsibility means a smoother production and less faff for one person
• Check the location - make sure all the lighting is right and that it is quiet
• Use soundbites so you know where to start cutting videos when editing. An example of this would be, if the director asked the actor “what is a coworking office space?”, rather than replying with “it is a…”, the actor should reply “A coworking space is…”. This way then it is easy to know what that clip is and you know where to edit from.
• Save, Save, Save - make sure you save everything as soon as possible!

Happy Creating!