No matter what industry you have a business in, chances are, you’re going to need to advertise. An excellent way of getting your company and what you offer into the world is to make a promotional video. When setting out to make a promo video for your business, how do you make on that will be successful? Here are four broad things to think about that will increase the likelihood of seeing results from your ad campaign.
- Plan Ahead
- Get to the Point
- Entertain Your Audience
- Invest in Good Quality
Plan ahead
The first thing you will need to do is brainstorm. Think about the message you want to send: what are you trying to sell? Why would this be appealing to consumers? Are you trying to raise brand awareness? Or increase community relations?
Think about your audience. What demographic are you targeting? How much information about your product or service will everyday people already have? Research other campaigns similar to the one you want to create. See what worked for them.
Think about what video style you want to use. Will this be an animation? Or live action? Will it have special effects? Will it be testimonial, or interview-based? Are you going to demonstrate your product? There are lots of options to consider. (Keep a budget in mind, too.)
Get to the point quickly.
Remember the ‘message’ from step one? You need to make this clear and succinct, and immediately apparent in your promo. Attention spans are essentially non-existent nowadays. Hit the viewer with your theme immediately, and it has a better chance of being seen.
For example: introduce your logo in the first three seconds. Recent research has shown viewers typically spend 5 seconds watching an online ad before clicking or swiping away, so to get the most brand recognition, include that image immediately.
Don’t overload the viewer with information, either! Keep it concise. If you have a lot of points you want to make, consider making multiple videos. Retain the essential information for each one, and include the ‘extra’ stuff in separate promos.
Entertain
Be bold! You want to make your video more than just a sales pitch. People want to be entertained! With advertisements everywhere (on your phone, television, computer, radio, the sides of busses, the tube—you get the point), people become desensitised.
Appeal to people’s emotions. Try to choose content that they will identify with. Make the audience curious, so that they want to try out your product or service themselves. Humour can be a powerful tool
Add value to your product: consider carefully if you want to use a company spokesperson or a professional actor/actress. You need this person to be relatable and trustworthy.
Quality
Don’t skimp on quality. A poorly-shot, low-quality video will not have nearly the impact (or credibility) as one that is professionally recorded and edited. Don’t forget audio, as well—sound can make or break any video on the market. Put the same amount of time and care into your advertisements as you do your products or services. Potential consumers will connect a shoddy advertisement with shoddy work, and that is the last thing you want!
When all is said and done, there is not set-in-stone way to make a successful promotional video. The things outlined above will increase the probability of seeing results from your ad campaigns. Remember to consider all aspects of your advertising goals before you move into the production stage. Keep your advert tight and exciting, and invest in good quality. Embrace what stands out about your company and product, and let that shine through.