With research showing that a staggering 95% of viewers could remember a brand's message after they watched a video on them versus just 10% after simply reading copy, more and more B2B companies are realising the value video can add to their marketing.
...But why is video so powerful?
Unlike other media, video can offer a snapshot into everyday life in your company, or even easily explain a key product or service your company offers. Whatever industry you’re in, video has the power to propel your business and sell your products or services by showing your value, not simply telling them.
However, for the video to deliver results, it’s not as simple as pointing your camera, shooting something, uploading it to the internet, and hoping for the best.
59% of senior executives say they would rather watch a video than read text.
In order to produce high-quality videos that will perform well for your business, they need to be well planned, shot with the right equipment, and marketed with your ideal audience in mind.
Obviously - there’s a lot of room for potential error.
To create your video, there are two routes you can go down - producing your videos in-house or via working with a videographer.
Whether you are working internally or externally, in each stage of production it's important to consider the following steps..
Getting started with video marketing is tricky enough without being bombarded with technical jargon. We don’t want to add to your confusion! So, before you get stuck into the production process, here’s some of the key terms we’ll use throughout this guide, explained.
No matter how keen you are to get going with your video project, you need to understand a few basic ideas about what you’re filming, as well as what you’re trying to accomplish. Ideally, this video will be part of a wider content plan, designed to pique potential clients interest as you attract, engage, and delight them with your knowledge.
But, before your videographer grabs their camera, it's best practice to plan the video, create a script, and prepare your team.
Before getting started with your B2B video, it's important to understand the type of video you’re trying to produce for your business. For example, the process for a case study video is entirely different to that of a brand video.
Before talking to anyone, it’s key to have a general idea of what video asset you’d like to produce, as well as how this could potentially help build on or support any current campaigns you’re working on. Not only will this help you decide what your asset needs to be, such as a factual video explaining how to use your product, but can help you decide what information needs to be included.
You’ll need a clear idea of what you want to film and what is possible to achieve given your budget.
In order to have a clear idea of what results you will be able to gather from your video, you’ll need to determine:
Once you’ve addressed these questions, then here you’ll be able to start figuring out what it is you want to actually shoot and how you want your video to look in the storyboarding process.
Although in film storyboarding is typically an in-depth process within the entertainment industry, depending on your type of video, this can be a significantly lighter process.
For a talking-head video, for example, you may want to make basic notes for your speaker to follow, such as this:
Yet, for a more complex, shot-driven narrative, you might want to make a shot-by-shot breakdown, such as this:
However you decide to plan your video, it’s important to take into consideration how you want the video to look and feel. While you can make edits during the post-production stage that will alter the look and feel of your footage, ultimately it’s important to make your footage as good as you can in its raw form.
During the storyboarding phase, take into consideration:
As you begin to create a concept for your video, it’s important to think about not only what and who you want to film - but who’s going to help you film it.
For inbound marketing, while the speaker is the most important, depending on what you want to achieve, you’ll likely need to have multiple people to help you film.
If you’re shooting a talking head video and have adequate knowledge of setting up your camera, lighting, and sound, you can probably handle this yourself. If you’re looking to do a more comprehensive video shoot involving multiple locations, people, and cameras then you will require more hands in order to be efficient on shoot day,
Even if it’s a simple set-up, it can generally be helpful to have a second person with you. Whatever their role, even if they’re asking the questions during a case study interview, as this can help you to focus on operating the camera equipment and focus on the task at hand.
It's finally shoot day! You know what you want to film and how you want to film it, but what other elements do you need to consider?
While you can record on your iPhone, ultimately you won’t get the best, most professional image of your company achievable. Realistically, you should consider using a high-quality camera, such as a DSLR, to achieve a clear, crisp image.
If you’re using a DSLR, however, it’s vital to have an intermediate understanding of your equipment before you come to the shoot. Fumbling around with your camera settings when you should be filming your video can be a detriment to you and your company, as it can waste valuable time, money, and resources.
Unsure how to best use your camera? Ultimately, it would be useful to get the help of a videographer on your team, who knows how to manipulate the settings on your camera to capture the best shot as there may be situations and locations where you can't use your run of the mill settings.
While you can record on your iPhone, ultimately, you won’t get the most professional image of your company. Here are some recommendations of equipment for making the best quality video for your business:
With these recommendations and a couple of extra accessories (SD cards etc) you’re ready to start shooting video.
You should have already scouted a location with your video team in your planning phase, but whether you’re in the office or out on location, you’ll need to prepare your shot.
To do this, it’s important to consider both the:
But, whether you’re doing a talking head or a glossy corporate video, you need to take into consideration the rule of thirds.
Our eyes are drawn to the points in the shot where the lines overlap, as opposed to the direct centre of the frame. The rule of thirds to help you adhere to and structure a more interesting shot.
To build a shot for a talking head, make your speaker's eyes align with the top line. But, if you’re filming a corporate video, if you want something moving, try and have any focus in your b-roll centred around any of the four focus points.
While the footage is obviously important in your video, it’s also key to consider the sound quality and lighting within your footage.
If you’ve ever tried to record footage at a concert, you’ll know how difficult it is - the band is always too light or dark and, even worse, the audio makes it unwatchable.
While there can be workarounds for these in post-production, this can be time-consuming, complex, and hard to pull off without the right expert videography knowledge.
Lighting plays a massive role in how your footage will come out - just look at this tweet by @iammoteh showing the transformation due to the scene lighting.
Everything you’ve done so far has been building up to this moment - actually shooting your footage.
While it can be overwhelming on the day, take your time and make sure you:
Although you’ve shot the video, there’s still a long way to go before your video is ready for the general public. Now, it’s time to enter the post-production process.
This is the time where all of your hard work and planning up to this point pays off. But simply knowing how it looks in your head is half of the battle.
It’s time to refine and review your footage, creating the best video you can for your business and brand.
While you may have discussed the length of your video in the pre-production stage, the editing process is where you physically determine the length of your video.
Using your script, make a rough edit focusing solely on what you need to convey or want to include in your video from your footage. From here, you can make it more visually appealing.
Another point that's worth thinking about is where are you going to store the master version of your video - i.e. the project file and all its contents.
Video files can take up vast amounts of space in their raw form so it might be worth investing in external storage for long term storage and file backups. This is an extra cost in the short term, but this can be a valuable asset to your project.
For example, if you ever want to use any of the footage again on other projects, such as b-roll, it will be readily available to you and your team, ready to be repurposed. Similarly, if you lose any of your footage, during the production process, re-shooting will require a lot of time, effort, and money from your business.
Depending on what type of video you’re wanting to produce, you will have to consider how you want your video to look and feel, this can vary depending on the type of video you’re shooting.
You can change the tone of your video quickly, by doing simple things such as:
Animated elements are yet another tool at your disposal to add depth and visual appeal to your video.
The most common type you will see in most videos are name cards, otherwise known as lower thirds. These can vary between creators from static images to intricate animated name cards that can add flair to your final piece, here are some examples;
Depending on your editing software, you may be able to find basic lower thirds already built into your program. If you were to learn a new program, such as Adobe After Effects, making your own name cards is a great way to personalise them to your branding. This, however, can be a complex process and can involve a lot of moving elements.
You can use other pieces of on-screen animation throughout your video such as:
These on-screen animations can help to highlight points made in your video as well grab the attention of your audience. You shouldn’t have the whole script on screen, but highlighting important points as they are spoken can help to aid the learning of your viewer.
When working on any project, you can become blind to the bigger picture as you get close to the final product. Therefore, have as many people watch it internally as possible to get an unbiased view of your project.
Try to take in their opinions, and make appropriate changes if they are suggested.
While you don't have to sway away massively from your overall vision, if there are overlaps in comments between your team, you should consider creating multiple different edits.What's next?
The hard part is over - your video is done!
But, what should you do with it now it’s finished? And, more importantly, how can you get the best ROI for your footage?
To make the most of your footage, you can:
To make the most of your videos, you can:
Ultimately, although you may film your footage originally for one video, this doesn’t mean you only have to use it all once. The above tips can help you make the most of not only your footage, but also your investment as a whole.
Once your video is complete, with the right marketing, it’ll be seen by the right people at the right time and help to create leads for your company.
But, after reading this handy guide, do you feel like you and your team will be able to complete this task in-house?
We’ve all seen viral videos that are filmed on a smartphone, but is this the level of quality that you want to represent your business? Well-edited videos that are filmed with professional equipment, with a strong core message are the ones that your potential clients will remember and trust.
Whether the lighting isn’t quite right or the editing is done poorly, you might look past your flaws but your potential clients won’t treat your work with the same leniency. Therefore, in order to make an engaging video, you need to ensure that it’s shot, edited, and promoted correctly.
As you’ll be aware, there’s a lot of elements to making video pop. With these elements comes a wide scope for potential error.
Ultimately, while you could make videos in house, you need to ensure that your team have the right:
Therefore, although the overall cost of hiring a videographer may seem steep for the initial costs, ultimately, not only would you get access to someone who can help you with every step of the video process, you will also have access to their equipment and expertise, which are invaluable.
Creating video isn’t just about making your shots look nice, but is about understanding what your clients want and how they react best to footage. Ultimately, without the help of a videographer, this is a difficult and costly process, but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it.
Video can be a strong asset for any company. Don’t let badly shot, prepared, or edited footage stop you from securing the leads you deserve.
Ultimately, everything previously mentioned is the bare minimum of things you should consider when filming your video.
Whether it’s an explainer video or a promotional reel, if you’re looking for high-quality results, we here at Axon Garside offer a range of different video offers that can help you achieve your conversion goals. Working as your videographer, not only would our in-house videographer impart his expert knowledge on videography throughout the entire pre to post-production process, we would also be on hand to film any footage you would like to be included.