In this day and age online videos are an essential part of any online marketing strategy. It is important to make the most of your video production budget and have the best, most polished product you can get because your online video is the first impression of your business.
Here are some important tips.
1. Spend time thinking and plotting before you start. It’s important to have a plan. Before you break out the equipment, think about the overall feel you want to convey. Classy? Cutting-edge?
2. Plot a story. Interview? Narrative? Product demonstration? Online videos are not a non-scripted reality show. You have a very brief time to get to your point so make sure you know what your real point is and how you plan to get there. Write it down.
3. Plan to make your video less than three minutes, preferably less than two minutes. If you need more time, make more videos in two minute segments.
4. Keep it simple. This is not a Hollywood production with exploding buildings; don’t distract from your story.
5. Don’t be overly cheap. It shouldn’t look like you did it at home with Windows Movie Maker either.
6. Consider your location. Find a pretty place, indoors or out, that is well lit. If it is outdoors, late afternoon yields good lighting. Make sure that the background is interesting but not busy or crowded.
7. If you are shooting the video yourself and you don’t know the basics about shooting (like that the sun/light source should be behind the videographer, and how to best frame a shot) take some time to look them up.
8. Make sure you leave a way for your audience to post reactions to your online video. In contrast to TV commercials, viewers of online videos want to be able to engage with the online video creator and each other and they expect and prefer to be able to leave a comment.
9. Be real and authentic. Know the reason you are making your online videos. Is it to get more investors? Is it to let more people know about your business? Be genuine about who you are, what you are doing and let who you are get your point across.
10. Inform, don’t sell. There are literally millions of online videos out there. Make yours informative. No one wants to see another infomercial. Make sure that your online video is chock full of interesting, unique, content rich information. Get in the habit of producing videos that supply information that is closely related to your business and information that is on a broader range of related topics, as well as your precisely targeted focus.
11. Add more videos as you feel comfortable. Continue to publish, publish, and publish. You can always delete earlier videos if you think you need to. Your audience will appreciate the fresh content.
12. Remember that music will set the tone for your message. Don’t forget to add background music, even if it is playing very softly. At many sites you can buy stock music for as little as $20.
The only way to get good at making online marketing videos is to actually make them, post them, and monitor the results. The more online videos you create the better you will be at this new, necessary form of business marketing.
Author Bio: Joel Cordle is a professional at Atlanta Video; Inc. Atlanta Video, Inc. has been producing broadcast programming since 1976. Atlanta video produces commercials, music videos, training videos, and more. If you like to create video for your business, find video production in Atlanta.
