Creating an engaging digital marketing video for your business is a great way to share your brand and its message across a wider audience, all within whatever budget you feel available. However, it can be a daunting task, particularly if you’re not experienced in directing or producing video. There are so many different possible directions to go content wise, many businesses find themselves lost in a sea of ambiguous ideas, unable to understand if these ideas are engaging and can be successful in practice.
Thankfully we’ve been producing engaging promotional films for a variety of clients all over the UK for years, and we’ve taken the time to put together some pointers that will help guide you and your business to produce an engaging marketing video in no time.
1.YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING VIDEO should show brand uniqueness
Your business is going to be unique, even if you don’t necessarily think it is; it’s going to have its own line of services or products, and individual attributes, that need to be at the heart of your digital marketing video. Taking inspiration from the direction and creativity behind other companies marketing campaigns is great, but don’t let these become your primary inspiration and blind you from seeing your businesses’s own uniqueness. Many brands, big and small, have experienced great success from advertisements which went ‘out there’ content wise and truly respected their companies unique selling points, and ultimately weren’t diluted with other industry ‘cliches’. As much as being somewhat grounded and understanding of your technical and budget limitations is important when producing video, don’t feel creatively boxed in just because 90% of the advertising videos in your industry follow the same narrative and explore the same themes. Advertising in every industry can be a little crowded, and its important to explore creative and engaging ideas that haven’t been done by your competitors.
Dollar Shave Club, a Californian razor distribution company, did a great job of embracing a humorous theme for their ‘Our Blades Are F****** Great’ digital marketing video. This ad rejected the often sensual and elegant nature of adverts for shaving products and traded it in for a humorous narrative, all while effectively communicating the themes of affordability and ease to its audience.
2. Know what content will engage your digtal marketing video audience
For every unique idea that you formulate, there needs to be an understanding as to how it will be received by your target audience. You want to create something organic that truly expresses your brand and its message, but it needs to ultimately intertwine with what will engage your target audience. Of course this is where practical research into your target market comes into play, but it also requires critical thinking and thorough evaluation of how your concept will look when executed. Whether its the way your products/services are displayed/discussed within the video, or the themes within the advert, you need to really stop and think about how your audience will relate/engage to whats being displayed to them. There is going to be a difference in what a director, marketer or manager may consider interesting video content vs what a consumer will consider interesting video content, and you always need to put the consumer first. Ideally, you want to grab their attention and give them a reason to stick around within the first few seconds of them watching your video, appealing to them with emotions, humour and sense of curiosity.
Pay attention to the length of your video to- try to keep it short and sweet as is possible, as there is plenty of research showing if your video is longer than 3 minutes, then you can expect its popularity and engagement to suffer. Even after you’ve produced what you and your brand consider to be a good digital marketing video- its always important to ask yourself- ‘is this engaging and shareable?’
Nike’s ‘Unlimited You’ ad is a good example of how to attain audience engagement from an ad, presenting relatable themes such as dedication and persistence to its audience, all while adding a unique layer of humour to the ad, thanks utilising the good old breaking the fourth wall tactic, and displaying some of the most bizarre looking stunts we’ve ever seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEbBCBmoltA
3. Know your agenda
Unlike the more broad and general brand ads such as the Nike one featured above, there are going to be many cases where your digital marketing ad has a primary aim of selling a particular product, or particular line of products, as apposed to broad brand awareness. Creating content that captures your companies products and/or services nicely is great, but in vain if your ad is unable to clearly communicate to viewers why these products and/or services are of need to them, as simply showcasing your products/services within a technically perfect ad doesn’t guarantee that you’ll generate cold, hard sales. When aiming to truly market a product or service, its important to remember the core functions of your digital marketing video, which ultimately are…
- To capture your audience’s attention with your products/services and explain the USP’s of these products/services
- To capture your audiences imagination with your USP’s, so that these products/services become something that they are conscious they do not have in their life, and now have a desire for.
- To demonstrate, or speak of scenarios where your products/services would greatly assist your viewers, in a way that they are not currently assisted- from here you’ve turned the desire into a need.
These fundamental aims need to always be at the forefront of your mind during the design and creation of your digital marketing video.
TripCase’s Travel App does a great job of speaking directly to its audience, explaining the practical functions behind their application in a way that is engaging and relatable. Not only does the advertisement do a great job of showcasing the applications USP’s, but it also clearly points to how it can be a useful solution to an array of difficult scenarios, of which the viewer most likely has experienced.
4. Plan and prepare
Your advertising video, even at the most basic level, will likely use up plenty of company personnel time and company resources, and this is something not underestimate or take lightly. Take its creation seriously and plan storyboards and shot lists ahead of time, along with extra notes required for props and actors (if any) for your film. This is something your a production company should be able to help you with if needed, and although it may seem like a lot of extra work, particularly for smaller businesses, it will help you and your team understand if an idea is feasible, and if so, what kind of time frame the film can be expected to be completed in. Simply brushing over basic planning in pursuit of bringing your great sounding idea into the practical production stages, may lead you to try out a concept which doesn’t materialise in practice and strains your resources and budget far more than you initially anticipated.
A close up photo of one of our storyboards that we frequently produce for projects. This helps us be more efficient and focused when filming on site.
5. Use a production company that understands your brand and industry.
If seeking assistance from a production company, pick one that understands your brand and the industry that it sits within. For example, we film within the construction, rail and public sector. This means that we understand a lot of the technical on site processes that happen on construction and rail sites, and tend to have a high understanding of the terminology used in these industries. This makes it easier for businesses in these different industries to work with us, as they know that we have a clear understanding of their projects, and more importantly their vision. The same should be something to consider for your business if you choose to hire a film company to assist you, or take care of the project entirely. They should have a wealth of experience producing films in the industry your company sits in and have the skill set that you require of them. Websites are great for information, and email is great for communication, but we really encourage some of the clients that we consult with to have face-to-face meetings and consultations with their potential partners, to ensure that they have the knowledge, skill set and experience thats required. When it comes to using a production company, its all about finding the perfect fit for your business.
Consider the 5 points above very carefully during the creation of your digital marketing video and you’ll be well on your way to producing something unique and engaging, that you can hopefully turn into interest and sales from consumers. Once you’ve created your digital marketing video, don’t underestimate how effective social media marketing can be in promoting your video. You should invest in the marketing and promotion of your marketing video as much as the video itself. Utilising social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram as a means to share your digital marketing content will help it gain traction and increase its reach.
Oh, and if this all sounds like way too much hassle, just get it touch with us at the Inside Out Group and our experienced film production team will produce your business an exquisite digital marketing video that you’ll be proud to share!
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