So you’ve decided to produce a corporate video for your business- great stuff! Effective corporate video can drive high audience engagement and increase product sales. In fact, we’ve already written a piece on the effectiveness of video marketing- covering its numerous benefits. However the effectiveness of any corporate video will depend on how it’s been planned and executed. In this post we’ll be breaking down step-by-step how to plan your corporate video.
produce a solid VIDEO CONCEPT
Firstly, you should make a video concept- this is fundamental to your videos’ success. However, to create an effective video concept you’ll need to make numerous considerations for your videos’ intended audience. You’ll also need to research the market which you’ll be advertising your video within. Thoroughly examining your video concept will help ensure its success once materialised.
To get some assistance with creating your video concept, you may want to utilise creative consultancy services. These services are offered by many production studios for an affordable price. These services will help guide your ideas and make them into a tangible concept which will achieve your video goals.
However, if your business is keen on working independently, then a good way to analyse your video concept is to ensure you’re always critically thinking and asking the right questions, such as…
- Will the video concept outlined be effective at engaging with my identified target audience?
- Does the video concept successfully promote my business’s product/service?
- Is my video appropriately designed for the video platforms that it’s going to be released on?
- Is the video concept feasible in terms of affordability and production time?
For corporate videos, we’ve produced everything from real life scenarios with actors, to animated films using lego figures! But in all cases we’ve kept our primary focus on how applicable the concept is to the key aims of our clients video, not how fun-sounding or unconventional the concept is itself. Speaking of key aims…
know what you want your video to achieve
When producing a corporate video, the first and at all times primary consideration should be the films objective. Does your video aim to sell a particular product? Or a more broad service? Or is your video for general brand awareness?
Successful corporate video requires you to know your aims before you start the production process. Even if you’re planning on utilising film production companies to produce your corporate video, having clear video objectives in mind that you can relay to them is a must.
Having a primary aim for your video also helps streamline pre-production down the line. This is because examining if your ideas fit the aim you’ve previously clarified is a fast way to narrow down those which don’t fit the bill. Some concepts may seem strong at first, but may actually be unsuitable for the type of product you wish to advertise, for example. A video which advertises a physical product may have to be designed differently than one which advertises a non physical product, such as insurance, financial or consultancy services.
Knowing your videos aim off the bat will enable you to narrow down metrics to judge your videos success by. Not to mention it will help keep video ideas grounded and relevant to the set goal.
plan YOUR PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
A big problem a lot of businesses run into when it comes to corporate video is jumping the gun when it comes to production. Many attempt to independently produce a corporate video without any proper preliminary planning or production schedule. This leads to a compromised and rushed product by the end of production. If you’re independently producing your corporate video then you should ensure that you have a thorough production schedule in place to prevent this.
If there’s budget for it, you should seek out video production experts to bring your video idea to fruition. This will help ensure that your videos production is properly organised, thanks to preliminary production work such as storyboards and scripts. It’ll also help ensure that the video is successfully produced to a given deadline.
carry out market and audience research
As mentioned above, knowing your audience is key. Many businesses fail to perform proper audience research, leading to videos which simply miss the mark on their chosen demographics. To maximise your videos effectiveness, you should consider the landscape your business’s video will be advertised within. This consideration should be in mind before even finalising a video concept- as it will help you ensure that your video idea is applicable to your target audience.
Understanding your consumer market will lead to a more tailored and successful video. Carry out substantial market research to understand your audience more. This will lead to you creating video concepts which will engage with them successfully- and lead to more sales.
consider your release & DISTRIBUTION method
Many businesses overlook release and distribution when it comes to producing a corporate video. In many cases it’s simply treated as an afterthought. However, pre-planning your videos release in advance will be a great benefit. This is because it will enable you to produce a video that is more tailored for your audience.
A video which will be primarily distributed across social media may require the video to be above all- brief and eye-catching. On the other hand, if you plan to primarily release your video across video-sharing specific sites like Vimeo and Youtube, you may have the flexibility to create a video slightly longer in duration.
However if you want to maximise effectiveness over an array of platforms, then editing together shorter and extended versions of your video could be useful. This means that your business can specifically target each platform with a video of appropriate length. For example, a shorter, more concise edit of your video can be used to target social media platforms, while an extended and more detailed version can be used on specific video sharing platforms. Having the foresight to properly plan your videos release beforehand with help ensure that you create a concept flexible enough to allow for different versions of varying length/content.
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 an exquisite corporate video that you’ll be proud to share! We’ve produced a wealth of high quality productions for a range of high profile clients, including Siemens, Network Rail and Willmott Dixon.
[contact_cta]
