Show Don't Tell - Essential Elements for your Promotional Video

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS

Customer testimonials are one of the most powerful trust signals you can use in your videos. When approaching customers to be in the video, make sure you're upfront with the amount of time it's going to take out of their day. It's better to under promise and over deliver, so if it's going to take an 1/2 hour then tell them it will take 1 hour. Testimonials always take a little longer than expected because of the factors involved with video (ie. mic check, lighting adjustments, etc).

Tips: Give your talent/customer a gift card or bottle of wine after to show your appreciation of their time and helping you with your video project.

Avoid making a commercial

People are expecting your promotional video to just be another commercial. Be different in your approach and provide professional advice and/or tips instead.  

Tip: Share helpful information and you will position yourself as being an authority in the industry because of your thought leadership.

SET UP YOUR INTERVIEWS

If you can shoot the interview on the location of the business and have an interesting background then it will help with storytelling.

Tip: Shoot the interview before or after business operating hours so it isn't noisy or busy. 

CONSISTENT BRANDING

If the company already has other promotional material produced (ie. brochure, website, etc) then its a good idea to consider using the same font type and colour scheme in the video to be consistent across the board. 

Tip: A simple animation to the company logo in the video will go a long way.

Include a CALL TO ACTION

Guide the viewer on how to respond after watching the video. Keep the call to action message simple and you will have a higher likelihood of response. For example, "Contact us now to arrange a free consultation!".

Tip: leverage annotations on YouTube by adding a clickable link to appear on the video.

Preempt your viewers questions

If you have already identified the main misconceptions your customers have when deciding to purchase your product or service then create a video preempting those issues.

Hot Tub Company Example

Customer Misconception: 1. it's expensive, 2. it will tear up my back yard, 3. my wife will say NO.

Make your video about: 1. promoting your payment plans, 2. your company takes care of the installation and clean up, 3. health tips for women to use hot tubs. 

Sound is just as critical as picture

When speaking on camera make sure you are using a lapel or boom to capture good audio. Consider including professional voice over (V/O) can make the difference of your video standing above the rest. Consider using V/O in the introduction of video and for giving the call to action at the end. The audio is so clean and professional it really will draw your viewer in to the video and also leave them with a clear message when you finish.

Tip: Online services like VOX offer voice overs for as little as $200.

LESS IS truly MORE

Don't try and pack too much in to the video. According to Visible Measures, 45% of viewers will stop watching after 1 minute and 60% by 2 minutes.

Tip: If you can effectively accomplish your message in less time then do it. 

Starting your own video production company - set yourself up for success in 6 steps

Brian Hunt & Marc Landry, Collingwood

1 DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB

Like any new business, it will take time before your production company becomes profitable. Realistically, you might need to develop your business on the side while having a regular job with a paycheque. As you get busier with PAID video work you can throttle back on your other job. 

Tip: It can easily take 2 years to get your business off the ground.

2 FREELANCE FOR OTHER COMPANIES

Freelancing gives you real-life experience working with clients with less risk to yourself. It's generally easier too since you just need to show up at a particular time to shoot. There are lots of emails and phone calls that happen during pre and post production which you won't have to deal with. 

Tip: Taking low or no pay jobs at the start is OK assuming you are getting rich in experience.

Shooting BTS, Toronto

3 PLAN FOR THE FAMINE

In this industry there are times when you will have an overflow of work and other times there is none. Being able to survive through the feast or famine is critical. As you get more seasoned, you'll begin to anticipate these seasons and stay busy investing in your business in other ways during the shoulder seasons. Build your social media, write blog posts, work on a passion project, take a crash course on business, travel, etc. 

Tip: For many video production companies in Canada, Spring/Fall/Winter are OK months but the busiest will be in the Summer.

4 YOU HAVE TO PAY TO PLAY

You will need to purchase equipment to get started obviously (ie. camera, lenses, computer, etc).  But more than just equipment, invest in yourself as a business skills by attending marketing events or trade shows. Business skills are intangible assets which are hard to quantify at first but ultimately will help you get more work in the long run.

Tip: Hire a business coach on a bi-weekly basis to help you think big.

5 Be Helpful

Maintaining a good reputation in the industry is paramount. It only takes one bad experience and that news will travel around quickly. However, if you are known as being a helpful company people will call you again. 

Tip: Be brave and ask your clients at the end of the project to provide feedback on working with you. 

6 STAY CUTTING EDGE

Volunteer on larger scale productions to see what the pros are doing. By placing yourself in these situations you'll also shoulders with industry professionals and get to play with equipment you normally wouldn't have access to.

Tip: Watch online tutorials like Lynda.com to learn new shooting and editing techniques.