Successful companies create authentic brands that are readily identifiable to their customers. For instance, when you think of McDonald’s, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the company’s recognizable golden arches or the cheerful image of Ronald McDonald dressed in his iconic yellow, red, and white suit.
Organizations often rely on video to convey their brand’s story. Video incorporates the senses of sight and sound, making your company’s values, products, and other important information more appealing to your customers.
How can you effectively use branded video production to tell your company’s story? Preparation and practice are essential. Let’s examine the steps to create a compelling video for your brand.
Determine Your Audience
Well-established brands have one thing in common: they know their customers, including their tastes, preferences, buying habits, and demographics.
When you create a video, you’re developing it for the people most likely to purchase your products or services. Your video should speak directly to them, enticing them to watch and learn more about your company.
Determine Your Video’s Purpose
There are countless ways to incorporate video into your marketing strategies. Whether advertising products, explaining your company’s values, or reaching out to potential employees, your first task is the same. Before you can do anything else, you need to solidify your objective.
A video without a definite purpose can send mixed messages, confusing your audience and diminishing its effectiveness.
Plan Your Video
A lot of planning goes into creating a successful video. For example, you’ll need to decide on its length, filming location, and what you’ll include in the video. You’ll also need to write a script, even if your video is only a few seconds long. Rigorous planning ensures you don’t waste time when you’re ready to start recording.
Shoot Your Video
The time it takes to record your video depends on numerous factors, including its length, shooting locations, and the expertise of your production crew. A video less than a minute long can take a few hours to record, while lengthier videos may require several days or even weeks of production.
Edit Your Video
When editing your video, you’ll want to make sure it conveys your company’s message authentically and simply through the brand voice. Your viewers should be able to easily understand the purpose of your video, so cut the video in a way that makes the final product pleasing to the eye and compelling to watch.
Share the Video with Your Audience
Once your video is out of the production stage, you can share it with your audience on TV, social media, your website, or another digital location.
Tips on Crafting Your Story
Your company’s story should be compelling and interesting to your customers. The best stories elicit an emotional response from the viewer, just like watching a movie or reading a book does.
Talk About Your Values
As you develop your company’s story, consider what your customers value. For instance, if your organization sells children’s toys, you’ll want to evoke childhood memories, like learning to draw, playing with friends, and spending time at the playground. Childhood activities are things both parents and children can identify with.
If your company has a specific stance on social issues, like the environment or diversity, you can use your video to explain how you actively work toward specific goals. For instance, you could explain how your company donated money to reverse the effects of climate change or how your employees receive dedicated time to use for volunteer activities.
Promote Your Products
You can use stories to promote your company’s products, too. For instance, if you’re creating a video ad for a new coffee machine, you might create a relatable video of office workers downing their morning cup of joe to up their energy levels.
Keep Your Color Scheme in Mind
Another important thing to keep in mind is your video’s color scheme. You can use colors to play on a viewer’s emotions or showcase the aesthetics of your products. For instance, Apple uses colors in its commercials and print advertising that emphasize the sleek appearance of its products.
Don’t Ignore the Power of Video to Tell Your Story
The most powerful videos are engaging and compelling and invoke the feelings of their audience. With the right combination of planning and scriptwriting and a healthy dose of creativity, you can create videos guaranteed to resonate with your viewers.