If you’ve decided to use video as a marketing tool for your business, there are a number of decisions you need to make before getting started. It’s not something you can rush into, because if you do you can guarantee that your message will miss its target. For a compelling video you must be absolutely clear about what you want to say and how you want to say it, or the effort will be completely wasted – the people you want to engage will be confused or bored (or both!) and will instantly scroll past.
As you’ll know if you read our blogs regularly, you only have a few seconds to grab your viewer’s attention. If your message doesn’t hit the spot in that time, it’s game over.
Here are some recommendations from the Flagship Films team for pin-pointing your message accurately – and our clients certainly think we get it right!
Know your audience
You can’t get your message across if you’re not sure exactly who you’re aiming at. Looking at your current clients can help specify your target. Put yourself in your ideal viewer’s place. What age are they, where do they live, how much do they earn, what are their pain points and preferences, what sort of things are they interested in and dream about? In a nutshell, how would their life be made infinitely better by using your product or service?
Research your platforms
You might be thinking of saving money by releasing your video on every platform you can think of, but this won’t bring you the best return on your investment. If you’re pitching to professional business people, LinkedIn is a good market. If you want to promote your message to a younger audience, try Tik-Tok or Instagram. If you want to build up a community around your product or service, Meta or X could be the way to go. And don’t forget YouTube, the video trailblazer, especially if you’re thinking of a tutorial or informational piece. On the most relevant platform, your video has a chance to shine – pick one with the wrong demographic and it’ll sink without trace.
Perfect your story
Grab your viewer’s attention, make a connection, develop a narrative and hit them with a call to action they can’t resist. All within the space of less than a minute, with the first hook in around three seconds – what could possibly go wrong! This is why every single second counts, and why every part of the story has to be planned to perfection.
Keep it simple
With such a tight timescale, you might think it’s impossible to do anything else. But you’d be surprised at the number of businesses which try to cram as much content as they can into it. Buy our air fryer, it saves time and cooks well, takes up very little room and comes in a variety of colours and there’s a sale on at the moment but only for the next few days – oh, and while you’re at it, follow us on Facebook or Instagram, sign up for our emails, and why not take a look at our other kitchen appliances, if you don’t want an air fryer can we tempt you with an ice cream maker?
This leads to mixed messages, confusion and ultimately a scroll-past. You need one compelling message, and it has to be concise and to the point. Less is definitely more.
Get the tech right – and test it
Most people will be viewing your content on their phones, but not all. You’ll need to perfect resolution and format, file size and compatibility for all possible devices, as well as composition and quality. Close attention to aspect ratio is a must as this can vary widely. Check your video on each device – you’d be amazed how many people just check their phone and don’t bother with the rest. If a video isn’t instantly easy to watch, nobody is going to take any more time over it.
Add subtitles. Not only is this helpful for anyone with a hearing impediment, it’s also essential for viewers who are scrolling at night, possibly next to a sleeping partner for example, or watching on public transport.
Anything else?
Well, we haven’t touched on creativity, originality, innovation, stunning visuals . . . If you want all of this and more, why not contact us?