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The Best Strategic Advantage: Corporate Video Production

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Corporate Video Production

The Best Strategic Advantage: Corporate Video Production

Your digital marketing strategy is solid: great SEO, active social media, healthy ads, and an effective email newsletter among it. That doesn’t mean it is time to become complacent. If you are looking for the next best strategic advantage, look no further than corporate video production. We will break it down: why you should get started (even if you think your business doesn’t need videos), and our best tips on creating the perfect corporate video production.

Why Should I Do Corporate Video Production?

Corporate video production can give your digital strategy a wealth of benefits. Many businesses may feel like they don’t need video, might not have anything to make a video about, or that putting all the effort into shooting a video wouldn’t be worth the time or money spent on it. We are here to tell you that corporate video production will quickly become one of the most important pieces of your digital strategy, and you’re going to wonder why you never started sooner.

Benefits of corporate video production include:

  • Added trust and credibility. If people are able to see you and your business in action, you appear more trustworthy. By seeing something before they commit, they know what to expect once they finally do interact with you — which can be comforting to many people.
  • Versatility. Shooting one single video for your business can be used in a ton of different ways. You can use it for a TV commercial, YouTube, and other digital marketing. You can splice it up and use it for social media content. You can write blogs about it. The list goes on.
  • Shareability. Video is the most popular content on social media. If your video is clever and engaging, it will be shared far and wide, bringing in new customers you would never have had the opportunity to reach before.
  • SEO. It’s no surprise that Google loves video, especially since it owns YouTube. Since YouTube is the second largest search engine, behind its parent, why wouldn’t you be on it?
  • It’s just a smart investment. Corporate video production brings back so much new business through its various ways that it pays for itself in such a short period of time.

Amateur VS Professional Corporate Video Production

Now that you’re sold on corporate video production, your next thought, naturally, is how to go about it all. Do you have to hire an entire production team? Can you just shoot it on your iPhone? The answer to both of those questions is: Yes! Amateur corporate video production and professional corporate video production both have their place, and both are equally important. However, there is a fine line between them both, and it is important to know their places and when to use each of them appropriately.

Amateur Corporate Video Production

Pros of amateur corporate video production include:

  • Easy to shoot, no experience required! You or members of your staff can dive right in as soon as — right now.
  • More cost-effective than professional video production.
  • It is better than no content! Amateur video production will give you a great starting point for your social media or YouTube channel.
  • It is great for behind-the-scenes, fun, quick social media videos! Show off the new office equipment, make a shout-out to a member of staff, or make fun of Boomerangs without so much as a few moments of your time.
  • Perfect to make your business appear relaxed, approachable, and fun when appropriate.

Cons of amateur corporate video production include:

  • Too much of it can make you seem unprofessional. By attempting to shoot a long-form video with your iPhone, it can come off like you don’t care about the quality or your image.
  • People can smell the difference and it can do more damage than good, so use it only when appropriate
  • Can eat up manhours of you and your staff, causing you to fall behind on other tasks. If you or your front office staff are constantly behind the camera, they can lose focus and your office culture might suffer.

Professional Corporate Video Production

Pros of professional corporate video production include:

  • It quickly establishes credibility and professionalism, especially when used for B2B.
  • Professional video shows that you have the means to produce a quality video, which can make a great first impression. This is especially true when using compelling imagery, such as drone footage.
  • Hiring a professional crew requires very little of you and your staff’s time, maybe just a few days of filming here and there, so that you can focus on what you are best at doing and leave this stuff to the professionals.
  • Simply put: Talent. Using a professional video producer to help tell your story will be much more beautiful, engaging, and attention-grabbing than an amateur one.

Cons of professional corporate video production include:

  • When done wrong or poorly, it can do more damage than good. That is why you should always do research on who you hire and make sure their style matches your business. Knowing your target audience is key here, so that you can give them imagery they will understand.
  • Too much of it can make you seem stiff and worried about your appearance. Never showing any amateur video can come off as insecure and, yes, there is such a thing as being overproduced!
  • It is more of an up-front investment, however as mentioned, it will pay itself back in a short period of time. It is worth the cost!

Our Secrets for Great Corporate Video Production

Many business owners might be scared away from the idea of having to be on video or taking on the responsibility of making one. This fear is only letting the money you’re leaving on the table pile up even higher! Procrastination is usually born from not knowing how to approach something, so in order for you to stop procrastinating on creating that video, we’re breaking down exactly how one is made so that you know exactly how to go about it whenever you’re ready.

Let’s Get Started

Pick a clear goal. The first step to creating a video is to figure out what it’s going to be about. Sounds easy, but it can be more difficult than it seems. Do you want to show off how COVID-friendly your office is? Do you want to show how comfortable and inviting your staff can make a customer feel? Are you establishing your authority and credibility by showing off your service? All of these are important, but it is also important to not cram them all into one video. Pick one subject to stick with.

Have Clear Messaging

Start writing your script. It is very important that your messaging is clear and compelling – you only have a few seconds to get your audience interested. Also, make sure that you have a clear offer and a strong call-to-action. Do you want them to call you? To use a coupon code? To sign up for something? Be clear with your desired outcome and make it as easy for them as possible to perform. Leaving them guessing and unsure of what to do next can do more damage than good. In addition, make sure that you can measure the results of this action by tracking phone numbers, coupon codes, and URL parameters.

When In Doubt, Hire It Out

Leave it to the professionals. Luckily, your business is in the Los Angeles area — the land of showbiz, baby! There are so many talented professionals in the video world, it would be silly not to take advantage of them. Hiring a professional voice-over artist, actors, models, and spokespersons make a huge difference, and your audience will be able to see it, too. This also all includes making sure that your camera crew is using great equipment and isn’t skimping on their production value. Lighting, sound, and camera quality are the devil in the details.

Stay On Brand

Branding matters. Make sure you use your brand’s colors and fonts and try to have a familiar spokesperson for each video for continuity and trust. If you’re not sure what these are, it is important to make sure it is established ahead of time so that your videos are all on brand. Also make sure that you try to use people in your videos, not just animation. While animation can be fun and shareable, people are naturally attracted to other people’s faces and they will trust your message more. This is especially true if you have a specific target audience that you are catering to.

Audio Is Equally Important

It’s not just about visuals. When it comes to your video, what your audience hears is just as important as what they see. Use good microphones, a great music track to match the style of your video, and record video testimonials of real people and customers. Tip: Just make sure all your content is licensed properly! If not, YouTube will take down your video and it could do some harm to your channel. Also, as mentioned, hiring a voice-over artist can make all the difference here.

Keep It Simple

Don’t overdo it. This might sound backward, but if you’re doing a full-on professional video shoot, keep it simple. Avoid fancy transitions and special effects; all they do is waste time and seem like you are trying too hard. Getting to the point quickly is much more important than a glitter fade-in. In addition, create a 4k video if you can. It will have a longer shelf life, and 4k gets a higher ranking on YouTube and Vimeo.

Make Your Corporate Video Easily Shareable

Remember versatility? Create various versions of your video in different lengths, such as 15 seconds, 30 seconds, and 60 seconds. Whether it is shooting multiple versions or editing down one piece, this will help set you up for different ways of using your content and make the most out of the video you shoot. This is important because audiences prefer shorter videos for business and product overviews. Hiring a great editor to help you with this can save you a lot of time and energy on this step.

Wrap It Up

Put a bow on it. The work isn’t over once the video shoot and editing are done! Make sure you’re optimizing your video for SEO by putting keywords in the title, description, and script. Add closed captioning for added SEO magic, and make sure you publish any and all videos to YouTube – even the little quick amateur ones you’re putting on social media. You never know what might rank! Adding a link in the description to your landing page will help boost that landing page’s SEO. Then, instead of promoting the link to your landing page, you can promote your video. When users see how clear your call-to-action is, the traffic will come naturally.

Ready to get started? At Navazon, corporate video production is one of our core specialties. We have an in-house video production staff, offering you everything you need to create the perfect business videos for your TV and web ads, YouTube and SEO. We will help you with everything on this list — what it should be about, the script, the shooting, and the optimizing. All you have to do is sit back and watch the business come in.

Armed with over 10 years of experience in digital marketing, Jaclyn Uloth started her career at a full-service digital marketing firm for five years, guiding many websites to completion as well as developing and executing sophisticated marketing strategies for countless brands. More recently, she was in charge of digital, social media, and paid advertising efforts for well-known multinational franchise operations. Currently, she is using her years of experience and writing abilities to write marketing copy and blogs to boost the online presence of the brands she works with.