Are your marketing campaigns just now beginning to include videos? Have you avoided video marketing in the past because you weren’t sure how to produce high-quality ads and promos? These feelings are common but as more and more companies make the jump to video marketing, one thing is certain: this type of marketing allows you to reach more people and increase sales when done effectively.

To help you avoid missing out on potential sales and grow your online presence, we’ve put together a list of what you need to know about creating high-quality promo videos and ads. Keep reading to learn more (and help improve traffic, conversions, and overall reach!).

Plan Your Videos

No one wants to sound like they’re reading from notecards or reciting from memory - that can make for a pretty boring video. However, you will definitely want to have an idea of what you (or your cast) will say. This is true, even for live-stream videos.

Write or type out the talking points that you want to be mentioned in your video, including any pertinent information about the topic, product, or service. Try to organize these thoughts in an order that makes sense, focusing on whether the viewer will understand the sequence, leaving the “call to action” as the last part. The “call to action” is what you want your viewer to do after the video, be it clicking on a link, making a purchase, or sharing with their friends.

illustration by Dinos&Teacups

Once you’ve got a decent idea of what you’ll say, picture the movements that will be involved. Do you want to show how your product works or demonstrate how easy it is to use your software? Are you motioning to the background? Obviously, you’ll want your movements to somewhat match what you’re saying.

Don’t over-rehearse your spiel or movements; doing so may make you look stiff on camera or come across as too salesy. Even if the video is meant as a sales pitch, viewers may click away if they feel like you’re being too pushy.

Define Your Target Audience

Ideally, each marketing video you create will have a target audience in mind. Think of your target audience as the perfect viewers for your video and buyers of your brand.

You may choose to target people who already know about your brand and tell them about new/ongoing specials or product launches. Your videos may also target viewers who haven’t heard about your product/service and are completely new customers.

The goal of having a target audience is to keep your video on track, informative, and relevant to those viewers. Yes, your video can (and probably will) be viewed by people outside of your target audience, but defining your viewers will help better align your content to the beliefs, needs, and wants of those you are trying to reach.

Keep Your Content Exciting

Yes, as mentioned above, you want to have a plan of what you’ll say and do, but that doesn’t mean your content can’t be exciting. It’s probably not the best idea nor the best use of time to use video marketing exclusively, so choose to use it when making announcements about a new product, featuring customer testimonials, or even doing a live Q&A about your company/product/service.

Don’t be afraid to show your personality or make mistakes; this can be seen as authentic and relatable by your audience. You want to convey your own excitement about what you’re saying to help people stay interested and receive your message.

Music can make a huge impact as to how your viewers perceive your video; you don’t want the background music to distract from your point, but you also don’t want it to lull them to sleep. Also, keep those exciting videos to around ninety seconds to two minutes in length, otherwise, you might lose your audience before they reach the best parts.

The Power of Text Within a Marketing Video

Whether you are creating a customer testimonial video or a demo about a product, using text can help customers better understand what’s being said in the audio. When you choose to add text to video, you are making your content easier to recall and can highlight specific and important pieces of information.

Depending on the nature of your video, you may wish to only use text and background music without spoken dialogue. This can be especially effective when using statistics or discussing more serious matters.

Even if you aren’t trying to discuss a serious topic or convey statistics, the use of text in marketing videos is still important: 85% of Facebook users watch videos with the sound off, with many other platforms seeing similar numbers. This is true for a variety of reasons including the viewer’s lack of headphones, being in a quiet space, or because they are multitasking - but the use of text will still allow your message to be ‘heard’ loud and clear.

illustration by Kelly Nichols

Editing, Not Equipment, Is Key

It can be tempting to go out and buy high-end cameras and sound equipment before shooting your first promotional video. It can be just as tempting to shy away from the process and opt to hire someone for this job. Don’t do it!

Your smartphone is actually perfectly capable of filming almost any type of video you’d like! If you’re going to invest in anything, choose to purchase video editing software instead. Editing software will allow you to fix lighting, enhance colors, combine multiple takes into one, or even combine videos that are shot from multiple cameras.

Unless you happen to be a professional cameraman who knows all of the perfect angles and a director who can shoot a video in a single take, using editing software will be more cost-effective and helpful than expensive equipment.

Video Marketing: Your Product in Action for Your Target Audience

Ultimately, video marketing is meant to place your product or service in front of people who are likely to benefit from it. To ensure your promotional videos and ads aren’t overlooked, you’ll want to create a clip that is engaging to your target market, has a strong call to action, and is visually appealing/easy to understand.

You don’t have to film the ‘perfect’ video for it to be successful on social media platforms - a funny outtake can be just as effective as a scripted and well-planned video. The most important goal is for your video to be memorable and to help your audience realize that their problem can be fixed by your product, service, or company; using the above tips will help you do just that!