Creating a Video for Your Product: The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

When you have a business, product, or any other service that you want to promote, video is a medium that can effectively capture an audience when done well.

According to studies conducted by Wyzowl.com, 94% of video marketers have said that video helps their audiences to understand their product, and 86% have said video has increased traffic to their websites. 

But how do you create an effective video? Where do you start, and how do you ensure you land where you want to? Here’s our process for video creation captured in six simple questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

When you formulate answers to these questions (which also appear on our FAQ page!), no matter how simple at first, it helps to breathe life into your video before we even start shooting it. 

Who are you trying to reach with this video?

When asking yourself this, you are asking yourself who your target audience is. Are you trying to reach a certain age group? Homeowners? People who need a particular job done that your service offers? When you narrow down your target audience, you can begin to dissect how to best appeal to their desires and formulate answers to the questions they may have. For example, a video targeted towards older people would look and communicate much differently than a video targeted towards younger people. 

What is the message you want the video to get across?

The message of the video helps to shape the format of the video itself. Are you trying to create a quick promotional video that is easy to share for awareness, or do you want a slightly longer testimonial video that highlights positive experiences that others have had with your product? Knowing what message you are trying to promote helps to give your video further shape and direction, which will more effectively capture your target audience. 

When do you want to deploy this video?

This is determining the time when you need your video ready. Do you have a specific, upcoming event that you need a video for a few weeks in advance, or do you know you will need a video for training future employees? It’s always good to have a deadline, and knowing how much time we have to work on your video will help determine the timeframe we have to accomplish what you want and how to best do it in said amount of time.

Where do you want this video to be seen?

The platform you are sharing this video on will affect the way the video itself turns out. For example, a video for your Instagram profile will look different than a video for your YouTube channel, since Instagram is better for shorter, quick-info type videos. Knowing where this video will ultimately end up helps determine what information is crucial to communicate on that platform, as well as how it should be presented and the way the video as a whole should look like.

Why are you creating this video?

There’s many different mediums other than video that are great for communicating information. So what can this video do for your product that those other mediums can’t? What are you hoping for this video to accomplish? It’s easy to know you want a video out of necessity of promoting a product, but try going one step further and really figure out what this video can do for your product, or how it can uniquely engage your audience.

How is the viewer supposed to interact with this video?

Imagine a member of your target audience seeing this video. Once they have watched, what do you want them to do 10 seconds after they watch? What are the graphics, logos, or information you want to stick with them when they close their computer or continue scrolling through their social media feed, and how can we help to incorporate those elements into this video?

Your answers to all these questions don’t need to be entirely developed- it’s okay to have a few key words in mind for a question, or a half-baked idea! We are looking forward to helping you further build upon your idea in a pre-production meeting. You can reach out to us here to get our conversation started.

The Art of Adaptation - 3 Tips to Overcome Obstacles

Nothing ever goes as planned- plan for that.

You can plan something, anything- a shoot, a meeting, even a simple lunch date- well in advance and still have hiccups occur when it comes time to put it into action. Regardless of how thorough you are in your planning, there is always room for something to go off track. It’s easy to let this worry consume your mind and get caught up in the “what-ifs”, but recognizing that mistakes are inevitable is crucial in overcoming them and getting your project back on the right track. Here are a few tips on how to deal with obstacles as you encounter them.

1. “Yes, and…” This is the golden rule of improvisation. What this essentially means is to accept any and all challenges that are thrown at you with open arms, and work with your partner or partners in a project to build upon it. To say “no” or “but”, to shoot down or deny anything that is thrown at you, slows down progress and helps nobody. It’s important to grit your teeth and work with what you have.

2. Make your partner(s) look good. Teamwork is essential to any project, and as you probably already know, there is no “I” in “team”. When you are operating a project with a team, you are no longer just an individual, but a crucial mechanism in a larger machine. If things go wrong, act as a team! Don’t spend time putting someone else down.

3. Reflection and Future Growth. Any feedback, criticism, or reflection that may come up during a project should be brought up again once it ends, and this reflection period can be where you determine what to include or cut out during your next project. Reflecting on the high and lows of your project allows for everyone to understand and celebrate what went well, as well as recognize what didn’t go so well and understand how to prevent those hiccups in the future. 

If you browse through some of our older blog posts (such as this one on shooting outside in natural lighting and this one on interviewing subjects), you will quickly see that regardless of all the tips we can share with you based on our own experiences during the production process, we frequently advise adaptation as something to embrace. No two shoots are the same, and even with the information we provide, you will inevitably run into something unexpected that you don’t have time to reach out and ask about. However, if you do have questions, feel free to reach out to us here- we are happy to help you on your project however we can!

Marketing Your Product: What Video Can Do For Your Brand

When you have a product, a service, or anything else you are trying to market, video is a highly effective means of communicating your information to the world.

Though video is just one medium amongst dozens, just look at some of these statistics from Wyzowl.com on how it is miles ahead of the rest:

96% of people have watched a video on a product or service’s website learn more about said product or service.

When it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, 91% of marketers believe that video has become a more important marketing tool than ever before.

In addition, a graphic from Hubspot.com revealed that 54% of consumers would want to see a video over other types of content from a brand or business they supported.

Clearly, these numbers show that video is a quickly-risen, top rank tool that is here to stay. But what else can video do for your brand?

Draw in new customers. Visuals, music, and other factors attract people and keep them drawn in as they learn about your mission. A thirty second video on Instagram is easy for people to watch, and when done effectively, they will still remember the information you want them to have even as they scroll away. Not everyone has the time or desire to scroll through a wall of text reading up about a product, especially if there are no visuals to accompany it. Video can attract a potential new customer, then quickly address the questions they have that you seek to answer- perhaps questions they didn’t even know they had- before their attention span runs short. If especially intrigued by your video, they will be more likely to check out your website or social media page to learn more. Even if they don’t need your service immediately, they will remember you if they do in the future.

Let you choose how your brand is perceived. Video comes with many forms that allow for your message to be communicated in the way you desire. With video, you have the ability to select the information you feel is crucial for your audiences to understand and communicate it in a condensed period of time. A testimonial video may introduce your viewer to someone just like them, who experienced a problem or question they have currently or have had before, and show how you were able to help them. Using real people in your video, whether this be past customers or current employees, can humanize your brand. People want these personable connections, want to feel connected to a brand beyond the relationship of buyer and seller. If you know your target audience, you can further personalize your video to cater to what they would want to see. 

Educate like never before. When people are learning about something new, information is more easily grasped when it’s coming from another person. Video allows all the data, visuals, and explanations that one may need to fully conceptualize your product. This can be graphics that are relevant to your brand, or perhaps your logo. Learning about the service your product provides feels more conversational when watching it in a video, rather than the loneliness that accompanies simply reading the same information. Video can also introduce employees that customers may encounter when they come to work with you. The more personable you can make this education process, the better. 

If you have any further questions on video marketing or creating a video for your product, you can contact us here for any assistance you may need!