How to make your announcement videos really stand out

An announcement that takes place through a face-to-face interaction meets a physiological need that distinguishes us as human beings: namely, the possibility of recognizing oneself in the other person. Put another way: establishing a connection is the necessary condition for a successful communication, even a business communication. 

In a narrowcasting system such as that enabled by new digital tools, messages become dematerialized and no longer require physical co-presence. It’s here that the personalization of the experience becomes crucial. In such a context, video announcements prove to be incredibly effective. They are able to distribute content to even very large audiences, and they increase engagement at the level of individual recipients.

Because of these abilities, they have rapidly gained a central position within the corporate messaging system in recent years, outperforming other types of media and channels. Compared to email or other text formats, for example, announcement videos can leverage more expressive features to capture viewers’ attention and hold it over time (adding moving images and sound to captions, text overlays, and subtitles). 

But let’s proceed in order and try to clarify what announcement videos are and what they’re used for in the context of contemporary marketing.

A marketing announcement is a type of message that companies use to communicate important news or information to their customers, employees, and stakeholders. 

While there is no question that an announcement offers the advantage of reaching a wide audience, before sending one, there are some elements that you will want to consider. First, you will need to determine whether the ad may be perceived as intrusive. This is the case, for example, with emails that are not well centered on the recipient or are ambiguously and confusingly written. Second, an announcement can prove to be a double-edged sword if it reaches the recipient at an inopportune time or is sent too frequently.

Despite the danger of spam, marketing announcements are increasingly employed to support the company’s communication in a variety of strategic situations.

There are different types of announcements, but the most effective ones are probably those used to launch a new product, announce the conclusion of an important business opportunity or a promotion, explain new features of a company’s product or service, or to provide information about upcoming events. Let’s delve deeper.

A good announcement that launches a product or communicates new features must contain the name of the product, the new feature, and a description of the activities performed. An excellent announcement exceeds these requirements and is built in to produce a definite emotional impact. Specifically it:

• creates a sense of urgency, for example by highlighting limited product inventory or its criticality in particular circumstances;
• emphasizes the privileged nature of the relationship between the brand and target audience;
• contains a clear but not overly peremptory call to action that prompts the customer to click on the link to learn more;
• is inspirational; it’s not just selling but enacting a desirable alternative reality achievable through the product;
• highlights the product’s differentiating factors.

Announcement videos can make brand messages memorable, helping viewers to not only understand the content, which is often complex or technical, but also to remember it. 

• Visualization modes that focus on schematics, such as dynamic infographics, can be used to explain how the product works. 
• A 3-D simulation of the product or a 360-degree shot of it in use can resolve any doubts better and faster than reading a manual.
• A special final sequence with answers to previously collected FAQs can also be included.

When launching a new product, it’s essential to create a sense of anticipation and excitement. A great way to do this is to set up a preorder or waiting list, which allows you to collect email addresses and other user profile data (you can easily keep track of this contact information through software). This type of announcement:

• builds hype; 
• helps optimize product inventory (based on the number of people on the waiting list, you can get a better idea of demand);
• tests the market before making the official launch, helping to predict future sales;
• allows you to get valuable feedback from customers before launching the full version.

By using interactive and personalized announcement videos, the company “calls each viewer by name” and thus demonstrates a real interest in each of them. A video, moreover, has a significantly more enthralling effect and can help convince the most indecisive and hesitant users.

Organizing or promoting an event or webinar is one of the most typical ways for companies to enlarge and qualify their audience and increase brand loyalty. It’s especially useful in terms of training, for example, to provide a detailed explanation to an already interested audience, features that are not yet fully exploited. To be convincing, this type of announcement must:

• include category, location, date, and time; 
• provide a concise explanation of the program; 
• keep track of participants; 
• direct the customer to an engaging landing page.

Because of their ability to create empathy, announcement videos can easily spark a team-building exercise and are therefore perfect for this particular category of marketing announcement. In this case, here are some best practices to follow: 

• duration of 30 to 60 seconds;
• a clear and catchy title;
• include a brief description of the event at the beginning, prominently listing the highlights  (topic and speakers);
• including certain information in the final sequences: time, date, and place;
• add a strong call to action at the end.

Significant changes in production processes, the business model, organizational structure, or legal terms of a company’s business present the need to inform customers, stakeholders, and employees. Otherwise, companies risk damaging the brand reputation or failing to meet national and international compliance standards. A perfectly researched announcement embedded within targeted marketing campaigns allows the end consumer to be reassured about the consequences of change.

In this sensitive context, announcement videos may be the best choice for communicating authority and authenticity:

• Testimonials, for example, that of the CEO speaking directly to the camera, are extremely effective when it comes to calming customers, employees, and stakeholders. 
• Using pictures to tell the story of the different stages of the process that led to the change can help explain the new change in direction, dispelling any doubts and concerns.

Finally, some announcements are directed exclusively to a company’s employees, which are used to amplify and direct internal communication:

• On-boarding announcements, to inform about changes in the organizational structure or the arrival of new employees.
• Announcements for an open position, which are useful during recruitment (internal or external).
• Corporate launches, to communicate a new service or product that all teams need to be aligned on.
• Announcing an award win, to celebrate the company’s success or the accomplishment of an employee or team.

The narrative of the announcement video lends a “cinematic” dimension to the company’s message: each work challenge faced by employees, each new employee, each new goal achieved are told as an adventure within a story in which all employees are part of, in a collective celebration.

The general rule, which may perhaps seem obvious, is to keep viewers engaged from beginning to end. How? By being brief, focusing on themes that are relevant to the primary topic, and trying to be as specific as possible:

1. The first suggestion focuses on content structure. Announcement videos should begin by first conveying the most urgent information related to the topic at hand. A script that opens with long introductions or generic preambles is likely to bore the audience. On the other hand, faced with an excessive amount of detail or explanation of issues secondary to the goal of the communication, the viewer may become distracted or feel overwhelmed. 
2. The second suggestion concerns the length of the video, which should not exceed 2 minutes. 
3. By using graphics that are consistent with the brand’s image and visual identity, announcement videos can enhance the viewer’s experience, putting them perfectly in line with the customer-centric trend that is so prevalent in contemporary marketing.
4. Finally, one last pointer has to do with calls to action, which are essential and not only at the end of the video. In cases where announcement videos incorporate elements of interactivity, the call to action becomes actionable, and the chances of immediate conversion multiply. A good idea might be to include more than one at the end of each unit of content. “Would you like to participate in a survey?” “You have a message in your inbox!” “Download premium content to learn more.” Each of these CTAs gives viewers clear instructions on what they should do after watching the video.

In this post, we have tried to show why announcement videos are superior to text-only content.

We explained why, because of their narrative structure and expressive possibilities, they are the most effective means of conveying new information today, especially if we compare them to print or email. In fact, a piece of content is much more likely to stick in the mind of the audience if it’s conveyed through announcement videos, rather than read in an email.  In addition, text communication can be time-consuming and demanding if we consider the cognitive and mnemonic resources that must be involved to assimilate all the information in its entirety.

Announcement videos save valuable time, especially if a company decides to utilize platforms for creating and automating videos. These tools, which connect different data sources, simplify and speed up production processes, with an immediate positive impact on profits. 
The higher response rate compared to email and other media is due to the deep emotional connection that videos enable, which allows recipients to feel more engaged and appreciated. Announcement videos produced by video personalization and video automation solutions take corporate communication to the next level: brand messages are not only engaging and informative but become more powerful because they are personalized and perceived as authentic.