The corporate video production: what it takes to create effective marketing videos

Corporate video production: what is it and what work is behind it? We all know what a video is but not everyone knows the steps of the process for making it.

Today, technological innovation combined with rapid development of new platforms such as cloud services are revolutionizing the digital media landscape. These changes have led to a new conception of the video as a tool for sharing and communicating with the world around us. In the digital era, video is becoming a key method for communicating with people, and for satisfying their information, entertainment, and social needs.

With digital transformation, corporate video production and video marketing are intertwined: companies that incorporate video into their marketing strategies can have a greater competitive advantage. However, finding the right way to include it in your business strategy isn’t simple. Given the information-intensive and extremely competitive environment that businesses are operating in, companies looking to embrace video must pay close attention to each phase of the creation process.

The real value of the corporate video production

The corporate video production that made the once standard corporate video was once characterized by expensive equipment and equally expensive production that resulted in a slick commercial or a collection of animated graphics. Today’s videos are much more diverse and they are being utilized for a variety of corporate initiatives.

Today, the question is not what kind of video (the answer, any!), but how to best apply video to meet the needs of your market, your customers (and the mistakes to avoid). This is the real value. Social media, interactive video, and mobile video are all examples of purpose-built content that can be used to solve a specific business problem. Digital transformation offers a lot of possibilities, so companies need to know how to grasp them and transform them into a competitive advantage.

New digital companies with marketing and social media capabilities are entering the video production industry and you’re also seeing very tight collaborations between the two.

Technology pushes corporate video production to push the boundaries of what is possible. Marketing video producers have to move beyond relying on just equipment and techniques and find new ways of adding value to their video productions.

The three phases of video production

Now that we’ve talked about why video is important, let’s look at the 3 fundamental phases for creating it:

1. Pre-production: Steps to take before creating your video
2. Production: How to create and edit your video
3. Post-production: What to do once your video has been created

We also do not want to neglect the emotional aspect of video creation, as well as the mental preparation that is necessary for its realization. Creating a flex schedule that works for you, using helpful applications to get stuff done, and – why not? – having a gym to work out and stay healthy. Making a video requires lots of preparation and creativity! Therefore, it’s important to spend time to get those creative juices flowing. Spend some time building a profile of your intended audience and include everything you know about them. Take some time to brainstorm or mind map your best ideas without interruption. Finally, watch some of your favorite videos or consult the best of the best for inspiration.

The pre-production process

Before you start creating video content, you’ll want to first clarify some key points:

1. What is the goal of the video? The goal of a video changes according to the type of video we want to use. For example, video storytelling, much like the oral storytelling tradition, is a great social tool for sharing stories with the goal of educating, entertaining, and even instilling values. An approach based on smart goals – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely – can be useful for managing your video project once your goal is established, and based on the type of video (see next point).
2. Determine the video type. If the goal is to attract people to go create their own website, an educational how-to video can help with that. If the goal is to transform leads into customers, then a case study video from one of your customers or a series of personalized videos could be appropriate.
3. Create a corporate video production project schedule. Specific and realistic. Create a deadline for each task in a project.
4. Determine your budget to produce the video, the resources and assets that you have (and those that you will need) for making it (including shooting, editing and distribution). At this point, make sure that each of the above steps are aligned to the rest of the team.
5. Determine where you’re going to distribute the video. Distribution will be closely tied to your audience and the best ways (and places) for reaching them.
6. Put your production crew together.

The production process

Start creating your script just as you would begin a blog post: with an outline. List out your key points and order them logically. Remember, you want to maintain the viewer’s attention, so you’ll want to make sure that the purpose of the video is clear to its intended audience.

The video language should be relaxed, clear, and conversational. End with a call-to-action, get feedback from other customers to demonstrate your reliability and transparency. Greater awareness of the production process will also help you understand how to manage the final phase of the process.

The post-production process

In the post-production phase, we edit together all the various parts that will compose the video, organizing all of the elements into a coherent narrative. The producer will carefully review all the footage and transcribe all of the contents that were established earlier. The final product should convey the brand image and product messages while also telling an engaging story for your audience.

Once the video is finalized and approved, it’s time to export it to its final format and to actively include it in your marketing strategy. Remember to share it on your social media channels, send email it out to your email lists, include it in your blog posts.

By automating engagement video behavior, marketers could be doubling their data to use in their campaigns. Then, use this data to create strategic, meaningful video content that attracts, engages, and delights your audience – because nothing beats the power of visual storytelling.

Create a story with your data

No component of the video should be underestimated: sounds, animated images, the language used, and the choice of keywords are all important because people remember about 80% of what they see. Instead, people remember only 20% of what they read and 10% of what they hear. This means that the more interactive your brand message, the more likely a person will remember it.

“For example, an advertisement that someone sees can appeal to his/her sense of sight, but an event to market your brand can incorporate all of the senses. People see what you’ve set up, they hear the videos or presentations you’ve put together, and they’ll have actual experiences interacting with your brand that guarantees they will remember your brand” (b2bmarketing.net).

While the corporate video production process for every company is different, it’s imperative that your brand knows how to take advantage of its data and transform it into content and experiences to visually tell their stories. brands that take advantage of data this way have the potential to capture prospective customers attention and keep them interested.

Today, a truly successful digital marketing strategy includes a versatile video marketing strategy, that balances production quality, scalability, and – most importantly – affordability. Video content is becoming an increasingly crucial element of today’s digital marketing strategy. Integrating video production services alongside blogging, SEO, email marketing, social media, and conversion rate optimization (CRO) can have a huge impact on the growth of your business. One aspect of a successful video marketing strategy is truly understanding the audience by getting to know their Buyer Personas and mapping their Customer Journey. This includes information such as which platforms their ideal audience is likely to be using (which could be multiple, given the number of popular social platforms) and how they prefer to consume different types of information, especially through the smartphone.

According to Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Content Marketing, in 2017 only 60% of B2B marketers have used pre-produced video as a content marketing tactic, and only 10% are using live streaming. People would often prefer to watch a two-minute video versus taking 15 minutes to read the same information. Inbound marketing strategy and sales conference all seemed to agree that roughly half of all the content marketers produce should be video. In the first quarter of 2019, 87% of companies used video as a tool in their marketing strategy. According to Cisco, by 2022, video traffic will grow by 12x.

Why integrate video into your marketing strategy?

We’d like to highlight three reasons that brands should incorporate video in their marketing strategy:

1. To increase the Conversion Rate. Video should be seen as an investment. According to HubSpot, including video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80%! Video can influence the visitor’s behavior and persuade him to convert into a lead, and from lead to a customer. On the contrary, simply reading the same information alone may not lead to the same result. Conveying the right emotions through video is a powerful selling tool.

2. Video is a great addition to your email marketing campaigns. Given the amount of email we all receive, getting someone to actually open your email is a challenge. Just using “video” in your subject line can increase open rates and decrease unsubscribe rates. A report from Forrester found that emails containing video content experienced a 200-300% boost in click-through rates. This is particularly effective if you’re demonstrating how to use your product or express something that you just can’t get across with the same impact through the written word.

3. Video builds Brand Awareness. Video is the perfect way to create a personality for your company and your brand, enabling you to connect with your viewer and earn their trust. Video is an effective tool for educating and informing customers, the first step to building trust. And trust translates to sales.

Take Spotify running, for example, which combines motion graphics and voiceovers for corporate video with dynamic footage of runners using the app. The promotional video is a great example that shows how Spotify running works in just 30 seconds. Another example is a corporate video from Thai Life Insurance called “Unsung Hero” that speaks directly to the viewer’s emotions. It associates the Thai Life Insurance brand with hope, social responsibility, and kindness. The video is more like a short film, which pulls the viewer directly into a story, making it more enjoyable than the usual commercial.

Finally, the video must be well integrated into the Customer Journey, working in conjunction with your other marketing activities and distributed on the right channels.

Babelee

Copywriters, video creators, digital marketers and developers: this is who we are! Young, passionate, geeky and very keen on media and technology. Fancy to meet the team? Contact us or submit your cv, we love talented people.