Here’s how to lay the groundwork for your organization’s Best Video Ever!
You don’t need to be sold on video as a marketing tool. Video is EVERYWHERE. And for a good reason — videos can put across a TON of information by appealing to two different senses (and to our animal instinct to watch for movement).
If you want to send a message to your most important people, video is hard to top. Your ability to control both content and context are unbeatable, provided you make the right decisions.
So let’s say that you are considering making a video…
How do you set yourself up for success?
We at Curio have been making videos since before they were cool (tiny exaggeration), and our best advice is to approach the process like a designer (i.e. with your goals, messages, and audiences in mind)!
Part One: Figure out what you NEED from your video.
Consider the humble Superbowl ad: It could be super-clever, or feature the biggest stars, or have the coolest effects, but it needs to send a message. Otherwise, it’s just a fun little movie that people watch for free… if they watch them at all.
The first step in planning a video, then, should be to define your intent. Start by asking yourself the three most important questions:
- Who am I making this video for? (Who is your AUDIENCE?)
- Why am I making this video for them? (What ACTION do you want them to take?)
- What do I want to tell them (What KEY MESSAGE do you hope will inspire them to take action?)
Write down your answers. Ask others for their opinions. Re-read and rewrite your answers until they’re just right. This is that stitch in time that will save you nine down the road (for the purposes of this post, roads have stitches)!
Part Two: Figure out what you WANT from your video.
Video gives you lots of control over both content and context, which means there’s a lot of little decisions to make, style-wise.
The great news is: You’re already a video expert! All those hours spent staring at a screen instead of doing your homework? That was RESEARCH, MOM!!
Using your McLuhan-eque media savvy, think of what would suit your audience and your message:
- Do you want a FILMED or an ANIMATED video?
- What SOUNDS or MUSIC would best complement your message?
- Whose VOICE would be best to get the message across (and do you need one)?
Find some sample videos that you think could serve as inspiration for your video. Gather those links and add them to the same document you used to write down your answers from Part One above. This document is rapidly turning into a Creative Brief to share with your creative partner!
That was a segue, by the way! Smooth, no?
Part Three: Find the right Creative Partner
Who will make your video? Everyone, it seems, is a video expert, but do they have the chops to deliver on your goals?
At this point, we should disclose our own bias (hire us!), but we can also offer some helpful advice:
- Search for local providers first. Chances are, experts exists closeby, and proximity can be very helpful if you need to shoot local footage or hire local talent.
- Find providers with applicable experience. Your potential partners should have a portfolio with evidence of their abilities. Have a proper poke through their website and gauge whether or not their work is up to snuff.
- Ask for a ballpark. Provide your potential partners with some notes about your wants and needs, and get them to give you a ROUGH estimate for costs and timelines to deliver.
Once you’ve finished your info-gathering, invite your top two or three candidates to a half-hour meeting. In that meeting, find out who you’ll be working with and what kind of processes they have to create a video. And make sure that those processes will get the project delivered within your preferred timelines and budget!
Choose your partner, and make sure you both sign a contract (after reviewing the terms and conditions). And there you have it—you are officially in the video business!
Trust the process… but ask for updates.
At this point, your creative partner should be taking over the next phases of video production. Remember to trust the professionals, but make sure that trust is well-founded. Check in regularly (weekly or bi-weekly) to ensure production is going to plan.
In the meantime, you can lay the footwork for what to do with your video once it’s ready to share. Think about your Intended Audience from Part One, and figure out how to get the video in front of them (on your website, on social media, or even through email).
Just remember: Always think about WIFM (pron. “wiffum,” I think). That is, the audience will first need to know “What’s In it For Me” to watch this video. However you tee up your video, make sure you concisely and confidently tell the viewer how they’ll benefit from hitting that Play button.
That’s all there is to it, right?
Well… maybe not entirely.
BUT if you have questions about adding video to your communications repertoire, you can hit us up anytime at hello@curiostudio.ca. Obviously, we LOVE to talk about this stuff!
This post was last updated on February 28, 2024 by Matt Steringa