Okay, so you’ve got your social media outlets all sorted – you’re set up on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+, but dare you make the daunting leap to video? Sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo offer incredible distribution possibilities with the potential to reach literally millions of viewers at the click of a button, so visibility won’t be a problem. The question is, what should you actually put up on screen?
There are many avenues you can go down in terms of your video’s format. Many users create simple video blogs (vlogs) which consist of a single stationary shot of somebody speaking to camera. This approach makes the viewer feel as though you are speaking directly to them, and it can be a great, simple, personal way of breaking down barriers between company and customer. It takes confidence though, and you should probably prepare a few points you want to cover before you switch the camera on – and be careful not to ramble! Check out one of our video blogs for an example of this style.
If you intend to produce a number of videos, or even a series, then the first one should introduce your company and establish a tone. Will your videos be informative and instructional, or chatty and personal? Do you plan to display news updates, product demonstrations, or customer case studies? If your plan includes a mixture of content, then you should establish this early on and spread your various formats out – there’s nothing more jarring than a dry instructional lecture when you’re expecting a friendly vlog! We have produced numerous case study videos, product demos and other content for precision engineering companies – staying tonally consistent was one of our top priorities as technical industries can be quite alienating to those not involved in them.
The most important thing to remember is that video is an incredible method of delivering content in an attractive, easy-to-absorb package. To maximise the impact of your presentation, think about what you want your message to be and how best to represent it visually. Even with so powerful a marketing tool as internet video, it’s incredibly easy for viewers to get bored and move onto the next one. Brevity is everything – try and make the first few seconds say as much as possible. Put your message across in a succinct fashion, and be sure to include contact details!
The holy grail in terms of internet video is attaining the fabled status of “going viral” – but what does that actually mean? Of course, once your video is complete, you should share it through any means available to you. You can share it on your website, share it on Facebook, share it on Twitter, share it on email, tell all your friends, shout it from the rooftops – but if your video has true viral potential, your viewers will do the work for you! Videos that make people think, laugh, or cry will make viewers want to pass it on so their friends can experience it as they did. Of course, it’s incredibly hard to make the magic happen on your first video, and it can be preferable to slowly build up a viewer base rather than constantly pushing for instant success. Think about your company’s image, take the approach that suits you best, and remember that you don’t always have to take yourself too seriously!