What do I need to do in order to create a corporate video that gets noticed?
What do I do to get started?
Maybe you need to buy this After Effects template: http://videohive.net/item/create-your-story-whiteboard-character-pack/5833338
An entertaining and original video will astonish your audience!
If you need customization, i can do it for you, don't hesitate to ask
Reservoir FX => reservoirfx.com
Remember that you're telling a story. Start by asking questions of yourself: what's your message? What do you want people to come away with? In what way do you want it to get noticed? "Get noticed" is a very vague goal - you need to be specific: "I want this to be featured on XYZ website as an example of a fantastic video", or "I want this to be featured on XYZ website as an example of a fantastic company story", or "I want this video to garner 1,000,000 views on Reddit" or whatever. Start by asking (and answering) questions of yourself. Most likely you will come up with 50 more questions, and when you start answering those you'll be headed in the right direction.
In my opinion, most of the comments already provided don't really address your question well because they are focused on tactical details - length of the video, style (humor, helpful / informational, etc.) and messaging focus.
Video and film is a form of storytelling. To tell a story that people will find engaging, interesting and memorable you have to begin with a meaningful insight about your audience.
A narrative all about you, your company and products is not a story anyone else will care about. Your first step should be to develop a strategy (not to be confused with tactical or execution considerations) that defines what your audience cares about and how they feel.
For example, take a look at the story we created for Jackson's Honest Chips (http://vimeo.com/76906147). It's a story about how parents are looking for healthier snacks for their kids. And how using natural foods rather than highly processed ingredients can create something healthier and positive.
The story wasn't driven or dictated by tactical constraints about style, length or other considerations. Instead it was developed based on an authentic insight into the company's mission, their values and how they're filling an important emotional and physical need for their customers.
If you want to create a corporate video that gets noticed, begin with developing a storytelling strategy that aligns with your brand's core purpose and the emotional benefits it fulfills for your customers and audience. The length, format and style that the video takes are all determined by what's most appropriate to deliver on the strategy.
I think developing any video with the "educate to sell" idea is critical.
You define the problem and talk about the "pain points" for the corporation and the leadership.
Hint: it usually centers around revenue.
You then position yourself or your company as the solution.
You can also set this up and describe the solution to their problem and position yourself as the best person to implement the plan of action.
You do want the videos to be entertaining as well and as Ralph Febbo stated they need to be short and to the point.
Hi Andrew,
Mary is absolutely correct. What you also want to make sure of if this video is for your businesses website is that you have a good plan to market your video online. Creating the video is one aspect, you'll also have to take into account Video SEO and Social Media. Which social site would benefit you the most? Do you host your video on YouTube? Do you know YouTube SEO techniques? Or do you host it on another video hosting service where they might allow more options for SEO towards your website rather than via YouTube?
There's a lot that can be done to help push your video further and hopefully seen by the right 'leads'.
I hope this was helpful.
It's a bit of a broad question and it depends on what your goal is for the video. Are you looking to make a viral video or a video that converts and brings in leads?
Here are some general rules if you're creating a video to increase conversions:
1) Keep it 90 seconds or under
2) Try to tell a story
3) Avoid having a salesman sounding voice over. Keep it casual and relatable.
4) Avoid talking about how cool your company is
5) Address your target customer's biggest fears/frustrations
6) End with a strong call to action
7) Have your value proposition within the first 30 seconds
8) Start with an engaging and attention grabbing introduction ("Welcome to blahblah.com" or "Blahblah.com is the leading..." doesn't cut it)
If you're looking to creating a viral video then that's a bit tough to answer because there's so many ways to go about it.
Hope that helps Andrew.
From a video production stand point I have to agree with Catherine that a great story/message is key. People tend to forget what you tell them, but will never forget how you make them feel.
With video equipment and and gear becoming more accessible, the ability to tell a story and keep it focused is going to be one of the biggest ways to stand out, which is where a professional with experience can help you achieve that in a faster amount of time and at a higher level of quality.
Video is like any communications tool out there whether it be powerpoint, written articles, or a live speech. We've all experienced the difference between a poor presentation and one that is lively and engaging and the same rules apply in building your video.
What's your passion, Andrew? What are you about and why are you doing the vid? How would you tell the story,and stay real? Look at your audience - do you speak their speak, walk their walk? Get these and you've got major notice for your target audience.
keep it short and innovative. You shall also work on the message and content that you want to say in your video. Also, ask a professional to do it for you.A high quality video takes the attention and a poor quality video destroys all your works and efforts.
If you really want to make an impact and actually get people to watch your video there are some basic rules to follow:
1) KEEP it short - the attention span of the average viewer is short nowadays and videos need to be short - that is you need to communicate your message concisely.
2) have a plan and script - DO not try to "wing It" this will not work! You need to develop what it is you are trying to communicate into a workable script. Also DO NOT try to interview or include everyone under the sun - pick two maybe three people to interview and have supporting material to visually back them up - DO NOT make just a talking head video.
3) LET THE PROFESSIONALS DO IT - don't try to run out with your handycam and try to make the video - let a professional team do this - it will look a lot better than you are capable of and their expertise will produce a video that is polished, that people will watch! YES i will cost more but in the end it will be worth it.
4) have a realistic budget! Video is NOT cheap to produce when done right. Be prepared for this - typical cost is $1000 - 3000 per minute.
Hey Andrew.
Apart from spreading the word on social media, 15-20 different video hosting websites (yes there are many others apart from Youtube), emailing it to your contacts and so on, you want to make it funny yet one that delivers the message.
A video that simply tells people about you, who you are and what you do is bboooooooooooooooooooooooooooring and will get no results mate.
Make it funny, make it viral, make it that people would want to watch it again and again and send it to their peers. If you need a hand with writing a script for it, let me know, as this is exactly what I do.
Regards
Roy
Auckland
NZ
+64-22-0616249
Keep it short. I have produced many a corporate video and the most common mistake I see is the video is too long. Keep it short and simple. (kiss)
Andrew!
The best way to get started on a video marketing campaign is to figure out what story you're actually trying to tell. What is your brand all about and what does it bring to the table? What needs do you fulfill? People want to be compelled into working with your company, they don't want to be sold into it. Once you figure out the story, I would hire a graphic designer with skill in motion graphics to consult with you on the pacing, the storyboarding, and the visual style. Once you have your video "designed", I would suggest having it uploaded to both Youtube and VIMEO, as VIMEO has better quality videos. From there, you may market it through your company's social media and email marketing platforms. Best of luck!
i would recommend that you consult with a professional video company -
i will cost more - but the results will look really professional
first you need to story-board your thoughts about your message
you then need a call to action at the end of the video
and a hook - special offer etc - to get someone to act
all the best
bob stegmaier
photographer
You have to tell a great story. The problem is that most people don't understand the fact that a good story forces the viewer to undergo an emotional experience. Emotions tell the viewer why they should CARE about the subject of the video. Unfortunately, most corporations - and, worse yet, most people who create corporate videos - are not comfortable about being public with their emotions. And if the filmmaker isn't feeling a huge swell of emotion over the subject, the viewer will be equally unmoved. This is why so many corporate videos suck. The key is to treat a corporate video as if it you were writing, producing and directing an episode of the biggest hit show on television. That's how we do it, folks - we make you FEEL SOMETHING BIG. And if you FEEL something, you are more likely to tell other people about it. In other words, Hollywood knows that it's never about SEO - it's all about Word of Mouth. Maybe I'm biased because I've spent three decades working in the Hollywood machine. But I know that the corporate videos that don't suck - and most of them do - are the ones that you could be watching on NBC or HBO. Aim high and you might hit one out of the park.
Dan is right about video SEO, it needs to be found. Although in 2006 Google paid about a billion and a half dollars for Youtube, so theyve got about 1.5 billion reasons to have naturally built in SEO for your website.
As far as being watched, the key with corporate videos is to keep a focus. Many companies want to try and cram everything about their company overview, values, processes, core competencies, and client testimonials into one 2 minute video. Grown adults have the attention span of three year olds when it comes to watching these videos, so its much better to have multiple short videos than one 6 minute, all-encompassing video.
I agree with Dan about first establishing the message you want to convey. As with design, the video needs to have a purpose that is laser targeted to say what you want it to say to the people you want to say it to. Everything else needs to work to help accomplish that, from using attractive talent, VSF, motion graphics, everything would be decided upon the realization if it helps or damages the main message.
Once you have that message, an excellent art director, creative director and a talented team of media professionals would provide the right complements to further the message (narrative).
And to add some specific tips, I would recommend to make the company be always the ideal place. Meaning: the music, the actors, the look and feel should leave you with a feeling of "man, I want to work there/take my business there/etc" details like the music choices and the script (very important the script), are places where a corporate video can hit home or fell awkward. Some simple details like the clothing, tone of voice, posture, or gestures, also play a very important role in shaping the audience response to the video. Remember, everything on the video is representing the company, sloppy detailing and such thing can really affect the company image.
Hope this helps.
If you want it to get noticed... as in found... you need to optimize it to be found in searches through video SEO.
If you want it to get noticed... as in popular... then you want to have good, useful content that people will want to watch. You'll still need it to be found in searches.
If you want it to get noticed by your target market to bring in leads, then you will need to link it your website to bring targeted traffic from your video to your website. You'll still need it to be found by your target market.
First you'll need to decide what message you want to convey... if it's just some boring message about how great your company is, it won't get noticed. If it's something humorous or helpful, it will be more popular. Then get the video made... good content is more important then the cost. Then you will need to get a good video SEO marketer to get it found in searches.
What do you want to achieve with your video?
If you want to get noticed : hit the reptilian brain :)
I agree with Dan