These days, it’s not enough to just have a great product, a motivated team, and stellar management. It’s not even enough to have an inspired marketing rep placing billboards or posters around town. In order for your product to find its way off the shelves and into the homes of happy customers, you need a whole new level of marketing.
Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) dominate the ad world now. If you’re not using social media advertising to sell your products, you’re making a huge mistake. But you have to be smart about it. The algorithms on these sites are built to optimize engagement and keep people scrolling for as long as possible. So, what creates the most engagement and generates the most clicks on your ads? The answer is simple: videos.
Depending on your product, you may need all kinds of video content. For example, if you’re running a supplement company you’ll need informational videos to clarify how your products can provide an improved quality of life to potential customers. On the other hand, if you’re selling clothes you’ll need engaging product videos that show how your products look and feel to various people.
Whatever it is that you’re selling, you need to decide who your target audience is and what your brand profile looks like. Then you’ll know which videos to make for the best revenue outcome. If you’re wondering how to create the best videos for your brand, keep reading for some tips that will point you in the right direction.
Speak to a brand consultant.
If you can’t explain the essence of your brand in under 90 seconds, you need a brand consultant. Everything about your company should be tied into your brand—your logo, your office space, your website, and, of course, your media output. If you’re going for something sleek and modern you need to make sure that everything from the font on your posters to the music in your office space is a part of that vision—maybe something with clean lines and bold colors. If you want to conjure more of classic energy, that’s great, too. In that case, though, you’ll want to make sure that the paint on the walls feels nostalgic, and that the language of your product videos tracks with that message.
Hire the right video production company.
Before you go hiring a video production company to make the videos, you need to know exactly what you’re looking to create. That being said, once you’ve got the brand essence nailed down it’s time to think about how to improve your hiring process so that you get the right video production company for you. There are so many options out there. Maybe you need a studio that can do 3D animation, or maybe you want to go for a true-to-life style. Perhaps you’re thinking of a series of Instagram stories, or perhaps you’d like to bring the energy of a certain Tik-Tok dance to your video in order to engage a younger crowd with your products.
Whatever you decide, you’ll need to hire someone who understands the ins and outs of product photography and videography. This is especially true if you have a number of different audiences you’re working on engaging across many different social networks. Find a production company with experts who can be flexible about your product video needs and work in a number of different formats.
Find great company representatives.
Whether you’re thinking about animation or a mockumentary, you’ll need spokespeople to carry the company message. If you’re thinking of using real people in your video, you’ll want to make sure that they embody the brand essence that you worked so hard to figure out. Hold auditions and interviews and find the people who, both visually and in terms of style and values, speak to what makes your product unique and desirable.
When you’re working on this part of the product video design, don’t forget to think about wardrobe. If you’re going for a ’50s theme, get some poodle skirts and leather jackets. If you’re looking for something more current, there’s nothing like a white jumpsuit to bring the current energy. Jumpsuits are increasingly popular and are easy to dress up or down depending on your needs. By buying one white jumpsuit and one black jumpsuit as a base outfit, you can actually create an array of different product videos.
Don’t forget the music.
Many people focus on the video production aspect but forget how much music has an impact on the experience of the viewer. To understand this properly, try to watch a classic film like “Psycho” or “Jurassic Park” with the sound turned all the way down. You’d be surprised just how little suspense you feel when watching the movie as is. In fact, if you’re nervous during a scary movie, it’s probably better to cover your ears than your eyes, as counterintuitive as that may be.
All of this is to say that you need music for your product videos, and you need the music to be good. There are plenty of ways to go about getting some great tunes for your video. You can hire a composer to write custom music for you, you can license an existing song from a musician (essentially renting it for the purpose of your video), or you can head over to a music library to find a song or composition that works for your product video’s purpose. Whatever you do, make sure that you have all of the rights to the music before you start sharing it around the web. What you don’t need is a copyright lawsuit on your hands. And, of course, make sure that music matches your brand essence as well.
Making the ideal brand video may sound like way too much work, but don’t underestimate the return on investment you’ll see from having a perfect video to represent what you’re selling. Use the tips above to guide you, and don’t forget to have fun while you’re at the video shoot!