When planning your next marketing video, answering the right questions before getting started can help the entire project go much better. Not only can it lead to less frustration and lower costs, but it can also help your video accomplish the specific purpose you have in mind.
Questions to answer when planning a marketing video
- Do you know your target audience? Rarely ever is a target audience “everyone”. Videos are more effective when the age, gender, background, and interests of the target audience are kept in mind while production decisions are made. If a specific audience isn’t targeted, producers run the risk of their message being watered down and not meaning much of anything to everyone.
- Do you know the specific purpose of your video? Videos can be used for many different purposes. Keeping the primary focus on one specific purpose, sales or education for example, rather than introducing distractions (even if they are humorous) will help your video perform better. If you use humor, it’s usually best to keep it relevant to your purpose.
- What point of view will be used to present your message? For the most part, people want to know how something will affect them. They might be interested in other aspects, but more than anything they want to know how a product, service, or opportunity will impact their lives. If you can show how you can help viewers overcome challenges or improve their circumstances, your video will be more influential.
- How will your video arouse emotions? By using images in motion with non-verbal communication, scenery, sounds and/or background music, videos can connect emotionally with an audience better than most other forms of communication. As a result, people are regularly captivated by videos and feel more motivation to respond to a call-to-action after watching them.
- Is your concept difficult to explain or understand? If it is, an animated video will probably work best because the laws of nature can be bent. Any concept, no matter how complex, is easier to bring to life with animation. If it isn’t difficult to explain or understand, video footage with real people in natural circumstances should suffice. Also, to increase viewer interest and/or understanding, testimonials from real people can be extremely effective.
- What platform will be used to present your video? Depending on what device your audience will watch your video on, specific strategies should be used. For example, if it will be posted on social media, it needs to be short (15 seconds or less). If it will be posted on a website, landing page, or shared in an email it can be a little longer but will definitely need an attention-grabbing intro to prevent viewers from clicking away.
- How will you advertise your video? Before spending valuable time and money to make a video, having a plan in place for how to get people to watch it is ideal. For example, is your plan to hand out printed materials with a call-to-action or QR code on them? Will you be sharing social media posts with a link to your video, or will you be sending out mass emails with your video as the main content? Or, our personal favorite, will you be using video brochures or other video marketing devices because they’ve proven to produce outstanding ROI and successfully engage targeted prospects? Of course, we highly recommend them.
How MediaFast can help from start to finish
Accurately calculating your budget and sticking to it throughout a marketing project is important. It is also important to have a sensible strategy that will work. By determining a strategy before production begins, your video will have a better chance to accomplish the goals you have in mind.
With over 150 years of combined experience, we have a very good understanding of what works and what doesn’t in marketing. We also know how to ensure a message gets presented in an effective manner as well as what it takes to distribute a video so it can accomplish its intended purpose.
Throughout the process, we regularly compare our customer’s expenses to their budget to help them stay on track (if they want us to). We also analyze progress to make sure the intended purpose of their video remains the primary focus.
To learn more about what makes a great video for video marketing or any of the marketing products we offer, contact us today.
Having owned an advertising magazine in Utah, I’ve worked in marketing for over twenty years.
I started writing for MediaFast in 2014. The first time I held one of their video brochures, I thought something like, “Wow! This blows away our magazine and any other print advertising I’ve ever seen. This is like a TV commercial, and I’m holding it in my hands. Amazing!”
Since then, video brochures, video mailers and video boxes have become leaders in marketing performance. It’s a privilege to write about them. I also love MediaFast—with its top-notch product quality, industry leading customer service, and all of the wonderful people I get to work with.
