I need a promotional video, what now?

We have lots of companies that call us and say “I need a promotional video. What do I do?” They are always apologetic and say that making that call has been on their to-do list for months but they just didn’t know how to get started. And more importantly, how much work it was going to be for them to take on the project? While video has become mainstream and its stats show that it is one of the most effective things you can do to market and sell your product, it is still a new idea to many businesses.

Here is your promotional video guide to getting started with having a video created.

1) Make the Call

Don’t be shy. Call us, email us, start the conversation about your video and we’ll walk you through the process, including the scope of your project so you’ll have an accurate time and price quote.

2) Select a style

You might already know exactly what type of video you want created but if not, check out your competitors, your inspiration companies and local businesses and see what they are doing. What do you like and dislike?

A common question is whether a live action or animation video is best for your company. While there is no exact formula, we have a couple of guidelines to help people decide.

• If you want to showcase your company and product’s personality, go with live action.
• If you are excited to show the features and beauty of your product, you want a live action promotional video.
• If you have a platform or app, you probably want an animated graphics video.
• If you are trying to explain a complicated idea, once again, animation might be best.

3) Hone Message and Tone

This is truly the toughest part for you. You need to know the purpose, the goal and then the target demographic.

Let’s say you sell sheet sets. Everyone needs sheets for their bed so you have to select a specific target for this one video. So you decide to sell sheet sets to kids going to college. The purpose is sales, the goal is the sales conversion and the demographic is guys and girls 18-24. This information gives us so many answers. The style, the tone, the casting info for actors… nailing down these few details really is a springboard for the creative process.

4) Be Judgmental

As we move through the scripting and then storyboarding process, you get to speak your mind about what you like and don’t like. Your experience with working with the product daily is very valuable during this process . You will live with this video for a long time, we want to make sure we create a video you will be proud of and will be excited to share.

If you are able to join us for the shoot, then we are happy to have you on set. This is a relaxed day of capturing all the visuals we’ve listed out on the storyboard.

5) Go on vacation or complete another project, seriously.

Now that we have the filming complete, we go into the edit bay and start working away. This will take a few weeks. So relax because we are doing all of the heavy lifting. When you see the video, it will be in a complete state and ready for some final tweaks!

6) Get picky (and excited)

It is time to watch the video! This is really exciting because you get to see your vision come to life. Watch it a few times and feel free to share it and gather feedback, making sure to keep true to your thoughts and goals for the video. There is such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen so everyone will have an opinion but only because you are asking them to look for problems. Collect their thoughts and yours, make a list and send it over for revisions.

7) Share your creation with the world

We’ll pump through the final edits quickly and then send you a download link so you’ll be ready to share your creation with the world!
Yes, there are several steps in creating your video but it is a process that our team does everyday and we are excited to walk you through it. It can be hard to justify the cost because anyone can take a video, even on their phone, but there is a very big difference between having an amateur or professional team take on the job. We look forward to working with you on your next project. Give us a call to discuss the details.