Six Things to Remember When Shooting Your Next Video
Creating great video content is a tricky balancing process; the word
“video” makes people excited, but the words “corporate video” make
people’s eyes glaze over. How can you use video to communicate with
your constituents without falling into boring a corporate trap? Here are six
tips:
- When developing the idea, look at the bigger picture. This advice sounds so simple and so obvious it’s almost condescending—but hear us out. Before you even begin production on a video, decide who it’s for and what it’s going to convey. Clients often rush to hit the record button without first thinking about their objectives.
- Be specific. Good video content can be summarized in one sentence. Naturally, any video you make will be longer, but keep in mind your core idea: what’s the one story you’re telling, the one aspect you’re highlighting, the one product or service you’re promoting. Everything should link back to the beginning. A good example is this video, made by a Latvian furniture manufacturer called RIPO in 2018. It explains exactly what the company does without going into extraneous detail.
- Tell a story that appeals to emotions: You can be proud of the awards your company has won or the sales they’ve achieved, but neither of these things is engaging in a video. Instead, highlight an interesting aspect of your business or showcase team spirit by putting your employees and consumers front and center. Take a look at this video that cloud computing service Rackspace made in 2015—which barely discusses what their company does.
- Choose your location. The most obvious place to start shooting is the corporate office, but there’s more to most businesses than rows of cubicles and computer screens. Here’s a video made by tech company BambooHR. Yes, a good portion of this video was shot in an office—but just as much was shot in employees’ homes and out in the woods.
- Pick the right music. “Real” movies use music for good reason; it’s a kind of subtle nod to the audience that says, “This is what you should be feeling right now.” The problem with music in corporate videos is that it can sound cheap and unconvincing—probably because the same tracks get used over and over. Here’s a video made by the fabric printer Inkodye back in 2012. Notice how the soundtrack is catchy without being soulless.
- Avoid corporate jargon. It can be tempting to use impressive- sounding language, but both consumers and employees have become wary of marketing speak and corporate lingo; it’s a dead giveaway that you’re taking yourself too seriously. Shy away from words and phrases like “world-class,” “breakthrough,” and “game changer.” Instead, use informal language and humor to approach people on their level. For example, software marketer HubSpot released this tongue-in-cheek video in 2015.
