Video best practices: A - Z

VIDEOS! A medium that has been taking over all other kinds of media. We hardly see text and images on the internet these days. Everything yesterday, today, and tomorrow is about videos.

The reason? OK, the list could go on…

ADVANTAGES

First choice for big businesses

Talking about videos, they are being used by every business and everyone has started consuming videos everywhere. We have started using Netflix, TikTok, IGTV, and even videos on LinkedIn where sales navigator could possibly improve prospects.

Videos replacing text

Video content marketing has clearly taken over text-based content in the last few years but the question “How to do video marketing?” still remains amidst a lot of marketers.

Choice of video marketing strategies

There are several types of video marketing ideas and it is easy to implement and kickstart your video marketing strategies. Here are a few video marketing strategies.

Humanize communication

Right from the fact that videos deliver EMOTION, they form the foundation of every business. It could as simple as how salespeople add a face to their name while prospecting or selling. Oh and let’s not forget how businesses can use videos for product videos, videos for onboarding, or even a video demo and the list is never-ending.

As we have spoken extensively about videos, working in a video software company myself, I never can get enough of it.

Videos are easy to create and loved by everyone. But for people who are still doubtful about getting on the video bandwagon a basic blog about JUST VIDEOS could do the trick. And this is that kind of a blog where you can find all the tips and basics of video creation. This could also be your guide to Social media video best practices, video production best practices because this blog has you all covered.

MAIN ELEMENTS OF CREATING A PERFECT VIDEO

TELL A STORY

No content is complete without a story. It could be a short paragraph of text, or an image or a video, the story is the key!

And the right way to go about it is to figure out your target audience. If it is going to be a 1:1 video or a video for social media to a larger audience etc. Once you figure that out, set your goal. What is the goal of your video? Is it generating leads, or creating awareness or selling your product?

Let us say you want to create videos for your prospect, the goal here would be to gain your prospect’s attention and of course, your prospect is your audience. You can start by introducing yourself, and a bit of background about your company and what you are looking for from the prospect’s side. As simple as that!

It could be a marketing video or even a product feature video. Start from the top and finish it the right way so that your audience understands what exactly you are talking about. And if you might want to work on your video storytelling skills right away.

Every time you create a video, the flow is as important as the other elements. And the story that builds the flow.

Want to tell a powerful story? Learn more about Video Storytelling here.

VIDEO SCRIPT AND TONE

Now that you have the goal and the story set it is time for you to start writing your script. Well, for beginners it is always good to have a script ready in hand because it does take at least 2-3 videos to get the hang of it. But, if you feel you are already a PRO and don’t need a script, then WOW, WAY TO GO!

Writing scripts can be easy as well as tricky. You don’t want to miss out on the information as well as give in a lot. So, make sure you come up with a basic structure first and build your script accordingly.

Also, a huge blessing right now would be the teleprompter feature. With the teleprompter feature, you can easily read the script from your screen without having to worry about memorizing the script. Most of the video users have started using this feature a lot and it has clearly made video creation easy.

Now coming to the tone,

The tone of the video is as important as the script of the video. If you want the video to be formal or informal.

According to a Harvard professor, at least 95% of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously – or based on how we feel

Your video tone can depend on the subject that you are talking about. You can also ask simple questions like, what tone would be perceiving to the target audience? Or what tone has previously worked for other companies using videos?

VIDEO LENGTH

This is one element that I would like to stress upon considering the fact that the video length could actually define your video performance.

Always remember that the 1st 10 seconds of your video is very important and this is where your audience will actually decide if they have to continue watching the video. So, make sure you at least mention the value of the video in the beginning. According to a few marketers,” If you have not fully engaged your audience after the first 30 seconds, you’ve likely lost 33% of viewers; and after one minute, 45% of viewers have stopped watching.”

Now, coming back to the video length. As much as every video is different and is for various purposes it is suggested that you don’t let your video exceed 4-5 minutes.

If it is a quick prospecting video or a marketing Ad, nothing more than 2 minutes. Also, if it is a product demo video or anything of that sorts it could be as detailed as necessary to deliver all the information needed

Below are a couple of stats to understand better

73% of business videos are two minutes or shorter.
Only 2% of business videos are 10 to 20 minutes long.

EMOTIONS

We, humans, are emotional and we know emotions convert. This is exactly why it is important to express emotions in every video that you create. BEING REAL and the only thing that matters especially when you are in front of the camera.

As a business, emotions, and trust build the foundation of any professional relationship. Showing your face to your prospects/customers through videos builds that trust and the kind of emotions that you deliver makes them want to buy/use your product more.

According to one Tempkin Group study, “Individuals who have a positive emotional association with a brand are 8.4 times more likely to trust the company, 7.1 times more likely to make a purchase, and 6.6 times more likely to forgive a mistake.”

It could even be a video resume that you are sending to a talent acquisition manager. You can express your confidence and your passion for the role that you are applying to. In simple words, A video always makes everything better!

Here is an example of how you can showcase your resume through a video

APPEARANCE & AMBIANCE

It goes without saying that appearance is the first thing that your audience will notice in any video. Even if it is a quick 10 seconds introduction video.

Also, maintaining a certain level of professionalism is the most important factor here and all of that depends on how you carry yourself especially in front of the camera.

Again, it is not like you are going to a MET gala, just a simple professional look is all that it takes. Imagine it is just like how would you present yourself if you were meeting them in person. As simple as that!

(Note: Don’t ignore your hair :P)

When it comes to ambiance, it is super simple. Keep your background as minimalistic as possible. Just a white wall or any plain wall will do this trick. If you want to give it a more office kind of touch, add a plant and probably sit at your desk.

Also, don’t forget to do these 2 things

Sit where there is abundant natural light. Outdoor lighting works more magic than indoor lighting.
Align your laptop’s camera to a higher level for a better angle. You can always place the laptop on a set of books to work this out. And make sure you look into the camera.

Watch the below video to understand how a simple black screen can still look professional.

Now that you have all the basics to create the video, what happens next? The part which makes your video perfect and flawless. What is Snapchat without filters? Or TikTok without some music? Boring right? Exactly why you need to edit your video to perfection with a good video editing software.

When I say edit, it could be as simple as just trimming the video to trim out the unnecessary parts or jazzing your video up with some text or annotations, etc. You can also go big on personalization. I have mentioned it down in the software section.

Also, an important tip would be to add a CTA at the end of the video to get the best out of it. You can add a basic CTA like book a meeting or even a response to the video button.

CTAs have proven to be very important in videos as they let your audience take the desired action that you want them to.

Thumbnails also play an important role when it comes to videos. As soon as your audience looks at the video, they want to know what/how the video could be and it is the first thing before they click on play.

It is always suggested to choose a gif thumbnail over a static image. This way, your audience will be able to see what exactly they can expect in the video and gif thumbnails are more interactive.

Here is an example of how I added a CTA in a follow-up video to one of our event attendees.

BASIC TOOLS NEEDED

I have spoken enough about the execution process and now comes the technical part of it which is the video software. If you are recording a video on your phone then we all know the process but if you are using your laptop and recording videos for your business then it is a must to use a good video tool.

A video tool where you can both create and edit a video is a blessing. With tools like Hippo Video you can experience seamless video creation and editing as it takes only a click of a button to get started. You can always choose to record just your webcam or even do both webcam and screen recording which has proved to be powerful. You can do a webcam test here.

And not just that, Hippo Video comes with a lot of editing features for business where you can add interactive CTAs, annotation, etc. You can also personalize certain elements which is an added advantage and attract your user’s attention.

Here is an example of a few of the many things you can personalize in a video

Learn more about video personalization here

Also, a quick tip to go with this would be using a good microphone. You can find so many good ones on ecommerce sites like amazon. Microphone plays an important role because you don’t want your voice to be feeble and distorted due to environmental disturbances. Trust me, using a good mic makes a lot of difference.

CONCLUSION

There is a lot more than this to VIDEOS! But all the elements mentioned above together it builds the foundation to a GREAT VIDEO.

Everyone around us has already either started using videos or thinking about using them, and we need to be one step ahead. It is time to get all the video best practices together and get in front of the camera. Let me assure you, once you start seeing the power of videos there is no going back

So, without any further ado get started with creating amazing videos with Hippo Video.

All ABOUT VIDEOS

THE EMERGENCE & IMPORTANCE OF VIDEOS