Every business should create video content to help educate its audience about its products or services. But with so many videos uploaded to the internet every minute of every day, how do you make a good business video? How do you create video content that will cut through the noise in your industry? How do you make it interesting and entertaining? There is no exact science to making videos that could potentially go viral, but here are some non-negotiables to keep in mind when making your next business video.

Have A Video Strategy

It's one thing to set out to create a business video, and it's an entirely different thing to have a concise video strategy. Too many times, I have seen the battle cry for video content without a clear objective. Because of this lack of planning, I have seen videos fall flat when the intentions to create content were noble. I mean, shouldn't the goal be to create more content - especially video?

Yes. But remember, the goal isn't a video for video's sake. It would help if you had a clear, measurable goal in mind when you go down the path of making a video. You need to have an achievable outcome with each business video project. I can hear some saying right now, well, of course, the goal is to sell more of my product or services - duh. Well then, at what point during the sales process is your potential customer going to see this video? Are you trying to create a lead or persuade a current customer to move over to your competitor? What does your sales process look like, and what is the next step (call to action) in the funnel when they actually view your video?

When your objectives are clearly defined, it'll be so much easier to create video content that moves the business closer to your goals because you'll be making a bridge to where your customer actually is along the sales journey.

Know Your Audience

The question you should ask yourself is, 'who is the video for?' When you understand your audience, it'll help you create the type of video content that will actually get viewed. If you aren't familiar enough with your audience to know what makes them tick, why would they take time out of their busy day to engage with your video? There are so many choices when it comes to content on the internet that you need to understand your audience's goals, dreams, and desires. This understanding of what drives your audience will assist you when planning out video content no matter what the platform. Your business video should educate, inspire or entertain those who already have an interest in what you have to say. Do your research, find out exactly who you are trying to reach, and create video content they will actually want to watch. 

Pick Your Talent Wisely

One of the most common challenges when creating a business video is deciding who is going to be in it. Do you cast it with individuals who work for the company or hire actors or spokespeople? The deciding factor for this question is usually tied to the budget of the video project. Hiring acting talent can add significant cost to a video production, not to mention the tie it takes to cast the needed roles. Many businesses working on a tight budget will opt to use employees in their videos, which can be an intelligent choice - after all, who knows the business better than the people working in it day in and day out?   

Be sure to select someone comfortable in front of the camera. If that person has experience speaking on stage or in front of a camera, even better! No one wants to listen to a person who is unsure of themselves. The spokesperson should be natural and speak to the viewer as if they were talking to a friend. 

Get To The Point Quickly. Most viewers will leave after one minute of watching a video so try to keep your videos short so that they'll stick around until the end of the video. Try to cut out any terminology that may need too much exposition to the viewer. There is no surefire way to get a viewer zoning out than to have someone droning on. You want people to watch your entire video, engage your viewers, use humor, and be excited about the topic. This will at least make an adequate business video.

Keep SEO Top Of Mind

Everyone knows that Google is the largest search engine globally, but who is the second largest? The answer is YouTube. Since Google owns YouTube, they make videos on their platform the most searchable. Do you want more people to find your video? You don't need to tear your hair out; simply utilize SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques like having a description and making the title have keywords that search engines will notice. Videos that get views are because of SEO utilization that has been used to make these videos easier for people to search for or stumble upon.

Creating video content is quite the endeavor, with many factors to consider before you ever hit the record button. Much of the planning involved may seem overwhelming on the surface, but the payback can be so rewarding when done correctly. If you're just getting started with video, or are looking for a fresh perspective for your company's business video strategy, contact us, we'd love to speak with you.