If you’re not using video as part of your business’s marketing strategy, now is the time to start.
Ninety percent of consumers say that video marketing helped to directly inform their purchase, and 95 percent of consumers retained information about a product or service that they gathered from a video.
Yes, video marketing is a great tool for businesses that want to increase brand awareness and conversions. In order to see great results, though, you need to make sure you’re putting out high-quality videos.
Keep in mind, too, that the process of making a great video starts before your filming date. Read on for a pre-production checklist that will help you make sure you’re ready to go on filming day!
Define Your Objectives
Before you start to fret about what you should wear on camera or where you should shoot your video, you need to take a step back and define your objectives.
What do you want to accomplish with this video? Are you trying to showcase a product? Talk about how your business has changed people’s lives?
Identify Your Audience
Spend some time thinking about your audience, too. Who are you talking to in this video? Future customers? Current customers?
What does your audience need to hear from you? What are their current problems? How can you help to solve those problems?
Define Your Message
Next, figure out the specific message you want to deliver with this video.
What specific problem is this video going to solve for people? What do you want them to know or think about your business after they’ve watched it?
Lock in Your Script
Once you have an idea of what you want to say and the purpose behind your video, it’s time to start working on the script.
Your script is the road map for your entire project, so it’s important to have that locked in sooner rather than later.
Sure, your script can change along the way, but you need to have something put together before you can start the rest of the planning process.
Set a Budget
Of course, money matters. Before you get too far into the planning process, you need to sit down and figure out how much you can afford to spend on a video for your business.
If you have no idea what a video is going to cost you, consider reaching out to a video production company, showing them your script, and asking for a quote. This will help you determine the amount of money you need to allocate to the project.
Hire a Production Crew
Could you have your assistant film your business’s video on their iPhone? Sure.
Is that a great option if you want to see positive results from your video? Not really.
Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and, in the case of a video for your business, that means hiring some professionals to help.
Break Down Your Script
Breaking down your script involves creating a series of lists and reports of everything you’ll need to bring your vision to life.
You’ll figure out the specific props, costumes, and other tools you’ll need to carry out your video.
This helps you to create a more detailed budget and figure out exactly how much money you need for this project.
Start Storyboarding
Storyboarding is all about creating a visual breakdown of your video.
Storyboarding involves mapping out each scene and figuring out how everything will look on camera. Try using storyboarding software to simplify this process.
Find a Filming Location
Next, you need to figure out where you’re going to film your video. Before you set your heart on a particular location, be sure to take into account how much it will cost you and whether or not it will enhance or detract from the finished product.
Find Your Cast
Who’s going to star in the video? Is it just going to be you and your business associates? Do you need to reach out to past clients, or bring people in to act as clients?
Take Care of Paperwork
When it comes to filming a video for your business, there can be a lot of hoops to jump through, especially if you want to film in a particular location. Consider the permits required for a specific location before you decide you absolutely must film there.
Create a Shooting Schedule
Spend some time putting together a schedule for shooting your video. If it’s a short video (which is ideal for marketing purposes) you can probably get it all done in one day.
Make sure you allocate a sufficient amount of time, though. You don’t want to feel rushed or end up with a subpar finished product because you didn’t have enough time.
Hold Pre-Production Meetings
Be sure to hold a few pre-production meetings with your production team and everyone else who’s involved in the video making process.
This will ensure that everyone is on the same page and agrees on the purpose of the video and the way it’s being executed.
You’ll also be able to make sure you’ve taken care of all the necessary permits and paperwork, and you’ll know that you have all the equipment needed to make this video happen.
Need More Pre-Production Help?
As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into creating a great video for your business. You can’t just show up with a camera and expect to get a good finished product.
Do you need help with pre-production for your upcoming video project? Or, do you want to work with a professional to make sure your video turns out exactly as you’ve imagined it?
If you answered, “yes” to either of those questions — and if your business is located in or around the Dallas area — contact us at Serendipitous Films today to get a quote or learn more about our process.
We are a film and video company dedicated to helping you through every aspect of the video creation process, from writing a script to editing the finished product.
