Tips for Creating Excellent Videos for Your Brand

Videos are a powerful way to explain a concept or decision, make an important announcement, or introduce your target audience to the humans behind your brand. When done well, you can get your point across and grab your target audience’s attention.

Here are some best practices to keep in mind during the video production process.

Define the purpose
Before filming begins, understand why you’re making a video and what you want your audience to take away from it after watching. Define the concept, tone, key messages and calls-to-action you want to get across. From there, create a storyboard and script to use as your blueprint plan as you film. This will help everyone stay organized and on the same page during production.

Tell a powerful story
Storytelling is a great way to captivate your audience. Video is an excellent medium to tell stories from multiple perspectives and provide deep detail that gives the audience a reason to pay attention, care, and hopefully share with their network.

Cast wisely
Be extremely mindful when choosing your on-camera talent. Pick an engaging spokesperson, or spokespeople, to represent your brand and interview others. The right candidate will have strong eye contact, dynamic facial expressions and be cognizant of appropriate tone while delivering a message. Additionally, make sure they’re well spoken and comfortable in front of the camera, with the ability to follow a script AND ad-lib, depending on the situation.

Don't overlook wardrobe and makeup
There is no need for caked-on face paint, but a little makeup and thoughtful wardrobe goes a long way on camera. For men and women, have a little powder on hand to reduce sheen on the forehead, nose and chin. For ladies, a natural or bold lip color can make a smile appear brighter and be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Ditch the teleprompter
When creating your storyboard, create a script to ensure all pertinent messaging is included. However, watching someone recite an overly rehearsed speech or worse, reading directly from a teleprompter with shifty eyes, is a no-no. Videos are much more relatable and sincere when the delivery appears to be genuine rather than scripted. Ensure your cast is comfortable with the message they need to deliver, but not overly dependent on being fed every line word-for-word.

Take a conversational approach
YouTube, Vine, Snapchat, Instastories and countless other social media video platforms means anyone with a phone can create video content on a daily basis. As a result, viewers have come to prefer a more conversational, casual approach to speaking on camera, as opposed to something scripted and pre-planned.

You can create professionally shot, lit and edited videos without sacrificing the conversational approach that works so well on social media. Encourage those you’re filming to be natural and engaging. To help people on camera relax:

• Shoot multiple takes. Reassure folks that mess-ups happen and that’s what post-production editing is for. If they stumble over their words, gently encourage them to try again until you get the right take. As marketers, you know a good line when you hear it, so listen carefully for great messages that will make it into the final piece. If someone says something great but it could be said with more emotion or gusto, always try one more take. It’s worth it in order to get the right sound bite.
• Let them know when they’re doing it right. If your interviewee is nervous but has moments where they look relaxed or have wonderful energy, etc., encourage them. By applauding wonderful moments along the way, the person will become more comfortable and ultimately have more and more good moments as filming continues.

Equipment + Environment

Sound
Control your audio by using a wireless lavalier to capture what your subject is saying, and staying out of direct wind or overly noisy areas.

Lighting
Filming your subjects in soft, natural light is ideal because it’s flattering on the eyes and skin, but because it can be hard to control the surrounding environment, you may opt to film indoors. You can achieve beautiful lighting, as well as control warm and cool tones, by using professional lighting equipment. The right kind of lighting can transform your video from amateur to professional with the flip of a switch.

Investment
If you plan to regularly create videos, you may consider investing in professional camera equipment and a lighting kit, however these items are also available for rent.

Stabilizing your video capture
While action shots are appealing in videos, nothing is more distracting than shaky footage that makes the viewer sick to their stomach. Avoid this scenario by using a tripod or placing your camera on a sturdy surface while filming.

Visuals and branding
Camera footage quality is critical, but graphic design elements added in post-production are just as essential. 85% of Facebook video is watched without sound, which is why you see so many videos with text. Stay on-brand and consistent by working with a graphic designer. The designer can develop logos, images and fonts to create seamless, professional transitions, and to emphasize key messages.

Dynamic filming
Look for the little details while filming that can be captured. It doesn’t just have to be one talking head on screen. To break up the monotony and make your editing process a bit easier, have at least two cameras on hand to capture the person during an interview. Diverse angles and b-roll footage can add emotion and strengthen your storytelling. 

Here are some suggestions to keep in mind during filming:

• Shoot from multiple angles, like a tight close-up and a wider, farther away shot.
• Film action shots that help illustrate what the interviewee is speaking about.
  • If they mention volunteering, grab some candid footage of the volunteering in action.
  • If they discuss how much they love family, take some silent footage of them talking to, hugging, playing and interacting with their children, pets or partner.
• This footage can be incorporated in editing, set to music or voiceover from the person on camera.

I hope these tips are helpful as you create informative, educational and entertaining video, earning views and engagement. Happy filming!