It doesn’t matter whether you have an online store or a regular brick and mortar store; the fact remains that engaging potential customers online is vital for business success in this digital era. Video is proving to be one of the most effective ways to do this.

importance of video production

More businesses are recognizing the importance of corporate video production and investing in it. The question for many businesses is not how important or useful video production for business is, but instead how to use it to make their businesses stand out from the competition.

Strategies for successful video production

There are billions of hours’ worth of videos currently available on the internet. People spend an average of 6 hours a day watching these videos. With so much content available to audiences, it can be hard to get the kind of attention you need from your audience in order to improve your conversions.

The question now is, ‘What makes a great video?’ How can you keep your viewers engaged?

We’ve been asked these questions many times before. The following are our top suggestions to improve your video production strategy and help you ensure that your business stands out.

Ditch promos and focus on stories

Social media platforms have opened up the game of advertising and marketing to all businesses of all sizes. You no longer have to spend a ton of cash to book a prime slot on a TV channel in order to advertise. You can advertise directly to your customers on social media platforms.

Social media platforms allow you to reach potential customers where they are. The only problem with this is that you’ll be competing with videos made purely for entertainment. If yours is purely about promoting your brand, there’s a good chance that it will be ignored by audiences in favor of the more entertaining content.

If you want to get views from audiences, you should ensure that you provide value. The best content tells a story that viewers can connect to. The better you are at telling the story, the easier it will be for viewers to understand what you have to offer and why they should choose you over the competition.

The first few seconds are crucial. Use them wisely

The attention span of an online viewer is short. In fact, the average attention span of people browsing the internet is only 8.5 seconds. If you want to be successful in reaching your target audience, you should ensure that your story comes to life quickly. This will help you capture the viewer’s interest as they scroll through their feed.

Be sure to make what the film is about clear from the start. This gives people the confidence to continue watching as they know that it will be worth their time.

A great way to stand out is by creating a hook. This is a short preview of what to expect when you watch the full production.

Another great way to grab attention is by uploading a great thumbnail. Many social media platforms including YouTube, allow you to upload a thumbnail that you can include alongside your video. Thumbnails can be used to whet the viewer’s appetite and get them to watch the full film. It’s therefore important to choose your thumbnail carefully.

Let the images speak

Recent changes to social media platforms and search engines have seen the introduction of autoplay. This has seen videos being played without the user clicking play.

While this means that what you present your audience with will be viewed automatically, it also means that you need to put in even more work to create engaging content.

Most sites that use auto play have the video playing on mute. This means that the images must be engaging enough to captivate the viewer enough to stop and watch the video.

Include a call to action

During the production of your content, don’t forget to include a call to action. This is something that tells the viewer exactly what you want them to do.

There’s a big misconception amongst businesses about call to actions. People think they are only meant to lead to a sale. However, calls to action can be used to encourage various actions including:

Subscribing to newsletters or channels
Liking or following your page
Sharing the content with their network
Commenting on the content
Checking out other content you have available

Another misconception is that calls to action have to be placed at the end of the video. This isn’t true. You can place your calls to action at the beginning, middle or end of the video. While most businesses place their calls to action at the end, calls to action placed in the middle of the video’s playing time have actually been shown to generate higher conversions.

Are you using video for business marketing? Apply the tips above to improve your conversions.