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Get startedVideo content is a great way to keep your audience engaged on social media platforms. It’s also a great supplement to other types of written content, like blog posts and informational articles. Today, we’ve compiled a list of 16 questions for video production that you can ask yourself or your content agency to help you develop ideas and produce content with the right target audience in mind.
Review these questions to help you better plan to create your next piece of video content:
Video production takes time. From coordinating resources, filming, editing, and distribution, the entire process can take months. It’s important to have an ideal timeline in mind for when you’d like the process complete. But, it’s also important to understand what a realistic timeline for your project is and if you can stick to that. According to video professionals from VMG Studios, a realistic timeline to create a professional marketing video is anywhere between four and eight weeks.
You likely already know your marketing budget, but how much of that can you dedicate to video production, or developing one video in particular? The answer to this question may be different for every company. It may also depend on factors like whether you plan to do the work in-house or hire a professional team to help you and your organization size.
Are you creating this video as a stand-alone piece or is it part of a larger marketing strategy? Knowing the answer to this question may help you learn how much of your budget you can put towards the project. It can also help you figure out how to coordinate with other project teams to make sure it hits all the right marks to integrate with other pieces of a campaign.
Recognizing how different types of content work together to build your brand can help take your content marketing strategy to the next level. Download our eBook today to discover this information and other helpful insights that could guide your video production process.
“CopyPress gives us the ability to work with more dealership groups. We are able to provide unique and fresh content for an ever growing customer base. We know that when we need an influx of content to keep our clients ahead of the game in the automotive landscape, CopyPress can handle these requests with ease.”
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Director of SEO at Auto Revo
Why are you making this video? What can it provide for your target audience? How does it aid your content and business goals? The type of video you make to run a social media campaign differs from the one you make as a tutorial for an FAQ page on your website. Understanding the video’s exact purpose and how it provides value to your audience can help you make bigger decisions about things like layout and visual and audio choices.
Some videos will have an easier answer to this question than others. A comical video shared on social channels uses comments or shares to measure ROI. Videos for your website can use the click-through rate. When you know exactly how you plan to define success, you can build the right calls to action into the video and create graphics, directing the viewers to where they need to go.
How many stages of editing does the copy have to go through? What is the sign-off process before moving on to the next stage? Knowing this information can help you set the timeline. It can also help you determine how many people or project teams should be involved in the development and review process.
Who do you want to see this video? What do you want them to get out of it? Come up with five words—nouns and adjectives—that describe your target audience. This trick can help you become more specific about who you’re targeting, but not too specific that you’ve pigeonholed yourself into a content corner.
Like most other creative skills, your team’s comfort level with video production can fit on a scale. A confidence level of one may mean your group has zero experience with video production at all. A 10 may indicate that your team has worked extensively with video production in the past. Most marketing professionals and designers probably sit somewhere in the middle, with enough knowledge and skills to understand the concept and even produce something passable.
But passable may not get you the high-quality results for which you’re looking. Instead, consider turning to a video production company to help you create the visuals you need to get your messaging across. You can pair that company with us here at CopyPress. Our vetted and trained group of content creators are able to write content that you can publish on your website or use in a video script. Start a call to chat with us today!
There are a variety of video styles from which you can choose, like stop-animation or illustrative videos. Consider what types are most appealing to your audience, or even what’s trending at the time you want to develop the content. Create a list of your top styles and compare it to the content you’re sharing. Is there one style that meshes best with the message you’re making?
Videos come in all different lengths. For example, social platforms like TikTok specialize in short-form video clips. YouTube hosts a variety of video content of different lengths. Choosing the right duration for your content may depend on the message and your audience. For example, if you’re creating a tutorial video or one for an older audience, you may choose longer-form content, such as a video longer than one minute.
What type of audio do you intend to include in the video? Audio considerations may cover things like music, sound effects, and spoken word. It’s important to understand what types of audio you plan to use so that you can make the considerations during research and development. For example, if you plan to use all three, you may need to get a license and rights to use music or sound effects and secure a voiceover actor to record your spoken word.
Is the content you’re framing your video around going to be relevant in the next six months? Are you going to update facts and statistics? Consider areas of your video content that may become outdated over time. Plan how you intend to update them. Are you going to create a brand new video? Or do you have someone in editing who can make adjustments from now on? Creating content that’s evergreen, or valuable for long periods of time, can help decrease the number of edits you have to make in the future.
Are your marketing writers going to create the script for your video? Who should they consult or interview to find the right information on the topic? Are you going to outsource the scriptwriting to a professional company? These are all factors to consider when developing the script for your video. Like with other types of writing, it’s important to use someone who has a good grasp of grammar and knowledge of your audience to make sure the content is valuable and hits home for the right people.
You may know why you’re creating your video, but in how much depth should you cover that topic? This may influence all other factors of production, from budget to video length. For example, if you only have the budget to create one video, you may make it longer and include more information. If you have a larger budget, you may make individual videos for each segment of a larger topic.
Image via iStockPhoto.
Where are you getting your inspiration? Have you seen other videos online after which you’d like to model your own? It’s perfectly acceptable and actually encouraged to research what your competitors are producing and use their successful content as inspiration for your own. Don’t plagiarize, but you can use their content to spur ideas and then improve on their work to make your content even more valuable for your target audience.
What are the most important elements you want to be included in your video? Is it important to have your company logo be front-and-center? Maybe you have a specific color scheme or font that you want to use for transitional points. Deciding which elements matter most to you may help you shape your topic idea and video production around them. This could make the rest of the development and editing process easier if you have a focal point in mind.
Use these questions as a guide when you’re planning your next video content project. They can help you solidify your ideas and create a project roadmap that’s polished and easy to follow.
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