In an era where attention spans are shrinking by the day, videos can prove to be a dynamic and engaging medium to convey brand information. Whether it’s a product launch, employee testimonials, internal training material, or an explainer video, corporate videos are a great way to communicate your message to diverse audiences.
Wyzowl’s Video Marketing Survey reported that 87% of marketers swear videos increase their traffic, while 81% claim videos boost their sales. That’s the good part. The bad part is that while video marketing is clearly effective, making impactful corporate videos is not that straightforward.
So in this blog, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step guide on how we make killer corporate videos at Ivory Media, from pre-production planning to shooting techniques to maximising the impact of your video content.
Let’s get started!
We believe this is the most important step when it comes to making impactful corporate videos. A thorough planning stage will streamline the entire production process. It involves six substeps:
When you’re at the drawing board, keep your end goal in mind. Ask yourself — what are you trying to achieve with this video?
Often when you don’t know how to begin, having a defined end goal can help you narrow down your ideas.
So, write down a clear end goal and look to this statement as your guiding light throughout the production process.
Your corporate video isn’t meant to wow everyone. You probably have a target demographic you’re trying to reach. Understanding that target audience can ensure your video production goes by smoothly.
So, ask yourself the following questions: What interests your audience? What are they looking for? What do you want them to think about your brand? Once you’ve determined the answers, you can focus on making your content relevant and engaging for them.
While you may have a brilliant creative vision for your video, you might not have the budget to bring it to life. Make sure to define a budget early on, depending on how ambitious this project is and what your business can afford. Watch out for the hidden costs and find ways to be creative within the constraints of your budget.
The basis of a good corporate video is crafting a solid script. We’ve summarised the basics of writing a good script below:
Your next step is finding the right team to bring your project to life. If you’re aiming high with your campaign and have the budget to hire professionals, it might be a good idea to outsource video production to an agency like Ivory Media.
If you can put together a good team in-house, that should work fine too. The kind of team you put together depends on what type of video you’re shooting and what kind of roles you’ll need to fill.
Which option is better? Well, an in-house team will be valuable in terms of understanding your brand’s vision from an insider perspective, while an outsourced team can bring the necessary expertise and finesse to really make your video viral. But there’s so much more to it, which we cover in our post on In-House vs. Outsourcing: Video Production Pros & Cons.
As the final part of this step, scout a location that aligns with the overall aesthetic of your video and your business’s brand and message.
You want to choose a well-illuminated, lens-friendly location with plenty of space to shoot and a quiet area with good acoustics.
If you’re filming outdoors, make sure you have safeguards against weather/noise and that your chosen location is logistically feasible for the production team.
Once you have a vision for your video, it’s time to think about production techniques. This step is complex and it’s where a dedicated team of professionals reigns supreme over an in-house team. Here are four important considerations to keep in mind during this stage:
While the specific equipment you require will depend on the type of video you’re shooting, here is a list of standard film shooting equipment that’ll come in handy:
You can alter this list depending on the nature of your project and your specific needs. For instance, if you have a limited budget, you can stick with filming on your smartphone or an external webcam. If you’re aiming for a high-quality video and have the budget, invest in a video camcorder along with a capture card.
It’s also important to consider the composition of each shot. For instance, if you have a stationary subject and a fixed camera angle, placing them right in the centre doesn’t always give the best aesthetic.
A general rule of thumb to follow is the rule of thirds, which can help you make interesting compositions by more effective use of the aspect ratio of your available on-screen space.
Another golden rule to remember — don’t cut too soon. Once you’ve gotten your required footage, leave the camera rolling for another couple of seconds. Speaking from experience, this will save you plenty of hassle during editing.
Lighting can make or break the success of your video production. While it is possible to address some lighting issues in the editing stage, you should still aim to start with premium footage to ensure the final product is of the highest quality.
So, avoid ugly fluorescents and poorly selected locations, and make as much use of natural light as you can. You can also use reflectors to illuminate dark regions and make sure your subject is well-lit. Also, avoid silhouetting and shadows by filming with a darker background. These simple lighting tips will help you get the maximum quality out of your equipment.
If you’re DIY-ing your corporate video, bad sound quality will probably be your biggest challenge.
To ensure your audio sounds professionally recorded, we recommend recording the sound separately and synchronising it with the footage in the editing stage. This is true even if you’re using pro video shooting equipment. Another thing you can do is use clip mics connected to your camera to ensure high-quality audio to accompany your high-resolution clips.
Importantly, make sure you have eliminated any background noise. If you’re shooting inside, surround yourself with soft furnishings and shoot in a quiet location. If you’re filming outside, ensure your microphone has a muffler on it — you don’t want your brand’s message to be lost in the noise (pun intended).
So, once your cameraman and cast have done their magic, it’s time for the editors to shine. This step is as important as the production stage and can make or break your video. Here is what it involves:
Post-production is where your raw footage gets transformed into a final, polished product. Make sure to implement stringent quality control measures so your final output meets the desired standards. This is the time to be nit-picky — pay attention to details such as colour consistency, audio clarity, and visual effects.
While you should aim to get the best possible footage to take into the edit suite, there will always be certain parts of your footage that don’t turn out the best.
Maybe the natural lighting dropped or perhaps the subject was out of frame. This is the stage where you fix these visual ticks and errors. And it’s always a good idea to have backup footage (B-roll) to use in case your primary shots fail you.
Video editing is also the time to reevaluate your shots and see what you can cut. Remember, your audience has the attention span of a goldfish and you need tight video editing to accommodate that. Edit out any shots that aren’t adding value to the video and ensure your video flows cohesively from one shot to another.
If your edited footage has come out dull and lifeless, colour grading is a great way to add a cinematic touch and make your video more compelling. Experiment with different colour schemes to evoke specific emotions and enhance the overall aesthetic quality of your footage.
You want your corporate video to not just look good but sound good as well. De-noise your video to remove ambient noise and make sure the background music, voiceovers, and other sounds complement each other without overpowering the viewer.
You can use a crossfade to ease transitions between sounds and adjust gain accordingly to prevent distorted audio. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also pan your audio along with your clip (for instance, going from left to right) to further hook your audience in.
Special effects and graphics can elevate your video to the next level. If you really want to make a statement with your campaign and make your video unforgettable, play around with special effects during post-production. Use subtle animations, motion graphics, CGI, and cinemagraphs to enhance your storytelling — the sky’s the limit.
But at the same time, make sure to not go overboard. You don’t want your visual effects to be distracting and overshadow the video’s core message.
Before finalising your video, refer back to your objectives and see if they are fulfilled. After all, the entire purpose of your video is to convey a message. If it’s doing that as you envisioned it to do, you’ve done a good job!
Many companies make the mistake of resting after they’ve created a corporate video. We think that’s a mistake. That’s because you can have the best video in the world, but it won’t make a difference if people don’t watch it. So, here are four important points to keep in mind when it comes to video distribution and promotion.
Depending on your target audience and the way you’ve planned your video, choose the right platform to publish it. Consider popular video hosting sites like YouTube and Vimeo, as well as social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and tailor your distribution strategy to the preferences of your audience.
In other words, find out where your target audience hangs out and publish your video on that platform.
Video SEO will be the backbone of how well your video performs after publishing. You want to follow recommended video SEO practices such as creating an engaging title and description, using relevant hashtags, providing a transcript and subtitles, making videos mobile-friendly, and so on.
Another important factor to keep in mind is the video thumbnail. When users are debating whether to click on your video or not, a good thumbnail makes all the difference. Over 90% of the best-performing videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails, so it’s worth giving it a shot.
Here are some quick tips on how you can optimise your thumbnails:
Promoting your video goes beyond simply uploading it to a platform. Leverage your social media channels (such as including video links in descriptions or pinning it to your X feed) and use email newsletters, partnerships, guest blogs, chats, and communities to maximise reach. You can also consider running paid advertising campaigns to target specific demographics.
Finally, don’t forget to measure the success of your corporate video using analytics to see how you can refine strategies for the future.
Key metrics to analyse include:
Creating an impactful corporate video involves meticulous planning, skilled execution, and strategic promotion. From defining objectives to finessing content and optimising distribution, each step is important to ensure the success of your video content.
We hope our guide will help you leverage the power of corporate videos to enhance your brand presence and effectively communicate with your audience.
If you still think you need help with your corporate video, we’re always there to serve you. At Ivory Media, we have a combined experience of 40 years in this field and can streamline the entire corporate video production process for you. Get a quote today!
