Why do advertisements work so well in encouraging people to buy products? Well, it’s because they tell captivating stories. What makes them even more powerful is ability to tell a story within a short amount of time, but we’ll cover that another day.

The power of great storytelling evokes emotion and takes you on somewhat of an emotional journey. Although text can be a powerful way to tell a story, videos are the best way to visually tell a story. By telling a story, you’re more likely to reel the viewer in for the entirety of the video. It is the best way to connect with your audience on a more personable level.

What goes into planning a visual story are some things we’ve covered in our previous newsletters, such as creating a plan and working the plan. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when planning your visual story:

Set a Goal

Think about what you want your audience to take away from your video. Do you want to leave them with valuable...

How many times have you gone to watch a video and couldn’t stay focused on what was being said because the background was too “noisy”? Or because there was something in the background that made it look like something was sticking out of the person’s head so you were fixated on that? These are common things to miss when setting up to record your videos or even editing in post production. 

When you’re setting up to record videos, there are three important things that you need to pay attention to - audio, lighting and background. It’s important to remember that when it comes to the background, less is more. The less clutter you have in the background, the more your audience will be able to retain and engage with your content. Here are a few tips for keeping your background simple:

Find a Clean Background

Find a plain wall that isn’t covered in pictures or decor as that would be too distracting to your viewers. Maybe you have an accent...

Imagine your favorite television show or movie without background music. How different would the tone or mood of specific scenes be if they didn’t have any? Whether it’s a romantic, comedic, action or horror film, music helps to create the overall tone of motion pictures.

Music is a powerful tool that can influence the way people feel when they’re watching a video. Using music in your videos is a great way to evoke emotion and send a specific message to your audience. It also helps keep the audience engaged throughout your entire video, it makes it more exciting to the viewer!

Here are some tips for adding background music to your videos:

Match the Mood

Make sure the music you pick matches the mood of the video. Music can help create the energy of a moment, so you want to make sure you pick something that matches the initial tone of your video. For example, say that you are creating a video as a Veteran’s Day tribute. You don’t want the music to be...

This is one of the biggest tips we recommend to our clients. Say you’re recording and you make it about half way through the script and you mess up. Instead of going back and starting at the beginning of the script, go back to where you made the mistake. There's no need to start all the way from the beginning, as that would not be an efficient use of your time. 

If you mess up, remember to pause, look at the camera and then start again. The pauses help when it comes to editing. Not only does this help in the post-production process, this also saves you a lot of time and stress! You don’t have to worry about spending too much time on one video because you're having trouble pronouncing that one word and have to start from the beginning again.  

That’s the magic of editing, you can edit those two takes together, throw some B-roll on top of it to hide the jump cut and boom you have your final video.

Another reason we recommend shooting multiple takes is...

SEO isn’t only relevant for your website and blog posts. In fact, YouTube, also owned by Google, has become the second largest search engine online. 

People search YouTube for information, like “How Do I Buy A House”, “How Can I Cancel MI”, “What Is A Mortgage”, just as they would on Google.

There are some simple steps you can take to help make your videos easier to find on YouTube.

First, use a good title when you post your video onto YouTube.  Titles are the best way to catch someone’s attention. You want to keep your title short, interesting and informative.  Not always easy.  Think about a top ten list.  Something like, “Three Things You Need to Know About Buying Your First Home” or “How to Beat a Cash Offer” will capture their attention and let them know what your video is about.  If it resonates with them and what they are searching for, then good chance they will click on...

Sure, you love to send out email marketing.  We’ve been doing it for centuries!  But, if you want to get people to actually look at your emails you should add video.    

According to Animoto, adding the word “video” in an email subject line boosts open rates by 19%, click-through rates by 65% and reduces unsubscribers by 26%.

Adding a video thumbnail into your email also boosts engagement.  In fact, just adding a video thumbnail over a plain image can increase your click through rate.

Our two favorite email platforms that easily incorporate video are TotalExpert and BombBomb.   In fact, BombBomb is so easy to use you can record a video directly from your phone and upload it directly into the platform, so if you want to capture the attention of a real estate agent, why not go stand in front of their listing, record a video and send it to them.  It will probably get their attention.

Find ways to incorporate video into your...

During most of our video planning sessions with our clients, this question will pop up at least a few times: How long should the video be? And while there is no right or wrong video length, there are many important factors to consider when timing your video. Things to consider include:

• Who is the target audience?
• What are the messages you are trying to convey?
• How will it be used?
• Is it for a live event?
• Are you looking to gain SEO strength in online searches?

To better determine the length of your video, let's break down some of the factors that will guide your decision.

What’s the Content of Your Video?

If you're watching another cat video, a 6-second video on Instagram is perfectly fine. If you’re discussing a complicated issue – like steps to getting a mortgage – it should be MUCH longer. Your video should be as long as your content will support – to tell your story and achieve your goals. Not a second longer, but not a second shorter, either.

Who...

Thanks to disappearing messages and smartphone-induced ADHD, the average attention span is just eight seconds these days. That means most viewers will click away from your video in as long as it takes to have a sip of coffee if their attention waivers.

The first eight seconds of a video is a reasonable amount of time to capture the viewer's attention and let them know what they can expect from the rest of the video.

Watch the first eight seconds of these videos and tell me it was clear in it’s message.

Click HERE to watch the videos

Don't underestimate your viewers and think that you need to pre-explain the video in a rambling introduction. Many writers refer to the term “mid-res,” an abbreviation for “in medias res,” which means “into the middle of things.” Starting a story in the middle of things kicks the viewer into a whirlwind of excitement that will keep them engaged long enough to hear the why in the video.

The “why” of...

Traditional in-your-face TV infomercials and blatant calls-to-action have almost been replaced by a smarter, subtler brand of business video.

But that’s not to say that there isn’t room for friendly reminders of who you are. Greetings and sign-offs are an important part of video production because subtly promoting your business can push your audience to complete the goal you’re working toward.

On the other hand, you should be wary about being too subtle with your ask.  “First Kiss” is actually an advertisement for Wren Studio, a clothing company, but you'd be hard-pressed to know that after watching it.

Click HERE to watch the video. 

This interesting and emotionally captivating video went viral (41 million YouTube views in three days, and 143 million to date), but without a  call to action or a next-step direction, it lost its momentum — and potential sales.

So how do you strike the balance between subtlety and over-promotional?

...

Writing out a script or outline for your video is a key component of your pre-video production planning and unfortunately one that is often not done.

So many times I see videos posted online with really no thought into message or outcome.

Yes, I know, you are a loan originator and not a script writer. I know that you did not just walk off of the screen writers set for Jerry Seinfield. And, yes, contrary to popular belief, not just anyone can write a script. Often, someone on the team will dash off a script and think it's ready to execute without several rounds of critiquing and revising. It's important to get input from other members on your marketing team who speak to customers individually.

Don't worry if the script for your video goes through several drafts by the time you're ready to shoot. Even Martin Scorsese revises his screenplays many times. Having a solid foundation to work from will form a large part of your production and post-production schedules.

We advise our clients...