Creating and sharing videos is an excellent way to connect with your clients, says Richard Heft, executive director of Ext. Marketing Inc. in Toronto. Videos represent a quick and engaging way to share information, and they can be posted on your website or shared through email or social media.
People aren’t interested in watching commercials, Heft adds, so you should ensure that your video content has educational value. Popular topics might include financial literacy, tax planning, estate planning or product knowledge. Just make sure the topics are relevant to your core client base.
Here are five tips for creating effective videos:
1. Keep it short
Videos should run no longer than two minutes, Heft says. Any longer and you risk losing your viewer’s attention.
If your video extends to five minutes, turn it into a two-part series. “Get your point across and then let them go,” Heft says. “Don’t test their patience. If visitors go to your site and watch one or two minutes, that’s a win.”
2. Draw from experience
Pick topics that fall within your area of expertise, Heft says. That way, you may be able to use research that you have conducted for past projects.
For example, if you have created a slide-show presentation on a specific topic, you can incorporate pie charts, graphs or tables from that presentation into your video.
3. Choose an “evergreen” topic
Select a topic that won’t expire after a few months.
Discussions of performance data or products on sale for a short period of time are examples of information that can shorten the shelf life of your video, Heft says.
“Given the amount of work, time and money that is required to create the videos,” he says, “you probably will want them to have a long lifespan.”
4. Be prepared
Hiring a videographer is recommended, and you should prepare as much as possible before shooting begins to avoid any unwanted surprises.
Creating a storyboard is one way to ensure that your vision will be communicated clearly, Heft says. A storyboard is essentially an illustrated blueprint, like a comic strip, detailing how the video will flow.
In your storyboard, you can specify brand colours, fonts and even sound effects. While a videographer will have suggestions, Heft says, you should not leave all of these decisions to his or her discretion.
5. Promote your video
Next, you must do everything you can to ensure as many members of your target audience as possible will view the video.
For example, you can embed your video on your website’s home page, blog about your video content, post your video on social media and send emails to your client base (if you already have their permission).