How to create the right video experiences for your brand
With in-person audience connections on hold due to COVID-19, the video is taking center stage.
But, What filming formats, conversation features and delivery options work best for your audience and goals ?
Before taking that webcam, open a video chat app or upload that stream of awareness conversation to the social platform of your choice, use this guide to make decisions. It will help ensure that the video resources you create fit your marketing purpose. Y provide a worthwhile spectator experience.
Gain clarity about the goals that drive your decision making
At the beginning of any project, Consider why you choose to connect and what you want that interaction to achieve. Your goals must take into account all decisions, from how the experience will be shaped to how your audience will interact with the video and apply their knowledge.
What is the main objective of your video to help your brand achieve?
- Customer service: Do you want to distribute objective information or technical assistance to customers who have purchased your products??
- Brand awareness: Looking to generate an initial interest in your brand or increase awareness of its offers, vision and values?
- Sales enablement: Looking to generate demand and leads or help your sales team generate revenue through your video efforts?
Laying the foundation for the video experience
You must make two big decisions at the beginning of your video creation process:
- How will you capture the conversation? Will you stream live in real time or record it for sharing later? Will it be an independent asset or part of another experience (for example, a virtual event , an online discussion board, a video playlist)?
- How will your audience interact with it? Will your video conversation be a monologue or a dialogue? In other words, Will your brand simply convey the message to viewers, or will viewers participate in setting up the message directly or indirectly??
These fundamental decisions will put you on one of the four paths that determine which creative approaches
The roads are divided into four main categories, ranging from completely closed loops (prerecorded without direct audience participation) up to free experiences (live broadcast with active participation).
Let's explore which path fits which objectives.
Let's explore which path fits which objectives.
Prerecorded: without direct audience participation: aloe their prerecorded video on a brand-owned and operated media channel, like your website or blog, and disable the comments on the page. When creating a streaming-only environment, you maintain the highest level of control over the content that your audience will see, even if you sacrifice the audience's ability to directly influence the experience.
Suitable for: opinion leadership , research results, product information / company announcements and services (especially in highly regulated industries) and crisis response content.
Live broadcast :
active participation: make it a fully participatory experience by using a webinar platform or video conferencing tool to stream live and allow viewers to post comments, ask questions through a chat feature or even join the conversation as it unfolds.
Suitable for: social networks, interactive experiences, exclusive or urgent access events (for example, virtual conferences or panel forums / community where engagement data is only collected for a set period of time)
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active participation and / or passive: record your presentation in advance and allow viewers to evaluate your thoughts, questions and ideas using conference tools, chat windows, social media platforms or other media. These feedback mechanisms can be leveraged in an on-demand environment.
Suitable for: virtual events, conversation forums, trade fairs / exhibitions, engagement content / brand awareness, online education, product demos, lead generation
Streaming
Using those same tools and platform options, will allow your audience to conduct secondary conversations during a live broadcast without interrupting the flow of the main presentation (for example, the way eSports events allow fans to comment on the action in real time without directly affecting the game).
This is a common technique used on social media platforms like Instagram . For example, your brand can post a cocktail mix video tutorial, ask viewers to submit ideas for recipe adjustments or new cocktails and incorporate their suggestions into later stories.
Suitable for: webinars and other virtual events, social networks, brand awareness / commitment, loyalty efforts / retention
To transmit or not to transmit
To decide if it will be published or previously recorded, start by determining the tone you want to set, the level of control you want over the conversation and the ultimate purpose you want to achieve.
Live video might be the be