11 Creative Ways to Make the Most of Your Investment in Video
When it comes to video production, there are some important things to consider (and things to avoid) to help achieve your end goals. Today we’re sharing 11 ways to easily get an even better return on your video investment.
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already made the decision to invest in video production. And you’ve made the right choice given everything we know about video marketing in 2022. We’ve helped hundreds of businesses use video to it’s full potential and want to highlight 11 ways you can maximize your investment.
Regardless of the scale of your project, deciding to work with a video production company requires a great deal of forethought and planning. These additional budget-friendly ideas can help make sure your purchase pays off and continues benefitting your business beyond the day of your video shoot.
Multi-Purpose Filming
For almost every production, there is an opportunity to create more than one video which will save you both time and money down the road. It’s often worthwhile to film something in addition to your originally planned video. Are you planning for an interview in your new office space? By including additional footage of the space, you can also create a video tour to showcase your location. Are you filming an outdoor sporting event? With some close up shots of each player, you can have a visual team roster.
Consider Short and Long Form
When you’re planning to film a long-form video, there is an easy opportunity to create a short-form edit as well. A 30-60 second edit of a longer video is a great asset to have for social media purposes and can also be used as a teaser for your main video. This is generally quite easy for the production company to complete and is a cost-friendly way to maximize your investment in video.
Showcase Key Snippets
Not every video needs to have a story or big picture, especially in this era where content is king. During interviews and testimonial videos, it’s very likely that you’ll capture several key talking points and phrases that resonate with your audience. Why not use those small excerpts as stand-alone videos on your social media accounts?
Always Think Ahead
Is there anything important coming up in the business or on the calendar? A milestone anniversary or significant event? Even filming something as simple as a personalized “Happy Holidays” message during a planned interview would allow you to publish a heartfelt greeting to your audience or investors during the holidays.
Include Subtitles or Closed Captions
One of the 2022 current video trends you’ll want to take into consideration is the fact that mobile users are not always listening to videos with audio enabled. That means you’ll want to make sure your message comes across both with and without sound. We recommend always including subtitles or closed captions when posting on any platform to ensure your video is understood and accessible to all viewers.
Group Scheduling
Coordinating multiple schedules for a video recording is challenging, especially when you need a large group of executives for interviews or testimonials. Will they all be together at an upcoming corporate event or convention? In some cases, it may be beneficial to set up production on the same day as a planned event or meeting since all your subjects will already be in attendance.
Showcase Your Team
Many businesses focus on showcasing their location or their leaders. If you have a large portion of your team gathered together on the day of a video shoot, it’s worth getting them in front of the camera for a few clips as well. Even if you don’t have a planned vision yet, it could be beneficial to have nice footage of your staff interacting with one another or with your customers. You could save this content for future purposes like a “Meet the Team” video or a “Recruitment” video.
In-House Talent
Promotional videos and explainer videos usually require the use of models and actors. Unless you require skilled acting, it may be worth asking staff, friends, or family to fill in as extras in a video production instead. Not only will you be able to save money but these close acquaintances likely already know one another and are familiar with your business so they could be natural substitutes for paid talent.
Focus on Evergreen Content
We generally advise focusing on video content that can be used in the long run versus making a large investment for filming a short-lived trend. By the time you organize funding and resources for a viral corn song that’s been going around, the trend will be in its final stages and your video won’t have much of an impact. It’s fun to participate in trends online but it would be more cost-effective to do that internally.
Go Behind The Scenes
On the day of your production, it could be fun to capture some behind-the-scenes footage of your video shoot. You could post some photos or videos on social media to share your excitement and build anticipation for the final product that is to come. This sort of transparency is something we’re seeing more of in 2022 as users are craving more real and relatable content from the businesses and brands they trust.
Hire an Editor
You may have access to video clips from various shoots and events over the years. An editor is able to work with existing footage and come up with new video ideas for your web and social media needs. For example, say you have a big annual event coming up and want to promote ticket sales through online videos. In this case, it’s more reasonable to have an editor rework those clips from past events than it would be to hire a production company for something entirely new.
One last thing to consider when looking to maximize your investment in video is to remain focused on your primary goals. There is often a big feeling of excitement when you’re working with a video production company on a big project and it can be tempting to get a little bit sidetracked with all the various video options available. Stay focused on your initial goals and make sure those are met first.
With a bit of extra planning, a one-time investment in video production could have benefits for you and your business for several years down the road. We hope our insights helped shed some light on the various things that can increase your return on investment. If you have any questions or are in need of a custom quote for your video needs, feel free to reach out to us.
About Winter Summer Media
We create premium visual content for corporate videos, interviews, announcements and events. A simplified approach to all your B2B video marketing needs.
