We talk a lot about stories, I mean A LOT! We eat stories for breakfast in heaping servings over at CineSalon. But how your story is delivered is almost as important as telling a good one in the first place.

For ages, the written word has been the most powerful tool for expressing and communicating stories and ideas. But the tectonic plates of marketing are making seismic shifts. In the aftermath of these colossal movements, under the rubble and debris, there's a clear winner rising out of the dust: Video Marketing.

Wyzowl, a leader in animated explainer videos, has been conducting extensive annual studies on the progress of video usage among marketers for five years now. In December of 2018, they gathered data from over 600 marketing professionals and digital consumers to analyze up-to-date video marketing stats as we entered 2019.

Not surprisingly, the results are unprecedented....

87% of businesses are currently using video to market their product or service.

91% of businesses consider video to be an integral part of their marketing strategy.

83% of businesses using video to market say they get a good ROI (up 5% from last year). 

The statistics speak for themselves, videos are rapidly becoming the preferred method for telling stories and selling products. I encourage you to head over to Wyzowl to download the full report and see what is most effective and relevant to you.

Since most serious companies are using video to strut their stuff and attempt to garner your highly valued attention, this means the level of competition is increasing every year in the video market space. It's clear consumers are willing and wanting to watch videos, but which ones will they click on and watch from beginning to end?

The Nuts and Bolts

To highlight the real nuts and bolts, meat and potatoes, nitty gritty...okay, I'll stop, let's look at some simple, universal tips to keep in mind while conceptualizing a marketing video.

- Tell a story don't sell a product (we eat stories for breakfast too, yum!)

- Stand out in the introduction

- Educate but don't lecture

- Use music to establish a mood

- Use a call to action

- Keep it short and snappy

- Use keywords in a description to help with SEO

- Be original

- Consider taking risks

Keep these tips in mind to avoid being bland, long-winded, and disengaging. What commonly happens when poor videos are constructed is they either don't get discovered at all or someone starts watching and closes the video halfway through. 

Ouch, It's hard out here for a storyteller! To help avoid this horrific fate, I want to highlight the last two bullets: be original and consider taking risks. Following the pack is no strategy for standing out.

It's important, and arguably essential, to play it safe when it comes to having a clear vision, paying for quality production, and keeping it short and sweet. Everything else is subject to major alterations. Be creative! Be bold! Add in a humorous line or awkward moment that gives your video flavor and authenticity.

Unless you're directing a feature that will be viewed with popcorn and soda on the big screen, you shouldn't be taking up a lot of consumer's precious time. The beauty of video marketing is the ability to get an idea or product across seamlessly, without requiring energy and eating up time. 94% of video marketers say video helped users or customers better understand their product or service.

Aside from being a tried and true marketing tool, the cost of creating video is lower now than ever. 41% of the companies that began using video marketing in 2018 stated it was because video marketing had become more affordable.

From Concept to Finished Product (aka Snazzy Video!)

It begins with an internal assessment. What aspect of your company will be best told through a video? What goal are you achieving by creating a video? What story are you telling and who are you telling it to? What is the overall mood and tone of the video?

Once these essential questions have been answered, get in touch with a video production company in your area to get an estimate on the cost. The clearer you are in your description of length, style, and goals for your video, the more accurate your cost assessment will be.

Think you can shoot this thing yourself? If 4K or 1080p, Apple Pro Res, S-log, flat images, LUTs, and 24 or 30 frames per second don't make sense to you, I would advise against it. This video is going to propagate your mission, be posted to your social media pages, and shown on the welcoming page of your website, it better be good! There's nothing worse than a well-written and conceptualized video that was poorly executed. Leave it to the pros to shoot a video that looks and sounds truly gorgeous.

Now that you have all your footage it's important to find music that fits with your brand and the overall mood of the video. You also want to smack your logo in there so everyone knows who they are dealing with. Lastly, see if you can cut the video into various segments. You might have a longer polished commercial or explainer video for your website and a 30 second or 1-minute shorter clip to share on social media. Make sure each video stands on its own and just use the bare bone essentials for the shorter one.

BOOM, you are done! Now sit back, relax, and let the world enjoy your bright, shiny, little piece of content. Be sure to read and respond to comments, engage with your audience, and keep the conversation going. If you can do that you will watch your profits soar and your leads accumulate tenfold.

Don't be shy, get in touch with one of us at CineSalon to talk about your unique story, get help crafting a vision, and executing your next video.

Facts and statistics from Wyzowl

References from Small Biz Trends