Our daily routine includes watching at least one video. There are a lot out there on various platforms. Some are informative, some entertaining, some can be maddening, too. There’s a place for some of it (even when it’s AI-generated!), but when it comes to marketing, your video needs to stand out from the rest.
Here’s the thing: We can all make a video ourselves. It’s in the palm of our hand with our phones.
Many times, those videos made with our phones are perfect, especially for social media. It’s a quick way to generate content, using speed and authenticity to grab engagement in the moment. A simple video created quickly can absolutely get the job done.
Social stories, event highlights, employee spotlights and quick product updates are examples of videos that can be done to help produce a steady flow of content. When I was in the news business, we would call it “feeding the beast” — more content done in shorter bursts to keep people interested and engaged while bulking up the “story count.”
You can absolutely do this and make your YouTube channel and other platforms full of this content. The question is: Does this generate the consumer trust and action that you want?
Businesses should consider professional video production when the video will shape an important or lasting impression of the organization. Some videos really require stronger storytelling, audio, lighting and visual consistency than quick social content.
Think about the videos you’ve watched that caused you to stop and think for a moment. It was most likely a video that brought emotion, giving you pause to evaluate what you just saw.
It’s possible that you watched it again (or like I do, hit rewind on your remote) to see what made that video stand out. Was it the message? Was it an interesting camera shot? Maybe it was a memorable actor or catchy music.
One common thread of these videos is that it was crafted by professionals to make you feel that way. That’s where quality video production comes in.
And when it comes to video marketing, you need emotion to make your product or service resonate, helping the viewer to take action.
So when do you turn to ensuring quality video? These video marketing assets are just a few that carry significantly more weight:
These are often the videos that prospects, customers, recruits, partners and potential donors use to form lasting impressions of your organization. When production quality is lacking, viewers notice, even if they can’t articulate exactly why.
My general rule is, you don’t want any distractions in your video — distractions like bad audio, inconsistent lighting, weak storytelling, visual issues, etc. (My personal pet peeve is showing a clock. My eyes are drawn to the clock, which leads me to think, “They shot this at 10:15!” That means I’m not paying attention to the message, as brilliant as it may be.)
If you have any distractions, your message will either not create an emotional bond with the viewer or, worse yet, create a negative connection to your organization.
Having a team of professional video storytellers can help your message stand out.
For example, at Amperage Marketing + Fundraising, we have producers, videographers, editors, motion graphic artists and art directors all working together to bring your stories and your brand to life.
That doesn’t mean we’re all on-site capturing video content. It does mean that we understand how all the pieces fit together to bring intentionality, quality and credibility to video work.
A professional team can help a video project in a myriad of ways including:
Video can provide the most powerful connection to your brand and measurable results.
In a recent study by Wyzowl, 93% of marketers report a positive ROI from their video marketing efforts including:
So video marketing is effective and useful. If you’re not using video to market your organization, what are you waiting for? And if you are using video and it’s not working as well as you’d like, it may be time to increase your production values.
You may not need or want a full “Hollywood”-style production, but it might be time to produce higher quality videos than what your phone can do.
Here at Amperage, we’re happy to work with you on video solutions that will help your organization while not breaking your budget. Contact us at info@AmperageMarketing.com to get started.
Author Bob Waters is a video producer with expertise in video storytelling, planning and production.
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