By Dawn Bonnell, Partner and Content Strategist
Video content has been and continues to be a key tactic to successful corporate marketing strategies. Whether you’re creating DIY videos using mobile apps or have a dedicated production team, the path to crafting compelling content requires a considerable amount of work before the camera starts rolling. After many years producing video content for B2B and B2C brands, I’ve developed a tried-and-true playbook for the game of pre-production.
Our four-step pre-production playbook to creating impactful video content.
1) Start with a creative brief
Creative briefs are an incredibly helpful tool to ensure the success of any video project. What is the desired tone? What type of video is this? What platforms will the video be distributed? What’s the desired length? What is the call-to-action? Knowing these details ahead of time are crucial to the success of the shoot and post-production phase.
2) Clearly map out the talking points
Interview style shoots tend to go a million different directions. I always allow the interview subject to speak what’s on their mind. You never know what little nuggets of gold they’re going to serve up, but always reference your planned talking points in your creative brief to ensure all the pre-planned content is secured during the interview.
3) ALWAYS DO A PRE-INTERVIEW!
Asking someone to go on camera to tell their story is deeply personal and can make people feel vulnerable. Before every interview on camera, I spend a considerable amount of time getting to know that person, their story and develop trust before the interview. This time also allows me to plan the best interview location and b-roll shots that align with the subject’s story.
4) Study your pre-interview notes before the shoot
9 times out of 10, people forget important parts of their story while under pressure in front of a camera. Knowing their story inside and out makes sure nothing is left unsaid.
Storytelling is a powerful marketing strategy. When the message is clear, on message and relevant to the target audiences, we put our clients on a trajectory from awareness to conversion.