In-house Video Production

[Daniel Hatton]

Hi all,

I just wanted to get some opinions on the boom of video marketing for businesses.

As it's a lot more easily accessible now, do you think businesses will start to take their video production in-house as opposed to outsourcing it? I guess from a financial standpoint it makes sense if they plan to put out weekly content on Youtube but not so much if they are planning a promo video.

What are your thoughts?

 

[fisicx]

I think I might have missed this one. What boom in video marketing? Do you means adverts pretending to be entertainment - what used to be called infomercials?

 

[Daniel Hatton]

Haha yeah pretty much!

 

[fisicx]

Are they effective? I've never brought anything after watching a youtube video. I've ignored lots of them though.

The problem with this sort of video it it's a one off thing. If you want to attract new business you need repetetions. Which means adverts not marketing videos

 

[Daniel Hatton]

I think whether they are effective or not, a lot of people want a video for their business. People don't watch adverts on TV anymore but it hasn't stopped companies paying thousands of pounds to have theirs shown on a Saturday night.

I'm just wondering if there are any businesses planning to make their own videos as opposed to paying other people to do it.

 

[Dan Izzard]

I've recently bought a few things after watching a product video. Perhaps not the main reason why I bought them, but the video added that confirmation that the product was right for me (headphones).

I think there are going to be a load more companies using video in 2016. I've been using an iPhone recently that has been outperforming our cameras that are only a few years old and it's been great coupled with iMovie at events to get content out on social on the same day.

For selling products though, I'm not sure what the best approach is without it being a fairly obvious product promo video.

 

[Dan Izzard]

If anyone has any videos that they've made it would be great to see what people have tried!

 

[Daniel Hatton]

Great job on the video Dan!

That actually pretty much sums up my question. There was a time where an event video such as the one you posted would have been outsourced but now it's a lot more accessible to shoot these things yourself with an iphone and imovie. Looks like I could be out of business soon haha.

 

[fisicx]

I agree about using a product video to demonstrate a feature. But general marketing videos on a website just don't do much. A bit like those awful walking presenters...

Corporate companies like video. People selling socks won't see any benefit.

 

[Chris Coulson]

I can't actually remember the last time I enjoyed/watched a corporate "this is who we are and why we're so good" type of video that (possibly) people think of when they think corporate video.

However, I've recently bought an expensive item from China, and simply because of the impossibility of going over there to look at it, I watched countless videos on YouTube about how it was made, the fine details about it, how it's used etc.

I guess it's important to carefully think why a customer might want to watch your video

I just thought that might be useful to consider if someone was thinking "we ought to jump on that booming video bandwagon"

As for the Op question, I think the same thing will happen with desktop publishing - Everyone found out they could do it themselves, and it was easy, and a lot of bad stuff got produced, and then they discovered that actually the skill was in the design, rather than the actual operation.

Equally, a lot of students are leaving college with a DSLR, and they've got all the equipment, and hey presto, they're a pro filmmaker! But sadly the art of storytelling has slipped by, and they're more interested in making beautiful films with lovely shots, rather than actually telling a story.

But like Desktop publishing, proper production will come back, once everyone's had a go..

 

[Dan Izzard]

I think the only 'corporate' ones that actually work would be case studies or even for recruitment purposes.

I guess it's important to carefully think why a customer might want to watch your video

Exactly this. Even from making event videos over the past few years I've been preoccupied with the quality of the footage, branding, lighting, sound etc (which is important) but not as important as the storytelling and the actual purpose for someone to watch the video itself.

 

[HarrisShubert]

I watch videos online before buying a product. Bought my son a laptop for Christmas and watched a number of review videos before hand to help make my decision. Also doing a similar thing right now as I'm in the market for a new car.

 

[serendipitybusiness]

Videos if done correctly and in the right context can dramatically improve conversion and also add to an overall marketing strategy in regards to search engine optimisation and visibility. Usage has been steadily growing exponentially for years. I think many businesses will take it inhouse but whether that is wise is another consideration. It all depends on your ROI and in many cases that would be best served with a professional production team.

However saying that, a contact of mine is close to launch with an innovative video creation platform for ecommerce, this will be inexpensive for the customer but the benefits should provide a good ROI.

Review videos are a different animal enirely, the video quality doesn't really matter it is the content quality and reach of the person conducting the review.

 

[The Byre]

The reason most corporate videos don't work, is because most corporate videos are extremely badly made.

That video above is a prime example. It makes too many silly mistakes, such as wobble-cam, bad framing, head-n-shoulders bang in the middle, too close and not looking into the shot, does not have a clear beginning, middle and end. At least it is the right length!

Just because a video is a self-made corporate job, is no excuse to not using a stand and not framing the shot like a professional, not using proper lighting and getting a decent sound.

There are books on the subject and if you are to make engaging videos that actually tell people something useful, you will need to read them and invest in a decent camera or two, some proper software, such as Sony Vegas or Premier and some audio equipment and software, such as Reaper.

Like everything on your website, your video is your calling-card. Do you really want your calling-card to be amateurish, wobbly and unstructured?

 

[fisicx]

The other problem with that video is it doesn't do anything. What am I supposed to do next? What's in it for me? What message can I take away form it? Who is the video targeting?

Maybe if it were on a page explaining what The Pitch is all about, if there were links to the actual pitch, follow ups on how it had benefitted his business and so on it might have value but as a stand alone bit of media it's not much use.

 

[Chris Coulson]

I think some people are being a little unfair about the video posted.
It's obviously not a corporate sales video, so of course, it won't be a good example of one!

It looks to me like a recording of an event, that will only be of interest to people who are involved with that event in some way. It's not a particularly bad example of one either?

I think the poster was actually using it as a demonstration of what's achievable with a mobile phone camera, as as such, it's a fairly good example. Sure, the sound is heavily compressed, and the initial shot was hand held, but not too bad as that either.
But that's what'you'd expect from a mobile phone video isn't it?

He certainly wasn't setting himself up by saying "look at my totally professional, TV quality corporate sales video!"

 

[The Byre]

Sure, the sound is heavily compressed, and the initial shot was hand held, but not too bad as that either.
But that's what'you'd expect from a mobile phone video isn't it?

It is exactly what I would expect from a mobile phone, which is why it shouldn't be there!

This is not children in a playground, playing with their phones and/or Nikon Coolpix, thrilled with the idea of being able to record video at all. You are presenting yourself as a business professional and that means communicating in a professional manner.