This guide is designed for students studying digital media and media production as well as marketers who are keen to learn more about video production and video marketing but who are drowning in information overload and who are struggling to sort the good from the…..not so good.
Video production and marketing professionals, psychologists and content experts have created all the resources referred to here. The content is based on their many years experience so is of high practical value to all students on courses that cover video production and marketing as well as other marketers and producers looking to develop their skills.
Planning a video production
Before you go into a video production you really need to have a clear plan of action. What is the end goal of the video, who is the video targeting and how are you going to reach them. Here are some articles/documents that will help you to make this process smoother.
http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/movingimages/advice/planning-your-video-production-1
http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-platforms/video-marketing/video-marketing-strategy/
http://www.alan-howarth.com/corporate-video-planning.html
Storytelling in corporate videos – http://video-commerce.org/2011/08/transmedia-and-the-art-of-brand-storytelling/
Understanding why video content is shared
Why is it that some videos are shared more than others? Yes, a lot of it is down to the marketing plan behind the video production but a video will only travel so far if it does not have an emotional impact on the viewer. These articles will take you through the psychological theory behind creating content that hits emotional buttons.
http://www.mywebpresenters.com/articles/2011/10/the-essence-of-a-viral-video/
http://www.marketingpower.com/aboutama/documents/jmr_forthcoming/online_content_viral.pdf
http://socialtriggers.com/craft-contagious-content/
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2012/07/18/ryan-holiday/
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/creating-viral-content/
Pre-production planning
Before getting in the studio with your production team you need to work with your plan to structure a video that will work in practice – the last thing that you need in a studio is disorganisation.
Scripting a video – http://www.videomaker.com/learn/pre-production/script-outline/
Making a video storyboard – http://www.videomaker.com/article/15415/
Writing a video production treatment – http://www.steves-digicams.com/knowledge-center/how-tos/becoming-a-professional-photographer/pre-production-how-to-write-a-treatment.html
Making a video production
On to the main event – with careful planning this should be a very clear and simple process.
Tips from experts – http://www.videomaker.com/article/15438/
Although this whole guide on the same site is well worth checking thoroughly – http://www.videomaker.com/learn/production/directing/
How to make professional looking videos – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZP0qKVJOlc
Editing a video production
Once your have your video recorded you will have the challenging job of making it as impactful as possible. Video editing is an often-overlooked process by many inexperienced video producers but can make all the difference.
Here are Video Makers series of articles and how-to’s on the post production editing process: http://www.videomaker.com/learn/post-production/video-editing/
How to make the editing process easier through considering these key things prior to filming – http://www.mywebpresenters.com/articles/2012/05/8-video-editing-tips-that-will-make-the-production-process-easier/
If you are looking for an in-depth, paid course then you may want to take a look at New York Video School’s series:
http://www.nyvs.com/courses/Editing-Techniques-and-Tips
Finding Influencers to help you market your video
Once you have a polished video production you will now need to publish the content on the internet and then distribute it. But how do you distribute it? Who is going to help you?
Here are some articles that will help you to determine who the influencers are in your field/niche and how you can find them and connect with them:
http://www.radian6.com/blog/2012/07/how-to-find-and-friend-your-influencers/
http://sproutsocial.com/insights/2012/07/how-to-discover-influencers/
Being Creative In your video production and marketing
Unless you are going to stand out and create something notable then you may as well place the lens cap back on the camera and shuffle away quietly. This does not mean that you need to come up with a story that brings people to tears every time, you just need to attack things from your own perspective; try to maintain confidence in yourself and your own opinions. Here are some ideas to get you started:
http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/node/16525
This is not specifically about video marketing but it is a really interesting insight into how an artist takes an idea and makes it into something tangible:
Marketing a video using Youtube
YouTube has a massive audience that it is difficult to ignore. Ensure that you understand the opportunities available to you on YouTube, both paid and free:
http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/set-up-your-youtube-channel-for-seo-success-14647
http://www.quicksprout.com/2012/07/23/7-hard-hitting-ways-to-grow-your-youtube-audience
Guide to YouTube TrueView ads – http://www.youtube.com/t/advertising_trueview
Guide to YouTube promoted videos – http://www.youtube.com/t/advertising_promoted_videos
Marketing a video using social media
There are plenty of ways to distribute your video content but if you get the ingredients correct then the fastest method is social media. Here is some advice on using social media to broaden your reach.
http://www.mywebpresenters.com/articles/2012/04/create-and-market-a-video-using-2-hours-per-week/
http://www.reelseo.com/video-social-media-marketing/
SEO for video marketing
It is well documented that video is a handy tool to have in your SEO kit. It is prolifically shared and also helps to show the search engines that you have a range of content on your website. These articles show you how to make the most of your video content in terms of SEO.
http://www.mywebpresenters.com/articles/2012/02/the-basics-of-video-seo/
http://www.reelseo.com/video/seo/
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/hosting-and-embedding-for-video-seo
General video marketing and distribution
How to get your video out there:
Increasing your website conversion rate using video
Getting people to your website is a large part of the marketing game but actually getting a sale out of the users once they are there is just as important – these posts help you to do just that:
http://www.mywebpresenters.com/articles/2012/02/increasing-your-site-conversion-rate-using-video/
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/product-videos-conversion/
Measuring the performance of video marketing
As with all types of marketing, video needs to be measured and learnt from. With solid learning’s you can constantly improve the quality of your content as well as how you market it.
Understanding Youtube Insights – http://www.youtube.com/government101?section=insight
General Video Analytics – http://www.longtailvideo.com/blog/13899/understanding-video-analytics
Measuring video performance in Google Analytics using event tracking – https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/gajs/eventTrackerGuide#SettingUpEventTracking
We hope that you have found this resource helpful to your studies and your learning about video production and marketing. We are always open to making changes and additions to the resource so if you have seen something that you think would make a good fit here then please let us know in the comments; if we agree then we will add it in.
