by HCBC member Nolan Hong of POP! Creative Media
When businesses and nonprofits talk about getting into video marketing, what seems to happen is they start thinking of ALL the ways they could use video — a video on each page of their website, different videos highlighting all of their programs, testimonials, an overview video, all the things they can put in their overview video.
The ideas pour out, but in the end nothing gets done.
Now we understand the desire to have everything mapped out from the start (I mean, that’s what I usually want to do but thankfully Jamie has painstakingly been breaking me out of that habit), the fact is that unless you have someone on your team dedicated to following through with this master plan, this is going to end up on the bottom of the long list of things you need to do, and so, it never gets done.
Just pick one thing and do it
What we’ve done with our clients, and what we suggest you do now, is just pick one thing and do it. Done is better than perfect, and momentum comes from action. Give yourself a quick win, get a bunch of views and likes, hopefully some nice comments, and that’ll motivate you to make time to tackle the next video.
As you get moving, you can think more strategically about your target audience and goals, maybe add some keyword research and a long-term plan. But in our opinion and experience, if you try to get all strategic and detailed from the jump, you’ll never jump.
So, how do you pick that first video?
If you’re doing this on your own and not hiring a production company, don’t try to think about what would be the most effective video for your business or org. Focus on the low-hanging fruit — what can you realistically get done right now?
The first thing to consider is equipment. Do you have a video camera, or will you be using your phone? Do you have a tripod, a microphone or lights? The equipment you have — or don’t have — will change what you can do. If you don’t have a microphone, you probably shouldn’t do a testimonial or something where the person speaking will be hard to hear. If you don’t have lights, you should probably shoot during the daytime so you can take advantage of natural light.
Next, come up with the actual content of the video. What do you have easy access to, that you can get footage of? Staff members, a donor who would give a great testimonial, a physical product you could do a demo with, a behind the scenes tour of your facility, or a montage of your products?
And what would make the most sense for the audio, to pull the footage together? A scripted voice-over, interview, or maybe all you need is music!
The last thing to think about is scheduling.
Any video where you need to coordinate with a bunch of people will be more challenging to produce. Let’s say you want to have a voice-over with someone talking about a program that has five different sites, and you want to get footage at each site. If that means coordinating with the directors of each site and getting people to be in the footage at each location, this could be a beast to schedule. So for what our goal is now — getting your video marketing off the ground in the easiest way possible — consider limiting the footage to one location that can represent the whole. This will also make editing easier.
Keep this mantra in mind
So right now, your head might be starting to spin with all the suggestions and ideas… Hopefully that’s not the case, but if it is, remember that the whole goal is to keep it simple. Our mantra for this stage of your video marketing journey is “Done is better than perfect, and momentum comes from action”. Don’t overthink it!
Just think about what equipment you have access to right now — if it’s just your phone, that’s good enough! Think about what footage would be easiest for you to capture and the audio that would go along with it, and make sure the capturing of the footage and the audio involves as few people as possible.
Keep it simple and get it done!
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