Preparing Video for Content Marketing
Come 2017,
This form of content marketing can be instantly emotive, captivating and offer intrigue and cliffhanging suspense just as well as anything from Hollywood. As a result, video is one of the few forms of marketing that can enable a business or organisation’s message to go ‘viral’ and reach an audience previously only available to a select few with very deep pockets.
The best thing about video marketing is that anyone can get involved. You don’t need a big budget, Hollywood star or Oscar-winning director to produce a piece of content that will be devoured by your target audience. You just need an idea, the right equipment and… well, a star or two.
That star could – and should – be you, if you’re the business owner or someone within the company who has been positioned as a brand ambassador. But how do you banish the nerves and produce a performance that will sell your company’s products and services?
In this post, we’ve got 13 tips that will help you look great on camera for your marketing video.
1. Pause – regularly
You can do some homework with this one by watching the late, great Terry Wogan presenting. He regularly took long pauses between sentences that were entirely deliberate and which relaxed both him and the viewers.
If you rifle through your script, you’ll come across as ultra nervous and your audience will struggle to keep up. Read your lines naturally, but slowly and don’t be afraid to take what feels like too long a pause between sentences.
2. Always use a decent microphone
Although marketing videos can be put together on a relatively tight budget, it pays to invest in certain areas, and the microphone is one of them. If you’ve ever watched a video and strained to hear the person talking, you’ll know how poorly they come across. And that’s unfair, because the fault may lie with the gear.
Decent mics are worth the money – they’ll make you sound – and look – like a million dollars.
3. Don’t settle for the first take
In the era of digital film, there’s no material wastage when it comes to re-shoots, which means you can take your time to get it right. Unless you absolutely nail the first take, do a couple more and compare them; look for where you appear the most relaxed and deliver the best rendition of the script.
With modern editing techniques being so seamless and relatively easy to implement, you can even splice together footage from a few takes to make a greatest hits of your performance without viewers being any the wiser.
4. Smile
Smiling on cue isn’t particularly easy. If you’ve ever heard a photographer shout “smile, please” at a wedding, you’ll know how tricky it is to pull off something that doesn’t simply look like a scary clown impression.
5. Maintain good posture
No matter if you’re standing or sitting, it is important to maintain good posture on camera. Keep your back straight, shoulders relaxed and head upright.
6. Wear comfortable clothes
Feeling uncomfortable in front of camera will only degrade your performance, so make sure you wear clothes that are comfortable and in which you know you look your best. Feeling comfortable will make you feel more confident.
7. Drink plenty of water
It might sound odd, but staying hydrated is essential when it comes to putting on a good video marketing performance. And as tempting as it may be to find some kind of ‘rush’, avoid sugary or energy drinks. Good, old-fashioned water will do the trick.
8. Treat the camera lens as though it were a person
While filming, the camera lens is your audience, so try treating it as though it’s human. Look into it as you smile and talk and, if the video is taking place over Skype, avoid staring at your image in the corner.
9. Don’t turn down HD make-up
Video isn’t the only thing that comes in high definition, so if you’re offered HD makeup, take it. This applies to both male and female video stars and is an essential tactic if you’re to avoid looking shiny and tired on screen.
HD cameras pick up every little detail and modern make-up is designed to bring out your best features in glorious 1080p. You can then feel confident that you look great on screen.
10. Overemphasise
Watch any news presenter or celebrity interviewer, and you’ll spot that they all exhibit one very similar characteristic: they overemphasise virtually everything.
That doesn’t mean shouting like an excited kid, but it does mean projecting a performance where words and gestures are delivered more dramatically than they would be in every day conversation.
11. Use natural light and the golden hour
If you’re going to shoot the video outside, natural light will help you look fantastic on camera, but it needs to be the right natural light. The sun should be pointed towards you (not behind) and, if possible, make use of the ‘golden hour’.
There are actually two golden hours every day and they arrive just after dawn breaks and an hour before the sun sets. Photographers relish the soft tones delivered by Mother Nature at these times and they look brilliant when cast upon you in video, too.
12. Breath slowly and deeply
If you follow tip four, you’ll need to match your concise, pause-heavy delivery with slow, deep breathing.
Deep breathing is a brilliant technique for reducing nerves and making us come across as more confident than we perhaps may be in front of camera. Start breathing deeply and slowly a good ten minutes before you’re due in front of the lens and you’ll relax effortlessly into the filming process.
13. Don’t worry about making mistakes
Being in front of camera is akin to delivering a speech and one of the most important tips for the latter also applies when you’re called upon to be the star of a new marketing campaign: mistakes happen, so embrace them.
The benefit you have in video marketing is that you can learn from them and try again. Re-takes are common and even the odd stumbled word or uncontrollable laugh that makes it in the final cut can be endearing and add to the video. Don’t be scared of making mistakes – it’s one of the best things you can do.
In Summary
We hope the tips above prove useful for your video marketing campaigns. If nothing else, they prove that we can all put on a good performance in camera. Just relax, embrace mistakes and do your best Terry Wogan impression!