Video has long been an important tool for marketers. In today’s era of screens, the potential for brands to get their videos in front of more and more consumers is limitless. The ease of creating and distributing video means that just about anyone can produce video content even without much (or any) video production expertise or in-house resources. It’s clear that many businesses are getting involved in the video game. In their 2021 Video Marketing Survey, Wyzowl notes that 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, up from 61% in 2016. Among the respondents who leveraged video in their campaigns, fully 93% said it’s an important part of their strategy.
While it is possible for anyone to make a video, not all videos will achieve a company’s goals. That takes a rather more professional approach. The ease of creating video combined with its widespread adoption by businesses across all sectors has led to an oversaturation of less than professional video in the marketing ecosystem. According to Wyzowl (and we very much agree), the best way to address the challenge of increased competition is by creating well-planned and well-executed videos.
The importance of experience when creating impactful video
Consumers like video and they want to see more of it from brands. Fully 85% of consumers in the Wyzowl survey said they want to see more branded video content. There is a tremendous opportunity for businesses to meet consumers exactly where they’re already at—in front of their screens watching videos across social media platforms and via connected devices.
But as with all marketing and advertising initiatives, the most effective video marketing campaigns are strategic and planned. To this end, professional video production is an important part of the video marketing process because it considers your business goals, marketing KPIs, and customers’ needs. It also brings a range of important skillsets together.
At Ashworth Creative, our video production department includes a multidisciplinary team of writers, producers, videographers, and project managers who have a combination of video production and marketing experience.
Ashworth Creative’s Director of Media Services, Dina Pace, weighs in on the importance of video production experience when creating effective video marketing campaigns.
“I have worked directly with both clients and agencies. In most cases, the agency video content is more effective because it is part of a larger marketing plan,” Pace explained. “Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean it’s good. Thought-provoking, effective video remains an art.“
The creative power of a video agency
Businesses use videos for many different reasons from advertising to PR to video testimonials. But regardless of a video’s purpose, working with a video agency that has production expertise means that all the important steps in video development are covered. These include:
- Video ideation: Everyone wants to come up with the next big idea, but the process of video ideation is hard work. It involves a marketing strategy, strong script, storyboard, and video production guides, all of which ensure that video is produced professionally and delivered on time.
- Scripting: Writing the script is part of the video ideation process, but it deserves its own mention. Professional-quality script writing is integral to delivering a standout video that aligns with the story you want to tell your audience. The messaging and language used in your script should match your overall marketing goals and brand voice. It should resonate with your audience and motivate action. Creating a good script takes talent, experience, and planning. At the heart of a great script is an original and creative idea, the nugget of inventiveness that generates emotion, or empathy, or amusement. These emotions must all be firmly attached in the viewer’s mind with the brand identity. How many times have you seen a great commercial but can’t remember the brand? That’s not what you want.
- Storyboarding: Just like scripting, storyboarding is an integral part of video ideation and planning. Creating a carefully crafted storyboard that aligns with the script sets the stage for everything that comes next. We collaborate on storyboard development closely with our clients, ensuring that every video tells the story the client wants it to tell, while establishing a clear vision for a high-quality end product.
- Filming: Both the right equipment and a professional approach to filming are crucial to creating high-quality video. One of the benefits of working with a video agency is that we have a wide range of professional video, lighting and sound equipment and we have the expertise in-house to use it. The option to create video that’s perfect for your specific project is one of the benefits of working with an experienced video production team. This includes single camera, multi-camera, on location and in-studio filming.
- Editing/Post-production: Remember that multidisciplinary team we mentioned above? It really shines when we get to the post-production phase of a project. Post-production includes professional editing, graphic design, music, and sound mastering all of which come together to create a perfect finished product.
Says Pace, “Quality video relates more to planning and creativity than it does dollars and cents. I always begin with the audience and work backward. I think about how I want my audience to feel and react, then I work on a video to get them there. Sound and video quality are just as important.”
4 ways to use video to creatively tell your story
Video is about storytelling. It’s about showing and telling in a creative, seamless way that gets users engaged and your brand noticed. Here are a few examples of Ashworth’s video production work with our clients.
The Commercial: Harney & Sons Fine Teas
We’ve worked with Harney & Sons Fine Teas on several video marketing initiatives for holiday campaigns including Mother’s Day and Christmas. These award-winning videos were featured on Harney’s website and on YouTube. The videos were well-received by customers, achieving a high viewership on social media and a very impressive 13X return on spend. Each commercial in the series achieved more than one million views across social media channels.
The PR Video: City of Poughkeepsie
In 2020, Ashworth worked with the City of Poughkeepsie to create an inspirational video that recognized how hard the citizens of Poughkeepsie had worked to help friends, neighbors, and businesses during the Covid-19 crisis. We filmed throughout the city and featured government leaders and citizens in a video viewed by thousands.
The Testimonial Video: Crystal Run Healthcare
When it comes to testimonials, nothing is more compelling than a client, customer, or patient who can share their experience about a business on video. It’s particularly impactful in a healthcare setting. In 2020, Crystal Run Healthcare (CRHP) wanted to highlight their 25-year anniversary by featuring patients telling their stories. This helped to showcase CRHP’s high standard of care, while humanizing and personalizing this large multi-specialty medical practice.
HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley
Our Time Matters campaign with HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley (HAHV) is another example of how we worked with a client to leverage video to create a compelling healthcare testimonial which was used as a commercial for HAHV’s Emergency Department at Kingston Hospital. The video was part of a multi-channel awareness campaign that included revised branding, content, digital, print, and video components. The video was extremely successful at raising awareness in the community about HAHV’s newly renovated emergency room capabilities as well as its professionalism.
The service-specific video: TEG Federal Credit Union
And, finally, we want to call out a bright, fun video we created as part of a campaign for a local credit union that prides itself in not rejecting customers when they apply for a loan. TEG Federal Credit Union’s Rejection Hurts campaign worked seamlessly across a variety of mediums including print, digital, and video. The video campaign resonated with viewers and helped TEG’s customers and prospective lenders understand how TEG was different from a bank.
Getting started with a video production strategy
A video production strategy starts with video ideation and considers your business’s overall marketing and growth goals. It ensures that the end result—a professionally produced, effective and well-branded video—communicates the story you want to tell.
Working with a video production agency with strong in-house capabilities ensures that your video not only stands out among the clutter of video (and other distractions) online, but that it elevates all other tactics within your campaign. A great video pays dividends in that it can be leveraged in a variety of ways including on your website, social media, in email campaigns, and of course in commercials and paid ad campaigns.
Contact us to get started with developing a video production strategy or to learn more about Ashworth’s approach to video ideation and creation.
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Dina Pace
Director of Media Services