Ever wondered what gives a promotional video that zing? Whether it’s the crunch of a fresh apple in a food ad or the slow-motion splash in a sports drink spot, a good promotional video leaves a lasting impression.
Here at Perspective Pictures, we do more than just capturing footage. Day in and day out, we’re spinning visual straw into cinematic gold, mastering the alchemy of angles, the rhythm of cuts, and the poetry of pixel-perfect compositions. This isn’t your garden-variety video production; it’s storytelling with a twist, a sprinkle of stardust, and a whole lot of strategy behind it.
And today, you’re in luck! We’re not just hoarding our filmmaking wizardry or guarding our video editing enigmas. No, we believe in spreading the wealth of knowledge. So, pull up a chair, lean in close, and get ready. Because we’re about to pull back the velvet curtain and let you in on the trade secrets that make Perspective Pictures a maestro in the art of creating a promo video.
The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Promo Videos
First off, what’s a promotional video? Think of it as your brand’s elevator pitch but way cooler and with visuals. It’s a short, engaging video that showcases your product, service, brand, or an upcoming event or sale, usually on social media platforms or your landing page. The goal? To pique interest, convey information, and most importantly, to get viewers to take action. The goal of your promotional video may be to get your audience to head to your website and make a purchase, or it might be to get them to register their interest or sign up to an event or mailing list. Either way, the promo video has a clear purpose.
But why bother going to all that effort to create promotional videos? Well, in a world where video content is king, the right promo video can turn scrolling thumbs into engaged customers. It’s the difference between being scrolled past on a mobile device or being the talk of the town. Some of the benefits of promotional videos include:
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- Increase Brand Visibility: Promo videos put your brand in the spotlight on social media channels, making it more recognisable.
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- Capture Audience Attention: With compelling promo videos you grab the attention of your target audience, keeping them engaged.
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- Showcase Products/Services: A promo video can highlight the best features of what you’re offering, showing it in action in a way that still images or text cannot.
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- Prompt Action: A strong call to action in your promo video encourages viewers to move from watching to purchasing.
Crafting That Perfect Promo Video
Creating a promo video that sticks isn’t just about having high-end video editing tools (though they help). It’s about storytelling, understanding your target audience, and adding that sprinkle of creativity. Here are some of our top tips for making a promotional video that resonates every time.
Tip #1: Understand Your Audience’s Screens…and Hearts
Your audience is bombarded with videos every day. To craft unique videos that resonate, you need to know not just where they watch videos (hello, social media channels), but what they care about. What’s their everyday life like? What are their pain points? The successful promo videos are those that tap into this psyche.
Tip #2: Visual Style – Make It Pop
Whether you’re going for live action videos or colourful graphics with animated characters, the visual style of your promo video needs to perfectly match your brand’s core values and the message you want to convey. And don’t shy away from using stock videos – they can be a cost-effective way to add flair to your promo video without spending the big bucks. Just make sure that your promotional video is mostly made up of amazing original content with only a sprinkling of stock footage here and there!
Tip #3: The Script – Keep It Short and Sweet
While we can work a lot of magic in video editing and post-production, no amount of evidence can save a bad script. Remember: every word counts. Keep your promotional video script short, snappy, and to the point. Focus on the best features of your product or service, highlight a specific feature, or address a pain point directly. Remember, a good promotional video is not the full video biography of your brand; it’s the teaser that leaves potential customers wanting more.
Tip #4: Sound – The Unsung Hero
While the right visuals are important, the sound in your promo and video ads is even more key. From the jingle in a holiday sale ad to the mood-setting music in a product demo video, sound effects and background music can make or break your video ad. In fact, in the world of promo videos, the auditory experience is just as critical as the visual spectacle.
Plus, it’s not just about picking the perfect background music for your promotional videos. A well-placed sound effect can elevate a product’s best features, underscore the solution to a pain point, or punctuate the call to action with a resounding gong. It’s about crafting a soundscape that complements the messaging of your promotional video and resonates with your target audience.
Tip #5: Call to Action – Make It Clear
What’s the use of an engaging promotional video if viewers don’t know what to do next? Your call to action should be clear, compelling, and timely. Whether it’s a teaser for upcoming events on your YouTube channel or a prompt for a next event, make sure it’s unmistakable.
Tip #6: Plan Ahead for Diverse Platforms
Creating a promo video isn’t a one-size-fits-all affair. A video ad that dazzles on your landing page might not have the same impact when cropped for a social media story. Consider the video type and the platform it’s destined for.
For example, a promotional video that works on a YouTube channel might need tweaking for other social media platforms. Your event video for the next event on Facebook might need to be reworked into shorter snippets for Instagram. Remember, video ads created for a mobile device should be optimised for smaller screens and shorter attention spans — it’s unlikely that a TikTok user will want to watch the entire video you use on your landing page, so it makes sense to prioritise short snippets.
Tip #7: Leverage the Power of Social Proof
Incorporate testimonials and user-generated content into your promotional videos. This isn’t just about showing off your product or service, it’s about showcasing its impact on real people. Create promo videos that feature genuine feedback from satisfied customers, or better yet, show your product in action in their everyday life. This builds trust and relatability, which are priceless commodities in the realm of video marketing.
Tip #8: Accessibility – It’s a Priority
In the era of inclusivity, ensuring your promotional videos are accessible to all is not just considerate; it’s crucial. Use captions for those who are hearing impaired or for viewers who prefer to watch videos without sound, which is especially common on social media platforms. Additionally, describe the visuals of your promo videos for visually impaired audiences. This not only expands your reach but also demonstrates your brand’s commitment to accessibility, which can significantly enhance your brand image.
Tip #9: Connect Through Emotion
For a good promotional video, aim to strike an emotional chord with your audience. The best promotional video examples often include an emotional element that viewers can connect with. Whether it’s the joy of an unexpected surprise, the warmth of community, or the thrill of adventure, tapping into these universal feelings can make your promotional video resonate on a deeper level. For instance, show how your product or service fits into the joyful moments of your customers’ lives or how it solves a problem that eases a common frustration.
Tip #10: Consistency is Key
To better connect with your potential customers, ensure you create and maintain a consistent theme across all your promotional videos. This goes beyond using the same logo or colour scheme – it’s about creating a cohesive brand story across all your promo videos that aligns with your brand’s core values and messaging. Whether your viewers are watching a short promo video about your company’s product on a social media platform or a longer piece of content on your YouTube channel, they should be able to immediately recognise that it’s your brand speaking to them.
Tip #11: Analyse and Adapt Your Video Content
It’s not enough to just create your promo videos and hope something sticks. After publishing your promotional videos, use analytics to understand how your promo videos perform. See which videos drive the most engagement and sales, then use those insights to inform your future video content. Adapt your strategy to focus on what works best for your target audience and the specific social media platforms where they spend their time. Maybe live-action promotional videos aren’t hitting their mark but animated videos are performing well? By measuring the success of your existing videos, you can adapt your strategy to create successful promo videos every time.
The Ultimate Promotional Video Secret Sauce
Now, let’s talk about the secret ingredient to create promo videos that drive sales – it’s us! Perspective Pictures, not just another video maker, but storytellers with a knack for creating promo videos that stick. We’re the ones behind the scenes, turning your ideas into animated or explainer videos that light up your audience’s screens and hearts.
Our team knows that each of the social channels has its vibe, from the fast-paced world of short videos on TikTok to the more detailed explainer videos on LinkedIn. We plan ahead, considering every aspect of video marketing, from pre to post-production, ensuring that every second of your video is optimised for engagement across digital platforms and social media.
So, are you ready to turn a good promo video into a great one? Keep these following tips handy, and when in doubt, remember that Perspective Pictures is just a call away. After all, your brand deserves the spotlight, and we know just how to angle it. Let’s create some promo video magic together!
