How to Brand Your Online Videos
Successfully implementing branding in online video means making sure every video you produce accurately reflects and advances your company's or client's brand identity at each stage of the production process, as well as in your production style. This article explains how and when to pay attention to branding in your productions.
Companies who approach online video in a strategic way see growth in customer satisfaction, name recognition, and sales. Whatever you’re selling, or whatever kind of service or business or organization you’re promoting, online video is an important part of your brand’s identity. Here’s how you can create and deploy successful online video productions that reflect and advance your brand.
Developing an Online Video Strategy
As with any marketing effort, strategy is the most important part of the production process. You should first ask yourself: What do you want the video marketing campaign to accomplish? Is your goal to increase sales? Do you want to improve customer service? Or are you just looking to educate your audience on a certain topic?
Putting down on paper your ultimate goal shapes your scripts and shot lists as well as your distribution strategy. I can’t stress enough how important this step is. The good news is that online video can be a very collaborative process. In addition to your production team, the following key players should be a part of shaping online video strategy and content.
A quick side note: Not every person listed below needs to be involved in every single shoot. I do recommend bringing them in for the initial planning conversation, however. It will hopefully save you a lot of time in the production process and it’s also a preemptive defense against potential legal, branding, or messaging issues down the road.
Anticipating Legal Concerns
Let’s start with the legal stuff. If your company has a legal team, invite a representative to that first meeting. This person will make sure that you are saying and showing things that you are actually allowed to say and show. Legal experts are also very helpful when it comes to proper logo usage, trademarking, and copyright questions.
The public relations team knows your brand’s voice inside and out. They also know which topics are newsworthy in your industry and may even be able to identify good distribution channels for your online videos. They’re usually strong writers, too, so get their eyes on any scripts if you need to.
Maintaining Marketing Consistency
Marketing professionals will make sure your online videos are consistent with the rest of your brand’s identity. A common mistake I see is companies creating videos that look nothing like anything else they distribute. As I mentioned earlier, online videos are your visual identity and the last thing you want to do is dilute the image that’s taken years to develop.
Furthermore, the marketing team can help you create a distribution plan or editorial calendar for publishing your online videos. They can help you release videos during industry tradeshows or events when your video can get more buzz. You’ll also want to designate one person who approves final deliverables and helps you direct the overall project. In most cases, that’s a marketing team member.
Involving the Sales Team
Don’t discount your sales team! Sales professionals are a direct link to your customers. They’re on the ground at all times, communicating with clients and working hard to find solutions to their problems. How great would it be to create an online video marketing campaign based on your customers’ top 10 frequently asked questions? The sales team also can help decide if it’s time to monetize your online videos.
Relying on IT
And, finally, let’s not forget the technical specialists. There is a lot of technology that goes on in the backend of online video. Naturally, you’ll want your IT services team around when discussing distribution and hosting options. Plus, they’re a great resource when it comes to security questions.
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