How to Produce Multiple Assets from a Company Video

The human brain is shown to process video 60,000 times faster than text. “What once seemed like an add-on has become so integral to standard marketing that you simply aren’t competitive without it,” according to Brightcove, a significant player among online video platforms.

Producing online videos as a part of a digital strategy has excited marketers for over a decade. Online video campaign growth and success for brands have continued to provide impressive results for publishers across the board.

Even with all of the jaw-dropping statistics, the inevitable question still arises about the ROI of video. With that in mind, I want to share some ideas and experiences that can further help marketers, publishers, and creators expand the reach of everything company online videos can accomplish.

These tips come from running a full-service video agency (www.clearonlinevideo.com) and working on hundreds of video campaigns over the years. The main takeaway is to approach a video project as being the spine of a content strategy. A video is a central piece that will connect and span out to other parts of a campaign.

Tip 1: Create the Hype

Video is complicated at times. First, there is coming up with a video idea or topic. Then, there is the whole production side of it, including scripting, shooting, and editing. That alone can be enough for one team to handle.

However, while that process is taking place, there are a number of ways to create hype for that video.

For years now, audiences have wanted to connect on a deeper level with the brands and companies they interact with. Sharing behind-the-scenes content from creating a video is a great way to pull back the curtain and forge a connection with your audience.

There are several ways to do this. One way is to utilize the story feature offered by many social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Typically, stories are short, mobile-only videos/photos that allow you to connect with your audience more casually, on the go.

This style of content can be captured quickly from a smartphone and is shared with the platforms mentioned above. In most cases, stories disappear after a short period, which encourages audiences to pay close attention to your content (Figure 1, below).

Figure 1. Creating hype

We have shared photos or quick videos from production meetings, teasers, storyboards, and have even captured quick sound bites with video subjects or talent on what to expect in the video.

The production day itself offers countless opportunities to capture visual content. The chances are that a lot of budgets have gone into a video production day, so why not get the most bang for your buck?

Marketers can take behind-the-scenes photos of the cameras, lights, etc. Setting up for a shoot can create a fun timelapse, hyper-lapse, 360-degree video, or even slow motion-style video. These are all fun ways to share what your brand is doing, without giving away too much. (Figure 2, below).

Figure 2. Sharing what your brand is doing

For those companies who are not using social media, these ideas can be applied to various company channels like blog posts and email marketing. No matter the destination, the content needs to be tailored to work on said platform. The vital thing to keep in mind is that the build-up to creating a video can lead to ample opportunities to connect with your audience, well before a video goes live.

Tip 2: Repurpose for Other Platforms

Thinking back to the production day, a lot of time and effort has gone into it. Repurposing the content for other platforms is a great way to extend the reach for a project.

One of my favorite ways to do this is to turn videos into podcasts. Although podcasts have been around for over a decade, the format has had a resurgence post-2015. Over half of the US population has listened to a podcast, according to studies from Nielsen and Edison (www.musicoomph.com/podcast-statistics/).

Business and health are among the most popular podcasting genres. Podcasts and videos have come to a symbiotic crossroads where both formats can boost each other. Videos can appeal to our highly visually driven society, while audio (podcasts) can attract a different set of audience members through dialogue. Podcasts are also easier to take in on the go, listen to offline, and can be heard during various commutes in cars, trains, or planes (Figure 3, below).

Figure 3. Podcasts are one effective way to repurpose your content.