Commercial Video Production: How to Make Amazing Web Videos in 2022
So you want to add videos to your digital marketing plan. You want to show off your outstanding products. You want to dazzle potential customers. Probably even go viral on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram – you name it. Great! Investing in commercial video production is definitely a wise move for businesses of all sizes.
Then, you find out that over 500 million people watch Facebook videos every single day.
And people – aka your potential customers – look at videos 5x more than any other media (e.g. photos, articles, etc.).
Nearly 50% of consumers also find video ads relevant to their spending habits.
Now web videos are looking like a gold mine!
Videos can make your company look more trustworthy and professional. They show off your skills. They attract new customers and clients. Videos go viral, which means more exposure for less money! You can link specific products to videos, making them an automated advertising machine of sorts.
And – maybe most importantly – video marketing is cost-effective.
So you’re in, right?
Good. Let’s start with a quick list of places where your business should have a video presence.
Where Should You Post Your Marketing Videos?
YouTube
Basically, the Google of video content. As you know, Google is the primary source of website traffic on the planet. YouTube is owned by Google too, so it’s the second largest search engine after Google itself – 2 billion monthly users, to be specific.
Every day, they watch hundreds of millions of hours of videos and generate billions of views. Now that’s huge!
Facebook has nearly 3 billion users. Yes, billion. That’s almost half of all people on this planet!
These days Facebook videos are driving 8x more engagement than images and 2.5x more engagement than GIFs. Also, 70% of video views happen without sound. So you’re able to post silent commercial videos too.
Another digital platform that recently started to treat videos as a first-class citizen. People are loving Instagram’s new video features, because now they can post Instagram stories AND upload long commercial videos on top of watching tons of videos themselves.
TikTok
Yes, you’ll find a wealth of commercial videos on TikTok, too, even though it’s mostly known as a place for memes and short user-generated content. And with 50 million daily viewers from the US alone, TikTok is a great platform for businesses to build upon.
Content on LinkedIn has been growing at 400% year-over-year for quite some time now. A large part of it consists of job postings, but there are also regular posts and videos.
One of the largest online communities which you can use to build a loyal following. You’ll need to post your commercial videos as text posts only, but they will still show up as clickable thumbnails – plus Redditors can watch them right from their browsers without having to leave the platform.
What’s even more surprising is Pinterest – another commercial video production hotspot! Even though people are currently pinning more photos than videos, commercial videos are still being watched more frequently on this platform.
This list is a VERY short one and there are even more platforms out there. Vimeo, Snapchat, Twitter, online blogs, etc. – the list goes on.
Which ones you choose is up to you, but now that you’re aware of the mere existence of these digital hotspots, let’s talk about how to use them for commercial video marketing.
5 Hacks for Making Great Videos for Digital Marketing
1. Make your videos look professional
Want to make big bucks from videos? Then make sure they look like a million bucks. A blurry, low-resolution, amateurish-looking video will tank your viewership and conversion rate. It looks unprofessional because it IS unprofessional.
Don’t have a Hollywood budget? That’s fine. We know magic.
2. Use emotional storytelling
As long as you stay away from cheesy marketing speak, you can use a variety of storytelling formats to hook your viewers and leave a memorable impression.
This technique can make even the most “boring” topics look exciting.
For example, who’d ever thought that you can turn a video on bus etiquette into something super fun?
Castaway Creative did an 8-video series for SamTrans called “Li’l Monsters.” Each one starred a cute monster behaving badly on a bus ride and they were such a huge hit!
Imagine if SamTrans had just uploaded a plain video of some public service announcement and called it a day. Sure, it did the job (sharing info on bus etiquette).
But versus an aorange monster reading a newspaper and hogging two seats? It’s no contest.
3. Make it short and snappy
Internet users have notoriously short attention spans. So if you want them to watch commercial videos, pack as much punch into a short amount of time.
Three minutes is a good average. Many businesses have seen success in 30 second videos, while others swear by keeping it under a minute. We also have video creators who’ve racked up views using super long content.
Now, the optimal video length depends on:
How well you know your audience:
How old are your ideal viewers? How much spare time do they have? Whom are you targeting – kids, adults, baby boomers? What is their attention span like? The more you know your audience, the better you can tailor your content.
What type of video you’re making:
A tutorial video is often longer than a giveaway announcement, for instance. Here are 12 types of video content to mix up your content bag.
What are your objectives:
Trying to ride a trend with a funny parody? Keep it really short, because people will quickly lose interest otherwise. But if you’re building brand awareness with an informative video? Plan on a longer video.
4. Add captions or subtitles
Not everyone wants – or can – watch your videos out loud. Maybe they’re hard of hearing. Maybe they’re in a public space (or riding a SamTrans bus, so they need to be quiet). Maybe they just prefer to read.
In any case, adding captions or subtitles to your video will increase the number of people who can watch it. It also makes your content more accessible, which is a must in a diverse, multicultural society.
5. Use a good thumbnail image
Don’t underestimate the power of a thumbnail. It’s the first glimpse of your video that viewers will get, so it better be enticing!
A good thumbnail should be memorable, clear and original. It should grab attention and let viewers know what’s in store. Think of it as the visual hook that’s going to reel people in.
6. Use call-to-action text
Speaking of hooks… how do you expect your viewers to take action if you don’t TELL them to?
Make your call-to-action (CTA) text clear and direct. If your business has its own website, tell users to visit it. If you want them to subscribe, say so. Whatever your objective is, spell it out. This will help your viewers take action and keep them from bouncing.
And that’s it! Now that you know these little tricks, you’re ready to start ramping up your video production efforts.
Don’t worry if they don’t work the first time. Video production in San Jose is more of a long game than a quick fix. You need to lay the foundation with irresistible and optimized content before you can start seeing results.
And sometimes, it takes a few tweaks before you get there… but once you do, you’ll only wish you did it sooner.
Dive Into Video with Castaway Creative
Out of ideas? Not sure where to start or how to improve your videos? Castaway Creative can help!
As a video production company in California. We’ve pretty much seen and done it all, so if you need anything from a commercial shoot to infographic video production, we’re your team.
We offer everything from script writing to full service commercial video production.
Just give us a holler at 888-971-2278 or send us a message. We’ll get back to you ASAP!
