Tips for Commercial Video in 2019

In an age where everyone wants  to avoid ads and commercials, the truth is that commercial video is engaging more people than ever before. Video can incorporate many types of content, such as graphics, text, voiceover and photos. All of these come together to create a medium that stops page scrollers in their tracks. Showing your product or service in action is the preferred way for customers to learn what you have to offer. Every business should be using video in some capacity to reach customers or clients. But what are the most important aspects to focus on when building commercial video?

Find the right platform

Between YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and more, it can be challenging to create video that connects with the right audience through the right platform. In most cases, commercial video should be built with the platform in mind. Creating video ads for YouTube is entirely different from Snapchat. Users have different expectations for each video service, and the ads they find on that service should align with their expectations.

For example, Snapchat users aren’t expecting to watch a professionally shot and edited video on that platform. They come to see quick clips from their friends. Between viewing stories from their friends, users expect that ads will have the same look and feel. Knowing how to create an ideal snapchat ad is a useful skill, but the key is to never overthink it.

YouTube ads live on the opposite end of that spectrum. This platform is more suited for people that log on expecting to spend quality time with their viewing content. This environment is perfectly suited for YouTube’s ability to provide highly targeted ads on videos. It’s a more personal experience that requires a more professional touch. As a bonus, YouTube has added vertical video to its available formats for video ads.

Email is also a fantastic home for video marketing, and it is often overlooked.  Using video in email marketing can lead to much greater click-through and open rates, as well as increasing how often the video is shared among potential customers.

Utilize the right content

The quality of the video is only one aspect to consider when choosing a platform, though. Equally important is the actual content of your video. While customer testimonial videos work great on almost any platform, other types of content like informational videos don’t necessarily fit on a platform like YouTube or Snapchat. YouTube videos can be longer than most platforms, but viewers don’t want to spend too much brainpower on a video ad there. Video tutorials that explain a product or service will always find a better home on your website, where customers intentionally visit to learn more.

Traditional video ads focus more on marketing a line of products. But recent trends show that video marketing focused on a specific product can be effective. Because it is so important to instantly grab a viewer’s attention, video marketing should cut right to the chase. Show your audience exactly what they get from your business instead of leaving them wondering who and what you are as they click the skip ad button.

This is highlighted by a recent trend in film trailer marketing. Have you noticed that every movie trailer on the internet now has a 5 second highlight reel full of the best parts of the trailer your about to watch? While this might feel awkward in front of a trailer that you specifically choose to watch, it makes a huge different on services like Twitter, where you want to capture attention as people scroll through posts. Even though this specific tactic can’t be used for product videos, it is proof that finding the right way to quickly grab attention is very important.

Find the right tone

The most unique thing about video content is its ability to connect with our emotions far better than most still images can. The largest driving force in video sharing is emotional content. Research has identified that there are essentially just four basic human emotions. It doesn’t take long for viewers to understand that your video makes them happy, sad, afraid or angry. Once you know the best platform for your video and what content you are featuring, you can identify the best emotion to target in your brand marketing.

If you know your video is going to appear on social media channels, it might be best to showcase a lighter side to your company. You can build engagement and a personal connection through a happy tone. On the other hand, companies with an important message can utilize negative emotions like sadness or fear. This tone is often found in more traditional commercial video on television and in front of movies. Negative emotions rarely fit into viral content, but they can spur people to action when viewed in a more traditional format that can’t always be skipped over.

Get started with video now

Video marketing is the most important tool in a businesses’ toolbox in 2019. Understandably, it can be challenging to start making videos for your company without the right tools or skills. King and Columbus is announcing the launch of a new video package contest. The winner of the Bundle Up Video Giveaway will get a custom business photo and video package created by our expert team. Enter to win at kingandcolumbus.com/video-giveaway.