This is going to seem like a ridiculous statement, but you’d be surprised how often it comes up. If you produce a marketing video for your business, don’t forget to shoot some video of what it is you do.

I told you… it sounds ridiculous. Yet, I see it time and time again. The most recent example comes from a local moving company. I was helping a friend find a mover and came across their website that included a short marketing video.

No need to embarrass them by showing you the video. They’re a small company, probably didn’t have much of a budget and they got a video that looks like it. It’s one of those videos where I wish they would have known about our Elevator Pitch Videos… would have been soooooo much better, but I digress.

What video would you expect to see?

Like I mentioned… it’s a moving company, so what’s the first video you’d think to shoot? Movers, right? People moving furniture.

Not a single shot of that in the entire video. We get people working in the office… there are some shots of moving trucks… but no movers! There’s also some terrible sound bites… clearly scripted… but that’s a separate issue.

My point is simple… think about the visual elements important to telling your story. Sometimes it’s clear like in this example. Other times it can be less obvious but just as critical.

Pay close Attention

I occasionally get asked to “fix” videos. One of those clients was California Physician Supplements. They showed me the video they had produced and asked me what I’d do differently. What jumped out at me is something they hadn’t even noticed. They’re a SoCal company, but there wasn’t a single shot in the video that screamed California. Give me a shot of a beach or something!? We re-shot the entire thing and only salvaged a couple of interviews (VIDEO BELOW).

That’s the kind of stuff I’m talking about. Paying attention to details like that will help you tell your stories.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

ARVE Error: id and provider shortcodes attributes are mandatory for old shortcodes. It is recommended to switch to new shortcodes that need only url

This entry was posted by Tony Gnau and is filed under Public Relations/Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.