How to Create that Killer Video

Ok, so now it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty. With part one and two of our Enterprise Video for Dummies series, we covered the strategy and planning for both internal and external videos.

Now that we know how to strategize and plan, who to target, when, and with what message and why, let’s consider the production elements of an engaging, memorable, and converting video . . . and how to get all that goodness on ‘film’ quickly and easily.

First Things First

It seems these days that we were all born with our beloved mobile device in our hands, coming out to the light of the world texting and posting a #justborn selfie.

That’s why, needless to say – every type of communication we create whether for internal or external audiences we can assume will most likely be consumed first on mobile.

So, what does it mean for us when we create enterprise videos? Primarily it means that we should create them in a format that is best suited for mobile consumption, namely – with a vertical alignment.

With mobile users holding their phones upright 94% of the time, it is critical to accommodate this behavioral standard.

A vertical video has a very specific aspect ratio: 19:6 (width to height). However, that ratio can change slightly based on the platform:

• Facebook and Instagram accept vertical videos with ratios of 4:5, 2:3, and 9:16 (full portrait/vertical).
• YouTube will dynamically adapt to whatever size viewers choose for their viewing, so no worries there.
• If you’re also on Snapchat and TikTok, then you should use the 9:16 aspect ratio.

Sound Check

Another key to ensuring video engagement, particularly when considering the mobile-first precept, is to remember that most videos viewed via mobile are watched without the sound on.

This is where subtitles, text overlays, and splashes come in, as they convey the information that is otherwise completely missed when the mobile device is muted.

In fact, it often makes sense to subtitle all spoken dialogue in videos, regardless of whether or not they will be viewed on a mobile device. One reason is that not everyone in your audience will always be a native speaker of your voice-over language – and reading subtitles can be very helpful in understanding the spoken word.

Moreover, sometimes the sound on the PC isn’t working. And for some people, it’s just hard to follow what the voice actor/actress is saying for any number of reasons.

When it comes to adding text overlay to your videos, here are some do’s:

• Word count should be low, so viewers don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of text on-screen at any one time.
• Make that text time on screen is long enough for the audience to read it all the way through before moving on to the next scene.
• Make it stand out with colorful, bold text that delivers a great esthetic experience.
• Design text with your brand colors and fonts to ensure brand alignment.
• Animate the text in eye-catching ways for further deepening engagement (but not too much, could make the viewer dizzy . . . literally).

And here are some don’ts:

• Don’t put too much text on screen at once.
• Be mindful of text placement to avoid the text-overlay getting in the way of other visual elements.
• Don’t overdo color with your text. This will distract the viewer. Instead, you can highlight keywords and short phrases.

Scaling With Storyboards

In our first two posts, we talked about what kind of enterprise videos internal and external audiences like to see. For example, summarizing key takeaways from a big industry event, bringing infographic stats to life, introducing the latest version of the flagship product, and more.

One way to be truly efficient is to create templates – or ‘storyboards’ – for the types of videos that get released on a regular basis. Using templates greatly simplifies the video creation process, eliminating the need to start from scratch every time. Instead, you get a ‘plug & play’ experience to standardize and streamline the video creation process.

Some more formats that are prime for templating include interviews and Q&As, how-to’s, and listicles.

Make It Too Easy to Not Make It

Ok, now that we’ve got the most important ducks lined up for our enterprise videos, what’s the best way to make them? Well, clearly – the easy and fast way is always the best. We just need to make sure we can do this without compromising on quality and that the video has that slick and professional edge you can usually get only with a professional production agency. But is that really possible?

Yes, it is!… when using a video creation tool. But not just any tool will do. For your checklist, first of all – make sure your tool has an interface that is so intuitive that anyone in the organization can use it, not just your in-house studio (if you’ve got one).

Moreover, for the video to look as though a top-notch agency produced it, it should offer many options for storyboards so you can scale with your templates. And, it should offer lots of creatives (videos in the video bank) so you can have the freedom to produce what you want without being forced to choose from a limited resource of shots that don’t align with your story, message, and style.

It should also be flexible enough to allow you to incorporate your brand assets, whatever the fonts and colors may be.

Finally, the tool should also offer the right balance of creative freedom and editing automation – so that users can not only save on the cost of creating professional videos but also save time.

So, there it is. We hope you enjoyed our Dummies series and found it valuable for making smart, killer, engaging enterprise videos for any audience.