So you’ve decided you want to create a video for your next PR campaign? Video offers extraordinary PR opportunities but there’s a lot of competition for viewers. So how can you make your video stand out from the rest?
By Sophie McGregor
There are a few things you need to consider before you start. Most importantly you should be clear about what you want to achieve from your video, whilst also considering who your audience is and how they will want to watch the content.
The purpose of a PR video is to give viewers an insight into a brand or image in a more engaging and entertaining way. Research suggests viewers often lose interest within the first minute, so it’s important you work in your key message in those first 60 seconds. Make it fast paced with plenty of visuals; don’t linger on an image or your audience will soon be gone. Put your best pictures at the beginning of the video, to grab your viewers’ attention immediately.
To generate hype, you need to ensure your video is tailored to your target audience. Think about what demographic you are looking to reach out to; trying to be cool and hip can turn off a corporate professional but would be well received by the young, tech-savvy consumer. A corporate video is likely to be shot in a more conservative style but you might get a bit more creative when trying to find a younger audience.
Nowadays, sites such as Facebook offer a valuable platform to share video content. 55% of us watch online videos every day and often share videos with our peers. This can help to spread your message to a wider audience and increase your brand awareness. If you want people to share your content with their networks, you need to ensure your video is something that can create that “buzz.”
When creating a PR video you should factor in technological advances. You must make sure your video is capable of multiple platform viewing or second screen viewing so it can be viewed on any device. If your video cannot be viewed on a mobile phone, you’re missing out on a huge market.
With so many videos being produced every day it’s worth giving a thought to production standards. Occasionally the content of a video is so great/funny/appalling/engaging it doesn’t matter if the camera wobbles, but for all other campaigns a degree of professionalism can really help engage an audience. Some of our favourite production toys include jibs, sliders and specialist lenses. If you want to find out more about them have a look here at our short video gadgets clip or check out our blog on top toys to use in a PR video.
One thing you have to be very careful with when creating a PR video is branding. Over-branding and a video that is too commercial will result in your viewers losing interest. As a general rule you should endeavour to include 2 to 3 messages and have no more than 1 or 2 pieces of branding- any more and you’re veering on advert territory!
If you have any questions about using video for your next PR campaign or want to brainstorm some ideas, give us a call on 02072407373 or send us an email at hello@shoutcommunications.co.uk and we’d be happy to chat with you.
You might also be interested in checking out our E-Book on video production: Best PR Video Practices.
