Here is an explainer video production planning checklist list of best practices that is based on experience creating explainer videos since 2004. These tips apply to technology marketing videos intended to help customers “get” why they consider a software or I.T. solution.
1. Have a specific goal
Obvious? Maybe. That doesn’t make it easy to write down a specific goal .
If you’re selling a technology solution with a price tag in the thousands, it may not be realistic to set goals in terms of sales, conversions, shares, or even views. The most important goal is to produce understanding and sales engagement among buying team members. Over time.
The temptation with product-oriented technology marketing videos is to rattle off as many features and benefits as possible. But even if you succeed in covering all the bases, you’re unlikely to hit it out of the park. You’re more likely to produce a ho-hum video, indistinguishable from all the other marketing content buyers see.
Here are some specific goals a well-crafted video can accomplish:
- Increase awareness of a specific issue that your solution addresses
- Enable prospects to understand how your solution differs from the competition
- Make an attention-getting use case come to life in a memorable way
2. Nail the first 15 seconds
If you have a specific goal, you’ll find it a lot easier to decide on what to present to the viewer first. That’s crucial. Buyers’ time is the most precious commodity on the Internet — and technology buyers have precious little to waste on information that isn’t pertinent. Make sure they’re not tempted to tune you out before you ever get to the point.
3. Have a budget
With a well-defined goal, you’ll almost certainly get your money’s worth from a reputable video production firm. But if you’re looking for high-quality creative work, you’ll get more a lot more creative options if you discuss them within realistic budget parameters.
4. Have a due date
Timelines enforce discipline and get results.
5. Consider the buyer’s journey
Explainer videos don’t have to be product introductions. They can focus on a specific feature or use case that needs to be communicated to prospects who may have taken their own path on the buyer’s journey, or joined the team at a later stage.
6. Collect and share all pertinent collateral material
A good video producer would rather have too much information to deal with than too little, because you never know where the inspiration for a visual story will come from.
8. Communicate corporate standards and expectations
Setting expectations for the look and feel of your video up front helps you establish a reasonable budget — and keep within it. Constructing a video is a lot like any other kind of construction project — without specifications, cost estimates are meaningless.
Look and feel will depend on the budget to a great extent — 3D animation and elaborate effects can cost plenty. Look and feel is also important in the scripting — a video written for talking characters sounds a lot different than one written to depict technology stacks and workflows in detail.
9. Consider interactivity
Most companies who make technology marketing videos don’t go to the next step: adding interactivity. Why not? I don’t know. It’s not difficult, and it’s proven to increase engagement. Here’s a link to a concise and persuasive beginner’s guide to making an interactive video from HapYak.
