A popular piece of collateral in most marketers’ arsenal is the plant tour video. These videos can be a powerful way to showcase your company’s key capabilities while highlighting the human side of your brand. And the good news is they can be relatively easy to produce.
Whether you’re a video veteran or creating your first one, follow these top dos and don’ts for plant tour video success.
Do think about use case. While you can get a lot of mileage out of these videos, it’s best if you start with a core focus in mind. Will the video reside on your website to inform prospects of your capabilities? Will you use it for on-boarding new clients or employees? Should you be creating multiple videos to focus on different parts of your business? Your primary audience will affect the features of your business that you’ll want to highlight.
Don’t create an elaborate script. The best videos are relatively short, generally no more than 1 to 3 minutes. Focus on relaying simple messaging, with no more than three to five chunks of information, whether it be areas of service, employee testimonials, calls to action or so forth. The less complicated your message, the easier it will be for your audience to remember. (Tip: 150 words is generally about 1 minute of video.)
Do use captioning––sparingly. Many individuals set their device or platform preferences to avoid sound. Light captioning will therefore ensure you reach the widest audience. However, don’t overuse typography. Assess whether word-for-word captioning versus select captioning will serve your message better. Often the latter is the more preferable option since people can’t watch with full attention and read at the same time.
Do have a detailed shoot plan. Plan ahead as much as possible, so you don’t overlook important shots in the moment. What close-ups might you want? Which core people will you feature? Will you shoot the outside of your property or entrance? What sorts of angles or zooms might you want?
Don’t forget to prepare the physical location. Position your shoot so that natural or adjustable light will hit the subject matter expert from the front (often a desk lamp will do). Avoid strong light from behind if at all possible. Also, remove extraneous clutter from anything that may end up in the frame, such as a background with an untidy workstation.
Don’t underestimate the need for good sound quality. Avoid unnecessary background noise, such as phone use or fans. Also, don’t use empty locations prone to echo if possible, such as a very large (e.g., empty auditorium) or confined (e.g., closet) space, as they won’t absorb reverb well. When shooting from a plant floor or similar setting with a lot of background noise, you’ll need to wear a mic. (If shooting with PMMI Media Group [see sidebar],you will be provided with what you need.)
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