Do’s and Don’ts of Industrial Video Production for Your YouTube Channel

Yes, You Do Need a YouTube Channel for Your Company’s Videos

YouTube has developed into a very effective ‘Social Media’ influencer in the marketplace and is the undisputed leader in the internet video channel space. Accounting for upwards of one billion visitors (unique) per month, YouTube is positioned nicely as an effective visual tool to influence your industrial manufacturing or service business’ target audience. Quality content is the key to successful campaigns and programs online, and YouTube videos are no exception. YouTube channel visitors view over two billion videos per day (on average). We’ve put together some items to help you navigate the finer points of video production for your new stable of videos.

WHAT TO DO

People (Prospects) Love to Watch!

Instant gratification has been around a long time. Know your audience, what is the one idea or purpose of this video? People are hungrier than ever for visual entertainment, workplace included. If I can use technology to accomplish a task, especially researching a product or service, I’m all for it. Use YouTube to inform your visitors by creating:

• Webinars
  • Interviews of industry experts
• Sales presentations
  • Include Testimonials
• Informational videos answering popular inquiries
• ‘How-to’ videos
• Vine 6 second videos for fun, quick-hit announcements, among others
• Events and Promotions

PLAN: Pay Attention to Video Production Details

You need to pay attention to the details:

• Script, even if you are just conducting an interview you need a list of questions or an outline to follow
  • Testimonials
  • Narration
• Talent
  • Professional actors
  • Spokesperson
• Set
  • In your facility
  • On location
• Lighting
• Graphics
  • Images
  • Animation
  • Music (commissioned or royalty free)

On Screen Tactics

Calls-to-Action: Let the viewer know what action or next step you would like them to take. They’re unlikely to take any action if you don’t ask them to. Use a video ‘watermark’ similar to what you see on TV and the Internet, usually in upper or lower right corners of the screen in a subdued, non-intrusive manner that keeps the creator’s name in front of the audience. The watermark could be your company’s logo or better yet, the subject matter’s url displaying the path to the product or service.

Video SEO

Make sure your video is optimized for SEO (search engine optimization). Always keep your keyword phrase in mind to optimize your video for the search engines when selecting a title for your videos. Repeat your keyword phrase (and/or use a secondary phrase) in the channel description of your video. Always:

• Tag your videos in blog stories, related YouTube categories, Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook and other social media platforms so they can be easily found in search.
• Links from appropriate pages on your site to your video channel are likely to be found and clicked.
• Include your optimized video title in the url link to your site. Don’t just have a potential viewer go to the Home page of your site.

Video Categories/Playlists Can Be Helpful

Provide organization. When you have a good number of videos listed on your channel it is a good idea to organize these nuggets of wisdom into focused playlists to organize your subject matter. If they are all ‘production’ related then break them out into production phases or time related groupings.

WHAT NOT TO DO

Hey, Let’s Do A Video! Tomorrow.

“Let’s do something we’ve never done before, next week, just to get something up.” Your boss will never actually say this, but it is exactly what it feels like to be given unrealistic deadlines to produce something that requires creativity, brainstorming and planning to even begin to execute. You’re just heading for disaster if you don’t plan every phase of production to ensure that your video is engaging, informative and the content is very high quality and worthy of attention. Your audience will judge your efforts based on what they get from your video presentation(s). Posting something ‘just because’ is not an acceptable plan. You want visitors to your channel to periodically come back and check out what you’ve been up to because their last visit proved to be very informative and entertaining. Don’t rush it, you need to pay attention to the details:

• Script, even if you are conducting an interview you need a list of questions or an outline
  • Testimonials
• Talent
  • Professional actors
  • Spokesperson
  • Narration
• Set
  • In your facility
  • On location
• Lighting
• Graphics
  • Images
  • Animation
  • Music (commissioned or royalty free)

Don’t be the ‘cheap video guy’. Video is an introduction by many viewers to your company. A poorly conceived and produced video will damage your company’s reputation.

Strategic ‘Calls-to-Action’

Plan your calls-to-action so as not to be intrusive. While clever action requests and annotations (text pop-ups you can create in YouTube) can be a great way to elicit the response you’re hoping for. Too many distractions can dilute the effectiveness of your presentation. Plan your calls-to-action accordingly.

That’s Good Enough

Your YouTube channel IS YOU! The quality of video you post to your YouTube channel speaks to the quality of work your company does. High quality content with follow-through to high quality production isn’t only ideal, but necessary. Insufficient planning leads to poor execution (bad lightning, bad camera work and/or bad audio) and the perception that your company’s standards need improvement, driving your viewers to your competitions channel. You want to be sure viewers equate your company with high quality standards resulting in high quality work. Learn more about what internet marketing services like YouTube video optimization Ecreative can help you with by contacting us today.