Video Marketing Toronto - How to Plan a Video Shoot for your Business
Whether you’re a small business owner or running a marketing department, planning a video shoot for your business can be difficult. Sure, we’ve all heard that video marketing is basically essential for all good content marketing strategies these days, but, for the business owners and Marketing Directors who’ve never produced a video before, planning a Toronto video marketing production can be daunting - especially if you have limited resources to help you get the job done.
To make the process a bit easier, we’ve outlined some key elements for you to consider during the planning process. Once you have a better understanding of what goes into a Toronto video marketing production, you can determine the elements that you can handle yourself, as well as the areas you may need to outsource, allowing you to effectively utilize your video marketing budget.
Ready to get started? Here’s how to plan a Toronto video marketing shoot for your business:
Determine the Best Type of Video for Your Goals
While videos can definitely help grow your business, the key is to create videos that not only align with your brand, but also connect with your target customers. Sure, trendy TikToks and instagram Reels can be fun to make, but, if your target customer is more likely to engage with long-form, educational videos around your product / service offering, short form videos will fall flat.
Before you determine the best type of video for your business, start by creating buyer personas for your target customers. Determine what their pain points are and where they find information online to address them. Next, determine what your marketing goals are, and how video marketing will help you achieve them. For instance, if you’re looking to build brand awareness and trust with potential clients, you could focus on creating longer form educational videos that help solve your clients’ problems.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to create video content for potential clients that are further along in their sales journey, you could create shorter, more promotional-focused videos that highlight how your product or service actually solves their pain points.
To give you an idea, here are a few different types of videos you could consider making before you commence with your Toronto video marketing project:
Short form social media videos
Long-form educational / problem solving videos
About us videos / corporate videos
Customer testimonials
Promotional Videos
Establish Your Video Marketing Budget
For many small businesses and marketing departments, one of the biggest barriers to entry for video marketing is their budget. That’s why it’s important to establish how much you’re able to spend up front before getting too far into the video marketing planning process.
If you’re a startup, you may not have the budget to outsource your video marketing efforts, which is totally cool. You can still take advantage of video marketing by planning your own video productions and filming them on your iPhone or your own camera. This will obviously require a lot more work and time on you and your team’s part, but you’ll be able to kick start your video marketing strategy right away.
If you’re a more established company, you may have a limited budget for video marketing, which means you may do a lot of the pre-production work yourself, such as writing scripts, booking filming locations, etc. You may also utilize your own staff in the video to eliminate the need for hiring actors and actresses. By saving money on some of these key planning elements, you can then focus your budget on the actual production itself, hiring a video marketing company to film the scenes, and then edit the video together professionally.
Of course, depending on your budget, you could also hire a video marketing company to take care of the entire process. This would make the Toronto video marketing planning process a lot easier. However, the overall production cost would be much higher.
Write Your Script
Once you know the type of video you’re going to make, you can start to write a script for your video shoot day. Sure, you could try and wing it when the cameras are rolling, but, since video marketing can be time consuming, costly and, for some people, nerve-racking, it’s best to have a solid idea of what you’re going to say beforehand. Having a solid script will not only save time during production, but also give you, or your hired actors / actresses, confidence going into production.
With most content marketing initiatives, focus less on selling your products or services in your script, and more on storytelling and solving your potential clients’ problems. Remember, when a potential client stumbles on your video, whether it’s through Google Search or YouTube, they are likely seeking out answers to a problem they’re having. Because of that, your script should be written for them - your target customer. You can definitely try getting creative and making some video content that stands out, but, at the end of the day, the words in your video must resonate with the buyer you’re trying to attract.
Find a Location
The great thing about video marketing in Toronto is that there are tons of great studios in the area. The key is to find a studio that works within your budget, allows you to shoot videos there, and matches the aesthetic of your brand. Most studios can be rented by the hour. However, a lot of studios have a two hour minimum. Given that most simple video productions take at least two hours anyways, this shouldn’t be an issue. Some studios also provide some video making equipment, such as studio lighting. If a studio doesn’t include lighting, speak with the studio directly to understand when and how natural light enters the space, and ask if they recommend renting studio lights to properly illuminate it.
If you’re looking to capture some outdoor videos around Toronto, you will likely need to apply for a film permit. You can typically apply for these permits through the City’s website. While this may be an extra step in the Toronto video marketing process, it will be well worth it if your brand demands an outdoor aesthetic! When filming outdoors, keep in mind that natural light is a major factor. If you film during the middle of the day, your talent will appear more washed out. If you film in the mornings or evenings, the lighting will generally be warmer and more flattering. Either lighting scenario can work, depending on the look and feel you’re going for. Just plan accordingly.
Cast Your Talent
For most Toronto small businesses, we recommend featuring yourself or your employees in the video. Firstly, featuring yourself or your employees creates more of a personal feel for your company, helping you connect with your target customers more. Secondly, hiring actors and actresses can be costly, increasing the overall budget of your Toronto video marketing production.
The type of talent you need for your video will depend on the type of video you’re filming. If you’re filming an advertisement, you may need professional actors and actresses to effectively play each role in the video. If you are providing educational content or delivering an overview of your business, you or your employees should be featured in the video.
Hire a Toronto Video Marketing Agency
While planning and filming a video for your business can be fun and help you meet your goals, it can be a ton of work. By hiring a Toronto video marketing agency, they can guide your through the process, helping you select a video type that achieves your goals, write a script that connects with your target audience, and film and edit a video that gets noticed.
If you’re looking to start using video marketing to grow your business, send us a message. As a Toronto video marketing agency, we’d be happy to run you through our process and video packages.