Have you considered shooting YouTube videos to show your customers – visually – what it is that you do? YouTube is a fantastic platform to use for reaching your customers or social media followers, and you don’t even need to speak! We shoot short, top-down clips (i.e. only of a model’s hands) for one of our clients, Life is a Garden, of simple gardening “how-to’s” and post them across all of their social media channels. The process is simple and can add huge value to your business if done correctly.
Here’s a YouTube clip that we shot using the following process.
How to shoot short YouTube videos:
Clarify and set budget:
Ask a videographer for a quote and have this approved by the necessary stakeholders (if you are doing this exercise on behalf of a client).
Brainstorm ideas:
Here, you will establish what you want to shoot for your YouTube videos – what sort of props you will need for your particular chosen topic; the style of the jingles you’d like in the background; the location of the shoot and the general look and feel of the videos.
Shop around:
Once you know how much each video is going to cost for shooting, then “shop around” and price the items that you will need (you can even set up an arrangement with your industry stakeholders, where you use the items for a day and then return them).
Approval from necessary stakeholders:
Now that you have an idea of your costing, send this, together with your ideas, to the client for approval/suggestions.
Book videographer/photographer, hand model and location:
Once your client has approved your budget and topics, you’ll then need to book the videographer, the location of the shoot (if not at your home/business area), as well as the model you will be using in the shoot – this needs to be done well in advance. You should also send your ideas to the videographer so that they have an idea of what they will be shooting.
Plan:
If you do not know the technical stuff yourself, ask industry experts to help plan the process of each video shoot (for example, when planting a tree, there is a little more involved than simply digging a hole and sticking the tree in – the hole needs to be prepared properly so that the tree can grow).
Write scripts:
Once you’ve planned what you want to do and how to do it, start writing your scripts so that you have a clear idea of what to do on shoot-day. These scripts will also be used for text overlays on the final videos, to demonstrate the process. Once your scripts are written, send them on to the client for approval, exactly as you would like the text overlays, together with a list of props and your plan, so that they are happy with the final process.
Finalise scripts:
Make the suggested changes to the scripts, finalise and then send on to the videographer, so that they have an idea of what to expect on the day, and what they’ll be shooting.
Purchase props and items to shoot:
Just before shoot-day, purchase/hire all your props and get them to your location, laying them out in order of the videos you will be shooting.
Action!
On shoot day, with your scripts in hand, plan the beginning and end shots of your videos, with the videographer/photographer – you may want to use a combination of video footage, as well as still shots. Layout all your items and begin shooting.
Finalise:
A few weeks later, your videographer will send you the previews of the videos, check for typos, grammar in text overlays, as well as any other errors or things you’d like done differently and send back to the videographer for changes.
Get social!
Once the videos have been finalised, start uploading them to YouTube, as well as any of your client’s social media channels to start getting traction, and monitor the reach.
