10 Things You Need Before Getting a Demo Video Produced

“Am I ready to make a video?”

This is a question we get asked a lot so we decided to create a list of some of things you should have in place before you make your video:

1. Your baby is ready. Believe it or not some people ask for a video as their product is still in the womb. Changes to your product’s functionality or marketing strategy are inevitable when you’re still developing. For every change to your product, you’ll have to change your video and that could cost mucho dinero. You should at least have your MVP (minimum viable product) in ready and in diapers.

2. Brand Design. You should be very happy with your logo and website and have your corporate colour palette decided.

3. Brand Personality. Is the writing on your site super conservative and corporate? Is it fun and playful? Sinister and dark? If your brand was at a party what would it talk about? Would anybody want to hang out with it? Stand for something. Figure it out and if you can afford it, hire a copywriter to write your content.

4. Elevator Pitch. You should be able to explain the essence of your product in one clear, engaging sentence and not just in a language that makes sense to people in your industry. It should make sense to my great great great great grandma the cave lady. Ask yourself, what is the single most persuasive sentence I could say to get someone to scream, “Holy Caca! I need this. I want this. I can’t spend another day without it!”

5. Cashola. Yes, unfortunately these things cost money. To work with us, you’ll need at least 7K to do a :60 second video or a gigantic supply of super tasty cookies. And before you hire us or anyone, make sure you review each company’s portfolio to make sure you like their style of work.

6. Validation. You should already have some traction and validation for your idea. You’ve tested the puppy and people like your puppy.

7. Trust. You need to be able to let go a little bit when you put your puppy into the hands of a magical video-making studio. They’re going to interpret your content and make it conversational so everybody can understand it. When you first see the script you might think to yourself, “That’s wrong! That’s not how I or anyone in this company would say it!” Just remember, they’re not writing the script for you, they’re writing it for the rest of the world so it can sell like chocolate chip banana pancakes sprinkled with coconut flakes.

8. Time. You or someone in your company must have the time to dedicate to making a video. Videos take 4-6 weeks and you’ll need to give feedback fairly quickly at each stage of the production. Ideally you have one person in charge of this process who you trust to make key decisions.

9. Promotional Plan. Is this video just going to sit on your website to explain your product? If so, how are you going to drive additional traffic to your site? Is it going to be part of an e-blast? What keywords will you use when you post it on YouTube, Vimeo, etc.? A lot of people make the video for their website and think they’ll use it for all kinds of things. If there’s no plan in place, it likely won’t happen. The best time to do it is off the back of the momentum created from making the video. Make it pay for itself. Push it. Push it real good.

10. Why? Don’t just get a video because that’s what people are doing these days. You should know why, specifically. What problems does it solve for you or what opportunities does it present? Maybe there is one specific element that your consumers are failing to understand. Maybe it’s also to communicate your personality. The more we know about your current hurdles and goals, the better video we can make for you.

And that’s about it, folks. All you need to do is learn this easy-to-remember acronym we created for you and you can share this with your peers YBBECVTTPW!

Good luck with the development and give us a holler once you’ve got YBBECVTTPW in order!

Woot! Go get em tigers!