Choosing the Right Method for Your Video
So you want to create the perfect video that get’s the right message across for your company? One of the best methods to achieve this to produce a video with some form of narration. This will help you to communicate your message to the viewer (your prospect or customer) and assist them in clearly understanding just exactly what’s in it for them. There are numerous forms of narration that will all support the point that your video is trying to make – it’s just about choosing the right one for you and executing it in the right manner. Here we will narrow it down to the most popular and, more importantly, the most successful ways to narrate a video that are tried and tested by the professionals.
Using Text to Narrate a Video
Perhaps the best place to start for beginners is narrating with text. Although this may be the simplest way to do it, don’t for one second think that it can’t bring you great results. This is generally the best course of action if you have a video that primarily consists of images or video clips as it can deliver powerful messages that will reinforce the content that is being shown on screen, whilst not taking the viewers attention away from it. You can also use text as the main focus of your video, simultaneously toning down background images and using instrumental music to aid your viewer in being able to read text before the video moves on. Let’s take a look at an example of a company that has used text to narrate a video successfully – note the transparent coloured filters that are used to lift the text from the page and that they do it all in under a minute!
Using Voice-Over to Narrate a Video
This method involves somebody talking over the on screen images and video clips, and can also be supported by text captions to add to what is being said, again reinforcing the message to the viewer. The best technique is to start with developing a script that is written with the human touch – and you may well need a production team that can write scripts for you to get that right. Mailchimp’s video really succeeds in putting a “human” face to the product and that’s not easy with email marketing software. Hats off to them!
Using a Personality to Narrate a Video
Finally we will look at the approach of using an on-camera personality to narrate a video. Again, it’s a way of establishing a real human face to your business. First introduce your presenter – use the audio track or consider whether you need to do it on the screen -name, job title, company. Either way, an intro will help the viewer to connect with them and builds their credibility. The secret here is getting someone who is really comfortable in front of the camera – it’s a big turn off if they’re not so resist the temptation to do it yourself unless others confirm it’s a good move! You can download our report on 7 things to avoid when making a video here – it’s full of really useful advice on things like that!
Again. here’s an example of it being done well –
Which style did you most like? What style would best suit the message you want to deliver in your company video?
