Video produces a higher level of engagement than text or photos. From creating videos for your website to getting your best customers to do video for you for your social media channels, your videos should boost your brand awareness, lead generation, and online engagement. Planning each video carefully ensures you’ll connect with the viewer and tell a compelling story to form an instant bond with your viewers.

Be creative

Equipped with a story for a video, think about how you’ll make it engaging and thoughtful. You may decide to use a seemingly simple tactic such as including music or captions to bring depth or emotion to the story. Think outside of the box, and don’t be afraid to take chances when you create video. Even if you aren’t in a creative industry, there’s still a creative story behind your brand. You may have to dig a little deeper to find it, but it’s there. If you’re struggling, step away from the computer and search for inspiration within the company.

Many people let excuses get in the way of their creativity. You’re never going to have all of the time and resources that you want to make the videos you dream of making. Start with what you have, and build from there.

Be authentic

Nothing will make young viewers click away from a video faster than a fake persona. In an age where social media heavily influences millennials’ connection with brands, younger generations expect transparency. Embrace your brand for what it is. If you’re a small company that prides itself on stellar customer service, don’t pretend to be a large corporation. The feel of your videos should match your brand. For example, if you sell clothing geared toward teens, consider using a casual tone and lots of bright colors.

Keep it simple

It’s easy to go overboard and try to do it all with one video. The most effective messaging is concise with clean language that gets right to the heart of the matter. Every video you make doesn’t have to tell your entire story. As you plan video content, think about how you’ll use different videos to share different parts of your story. For example, if you’re planning a large fundraising campaign, make sure to develop at least one video with your back story so your audience understands the importance of this latest campaign.

Take your viewers on a journey

Video offers an amazing opportunity to take an audience to a place they can’t go on their own and then bring them back changed. It seems like an overwhelming task, but with careful planning, you’ll be able to accomplish this goal in just a few minutes of video footage. Consider a charity’s water report from the field. You come away feeling as though you know the village a little, which inspires you to want to learn more and hopefully do more to help the cause.

Video has quickly become the most effective form of communication and sharing for events and online marketing. Video is more prominent in our daily lives than ever, and this trend is only continuing to grow. Using video to tell your story creatively builds authenticity for your brand, garnering trust with your target audience and ultimately, driving more revenue.