Here’s a list of 30 things that, in my experience, are all-too-easily overlooked in the process of making videos to support technology solution selling.
Organization
☐ Team includes the people with the most customer and market insight.
☐ All relevant background materials shared with the production team.
☐ Style preferences, graphics standards, and branding guidelines communicated.
☐ Collaborative methodology, team responsibilities, and signoffs determined.
☐ Feedback and sign-offs specified.
☐ Realistic deadline established.
☐ Budget includes captioning, social media versions, trade show/conference versions (without narration), edits for re-purposing.
Messaging
☐ Presents a compelling reason why viewer should care about what you’re saying in the first 15 seconds.
☐ Presents a true-to-life situation facing the target customer.
☐ Tells a story and helps to build a video library of good stories.
☐ Asserts one memorable differentiator (more is not better).
☐ Differentiates solution decisively with comparison to alternatives.
☐ No vague promises.
☐ Has a useful shelf life, not simply part of a “product announcement” package.
☐ Coordinated with other content (e.g., summarizes research report, animates relationships or processes described in website product section)
Visuals + motion
☐ Relationships and processes are animated step by step.
☐ Adds supplemental relevant information with graphics or text.
☐ Key points can be understood with the audio turned off.
☐ Uses motion and transformations deliberately to keep the focus on what matters to the viewer.
Narration
☐ Conversational and low-key, not high-pressure sales-y.
☐ Word order matches on-screen events.
☐ Minimal audio-only information.
☐ Narrator selection by audition.
☐ Background music not distracting.
Distribution
☐ Thumbnail image selected or created.
☐ Uploaded to YouTube + other platforms.
☐ Surrounding text communicates who should watch the video and what they’ll get out of it.
☐ Captions and transcript.
☐ Clickable chapter headings and links for long videos.
☐ Repurpose excerpts.
