Learn how to use the Right Videos for each Stage of your Marketing Funnel and Why?
This time we are going to look at how to create a video pre-production checklist for SaaS.
Video is one of the most exciting and Engaging Ways to Connect with your Audience because it allows your audience to see your products in action and hear what you have to say. A good video marketing strategy can help you create brand awareness and reach new customers.
People like to watch videos. Videos are watched more regularly than other types of content. Research shows that people spend 6 times longer watching a video than reading an article.
Video production, however, can be a daunting task. With a multitude of tasks to complete, it can be difficult to keep track of what needs to be done, especially in the case of SaaS videos.
That is why a video pre-production checklist can be an invaluable tool that can take away the pain and keep you organized, punctual, and productive.
The new demand for cloud services continues to grow despite the pandemic, which means it is good news for the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector and related services like video production.
Let us have a look:
| Source | Statistics |
|---|---|
| Statista | SaaS market was worth $145.5 billion in 2021 and is expected to be worth $172 billion in 2022 |
| Salesforce | The total net worth of top 10 private SaaS companies - About $190 billion |
| Productiv | Lack of visibility is a significant pain point in managing SaaS for a 59% of tech leaders |
| AppDirect | 84% of Small and Midsize Businesses (SMBs) had difficulties using new SaaS solutions |
| Varonis | SaaS software user privileges are misconfigured in 44% of cases |
The numbers look promising for the SaaS landscape in terms of successes, challenges, and opportunities. Specifically, points #3, #4, and #5 talk about the areas of concern faced by SaaS users. That’s where:
“SaaS videos can play a great role in ensuring there is better utilization, compliance, and security of SaaS products.”
Before we look at the video pre-production checklist, let’s see what a SaaS video is. It is a video created with the purpose of increasing awareness about a piece of software, technology, or service, usually hosted on YouTube or a company website.
Before you start creating videos, however, let us talk more about SaaS videos:
Another checklist, did you say? A checklist is a useful tool that can reduce the number of errors and consequent incidents, regardless of the mixed reactions it generates.
Compstack Prospect helps commercial real estate professionals to identify B2B buying signals and prioritize their sales efforts across the company and territory.
The term pre-production is a shortened version of the Latin pre-productionis or the English “pre-making.”
Pre-production is the process of preparing for the filming of a video, and a lot of work and planning that goes into it. Despite the quantum of work involved, it can be very fulfilling. Once you have finished your project, you will know that all the hard work was worth it in the end.
The next stage is Post-Production, the actual process of creating and giving shape to the final product ready for consumption, distribution, and sharing.
Next, we are going to share with you the video pre-production checklist we follow at content Beta:
What makes videos a great Marketing Tool is that they are more engaging and have a better chance of going viral and gaining brand awareness. Video content gets shared on social media more than any other content.
But to get the most out of your videos, you need to know how to make them stick with your audience, and storytelling may be the answer.
According to a study by the University of Pennsylvania, storytelling is the most effective tool in human history for transmitting ideas and values to others, teaching and influencing people in an engaging manner that is more memorable than any other kind of instruction.
To be able to do that, make sure your script, the heart of your content, is well thought out. Depending on the type of video, an ideal script should make your video:
So before you start creating your video, you must be clear in your mind what exactly you are trying to achieve with your videos. The Content Beta video pre-production checklist recommends that you consider the following two factors:
The target stage in the marketing funnel: Our guide provides all the answers to your query.
The purpose behind the video: We already saw an example of a product demo video for SaaS earlier. They help in customer retention, ensuring new customers don’t get confused or lost while using your product or service dashboard, and with video marketing efforts.
Let us have a look at a couple of more examples we created:
1. User Onboarding Videos: They make the process of bringing on a new user or a customer to your platform or a product much more efficient as compared to textual documentation or guide. You can explain things clearly to your customers without overwhelming them with too much information before they can actually use your product or service.
This video we created for Tapcart, the mobile app builder for Shopify, illustrates the point by deftly explaining to the users how to use the various features of their product:
2. Product Marketing Videos:Â If your intention is to showcase your value proposition to viewers quickly, you might want to look at this example we created for Peoplevine, the premier subscription and membership platform.
Note: You can browse our portfolio here.
Video content is divided into different sections such as logo, introduction, and outro. Our video pre-production checklist recommends that you should make sure you have these important, but often overlooked list of assets.
The next big item on our video pre-production checklist. Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the best video editing softwares and offers 4 types of monthly plans along with a free trial. For Apple users, Apple Final Cut Pro is a great option.
Video files can be large, so we use codecs for easy storing and sharing. They encode data to compress it for storage and transmission. Data is then decoded and decompressed for viewing and editing. Video is most commonly compressed using H.264 or AVC.
The container or wrapper for these codecs is an audio file format or file extension. Most video formats lose data in compression, so pick a format based either on quality or ease of use. The top video file extensions are MP4, MOV, WMV, and AVI.
You can find more details in this article from Adobe.
The final item on our video pre-production checklist is about deciding how you are going to produce the video and how much money you must set aside. In case you are yet to make up your mind, refer to Our Resource on the subject:
Hope our video pre-production checklist has been helpful in answering your queries. Before we wrap up, we urge you to think of an excellent Call-to-Action to add to your video.
These days, Call-to-action buttons or links are present in most videos we watch, either at the beginning or before the video ends, because they are an excellent way of telling your viewers what to do next.
Some good examples include:
The idea is to gently nudge viewers to take immediate action either by signing up for a free trial, upgrading to a higher plan, or simply sharing it with others.
A pre-production checklist is a resource that lists the multitude of tasks you need to handle before video production begins. It is a document that combines both creative and production-related tasks, ensuring that nothing is overlooked and that all the bases are covered.
Always. Without a checklist production schedules can quickly go out of hand especially for SaaS videos. It is a critical part of the planning process. A well-executed pre-production plan sets you and your team up for success leading up to shooting day.
A checklist can help make sure you’ve covered everything. It helps you produce quality content resulting in improved trial conversions and sign-ups. Think of it as a to-do list for your video that lists all of the items you need to cover before production begins, so that you don’t leave any important pieces out.
A good pre-production checklist should cover the following details regarding: Script, video type, mode of production, budget, brand assets, editing software, audio, file formats, codec, and even distribution.
As the type of video and production methods vary for different types of videos, a standardized checklist with specific items for each type may be the best solution. This will ensure that your list covers the usual suspects. You only have to add specific details for a video type.
