Storyboarding your marketing video is an essential step in creating a successful video – and a successful campaign. In this blog post, we’ll cover how to storyboard your video and maximize its potential so you’ll be well on your way to the video you need to market your app.
Why You Need A Storyboard
Storyboarding your marketing video is a crucial step in making sure that your video is successful. A storyboard can help you plan and visualize the video before you start production, which will save you time and money. It can also help you communicate your vision to your team and get everyone on the same page. Here’s how to get started:
- Define the goal of your video before you start production. Who is your target audience? What do you want viewers to take away from the video? What do you want them to feel after watching it? Once you have a clear idea of what you’re hoping for, write out a treatment or outline that details what will happen in the video and how it will end (including a call to action!).
- If your video will have actors speaking or providing voice over, put lots of thought into the script before you get too far into the storyboard creation process. Script changes will often lead to big changes in the visuals of a video, so get really clear on the message at the beginning of the process.
- Break down each scene or sequence into smaller parts that are easy to follow visually – this will make it easier to understand your storyboard and can save time when shooting and editing the footage. Plan the scenes and shots, making sure there is room for any text or graphics so viewers won’t miss anything important while watching. Add notes about music and sound effects if you have thoughts on them during the planning process.
- There’s no one way that all storyboards should look or function, so don’t get hung up on making it “look” like a storyboard. Some people prefer big panels with lots of white space between each frame; others like their storyboards more densely annotated. The most important thing is that everything is clear and easy to follow once it’s put together in final form – feedback from others on your team can help ensure this happens.
- Consider putting each storyboard “frame” on it’s own piece of paper (or digital artboard) so that you can reorganize the frames or easily switch them out when new ideas come to you – but don’t throw away the “mistakes” until the end, as sometimes you’ll want to go back to a previous thought. Storyboarding is often a nonlinear process.
- When the story starts to feel right, show your storyboard to others who weren’t involved in creating it before finalizing it to make sure that they see the same story you do – sometimes changes need to be made in order for everything to make sense.
Storyboarding Your Marketing Video Prevents Confusion And Reorganization
By having a storyboard in place, everyone on your team will have a a visual representation of your video to prevent confusion and ensure they know what’s going on and what to expect. This makes the production process smoother and less time-consuming, which is always beneficial.
Storyboarding can be done using online tools or by hand – whichever works best for you and your team. Even if you don’t have any professional experience in this area, there are online tools available that make creating a storyboard easy enough for anyone on the team. Just remember to be detailed and specific, including shots, angles, and transitions.
Keep It Simple
When creating your marketing video, it’s important to keep it simple. To help you create the simplest storyboard possible, use stick figures or shapes to represent people and objects – there’s no need to be an artist at this stage. Write a short description for each scene so that viewers can get an idea of what’s going on, and include arrows to show movement where necessary. Also, be sure to indicate which scenes are shot wide, medium, or close up to help plan the camera movements and takes so that the shoot doesn’t get unnecessarily complex.
If you’re using voice over (or actors who will sometimes be speaking when off screen), indicate who is speaking and use color to highlight important elements. As with any other aspect of your video marketing campaign, make sure the storyboard is neat and legible – nobody wants to try to decipher a confusing mess!
Last but not least: don’t forget to include a call to action! Include information about where viewers can find more information about your product or service (or how they can sign up for your mailing list or download your free resource).
Remember: a well-executed storyboard will make your video more successful (and probably reduce the production costs as well!). When you look at your finished storyboard, you should feel confident that your team can create the video you need – so don’t stop working on it until you feel that confidence in your final product.
And if you get stuck and want some advice, you can always get in touch. We can do anything from providing some simple tips through to managing a full-service production.
What to learn more? Check out our other resources:
- How to Use Video Throughout Your Sales Cycle [2022 Update]
- Is a Demo Video Worth It?
- How much should companies be spending on video marketing?
- 7 App Demo Examples to Inspire Your Next Video
- 10 of the Best Free Image Sources for App Developers