Are you a marketing manager wondering how to make product videos? Are you torn between filming yourself on a smartphone, getting in a production company or going for a 3D product animation video? I’ll show you how to make the best decision for your business results with the 4 best questions to ask yourself first.
Can you even film it?
It may be that you are restricted to filming the production process or even the results but for some products using a traditional camera is out of the question. For those in the pharmaceutical industry, showing your unique patent around how a particular molecule binds better to another with your product, then you are bound only to use animation. No cameras can (thus far) film inside a vein so a 3D product animation is your best bet. Other “impossible to film” products include Aerospace and defence, space logistics and other microscopic sciences. Best Option 3D Animation Video.
What is your per unit sale price?
I say this as this will determine the best option for you. If it’s a smaller item (like a golf divot repairer) then unless you’ve already sold tens of thousands of units, traditional video might be a better option than an animation video. Consider looking on YouTube for advice on filming smaller products and invest in some props (like a product turntable, light box or gimble) and research how to get the best from your smartphone. Smartphones are an effective tool for learning how to make product videos. For smaller products, e-commerce and start ups, best option Smartphone Video.
How to make Product Videos
Is it a product or a service?
Sometimes the lines here are blurred. Companies often market services as products to make them easier to sell. If your offering is more on the service side, I’d opt for some homemade or even end user video ahead of investing heavily in high end video production. Services might also consider a 2D explainer video or character animation as these can be cost effective. If you sell a service, best option 2D explainer video.
Is it a promotional video or other?
If our goal is to sell more units by converting on-page traffic in to an enquiry then it’s worth investing the money on something polished. Of course other types of video including post sales support, internal communication and social media content are all there to help raise your brand awareness and online profile but it’s more the content than the quality that’s more important in the latter types. It’s totally acceptable to use smartphone content for things like FAQs when you can but after we’ve made over ten FAQ videos for FASSI cranes in 3D animation form, end user content isn’t always possible. If you have a large physical product and you wish to launch and promote then I’d go for a 3D animation video.
Other useful hints and tips on how to make product videos;
If you have a real world product, try and use your 3D files. Ask your animation agency if they can test your .obj files. This might save you some time and money.
Full time marketing managers may wish to invest in learning how to use smartphones properly for recording good quality video and audio. Free video editing software exists in the form of Da Vinci Resovle or Adobe Premiere Pro.
Run the data on your FAQs and in the same instance whereby we should all promote our most profitable products first, we should address the most frequent or costly (time wise) queries first for post sales support videos.
Visit our portfolio page – Click here to see examples from Tweak Video
If you need some ideas, pop me an email matthew@tweakvideo.com
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Thanks for reading this short guide on how to make product videos.
Matt, Founder, Tweak Video
