Say goodbye to PowerPoint! Opt for video presentations instead!
Product presentations, company presentations, event presentations... there was a time when PDF and PowerPoint reigned supreme. And fun was dead.
But that was before. These days, boring, static media are a thing of the past! Get your message across in a dynamic way with a presentation video! Thanks to this more engaging and creative format, you're sure to captivate your audience even more.
But you're bound to have a few questions on your mind.
What are the concrete uses and benefits of video presentations? How can you make a video to present your company, your services or your projects, without having any directing skills?
All the answers are in this article, with examples to back them up.
Use cases for presentation videos
Presentation videos are becoming increasingly popular with companies. And that's not surprising when you consider all the different uses they can be put to:
- product presentation video
- service presentation video
- company presentation video
- event presentation video
- training presentation video,
- strategy presentation video,
- project presentation video, etc.
☝️ Of course, depending on your objectives and your target audience, you will choose one type of content or another.
For example, a product or service presentation video is intended for your prospects and customers, to raise awareness of your offer and increase your sales.
In the case of a corporate video, the aim is to explain your business, but also your values and your working environment, with a view to attracting potential candidates.
A strategy or project presentation video, on the other hand, is aimed at employees or investors, and makes it easier to communicate key elements.
Why a presentation video? Key benefits
More impactful
For a long time, companies made their various presentations using fixed documents (PDF, PowerPoint, photographs, etc.). But video is much more impactful. It offers a better experience for your audience.
And this is all the more true if you opt for original and sexy formats such as motion design or animation.
More memorable
The figures speak for themselves: learners retain 50% of what they see and hear... compared with only 10% of what they read.
As a result, producing a presentation video is an excellent way of ensuring that your message is permanently ingrained in the minds of your target audience.
More modern
At a time when video has become one of the most widely used formats online, particularly on social networks, using it allows you to modernise your communications and avoid looking like an old-fashioned company.
It's a great way to enhance your brand image and stand out from the competition!
Easier to distribute
Video can be shared across a wide range of media, from your website to your internal or external newsletters and social networks. It therefore guarantees maximum visibility for your offer and your company in general.
What's more, you can precisely target the people you're talking to, depending on the communication channels you choose.
Greater visibility
Video is also an asset for your natural referencing. Search engines value video and tend to give a higher ranking to sites that broadcast this format in the results pages.
More accessible
For a long time, companies shied away from the video format, due to a lack of in-house skills.
Today, however, it is becoming much more accessible, thanks in particular to the development of software that allows you to create a professional-quality presentation video... in just a few clicks!
How do you make a presentation video? The 5 steps
💡 Good to know: it's possible to have your film made by a specialist external company. But unsurprisingly, this option can greatly inflate the bill, especially if you want to produce videos on a regular basis.
So we're going to explain how to go about it if you're planning to do everything in-house.
#1 - Define your objectives and target audience
A good video presentation involves staying focused on the essentials. So start by asking yourself the right questions:
👉 What is the objective of my presentation video?
Examples: To provide information about a new product being launched. Presenting your company to enhance your employer brand and attract talent, etc.
👉 Who is it aimed at?
Once you've defined your objectives, ask yourself who your production will be aimed at, which personae.
Examples: Prospects to win over? Your customers, to build loyalty by presenting additional offers? Your staff to communicate internally?
Asking yourself what your objectives are and who your target audience is is a fundamental preliminary step, because all the work that follows will flow from these elements. The content, tone and format of your video will have to serve this objective and be in line with the expectations and characteristics of your target audience.
#2 - Write your script
You can't just start recording your video! You need to write a script first.
In this way, you structure your speech (voice-over, participants speaking, interview, etc.) and your production in general. But the script also helps you to be concise, because even if video remains more captivating than the written format, the fact remains that Internet users' attention spans are getting shorter all the time. That's why a good presentation video is no longer than 3 minutes.
So what should you say in a presentation video? Here are our tips for writing a rock-solid script:
- Stay focused on the message you want to convey in order to achieve your objective and the personas you've defined beforehand.
For example, in a video presenting a new product, explain how it can be used to solve the problems faced by your target audience. Also explain how it differs from other products on the market. - Choose the right vocabulary. Be sure to adopt a tone and jargon (and why not a dose of humour) that are appropriate to your audience.
- Take care with the introduction. Start your video with a punch, avoiding blanks, to grab viewers' attention right from the start.
- Make your film as attractive as possible. To do this, think storytelling, the art of telling a story to convey emotions to your audience. It's an excellent way of reminding them of you and getting them to react in the way they expect (e.g. by making a purchase).
#3 - Record your presentation video
It's time to record your video. And the good news is that a quality smartphone and a lapel microphone are all you need.
However, even if the process has been simplified, there are a few points to bear in mind:
- image quality: always opt for full HD. Take care with the lighting too, to make the most of the elements that will appear on the screen;
- clean sound: use a lapel microphone for sound recording and avoid background noise that could interfere with the audio;
- voice: if a speaker takes the floor, he or she should adopt a clear, fluid and engaging tone of voice;
- the background: choose a neutral background. Background "clutter" distracts the viewer's attention.
💡 How do you make an original presentation video?
Note that these tips are only indicative, as the presentation video can take on many faces. In fact, to gain in originality, you can turn to more modern formats such as motion design or whiteboard animation... Depending on the case, you may therefore not need to film or record sound.
#4 - Edit
To engage your audience, the final result must be dynamic and professional. Video editing is therefore a crucial stage.
We recommend that you add the following in post-production:
- transitions
- sounds and music,
- animations,
- subtitles: don't neglect these! Subtitles make it easier for the hearing impaired to access your message. But they also make it easier to watch your video content at any time, even in less than optimal background sound conditions (on public transport, for example).
💡 Using specialist software makes this step child's play. With Pitchy, for example, you simply create your video from a template that you adapt to your liking. You integrate the content of your choice (video, text, photos, etc.), structure your presentation and then add all the necessary elements, such as music or subtitles, in post-production. What's more, this tool supports your creativity with over 1,200 motion design animations available.
#5 - Share your masterpiece
Your masterpiece is filmed, edited and in the box? Now it's time to share it.
There are many marketing and communication channels available to you. All you have to do is select them according to your objective and your target audience.
For example, you could use
- for a video presenting your products and services :
- your website
- your social networks
- your YouTube page,
- newsletters sent to your customers and potential customers, etc.
- for a corporate film:
- the recruitment page of your website,
- your LinkedIn page, etc.
- for a presentation video for employees :
- your corporate social network,
- your internal newsletter,
- your internal messaging system, etc.
Examples of successful presentation videos
The practical product presentation video
😃 What we like: the fun aspect thanks to the animations and the highly functional content: you understand straight away how the Trello software works and the concrete benefits to be gained.
The inspiring product presentation video
😃 What we like: in the world of fashion, there's no need for long speeches (we don't have any specific functions to explain). So H&M has played the inspirational card, showcasing the product worn in a stylish atmosphere that makes you want to buy.
The storytelling presentation video
😃 What we like: Delsey, the connected suitcase company, has got it right. Instead of presenting the usefulness of its product in an "academic" way, it prefers to make a lasting impression by playing the emotion card to the full, through a beautiful story about the relationship between father and son and the invitation to travel. the emotional card, through a beautiful story about father-son relationships and an invitation to travel.
Employer-branded corporate presentation video
😃 What we like: Here, Air France shows us how to make an effective corporate presentation video. It condenses into a few minutes a strong statement about its values. It also highlights its teams and their key role in the success of its mission, across all business lines. The icing on the cake is the appearance of Thomas Pesquet, who lends credence to the speech.
The event presentation video
😃 What we like: the teaser for the Delta Festival 2020 de Marseille captivates us from the start, thanks to a highly cinematic introduction (which, incidentally, is reminiscent of the opening credits of Game of Thrones). Then the pace quickens and the film plunges us into the real atmosphere of the festival, using archive footage to make us want to come.
What can we learn from the presentation video?
Presentation videos can take many different forms, since they can be used for a wide range of purposes: corporate video, product video, event video, strategy video... But they all have one thing in common: making it more fun to convey key information, making it easier to get your message across and increasing the visibility of your company or brand.
But to reap these benefits, you still need to make a professional-quality video! To do this, work in several stages:
- Define your objective and your target audience,
- write your script,
- record your video,
- edit and add effects in post-production.
On paper, the exercise may seem complicated to the most inexperienced. But fortunately, there is software that allows even beginners to create convincing productions that will relegate good old PDFs and PowerPoint to the back of the cupboard.
Article translated from French