When you’re looking to develop content to promote your brand, it makes sense to turn to video. It’s a popular format that allows you to communicate clear, concise messages. Once you make the decision to create videos, however, the next decision is determining what kind of videos you want to create. There a seemingly endless number of formats to choose from. Each one can accomplish different goals and can convey your primary messaging in a variety of ways. One of the best formats involve video interviews.
A video interview is any kind of video content where two people talk about a particular topic – though in some cases, only one person may make it on camera. For a multitude of reasons, they’re a great tool to have in your video marketing platform. Let’s take a closer look at why video interviews can be an engaging component of any organization’s marketing strategy.
They’re remote-friendly
There’s no question that remote work is here to stay in 2020. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work was becoming increasingly popular. That’s because it gives organizations added flexibility in where their people work from and how they work. Gone are the days of an entire team commuting every morning and huddling in cubicles right next to each other. Now, you can have a remote team staffed with people from all over the globe.
The issue with our new remote-friendly culture is that it can seemingly put a strain on content development. How do you produce great video content when lockdowns, shelter-in-place restrictions, and other regulations prevent you from traveling or being in person with others?
The answer is to produce video content that can be created remotely. That’s a big reason why video interviews are such a great content format. With the remote technology used by the modern workplace, you can easily create video interviews. Video conferencing software and other communication tools support this format no matter where your guest is located. You can conduct, record, and edit a video featuring someone from anywhere in the world while not sacrificing quality in any way.
Supports a wide variety of guests and topics
All video interviews have the same basic format: Person A asks questions of Person B, who responds to them. These responses make up the “meat” of the interview. There are certainly exceptions – you may choose to not show Person A, or you may have Person B respond to previously written questions rather than having an interviewer. But in general, all video interviews will capture someone providing information.
Though the structure is the same, video interviews have so much room for improvisation, creativity, and originality. In short, there are a wide variety of interview types you can conduct to make compelling videos. Just a few ideas on sample content include:
- Customer testimonials. Who better to sing your praises to your viewers than someone who is already satisfied with your product or service? People want to buy from someone who has previously proven their solution works. Testimonials provide visual evidence of that.
- Subject matter experts from outside your company. Just because someone doesn’t work directly for your company doesn’t mean you can’t tap into their expertise to give other businesses valuable insight. Identifying someone within your field as a subject matter expert and interviewing them for your platform is a great way to provide people with value when they interact with you online.
- People within your organization. That said, if you have experts at your company, you can showcase them with a video interview as well. This reflects positively on your company.
There are plenty of ways a video interview can add value to your website or social media channels. It all depends on what your goals are.
They have the ability to engage, educate, and inform your audience
Finally, video interviews have a powerful ability to elicit action from your viewers. Whatever type of information you’re looking to convey, you can establish your company as someone your audience will want to do business with. You can have people well-versed in the topic to provide a detailed explanation and education on an otherwise complicated topic. You also have the opportunity to highlight aspects of your company that will draw more business in. You can provide exciting new information on a development your organization is working on.
The purpose of developing content is to strengthen partner engagement. Video interviews give you the ability to do just that.
Some best practices on creating a winning video interview
While video interviews absolutely have the potential to be effective components of your overarching content marketing strategy, the onus is on you to capture the best interviews possible. Some best practices for creating great video interviews include:
- Provide your interviewee with questions ahead of time. You don’t want to dictate the interview word-by-word, and you won’t want your interviewee preparing scripted answers either. But allowing your subject to prepare for the interview while prompting them to provide off-the-cuff responses will give the interview a natural feel while still packing in plenty of valuable information.
- Record plenty of material. It’s always better to have too much content than not enough. With a wealth of material, you can edit together a strong narrative that touches on the themes you want to convey. If you don’t ask enough questions or go deep enough on the subject, you may find yourself out of luck here. Remember: you can always cut portions out, but once the interview’s complete, you can’t add anything back in.
- Partner with a video services provider who knows what they’re doing. You can certainly learn the finer points of video production, but mastering them will take time. Why not find someone with a proven track record of success conducting video interviews?
Creating effective video interviews may be simple, but it isn’t easy. That’s why you should connect with DigiVid360. We understand what goes into the best video interviews. From pre-production to the final product, we can work with you to create content that moves you closer to your goals – and we can assist you remotely. For more on how we can help, contact us today.