Tips for Making a Successful Brand Film

Brand films are different from other kinds of film, advertisement, or informational videos that you might make for your company. Branded films talk about your mission as a company and show – rather than tell – what you can do for consumers. This kind of video is used to connect with a target audience through shared values and to deliver an effective message about the “why” of your company just as much as the “how”. And here’s the tricky part. The film itself may not even involve your company. What?! Many times, a successful brand film is more about the issue that the company is solving rather than about the company.

Brand films require slightly different planning and they need to be produced in different ways than other videos for your marketing needs. You will want to be sure that you are prepared to make this unique kind of film before you start work on the project. Being able to target the exact messaging and goals that you are aiming to meet with your brand film can make sure that you end up with the perfect brand film for your needs.

If you are ready to learn more about the tips that you should use for making a successful brand film, you need to read on!

Tips to Make a Successful Brand Film

Making a successful brand film requires that you know a lot of things about your brand in advance. Brainstorming is the best way to prepare most of the central topics and information that need to be included in your brand film before you start crafting it. Don’t cheat yourself out of this planning stage. A brand film has to be made perfectly to deliver the right results and value so you will want to know what your plan is before you start creating the video itself.

1. Define the Message

You will need to clearly define your branding message well before you do any other work on your brand film. This is the core and the heart of everything that you are working on to make this film and it is an absolutely essential part of any brand film project. You will want to focus on showing the “why” behind your company OR the issue you’re story is about and make sure that you are delivering the right emotional content as well as the right factual content in the film.

The message might be that your company cares about people or that your business is changing the world and tell the stories of those experiencing the issues that your company solves. It could also be about taking new strides into new technologies. Whatever the most critical takeaway of your work needs to be, this should be the focus of the entire film-making process. If you do not know what your central message needs to be, you will want to sit down with your marketing team or other partners whose advice you trust and sort out just what your brand message should be.

2. Consider How to Tell the Story

Sometimes the best way to tell your story is to just tell it. You might want to use a documentary-style video for your brand film if this is the best way to offer up the right information to your audience. For some industries, you need to show consumers and potential customers what your brand stands for as well as what it can do. Showing the human side of an industry can help you to connect with potential new business partners or new clients with ease.

When you know how you want to tell the story, you will know how to craft the video itself. Documentaries are filmed very differently than short story-style films and you will want to be clear about which kind of branded film is the right one for your needs. Consumers have certain expectations about the kinds of content that some industries will deliver. You will want to consider these guidelines as well as the potential of each film kind for your brand when you are deciding how to handle this portion of the creation of your brand film.

3. Remain Authentic to Help Your Brand Video Succeed

Any time that you decide to use trite, boring, or spammy-feeling content for your brand video, you will be associating your brand with this less-than-ideal content and the associations that come with it. You will want to make sure that your company ethos and personality is apparent in the video that you make. Trying to connect with new customers and business partners when you are not being true to your actual values or company ethos can be really difficult, if not impossible.

When designing this part of your brand film, think about the kinds of things that you like to know and to learn about from a company that you are thinking of working with. You should also think about the personal touches and the ethics that make your company unique. These are the things that should be included in your brand film if you want people to really know about your company and feel connected to it right away through shared values.

4. Keep Things Simple

The best brand films are simple and straight to the point. No one will be willing to sit through a lot of fluff in your video that does not deliver any useful information. Beauty without substance is just like empty calories. The length of your brand film and the special effects or production work that go into it are not as critical as the emotions and informational items that it conveys. Read that again! You will want to be sure that your brand film shows clearly what your company is all about (even if the film is not about the company) without a lot of fancy stuff thrown on top that obscures your message.

Consumers need to know what your company stands for and what it can do for them right away or they will find something else to do with their time. Anyone who is watching your video and is confused about what it means for them as the consumer will not feel connected to your brand or be likely to want to learn more about it. Keeping things clean, simple, and to the point can make your brand film much more effective than any kind of special effects or additional fancy production work.

5. Know Your Mission to Make an Effective Brand Film

Brand films need to help consumers and other viewers to understand what the mission of your company is. You will need to have this kind of information locked down well before you craft your brand video so that you can include the details of this part of your company ethos clearly. Your mission is the overarching value statement of your organization and this is often the heart of what makes consumers feel a bond with your brand right off.

Your mission might be to end world hunger or to create a really effective product or service. Maybe you plan to improve lives through the creation of your own unique products or you might be focused on giving back to your community. No matter what your mission is, you need this information to be at the very center of your messaging and the style of the video that you craft.

When you know for sure what your brand’s mission is, you can show it clearly in your brand film. The takeaway from this kind of film should always include the ultimate mission that your company is trying to fulfill. When you show consumers what your true and ultimate goals are for your brand, you can help them to feel connected to your products and services based on ethics and values. This kind of information is what makes for brand loyalists and for return customers over the coming years.

6. Leverage Influence

Your brand film might be most effective if you can connect your products with the influencers that enjoy their use. This can be really effective in competitive niche markets where there are many products that are like yours. This is common for sports products because there are so many professional athletes that you can get involved in your brand filming process to add authority to your brand’s claims.

Influencers can share your finished brand film with their whole network and their statements and presence in the video can help to generate interest in your brand and your products. The immediate link with reliability that you can gain from including influencers in your brand film will be valuable and deliver big results overall for conversions. While your brand film should not be considered a central part of your conversion work, it can definitely help you to generate this kind of sales success with ease.

Influencers can be the most critical detail that you can add to your brand film and if you have this resource to tap into, you need to utilize it. There is nothing like the endorsement of a professional or a well-known figure to offer your brand instant trustworthiness in most people’s eyes.

7. Consider the Use of Interviews

Some brands are best marketed through real stories and sometimes those are very similar to the common testimonial video. If you have a product that you think can be marketed in a meaningful way through testimonials, you can readily add this content to your brand film. Interviews offer the chance to show consumers right away that people love your products and services and that they were willing to talk about their experiences in the video. Interviews do not even have to be done with influencers or other experts. You can get great engagement results just from including the testimonials of consumers in your brand film.

There is something to be said for the connection that is made from one consumer to another and when you offer this kind of evidence in your brand film you will be showing clearly that people are happy with your company and that they come back to you again and again for their needs. This kind of inclusion helps to reinforce what your brand is all about and it offers an impartial view of the things that can be achieved when someone works with your company for their needs.

Creating A Successful Brand Film Can Deliver Big Results for Your Brand

If you have been trying to get your brand some more attention and increase your conversions, you will need to consider making a brand film. Being able to show what your brand is all about in an easy video message is essential for most businesses to make the jump from being known in some circles to being well-known across an entire industry. Brand films can show what your company’s mission and ethos is right away and consumers will engage with your brand in an emotional way if your brand film is crafted correctly.

Brand films are a worthy investment because they offer effective and emotional outreach for consumers to take in that help them to bond with your brand. Brand loyalty is not usually possible without a well-crafted brand film that tells consumers about who you are and what you stand for right away. People need to be invested in your products and services because they believe in your company and a brand film can offer them this emotional connection.

At Early Light Media, we specialize in crafting brand films that are unique to brands and tell compelling stories. We would love to bring your brand to life! Click here to learn more about our process!