Video Marketing Tips For Specialty Manufacturing Companies – Part 1

Are you reluctant to start incorporating videos into your company’s inbound marketing strategy? You’re not alone. Truth is there’s hordes of marketers nervous about putting out a video, with fear of having it turn out worse than the local car dealer’s ad you see during the evening news.

Visual content is booming online and video is more popular and effective than ever. As a specialty manufacturer, you have a Hollywood set on your shop floor and your prospects want to see it.

Don’t be scared, though, I’m going to hold your hand all the way through this post (not literally) and show you how to do video the right way. In order to have a solid presence on the web and attract more leads, video is a must.

Recommended Equipment

Camera – You probably don’t have a film-industry-grade camera lying around your office. Considering how popular iPhones and other smartphones are, I bet you have access to one of those, though. Chances are, that device shoots in HD video by default as well. Many standard digital cameras are capable of shooting excellent quality videos in addition to still photos. You just need something that shoots video digitally and in HD, if possible, and that you can easily export for editing.

Microphone – If you want to have a great video, then you’re going to need great sound. Having an awesome camera with a terrible microphone is like have a Formula 1® race car fitted with bicycle tires; you won’t get far.

There are two types of microphones to look for with different uses for each.

• Omnidirectional – This type of microphone will pick up sounds in all directions, just like the speakerphone microphone in your conference room. You’ll want to use one of these for picking up general ambient sound or if subjects are in multiple areas. A great use for this will be on the manufacturing floor in order to capture the sounds of the manufacturing process.
• Directional – This microphone is used for recording sound in one direction. An example of this type of microphone is lapel mics used to record someone speaking during an interview. You’re going to want one of these bad boys if you plan on recording a subject talking while in a noisy environment.

Both microphone types can be purchased for $10 to over $1,000 but we don’t recommend buying anything less than $30 to ensure it will capture quality sound and will hold up over time. Also be conscious of the type of inputs your camera has and the type of plug your microphone has. The most popular size is the 1/8 in. jack, the same as a headphone plug.

Lights – Have you ever watched a video shot so poorly that you couldn’t see squat? Lighting can make your videos look more professional and give them a certain “feel.” Since you’re a specialty manufacturer, you probably have a sea of fluorescent lights over your shop floor. That’s bad news, but you’ll persevere. Fluorescent lights give everything a nasty yellow glow, so if possible you’ll want to buy or borrow some bright white lights. There are a variety of arrays available but I love the DIY approach the guys over at Wistia take. They also have a ton of other helpful solutions that won’t have you coughing up tons of money.

Stands – Don’t let the intern who’s been up all night playing Call of Duty and now has a ton of caffeine pumping through his veins hold the camera for your shots. Avoid a jittery nightmare and invest in a good stand for your camera setup. A secure filming position will make your videos appear much more professional. You can even get creative and rig up some wheeled setups on a shop cart if you need to follow something down an assembly line or want to shoot someone while they’re walking. Videos are all about motion but not about the shaky motion of the camera.

Memory – Video files can eat up a hard drive very quickly. Depending on your video quality settings, an hour of video might equate to a file size of 20 gigabytes or more. Multiple memory cards for your camera will come in handy for a prolonged shoot. If you only have one memory card, you’ll find yourself staring at a data transfer window on your computer far too often instead of looking through the camera lens. External hard drives also come in handy, allowing you to save data to a large portable drive instead of a single computer’s hard drive. This will be especially useful if you plan on giving the videos to someone else to edit.

Editing Software –  Speaking of editing, become familiar with some sort of video editing software. My personal recommendations are iMovie for Mac users and Windows Movie Maker for the PC users. Both come pre-installed on their respected platforms and you’ll find plenty of guidance on how to use the programs on the internet.

*** A fast computer is a must if you plan on loading/exporting large video files. An older computer may take a few hours to tackle a large video file.

That’s It For Now

Now you have a grasp at what kind of equipment you’ll need to shoot your videos. Keep in mind that your needs will vary depending on what you plan to shoot, but try to maintain an inventory of the items listed. Next time (tomorrow) I’m going to help guide you on what you should be shooting and how to go about it.

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