If you have had to cancel your live event in 2020 because of the Coronavirus Pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions, then creating an online presentation video might be a great solution for your business.
Coronavirus has certainly turned our world upside down in 2020, with lockdown restrictions having evolved and grown over the past eight months (has it really been that long already?!).
One thing has remained rather constant so far, however, and that has been limitations on social interactions and gatherings.Each country has its own set of specific rules for how many people can gather at one time, but the general idea is that not many people are allowed to gather indoors, and especially not in spaces where social distancing is difficult to carry out.
While a necessary measure, this has, of course, affected many people’s lives, with meetings with friends and family being made almost impossible. However, the current virus situation has not only affected people’s personal lives, but their careers, too.
A huge shift has been made from working in an office to working from home in order to protect the health of workers, and this has forced many business strategies to change – including live events.
Live Events
Live events have been an important business tool for decades. They have played a vital role in networking and forming connections with others, and have often been used specifically to showcase products or services to shareholders.
Pre-COVID, this is how it would go: the company would invite a group of their stakeholders to an internal event for the day (oftentimes at a hotel), where they would then talk them through, and showcase, their new product or new season of products.
This worked incredibly well back then, as talking to people face-to-face is a lot easier and significantly more effective than pretty much any other means of communication.
Unfortunately, we are now living in the midst of COVID, where this simply is not possible anymore due to health reasons and government restrictions.
So – what do? Well, in this case you take the example of institutions such as schools and universities – you bring things online and create bespoke presentation videos.
Online Presentation Videos
If in-person live events are not possible at the moment, then the next best alternative is something a bit more digital – online presentation video. The common strategy nowadays is, rather than creating a simple live event video, companies are producing TV show-style videos that are around 30-60 minutes long with high production value, in order to get their message across to their audience, whether that be shareholders or otherwise.
Online presentation video will allow you to carry on showcasing your product to your audience in a convenient and COVID-friendly manner, while only sacrificing the intimacy of in-person internal events. However, to some that are used to the face-to-face format, this may seem like a huge (and unwelcome) change – but it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom! In fact, you may find that online presentation video comes with a whole host of advantages that you may not have even thought of, and that may actually bring this format ahead of traditional means. There are many advantages of online presentation video, some of which may be surprising to you!
Advantages of Presentation videos to showcase your product.
You can reach a wider audience
One of the main unfortunate disadvantages of live events is the fact that, sometimes, attending an in-person event may be inconvenient to some people, whether that be due to clashes in schedules, travel, time zones, etc. etc.
Online presentation video removes pretty much all of these drawbacks, offering a way for you to continue showcasing your products, but in a manner where your audience can view your presentation pretty much anytime, anywhere.
This can lead to a lot more engagement with your product, which is never a bad thing!
You can be more creative
The beauty of the video format in general is just how flexible it is, and using it is a freeing experience – you can take video in pretty much any direction you want!
While you may think that this does not apply to corporate online presentation video, you would be dead wrong.
Online presentation video allows for a lot more opportunity for editing and enhancements, and often use elements such as stock footage, motion graphics, and live action footage (such as the use of a presenter) to get your message across in the most effective way.
Your presentation will be more engaging
To add onto the concept of it having the potential to be a lot more creative, the online video presentation format is also a lot more easily digestible and engaging when compared to traditional live events – though this, of course, depends entirely on how entertaining you make it!
However, in general, video is a lot more engaging than simply watching and listening to someone talk, and will encourage your audience to feel a lot more favourable towards you and your product as a result. And who doesn’t want that?
How to turn live event into online presentation video
Making the dramatic switch from live, in-person events to online presentation video may be difficult for some people, however, and this is entirely understandable.
And yet, in these strange times many people have had to adapt their strategies with very little notice, and learning how to do so is an important skill to learn if you want to survive in these times of change – this, therefore, begs the question of “how to create online presentation video?”
While this process doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated, it can be rather tricky to try and figure out how to make your video as effective as it can be.
There are a lot of things to consider – for instance, it’s important to keep the content fresh and engaging so that your stakeholders don’t start falling asleep in their seats, while also getting information across in a direct, effective manner.
Finding a way to make your online presentation video sing can be rather challenging for some, as you really need to approach online presentation video production in a creative and inspiring manner in order to achieve that essential level of communication within the company and uphold the brand’s ethos – otherwise your message may fall flat.
There are several ways to do this:
Motion graphics
Video is all about movement – so it’s a great idea to harness this through the use of motion graphics.
Motion graphics can often be a significantly more effective way of showcasing information than static graphics such as pictures and graphs, and are usually capable of showcasing data and information in a manner that is a lot easier for people to understand.
And, on top of this, motion graphics keep audiences engaged; it’s just in our human nature to pay more attention to things that move, after all.
Stock footage
There will sometimes be lulls in your presentation – while best avoided where you can, this is simply a natural part of speech, and there often won’t be any specific graphics that you can show the audience during these times.
This is where online presentation video can shine, as you have the freedom to fill these gaps with pretty much anything you want (within reasonable limits, of course).
The filler of choice for most companies who have already hopped on (or been forced on) the online presentation video bandwagon is stock footage.
This type of footage is often easy to acquire, and is a great way to keep the eyes and minds of your listeners engaged despite you not having anything of substance to show them at that time, which will keep their level of attention high when you do move on to something more important.
Presenter
One of the biggest advantages of live events is being able to see the speaker face-to-face, which allows for a deeper level of connection, whether that be consciously or subconsciously. You may think that this aspect is lost in online presentation video, but this is far from the truth – you can still have a speaker present in your video!
While it may not be quite the same as in-person, having a presenter on the screen can still help to achieve a similar effect, and, on top of all your graphics and footage, will help to keep your audience fixed on something moving.
This is far more effective than simply using a voiceover or, worse still, text on the screen, and will help to establish that human connection to the product that is often achieved through face-to-face presentations.
Online presentation video production
Unfortunately, not all of us can say we are video production and editing wizards, which is certainly a shame during these times which seem to call for this kind of skillset. But, luckily for you, there are experts out there who can help you out with this kind of content, and the investment will certainly be worth it for you, your product, and your business.
Online presentation video production companies do exist out there, and they exist for your benefit, so there is no reason to not take advantage of their online video production services and expertise – it will be well worth the money!