How Can You Prepare Your Staff For Appearing In A Marketing Video?

Effective online video marketing isn't just about putting together a compelling script, or even the filming of that video. That's because you’ll also need to effectively manage your video’s on-screen talent if you are to achieve the best results – and sometimes, the talent in question may be your firm’s own personnel.

There are a lot of good reasons to feature your own employees in a promotional video, rather than trained actors. These are the people, after all, who know your company and its products or services inside out. Your brand and what it does are hopefully passions for them, which will help to ensure an authentic feel for your video.

Understandably, though, your staff not being trained or experienced actors is why it's advisable to prepare them for their appearance in front of the camera. Here are a few of those steps that will help to prevent you from regretting involving your workers in your next corporate video.

Don't wait until the shoot to show them the script
Unfortunately, some firms featuring their staff in their online video marketing don’t share the script with said staff in advance, in the mistaken belief that showing it to them at the last minute will help to inspire a 'spontaneous' and 'natural' performance on film.

We would very much advise against this, given that not everyone, when put in this situation, will be immediately comfortable with what they're being asked to say in the script. So, we'd urge you to give your staff member a chance to see the script at least a few days in advance.

Give them a practice run first
Related to the above point, it’s likely that when your employee reads their lines for the first time – especially if they weren’t the ones who actually wrote those lines – there are certain words or turns of phrase that may feel unnatural to them.

A practice run, then, could enable your on-screen talent to make any adjustments to the script that are necessary to make them feel more comfortable and 'natural' when filming begins 'proper'.

Run through the script more than once
Some of your internal video stars may turn out to be ‘one-take naturals’ – but even if they are, it’s still a good idea to give them multiple runs through the script. After all, they will probably gain in confidence with each run-through, and more than one run-through enables you to assemble together the best takes from each one.

This, in turn, will allow your staffer to rest slightly easier when the film starts running, in the confidence that they don’t have to do an immaculate read-through every time.

Remember, too, to give your employee some 'time out' now and again during the shoot, to minimise the chances of them becoming overly frustrated or stressed with each take.

We'll assist you in getting the best from your online video marketing
When you make all of the right moves in the management of your internal talent for their appearance on-screen, the outcome might well turn out to be even more convincingly 'authentic' than a seasoned actor could manage.
For a more in-depth discussion of all of the needs you might have for your online video marketing – and how TMC could serve them – don't hesitate to call our teams in London or Ayrshire today.