How to Make a Great CEO Profile Video
A CEO profile video is an important business tool as it gives prospective hires, employees, partners, future investors, and, perhaps most importantly, customers a much-needed peek under the covers to find out what makes things tick.
It should be one that not only one educates but also inspires and here is a look at how to make a corporate CEO profile video that is sure to leave a mark:
Let your personality shine through
Do not be superficial in your video rather shake off that revered hierarchal company figure and let your inner self emerge as that’s what reels viewers in.
Make your passions or hobbies known via a short slideshow portraying what you love doing in your free time and let the video depict a friendly persona different from the formal façade at the office.
If your viewers can see you in this ordinary light, it’s highly likely they’ll be spurred on to listen to what you have to say.
Up your aesthetics game
Bland videos with a subtle background and very little going on visually are as enthralling as an afternoon algebra class on the last day of summer.
If you want to keep your audience hooked, be generous with the aesthetics and play around with aspects such as stock footage, modern graphics, poetic images, and action shots among many others which can breathe a new lease of life to an otherwise average conversation.
A Forbes’ study reveals that 95% of viewers are likely to remember what was said in a visually captivating video with only 10% recalling information acquired through text. For the former to be the case though, you need to bring your editing A-game.
Your profile is as good as the tools you use so use great ones
A CEO is thought of as the high-flying superstar of the company and you, therefore, need to make a good impression by using high-end professional equipment.
Your iPhone won’t hack it here and you’ll need a fancy gadget such as an Alexa or a RED with a Sony FS7. At a minimum, you’ll want a good DSLR camera for video coverage.
The lighting and audio also need to be topnotch and the prime lenses should be of a similar caliber. Moreover, you’ll also need an adept production team behind you.
The location you choose is also key
You cannot flaunt the financial might- or any other prowess for that matter- of a company in a conference room barely bigger than a matchbox so if you plan to showcase just how much of a big deal your company is, then pick out a location that walks the talk.
If you are short on such resources you can lease one for the occasion.
Remember that the locations you settle for are a like-for-like depiction of your company’s image.
Use several cameras
Multiple camera setups have become a common prerequisite of shooting the perfect CEO profile videos and it is not without good reason. Multiple cameras and multiple takes coupled with some topnotch editing ensure an abundance of choice when it comes to picking out your best sides and makes it easy for those tasked with editing to eliminate hesitations and combine the best parts of various takes and angles.
Speak plainly
Let corporate jargon remain where it ought to be: at the office. Your primary objective is to humanize yourself and your company and effectively communicate with an audience encompassing a group of people with limited knowledge on what it is that you do.
Corporate jargon is one sure-fire way to ensure viewers won’t finish watching your video so convey your points in an easy-to-understand language that everyone understands.
Too long means too boring so keep it short
The concentration span of those scurrying across the interwebs hardly ever goes past 3 minutes so keep your video within that timeframe preferably 2 minutes as a general rule of thumb.
Several studies indicate that the level of engagement is directly intertwined with video length and research points out that videos spanning 2 minutes attain best results in this regard with those between 2 and 3 noticing considerable drop-offs.
The importance of a CEO profile video is increasing these days with figures from Forbes indicating that 59% of viewers opt for video format of information or content also available via text. This underlines the essence of video communication in business and the importance of CEO profile videos by extension.
