Oh hey! Glad you could make it. Congrats on having an awesome business that you’re looking to market. We’re guessing you’re here to learn how to make a commercial, but before you start prepping a classic “as seen on TV” ad spot, let’s get a hard truth out of the way. The era of television spots and infomercials is pretty much, well, over.
A recent poll found that six out of 10 people would rather watch videos online than on traditional television, and when you consider the exponential price difference between digital and television ads, the marketing solution for today’s eyeballs is clear. You’re gonna need a commercial that’s optimized for digital platforms.
But how do you make a commercial that’s perfect for the online space? That’s where we come in. We’ll help you through every single step you’ll need to take to concept, script, shoot, edit, and promote your commercial. But wait — that’s not all. Read on for all you need to know to make a killer commercial video.
What makes a successful commercial?
The first step of our process is all about focusing in on you: on your brand, on your messaging, and on your goals. Before we break down exactly how to make a commercial video, it’s important off the bat to identify how you’re going to accomplish your mission.
A commercial doesn’t always need to be a big production, but it does need to have a clear hook, an authentic concept, and strong brand cache. Let’s review some questions you should get clear on before you begin.
Does it speak to your audience?
Before you start putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboards) to come up with scripts, storyboards and dive into production, you’ll want to take a step back. All the way back in fact to really examine who your audience is and how to best market towards them.
If you’ve done any market research already, now is the time to bust that out and see how it can help inform your video commercial’s goals. If you haven’t, start by compiling video examples from your competitors. Here are some points and questions to consider:
- What types of content does your audience watch already?
- What are the unique pain points to your customers/clients?
- Does your brand offer unique selling propositions or solutions? What are they?
Does the concept feel real?
Your company isn’t generic. So your commercials shouldn’t be either. As such, keep your messaging focused and real! Video commercials that include product testimonials, customer reviews and real world case studies are much more likely to help you engage with your audience in a meaningful way to help you drive sales.
Does your commercial represent your brand?
While the first goal of your commercial is likely to drive adoption and conversion, your video should also work to develop and define your brand. Not every person who watches your commercial or interacts with your ad is looking to close a sale that very moment. That’s okay! Just make sure your video shows off or explains something about your brand.
Commercials that showcase company profiles, brand values, and even ethical sourcing are great ways to highlight your valuable work.
What app can I use to make a commercial?
Vimeo Create is designed to make video-making simple, intuitive, and stylish. Our video creation app can help you make professional, TV-ready ads in minutes.
Try freeHow to create a commercial video
Now that you’ve outlined some of the more cerebral elements of what defines a successful short video commercial, it’s time to go through the practical steps of bringing your commercial to life.
These steps will walk you through everything from initial research to posting and promoting your commercial once it’s done. Let’s start makin’ things.
1. Brainstorm and script
Once you’ve considered all the questions above, it’s time to begin the process of brainstorming your commercial video. This is perhaps the most fun phase as there are no wrong answers, only great brainstorming ideas! We suggest spending some time sketching up some ideas in a notebook yourself, or recruit your team to have a group brainstorming session.
Once you have some rough ideas, it’ll be time to chisel those down into a tight and compact script that will guide you the rest of the way. If you’ve never written a video script before, or are curious about getting better, here is a great guide on how to write a video script from start to finish.
2. Plan a storyboard
Moving on from the script, you’ll want to further develop your commercial by creating a storyboard that should outline all the images, footage, transitions, text, audio, and other filmmaking elements you’ll need to make a polished video.
If you’re not sure how to create a storyboard for a commercial, we’ve got a guide for that, too.
3. Shoot and create
Depending on the scope of your commercial, you may not need to actually capture new assets like produced footage or product shots to deliver a polished video.
If you’ve got an existing library of footage and b-roll, we suggest finding a Vimeo Create template that meets your needs and plugging your existing content in to create a commercial in a fraction of the time it’ll take to produce and shoot from the ground up.
If you do need to capture footage to bring your commercial to life, you can easily capture video at home and with your phone, without having to sacrifice quality. (We promise!)
Oh, and if you’re looking to set up a professional-level shoot, we recommend perusing Vimeo For Hire to find top tier talent.
4. Edit your commercial
Now comes the easy part. Once you’ve captured (or gathered) your visual assets, you can use Vimeo Create’s intuitive software to put together your commercial. For this, you can start from scratch to design without guidance, or choose from hundreds of Vimeo Create templates to add some automatic structure. You can check out our guide to making a Vimeo Create video here.
If you need a little inspiration, or just want to see what templates Vimeo Create has to offer, check out the ones below.
Announce a sale
There’s nothing like a good old fashioned sales announcement. From Black Friday doorbuster promos to “just because” markdowns, a video designed to boost traffic during a sale is a great opportunity to dip your toe in the commercial waters.
Try this Vimeo Create templateShare your philosophy
If you’re trying to elevate your brand and better define your business profile, creating and sharing a commercial designed to highlight your company’s philosophy and priorities is a great way forward. Share what makes your business special, and include a simple CTA at the end to entice and generate new fans of your work.
Try this Vimeo Create templatePeg to a holiday
If you’re not sure how to frame your next commercial video, consider pegging your spot to a specific holiday and sharing in the weeks before the event. You can peruse our 2021 content calendar to identify the holidays you want to target and find templates to match.
Try this Vimeo Create templateSpeak to a use case
Remember all that advice about using audience insights to create a high-quality commercial? Try speaking directly to how customers might use your product or service in their everyday life when ideating your next video. Sharing real use cases for your products helps underline your value and keep your brand approachable.
Try this Vimeo Create template5. Export and distribute
Now that you’ve tinkered with your commercial to your heart’s content, it’s time to get your commercial up and online. If your finished commercial lives on Vimeo, it’ll be easy to share your video directly to your socials, generate an embed code for your website or next email campaign, or directly download your video for distribution on other channels. Whatever you choose, be sure to keep aspect ratio and mobile-friendly viewing in mind.
6. Track results with analytics
Please don’t skip this step! Once your video is out into the world, make sure you check up on its performance. Vimeo lets you easily track your video’s analytics in real time, which allows you keep track of your progress and fine-tune your videos for next time. Keep an eye on watch time, views, and social engagement metrics to get a good sense of video performance.