One of the most fundamental aspects of any business’ life is raising money so it can be able to survive the next few years. Crucially enough, though, getting investors’ attention is not always the easiest thing to do.

In between stressful working hours, general unavailability from the investors themselves and tight budgets, coming up with something appealing can be quite difficult.

A novel approach to convincing investors lies in the power of campaign videos. Videos have taken over the internet for their ability to convey information much faster and concisely than any other form of media can. It’s a really powerful tool that you can make use of during your next investor meeting.

Why use pitch videos?

They grab attention

It’s usually said that no matter what it looks like when pitching an idea to someone, you have just a few seconds at most to grab their attention. Videos work great for this because they employ nearly all the senses, and nothing works better for this than visual cues.

According to HubSpot, people are 64% more likely to be convinced into buying a product after watching a video. Pretty much the same goes for investor videos.

Raise more money

On Kickstarter, a good 33% percent of campaigns raise money without any form of video, but that number rises to 66% when an explainer video is added on. Indiegogo backs up these statistics, reporting that the average campaign with a video raises 114% more money than those that do not use video.

This probably has to do with the fact that videos make for an easier telling of stories,  evoking an emotional response and making difficult concepts much easier to understand for the layman,

Tell better stories

The best way to engage potentially interested investors in what you have to sell is to tell them a story or entertain them. Video pitches make it easier to stand out by employing various techniques during the actual making of the video including storytelling and humor.

With that said, a good pitch isn’t meant to address every potential flaw in your product or answer every question you expect the investor will have. Rather, it’s meant to showcase the strengths of your idea so that it resonates with all the interested parties. Convey your points in a simple manner and possibly address the hardest bits to understand just as much.

Things to consider when creating an investor pitch video

Length

No matter how much the world loves watching videos, nobody likes a video that drags on. Knowing just how long to make your video is essential to its effectiveness. A good pitch video should be between three and five minutes long, anything more is bound to have people trail off and lose attention.

Create a storyboard and script

Having a script for the shooting process of the video is essential. This will serve to help you remember your lines and make sure you don’t wander too far from the original message you wanted to get across. Stick to the script – if new ideas come up, add them to the script. If it’s not in the script, it shouldn’t be in the video.

A storyboard is an organization of graphics that are going to be used in a motion picture, media sequence or animation. They are very useful for your cause because they will help you experiment with different things in the storyline of the video. The story that evokes the most emotion is usually chosen. Include key scenes that you feel investors would be interested in seeing – for instance, customers using your product.

Invest in a graphics designer

A good looking video is going to do wonders when presenting to investors. Considering just how important an investor pitch video is, it’s worth the money and time hiring someone that knows what they are doing.

Graphics are important because they are used extensively to emphasize key points, especially when it comes to data. Simply showing a random chart on the screen during a frame of the video won’t do at all. This is crucial for helping to clarify aspects of your product that aren’t so straightforward to explain.

Have people in the shot

Perhaps the worst mistake you can make when filming such a video is doing a bland video that only includes clips of data or worse, text, with nothing but a voice over in the background. To be fair, this might work depending on the kind of presentation you’re aiming for and your budget, but having people in the video has its benefits.

Videos featuring people, preferably with at least a few shots of them smiling have historically had an incredible impact of convincing people to buy an idea. With which regard, it’s highly recommended that you invest in a professional videographer is people are the subject of your video. You’d rather not do it than do a half-baked job.

Don’t be afraid to invest

Marketing is the central focus of most companies out there and a sizeable percentage of companies’ profits are usually poured into it. Don’t be afraid of spending money. It’s recommended that for creating an interesting, entertaining and engaging video, you should invest about 1% of your target solely on shooting and producing the video.

What to include in your video

If you already have a website up, your video will take on a structure similar to what you have on your campaign page. Overall, however, the feel of the video should be on par with the company’s feel and branding.

It’s been pointed out often that a good story needs to be emotionally engulfing, but as to what might achieve this for you is probably rather vague. At the end of the day, the aim is to get the investor thinking ‘where do I sign?’

The first fifteen seconds are where you briefly describe who you are, what you do, what problem you want to solve and maybe what has motivated you to start your business.

Afterward, other pertinent topics might be addressed, such as:

• What’s your vision?
• Is your niche already filled with other solution providers? If so, how is your product different from the others out there? If not, why do you think it has taken so long for a solution to be available?
• Have you run different successful businesses before?
• Why should they invest in your product? Have you done the market research? Are people interested in your product? How big is the market going to be later on?

Including your team members in the video, preferably while they are working at their stations is also another good step to take. Perhaps even let them talk about what it has been like working at your firm so far. If the founding members are available to give their story, it would have an even greater effect.

If you have customers, you can reach out to them and have them explain how they felt the product has helped them, include them and their testimony in the video. If possible, let their words be their own – add them to the script and change as few words as possible.

Finish it off with a strong CTA and instruct the videographer you want small (about 30 seconds) clips of the video to share via social media.