Developing the Video Concept

What is the Video Concept Stage?


The Video Concept Stage is where the brainstorming happens. Ideas and creative concepts for the upcoming video are hashed out and developed. It is important to begin here when conceptualizing a video. Establish as many ideas as possible and narrow them down until you have the exact concept that will get your primary message across to your target audience, in the most engaging way.


Why is the Video Concept Stage Critical to Creating an Engaging Video?


The creative ideas that you come up with during content development are what will make your video engaging to your audience. The unique ideas that are mined through your brainstorming and development process are the keys to getting your message out in a way that grabs your target market.


What are the Key Steps for Brainstorming Video Concepts?


The first key step in brainstorming your video concept is determining your primary message. It can be something specific or vague (i.e. ‘Getting Leads via Pinterest’ or ‘Video Marketing’). Either way, you will start with this one message and end up with your perfect video concept.

The next step is the brainstorming itself. Coming up with unique ideas often requires that we engage in “out of the box” mental and even physical exercises. What these can do is put our minds in a different state, which allows creative ideas to flow. Try one or more of these Creative Brainstorming Exercises:

Provocative Actions - When getting ready to brainstorm, do it in a completely different location; go outside, or meet at a local coffee shop. You could also just rearrange your furnishings, lie down, or toss a ball to your partners while throwing out ideas. Use voice to text software to shout out your ideas while relaxing on yoga balls. Basically, do anything except what you would normally do in an office. Putting your body and mind into different circumstances will encourage unique and creative ideas.
Right Braining -This is the process of sketching incomplete drawings of things that relate to your primary message. If the message is about “Shooting Video Outdoors,” then you (and your team if you have one) would sketch items like a video camera, the sun, an outdoor building or a park, for example. They do not need to be detailed and they should always be incomplete or missing some detail. This is another way to generate ideas – your brain cannot help but do its work when it sees the unfinished drawings.
Randomness Exercise -First determine what your primary word is, which is the same as what your video message will be about, for instance, Video Tutorials. Then pick a completely random word, like bicycle, and create a list of words associated with your random word. So, you might have a list that looks like, “ride, fun, wheels, outdoors, speed, spokes, chain, pedals, handle bars, metal and fast.” Using this word list, pick a word or two and relate it back to your primary word. For this example, your eventual brainstormed concept might be, “How to Make Boring Tutorial Content More Fun.”

The third and last key to brainstorming your video concept is evaluating and narrowing down your ideas. You have no doubt brainstormed a multitude of concepts. Use mind mapping to organize all the thoughts and ideas you came up with. This is just the process of writing down all the ideas on a white board, or even using sticky notes or mind mapping software. Write down each idea that you came up, then organize them all into coherent groups that branch out from each other. Once you have them all down, the thoughts can be rearranged and reorganized until you have your video concept.


A Step-By-Step Guide to Determining What Grabs Your Target Audience’s Attention


Research existing content – Check out your competition to see what they are doing. Is there something they missed? Did watching their video spark any ideas for your project? Did the video comments, if any, give you any clues for needed subject matter?

Test out different concepts and video styles – This process is especially helpful if you’re new to creating video concepts. Go through the process in several different ways with various types of videos, get feedback, and make evaluations as to what worked and what didn’t. You could try a narration with slides and an animated video and then ask for feedback.

Write all your ideas down and share with other people to further develop the best concepts – It’s hard to consistently come up with different and unique ideas when you are always with the same person (or people) at the same place. Change it up, invite a few members of your target audience to share their ideas and get their perspective.

Does the concept reflect a true insight into the target audience? To find out, you might survey some of your target audience. Show them your clip, ask them what they got out of it. Ask them for the best and worst parts of the video. Ask them the top three things they remembered after watching. Then use this information to determine whether your audience shared a connection with your video.

Does the concept relate to the overall goal of the video? Once you have all your research and feedback, determine whether your initial video was a success. Did it get the message across that you wanted? Was it able to grab the attention of your audience? Use this information to make your video better.

Create a content framework – Organize your video concept ideas; what content should go where in your video, and how?

Pre-planning video release – After following the above steps, by now you should know where your audience is viewing videos. Plan to upload it in all their favorite places as well as on all your social media outlets, and at the best time for your audience. Create a buzz by livestreaming a quick preview and with the promise of killer content coming soon. Be sure to have a sharing schedule in place.

Use one idea for several videos – By going through this process, more creative video ideas have no doubt bubbled to the surface. Take advantage of your creative energies. Even if these ideas did not relate to your primary message this time, keep them handy for your next video production. You may also find that you had simply too much information for one video after all that brainstorming. Then you can break it down into two or more video segments. If you need more assistance or want to know more about how to create a video concept, contact us today at Valoso.

About the Author

Mary Thibodeau

Mary Thibodeau is a freelance editor for Valoso.com, Craig Smalley, EA/PA, Nearshore Systems, and Boondocks Botanicals. She is also the Best Selling Author of natural wellness books on Amazon.com. Mary has enjoyed the freelance lifestyle since 2014 and has a passion for digital wellness and authentic marketing strategies.