Creating a video can make an enormous difference in your business. In fact, the right video with the right message can be your inside track to success and profitability. Your video production can be motivational, educational and even inspirational.

TIP 1 -- Define Your Objective & Your Audience

Simple as it might sound, many businesses decide to produce a video without properly identifying the market audience they wish to reach. Likewise, it should be determined from the outset the best possible manner in which to distribute the finished product. Unlike the recent past, when DVD was the ubiquitous format of choice, today Blu-Ray might be more desirable, or internet video.

Once you've determined the target audience and proper format(s) for your project, the next step is to develop an outline of every point and message your business intends to get across, as well as the overall tone of the project. Will it be straight informational, conversational, persuasive, humorous? The question of "tone" is often completely ignored by businesses in the early stages of a production, but is critical to the success of any project. A project aimed at children, for example, will require an entirely different pacing and focus than one aimed at adults.

TIP 2 -- Before Shooting Anything Yourself, Make Sure You Don't Shoot Yourself!

What we mean is, make sure you weigh the Benefits and Disadvantages of shooting video on your own. While it's true that high quality consumer digital video cameras are available today, the skill required to properly light, compose and obtain professional sound quality is an entirely different matter. Just remember, 99.9 percent of the time, you save more money by paying to shoot it right the first time instead of paying to "fix it" later...