Collect the questions people really ask
For each question, decide whether it needs a cinematic or quick social-first edit, who should explain it, where to film and what the viewer should do next. The matrix below turns that list into a shot plan a crew can follow.
The questions customers ask before they buy are the raw material for a month of video. You already hear them. You just need to write them down.
Where to look:
- Phone calls and the front desk. Ask whoever answers to jot down questions for a couple of weeks before planning.
- Email, contact forms and messages. Look for questions that come up more than once.
- Comments and reviews. Note what people ask about or mention.
- Sales conversations. What makes people hesitate before saying yes?
- Your team. Ask: "What do you explain over and over?"
Write each question the way a customer would say it. Remove names and anything personal.
Then sort the list by when people ask:
- Before they choose you: "How does it work?" "How long does it take?" "Do you do this?"
- Before they arrive: "What should visitors bring?" "Where is visitor parking?"
- After the visit or job: "What care does it need?" "When is a follow-up visit needed?"
A month with questions from all three stages speaks to new customers and current ones.
Give each video one job
Choose one purpose for each video. One job is easier to film, easier to edit and easier to watch.
- Explain: how something works, or what happens next.
- Show: the process, the place, the care behind the work.
- Introduce: the people customers will meet.
- Reassure: answer a worry before it becomes a reason not to call.
- Invite: give one clear next step, like booking or visiting.
Be careful with videos meant to prove something. Show the work and the process. Don't promise outcomes on camera that your business can't back up.
Choose the treatment: Signature or Everyday
We plan two kinds of video. Signature videos are cinematic, edited by our editor, and carry the month's main posts; they can be planned for ads as well as the main organic posts. Everyday videos are fast, social-first clips: behind the scenes, quick tips and answers to customer questions, cut to your brand template.
A quick test: if a video will carry a main message for weeks, run as an ad or sit on your website, plan it as Signature. If it answers one question quickly and will be one post among many, plan it as Everyday. Our guide to Signature vs. Everyday videos goes deeper.
Customer-question-to-video matrix
Copy this table and add one row per video. Fill it in from left to right. If you can't fill a column, the topic isn't ready to film yet.
Scroll horizontally to see the full table.
| Customer question | Purpose | Signature or Everyday | Speaker | Location | Next action for the viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Example (hypothetical): a neighborhood fitness studio
Scroll horizontally to see the full table.
| Customer question | Purpose | Signature or Everyday | Speaker | Location | Next action for the viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Is this class suitable for a beginner?" | Reassure | Signature | Head coach, with a beginner class in the background (everyone in frame has signed a release) | Main studio, during a beginner class | Book a first class |
| "What happens at my first session?" | Explain | Everyday | Front-desk lead | Entrance and check-in desk | See the schedule |
| "What should visitors bring?" | Explain | Everyday | Any coach | Locker area | Save the post |
| "Who are the coaches?" | Introduce | Everyday, one per coach | Each coach | Each coach's usual class area | Follow the account |
| "Are classes available at lunchtime?" | Invite | Everyday | Owner | Studio, during a midday class | Check midday class times |
| No customer question: the studio's story | Show | Signature | Owner and coaches | Whole studio and the outside | Visit the website |
The last row matters. Not every video starts with a question; your main story and the reason the business exists still deserve a place in the plan.
Make the plan practical.
Keep your answers and unresolved questions together before the project conversation.
Use the worksheetAdd the shots that tie it together
Beyond the answers, ask the crew to capture footage the editor can use across many videos:
- The outside of the business and its sign.
- Hands at work: close-ups of tools, products and materials.
- The team working, not posing.
- Customers arriving and being welcomed, only if everyone in frame has signed a release.
- Details that only your business has.
Put these connecting shots into the schedule alongside the main scenes. Confirm which ones fit rather than assuming the crew can collect everything between interviews.
Build the shot plan from the matrix
Turn the matrix into a schedule for the day:
- Group by location. Film everything in one room before moving to the next.
- Schedule around real activity. If a scene needs a class, a delivery or a busy hour, film it when that happens.
- Book people in slots. Give each speaker a time window so they can keep working the rest of the day.
- Put priorities first. Film the Signature pieces and anything that can't wait until next month early in the day.
- Keep a backup list. Have two or three simple topics ready in case someone isn't available.
Our guide on how to prepare for a monthly content shoot covers getting the people, spaces and permissions ready for this plan.
Know what to leave out
Some topics don't belong in a monthly shoot, at least not this month:
- Topics that need a long explanation. If an answer can't be given in a minute, split it into smaller questions, or save it for your website or a longer project.
- Topics that depend on private information. If the scene would show a customer's file, a patient or a screen with real data, find another way to show it or drop it.
- Results you can't back up. If the video only works by promising an outcome, rethink the angle.
- Scenes that depend on luck. A topic that needs perfect weather or a crowded room should have a backup.
- Ideas nobody on the team wants to present. Find another speaker or another topic.
Mark what needs approval before filming
Add a note to every row that needs a check before anything is said on camera:
- Prices, times, offers and their conditions. Confirm the exact wording.
- Health, safety or technical statements. Your qualified person approves them.
- Anything a customer says. Customers on camera should be real customers describing their own experience, with a signed release. The FTC's endorsement guidance says endorsements must be honest and reflect the endorser's opinion. For interview prompts, see preparing a customer testimonial interview.
- Clinics. Patients appear only with the practice's written marketing authorization.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your own adviser decides what your business needs.
When next month comes, start again from the questions that came in this month. More planning guides are in monthly content.
How we can help
Our social media management and content-only choices start from a strategy based on your priorities and a content plan reviewed weekly. One shoot a month produces Signature and Everyday videos plus photos, and the split between the two is written in your proposal. Short-form video shows what each monthly shoot delivers.