Video isn’t complicated to get right but it is quite easy to get wrong. It’s a lot more expensive than a webpage so it needs a lot more thought. My top 10 tips:
1. What’s the point? Every piece of digital content should have a clear objective – especially video, which is expensive to make and difficult to change. What is this content for? Who is the audience? Why would they watch it? What’s the benefit to them? Be honest – would you click on this film if it wasn’t made by your company?
2. Is the content appropriate? Video is good for some things, like showing practical skills and telling stories, and terrible for others, like very complicated data or time-sensitive information. Play to its strengths. And don’t think it can make dull stuff exciting. It can’t.
3. Keep it simple. Make sure your footage is audible, visible and professional – but if you don’t have lots of money, don’t waste any jazzing it up. Users don’t need glossy title sequences and they don’t mind rough edges if the content is valuable.
4. Give it a compelling title. Users have to commit time to video as they can’t scan it like text. Give them a clear incentive to click and watch and a title that explains the benefit immediately. (If you can’t give it a title that makes this clear, re-assess whether it should be a video at all)
5. Keep it short. And don’t be tempted to pad it out.
6. Put it on YouTube if you can, not just on your own site. That’s where the audience is. YouTube also has very good analytics, which are great for understanding how users are watching and it boosts your search rankings.
7. Make it share-able and embed-able. People regularly share video links – so make sure it works out of the context of your website and is as easy to share as possible. If you can, let other people embed your films on their site. It’s still your content, you’re just using their site as another platform.
8. Hire the talent you need. If you don’t have a huge budget, you don’t have to hire a big production company. You can get just as good results from one-person businesses, and as TV has always been staffed by freelancers, you can hire in the skills you need.
9. Watch it on a mobile. Most users will – so make sure it works on a small format as well as big screen.
10. Build in time for sign-off. Everyone will have an opinion about it. If there’s anyone above you in your organization, they will come in (probably dangerously late in the schedule) and want changes. Make time for this to happen.
Downloadable PDF: How to make great videos – Top 10
