How Simple Videos Can Bring Your Website To Life

For most part of my working life, corporate videos featured crisp camera work, inspiring music & golden-throated narrators telling virtually the same thing in every production.  To incorporate every bit of goodness about a client, many of these epics ran over 5 minutes. Some dragged on for ten minutes or even more.  I hate to admit that I once dozed off while showing the finished product to on of my client.

Fast forward to today’s 30 second attention span. No one can sit through a 5 minute corporate video. I think they have surpassed water boarding as cruel and unusual punishment.  But that doesn’t mean video is dead. In fact, it’s never been more effective, except some of the rules have changed.

Here are 10 tips for making the most of video in today’s digital media.

1.    Start with an idea. You still need a good concept. The One Thing. What’s the take away?  It’s not “let’s do a video.”

2.    Keep it short and sweet. People will watch five one-minute clips but not a five-minute video. Can you say the same thing or convey the same idea in 30 seconds?

3.    Don’t overproduce. Which is another way to say, you don’t have to spend a lot of money with a director, assistant director, sound and lighting crew. Shaky images, unusual camera angles, uneven lighting and even flubbed lines add legitimacy in many cases.  Recently we converted a fairly simple Keynote presentation into a video for a youth convention. Since the audience was teenagers, a slick corporate puff piece would have backfired.

4.    Add text. A few key words here and there maximize your message. Again, keep it short and simple. No one wants to read a video.

5.    Editing is still important. You can shoot a less than professional video but with the proper editing, it can be edgy, intriguing and fun—instead of just another bad project. While you might be able to cobble something together with iMovie, an experienced editor with the right software can really bring your idea to life.

6.    Sound is critical. Chances are the mike on your camcorder won’t be enough, especially if you’re shooting outdoors or if there is a lot of ambient sound. Invest a few bucks for a lavaliere mike it your want to hear people clearly.

7.    Save your bandwidth. Outsource your video to You Tube.  Or one of the other video sites. You not only save space on your site, but your video has a much better chance of catching on with social networks.

8.    Think viral, but don’t forget your original purpose. Don’t go out of your way to be funny or cute. The biggest viral hits are purely unintentional. Whether or not your video becomes a viral sensation, it has to convey your big idea.

9.    Go cross-platform. Short videos work great in mobile applications. Services are available that can adapt your video for all the major mobile platforms at a very reasonable cost.

10.    Do your homework. Check out sites that use video effectively. What works? How could it be better? Don’t do video just because your competitors are trying it. First decide what you want to accomplish, then decide if video is the answer. If it is, go back to step 1.

It all comes back to the simple idea that people would rather watch than read.  And they won’t watch for long if you can’t make your point in a minute or less.

About Author: SC is an internet marketer from Mumbai. He is blogging at Jobs8Home.com. He writes about blogging, internet jobs, internet opportunities etc.