5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Create a Video for Your Business
As businesses are quickly catching on to the effectiveness of video marketing, the need for web videos is driving some companies to produce them in large quantities, usually without taking the time to define the purpose of each video. Many firms are producing videos just for the sake of producing videos. This can be a huge waste of valuable time and marketing dollars. Before you go off and create another video for your website, or a product or service video to market your latest offering, make sure you ask yourself these 5 questions to find out whether or not this video will work for you.
1. What goal do I want to accomplish with my video? What is the purpose of making this video? Find out what it is you want this video to do for you, whether it’s build brand awareness, sell a product or service, promote a special event, or inspire your audience to act on a special cause. Creating a video without a goal in mind will make it very difficult to determine the success of that video, and the return on investment.
2. What is my message? What is the one thing you want your viewers to know after watching your video? Try to come up with a clear, concise message that would describe the subject of your video in one sentence. This message is usually directly related to your goal. It can be as simple as “This product will solve your problems,” or “This is what my company can do for you.” Just make sure that the message is clear, and that there is only one. If you’re trying to tell too many stories with your video, your audience will be left with no idea of what you want.
3. Who will be watching my video, and where? Consider your target audience and how they interact with video. Do they prefer to watch video content on television, computers, or mobile devices? Do they prefer YouTube over Hulu? Do they share videos on Facebook or Tumblr? Find out who you are marketing to, and where to place your videos so you can reach your target demographic in the most effective way possible.
4. How long should my video be? It is a common misconception that all videos need to be incredibly short to be effective. This is a myth. Your video should be as long as it needs to be to tell your story and get your message across in the simplest, most effective way possible, whether that’s 10 seconds or 5 minutes. This often depends on the content and complexity of your goals. For instance, product and service videos usually take 15-60 seconds to explain the product/service and its benefits, while promotional videos for special events or charitable causes may take as long as 3-5 minutes to explain the history, philosophy, and purpose. If you can keep your viewers watching with captivating content, you can make your video as long as you want; but keep in mind that the human attention span is rapidly decreasing.
5. Is my video actually interesting enough to watch and/or share? While you may find your video to be incredibly awesome and captivating – your audience may find it very boring or confusing. Before you go investing hundreds or thousands of dollars into video production, make sure you’re creating something that’s going to be worth your and your viewers’ time. To gauge the “shareworthiness” of your video, list the emotions it might evoke in your audience. Will it make them laugh, gasp, or cry? Generally, the stronger the emotion, the greater the video. If your video is only going to provoke a yawn, consider a different message.
For more information on creating effective marketing videos, contact the experts at In Focus Studios. We can help you answer the questions listed above, and create professional, high-quality videos for your business.
