You know that if you want your marketing efforts to be as effective as possible, you need to try a variety of different forms. One of those forms might be a video. So how do you make your video as effective as possible? Here are five elements it must include.
High-Quality Production
When you look at most viral videos, you notice that they’re usually low-quality, homemade videos done by amateurs. Those viral videos are extremely popular and noteworthy, so it makes sense to follow their lead and produce your video in the same fashion, right? Wrong. The quality of your video will give a message about the quality of your company. It’s a better idea to show viewers that you’re a professional, serious company who can afford high-quality production. A low-quality video, on the other hand, won’t reflect well on the image and brand you’re trying to establish.
Short Length
One quality of many viral videos that you should pay attention to and copy is that they’re short. In particular, the most successful videos are less than two minutes long. People will be more likely to press “play” and give your video a chance when they know it doesn’t require a lot of their time. With so much to do online, don’t expect your viewers to sit through a lengthy marketing video. Keep it short. The shorter, the better – at the very least, under two minutes, while still being long enough to properly convey your message (fifteen seconds is short, but might not do the trick).
Call to Action
Perhaps the most important element your video should include is a call to action. You know how important it is to include a call to action on other marketing materials; for example, you don’t publish a Facebook post without asking fans to “like” it, comment, click, or share. The same strategy should apply to your video. Be sure to include a call to action that will benefit you the most, such as asking them to sign up for your newsletter. A great thing about videos is that you can add clickable text overlays. Those links will make it especially easy for viewers to act – all they have to do is click and the sign-up page will open in a new window.
Value
Your marketing video is certainly intended to be self-serving, but it won’t work unless it offers values to your viewers, too. That value can come in many different forms; the important thing is that it’s there. You can answer some common questions, provide instructions, offer useful information, or even just entertain. If your video is useful to people, they’ll watch it, and hopefully even share it with their friends.
Focus
Your video must also be clearly and narrowly focused. It’s short, after all, so focus is essential for making the most out of it. Your focus should be one of the first things you determine when planning your video. It’s best if you stick to just one message or purpose. If there’s too much going on, it can get confusing, and you won’t drive home your point quite so well.
Lily Jones is a marketing professional and technology entrepreneur who loves to give businesses advice on how to best utilize the world of electronics for marketing purposes. Lily is currently blogging on topics such as SEO keyword selection for SEOMap.
Photo Credit: MarkBTomlinson
