So, you’ve been incorporating video into your strategy for a while, but you are just not getting the results that you had expected. You might start to feel that it’s all a big waste of time and money. You may even consider packing it all in. Before you bin it all off, there are a few things that you could do that might have a big impact on the success of your videos. Here is a list of a few things to take a look at to make your videos more impactful
1. Know why you are using video.
Video is great. It can connect with your customers like no other format, but it is not a silver bullet. For your video to reach its potential it needs to form part of a well thought out strategy with specific goals in mind. Often, we take over accounts where the previous agency had produced a glossy, beautifully shot film which accomplish no other purpose than to be a video. The strategy conversation started and ended with the idea to have a video. I can’t emphasise this enough: If you don’t have a clear goal for making a video, you are wasting your time and money.
Having clear objectives and a strategy to deliver those objectives using video is essential to success.
2. Short and on message.
People have short attention spans. With a thousand other things competing for your audience’s attention you have already accomplished quite a bit by getting someone to watch your video, don't throw it all away because you didn’t stick to the point. Know what you want to say and get to the point as quickly as possible without going off topic. Your audience retention will show a marked increase.
3. The first five seconds
Quick question, what is the absolute worst thing you can have at the beginning of your video?
Answer: An animated logo. You have the first three to five seconds to grab your viewer’s attention, if you waste it on an animated logo they will just scroll on by. Audience retention is incredibly important and that’s why you have to be creative to hook your viewer before they scroll on by. An impactful first image it of utmost importance, so get creative.
4. Prepare for no sound
A lot of your views will come from people using apps on their mobile devices that auto play your video without the sound activated, and you have to assume they will never unmute the video. That’s why you have to consider what your video will look like in mute. Consider any dialogue that may need subtitling, or any part of your video that relies on sound to get the message across. However, if you do use sound, do it well. Make sure your audio is properly mixed and the dialogue is clear over any music that you may have used.
5. Brand, brand, brand
This might seem obvious, but your brand is something that you have cultivated and nurtured. It’s the image that represents your business and it’s important that you take the same care with your brand when creating video that you would do with any other piece of marketing collateral. There are so many times that I come across businesses that abandon their style and tone of voice when using video. There is nothing special or different about video when it comes to implementing your brand identity so make sure to use the same rigour as you would with any other format.
Following these 5 steps is by no means a guarantee of success, but it will help you to avoid common pitfalls and make sure that you can start to build an audience that drives engagement for your brand.
If you want to have a chat about how you can improve your video results, please get in touch with us at hello@foxfifth.com