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Marketing video: The long and the short of it

Whilst doing some research for a project this week I stumbled across hundreds of new online video statistics, it seems the whole world is turning to digital video for online marketing and are all desperate to know that key magic ingredient. The fairy dust that makes millions watch and keep watching!

Many of these statistics can be misleading and we need to look carefully at how the information is collated, but one of the most interesting I came across was this:

"The average 30 second online video is watched 85% of the way through, while the average two minute video is watched around 50% of the way through."

Source: http://wistia.com/blog/does-length-matter-it-does-for-video/

Actually a relatively old stat but called up tons of questions for me. It's important to remember that some videos need to be longer to tell a story, documentaries or training videos for example might need to have more content to get their message across, but I think this is particularly relevant when we are talking about marketing videos.

Making a marketing film as brief and informative as possible has always been an approach we recommend whether its on TV, DVD or online, but this statistic really drives home the need to get your key messages across as succinctly as possible.

How can you do this?

The truth is there is no magic formula, but there are countless of ways to make sure people stay engaged when watching digital video, for the purpose of this blog post here are a couple of starters for ten.

1. Key messages: Keep it simple

The first thing to think about is your messaging. It seems obvious but it's too easy to get bogged down in the style and look of the video, and forget that you have a story to tell and key information to get across. The aesthetics and look can come later, first nail down your story.

Start your initial script by making a list of bullet points. This enables you to clarify what you need to say and also to cut the parts which aren't important. Be brutal. Remove the information that is not completely necessary and keep only the things which are essential to tell your story. Go over the list several times and try to remove as many as you can. 

Once you have a complete list then you can go to the scripting stage.

2. 'You had me at hello'

Another approach is to include the main message e.g. 'Buy our new product x _______' within the first 15-30 seconds. Then return to it at the end. If the creative solution you go for allows this then it is a neat trick. Obviously it is always best to make sure the video is as engaging as possible to avoid dropout, but this means that if you do lose your viewer within 1 minute then the key message still sticks in their mind.

Get in touch today to find out more about the best way to market your products or services through video.

Posted by John Lanyon
10.01.12
12:45