A picture can paint a thousand words. Something I’ve always believed and still do. However, if a picture can paint a thousand words, what does that mean about a video?
In just a few seconds you can grab (or lose!) your audience’s attention with the quality and relevance of a video which shares your key messages and calls to action – a valuable tool for any business or individual to have at their disposal.
Everywhere you look
Video is everywhere and is becoming an increasing part of how we live our lives and interact with the brands we love. Whether you are scrolling through social media, browsing online, watching TV or even walking in a shopping centre, you can almost guarantee that you’ll be exposed to videos.
As a result of their popularity and ease of consumption, they are being used for an ever-growing range of purposes, including:
• Product videos
• Adverts
• Explainers
• Tutorials
• Interviews
• Live streams
• Q&A sessions
• Webinars
And that is just a small selection of what is out there. Their popularity also means that if you are going to start using them, you need to make sure it serves a true purpose and is of use to your target audience. If not, it will most likely get lost among other content and could result in them ignoring your content in future.
Adding value
I’m sure you will be able to think of at least one occasion when a video has made your life easier. Whether you watched a tutorial on YouTube to help you repair something at home, tuned in to a webinar to influence your work or watched a review before deciding to buy a new TV, they all add value to the audience.
Take the car industry as an example. The use of video has transformed how people decide on what car to buy, and how they interact with the dealership. I’ve recently experienced this, and it saved me hours of my spare time. After watching several online reviews and deciding on the car I wanted, I submitted a few details online. Instead of having to make numerous trips and phone calls to the dealership, I was sent a personalised video of the car, answering any questions I had with a closing message from the salesperson outlining the next steps.
This video, along with others I was sent during the process, seamlessly linked together with their website and other online content. This not only saved me time, it also sped up the whole process of buying a car. This is the sort of added value which makes a difference, builds brand loyalty and influences positive word of mouth.
No budget?
Whilst there are times when a professionally filmed and edited video is the only thing that will do, in this day and age, most people can use their own smart phones to create high quality videos for a wide range of uses.
Don’t worry if you’re not too confident with your video creation skills. Ironically, there are endless video tutorials online which will show you how you can create your own video without too much effort.
If you are serious about making videos yourself, there are a few relatively inexpensive additional bits of kit including a tripod and external microphone which will make a big difference to your end product.
Keep it short
Whilst you can create videos of any length, the general rule for online videos is two minutes or less. Some experts claim that for social media channels such as Instagram and Twitter 30-45 seconds is ideal to get optimum engagement.
Whatever content you are creating, whether it is a video, an article or a social media post, if you can say the same thing in fewer words, do so. Keeping this in mind will help you keep on message in a clear, concise and effective way.
So what are you waiting for? Start using videos to tell your story.
ANDREW JOHNSON
g6 communications, Associate Consultant
