Blog - Sharing Expertise, Experience & Tips

Tips on Creating Business Videos

First tip - Make sure it's good! If you want people to devote some of their valuable time watching and hearing your message then respect that in return you'll need to come across really well. That means it needs to be clear, visually interesting and, mostly likely, edited. Typically, you've got just a few seconds (some statistics claim less than 7 seconds) to convince potential viewers that they might want to watch the rest. People have short attention spans and will swipe/tap away - in an instant! - especially if it's one of those shakey, awkward selfie videos.

Tip 2 - Think very hard about your message. People like seeing and hearing a well thought out short message. What is different about your business, you, your people and approach? Not sure what to say? An easy solution is to aim it at your ideal customers - why not target the video's message specifically at them? Also, don't necessarily leave the best bit to the end. Start with it, get their interest and then you've got a chance of receptive, continued viewing!

Tip 3 - Less is more! You'll be amazed how many people phone me saying they want a 5 or 10-minute video. 60-90 seconds is what I usually recommend, sometimes less (although its difficult to get a coherent well structured message across in less than 30 seconds which is why TV adverts typically are of this length). Got a lot to say? Consider creating a number of short videos instead of one long one - they can often all be filmed at the same time and then 'drip fed' onto social media channels to help you build a following. And of course, they should all be styled and branded to present your business in a consistent style.

Tip 4 - Consider captions. A lot of video (some statistics put it at >70%) on social media and mobiles is watched with the sound OFF. Editing captions onto the video (or if pushed, using something like Facebook or YouTube's caption generators) allows your message to get through and, perhaps, persuade them to un-mute the rest of your video.

Tip 5 - Just do it! The growth of business video on the web continues for a good reason - well produced video really does work! So, if you're not currently using video to its full potential, maybe now is the time to start.

Andy Wilkinson
Shooting Image Ltd
www.shootingimage.co.uk