Recently I watched an online video for an organization with which I’m associated. The people who created the video are not “content developers,” nor are they social media experts. Yet, on their own, they managed to create content to deliver their very important message.

The decision to use online video is prudent. It’s can be one of the most effective and affordable ways to get out the message out about your brand.*

• Product videos may increase purchases by 144%
• 64% of consumers say videos on Facebook have influenced a purchase decision in the last month.
• 32% of consumer engage branded video on YouTube

Thankfully, new technology and social media have democratized online content/video, and now what was once available to clients and their large agencies is accessible to almost anyone. This can sometimes be a problem if the organization is not familiar with video content development and how to create videos for social media consumption.

In the case with my associates, the video was too long, filled with too many facts, rambled on and worst of all it was boring. Since their expertise is in other areas, they missed the flaws that would be off-putting to a viewer.

An effective standard commercial is typically 30-seconds long and filled with information. A good commercial is not achieved haphazardly, it’s crafted. If you look a high-end TV commercial and an inexpensive online video, one thing they have in common are the guidelines from a briefing document. While there is no universal approach to a brief, if you answer the following questions in developing your content, you’ll have a better chance of achieving the results you want.

1. What are you trying to achieve with the video? (brand awareness, drive traffic to the website)
2. What is the business objective? (consumer acquisition, generate inquiries)
3. What are the key takeaways from the video? (key benefits)
4. Who are you trying to reach? (who are your customers)
5. Why is this important to your target audience?
6. Where will the video be seen? (social media, trade show, e-mail marketing, event)

Lastly, a luxury of posting a video on social media or website is that you are not constrained to 30-seconds, yet the attention span for online content is limited. The shorter the better and aim for a maximum of two minutes. A report from Video Brewery claims that a video will lose 60% of its viewers at the end of a two-minutes.

When you work on your next video, consider putting yourself in the place of your target audience and try looking at the content from their perspective.

*Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics