Engage with great video content

Technology is changing the way people consume information and video is winning. But, before you reach for your camcorder, you might want understand how video content itself is changing to suit viewers' needs.

An easy place to start is to observe your own online behaviour. If you watch videos online, chances are you touch/roll over the screen halfway through the video to see how long is left and thus, make a conscious decision on whether you want to watch the rest of it.

So when we create videos at CA3, we always keep that in mind and would recommend following these 3 simple rules when creating your own videos:

1. Keep it snappy

If you think the video is too long chances are you'll stop watching it, especially if you're using your mobile phone. As a society, we have short attention spans online and video content must embrace this.

Business Adoption: This isn't about making all your videos under 60 seconds long (though chances are you can think of a few you wish were). What's key is reviewing the message (or messages) you want to convey and adapting them for the channel you intend to push them through. This might mean creating different versions of a video for each channel, or simply ensuring key messages are delivered quickly, then offering links for more information. If you do have to create a 10-minute video, think about cutting it down into 4 shorter videos and then release one every few days, if the channel your pushing it through doesn't suit this length of film.

2. Create more video

Another great piece of advice is to create more video. That might sound pretty self-serving (coming from a business that creates fabulous videos every week), but the more often you push comms over video, especially news, the shorter those videos can be.

Because we live in a 'get to the point' society, we're more likely to follow a link to a short video than we are to read a blog post, or a lengthy news update.

Business Adoption: Get involved. If you don't already, create frequent bite sized videos to keep your employees informed & engaged. Content can vary from business updates, product launches, new starters, L&D, H&S /initiatives to a nice Christmas message from your CEO. We find it helps to create a basic content plan for the year ahead, then add filler stories nearer the day. And, if you plan a number of videos in advance, you'll be surprised how cost effective it can be.

3. Limit talking heads

Finally, though it's often more cost effective, try to avoid creating talking head style videos every time. No matter how engaging your MD might be, a 5 minutes monologue by him or her won't appeal to many people. If a talking head is the only option, make sure you support it with different cutaway footage to keep the viewer engaged, or involve more than one person so you're getting multiple views on a subject.

Business Adoption: Think about the message you're trying to convey and what the best way of communicating it might be - don't instantly think 'talking head'. It might be something as simple as your choice of filming location that makes the video zing - a little bit of thought at the start can go a long way.

And, if you'd like a little help with that thought process, or to see a few video examples that embrace everything we've discussed above, get in touch.