What makes one video effective and another ineffective? That’s the $64,000 dollar question!
With the zillions of different ways to make a video, it’s not always clear precisely what makes a GOOD video that people will be willing to watch.
When it comes to online video, cyberspace is crowded with both excellent and horrible examples. Given the glut of videos online (every minute, 15 HOURS of video is uploaded to YouTube), if you want your video SEEN, it better be good enough for people to agree to watch it. Like it or not, we video producers need to realize that viewers have total control and will click out in a nanosecond if they don’t like what they see.
In order to get an accurate picture of what kind of marketing videos people consider worth watching, online marketing expert Jim Edwards surveyed his readership. (He is one of the best online marketing “gurus” IMHO. He’s honest, which is saying something.) 543 people answered and he compiled the results.
Needless to say, there were a ton of strong opinions!
- I read all 543 responses and picked out some of the best to report here.
- Overall, it was clear that people want real information presented in a non-rambling way. They don’t want to sit there forever waiting for you to get to the point. And above all, they want there to be an actual point!
- Many demanded professional production values, which honestly kind of surprised me. They did not seem to be demanding Star Wars quality, but rather basic professional quality, so they could see and hear what is going on.
- They also made it clear that they, the viewer, want to be in control. They want navigation tools: the ability to pause the video, rewind or fast-forward. They want it to load quickly and play without jerking. (That is a function of file size and connection speed.)
- Time is so important, they want to know how long the video is before they agree to click play in the first place.
- And of course humor was a common request too.
Online video viewers sure are a demanding bunch!
It is our job to give them what they want.
Here are some responses from the survey printed verbatim.
- “Content where you learn something, not just sales pitches.”
- “Concise, accurate contents covering the details without fluff.”
- “Come right to the point, if necessary add more substantial info to an appendix in the transcript. Make the duration of the video visible. Viewer can navigate. Always provide a transcript!”
- “Fast, snappy presentation that gets right to the point.”
- “Short, sharp, to the point. Loads quickly and is packed with content not crap.”
- “Useful how-to information presented without hype. Clear and in-depth.”
- “Clear audio. Captivating content. Something that makes me laugh or smile.”
- “Good content with little waffle. I hate it when someone takes ten minutes to say what I can say in one sentence.”
- “Useful, actionable information.”
- “Video that has movement. Not just a slide that sits there for five minutes. “
- “An engaging story that draws you in.”
Thanks to Jim Edwards. This is really valuable information and I appreciate his making it available to everyone free of charge. He gave me permission to reprint it here.
If you are interested in making online marketing videos, you absolutely need to learn what people want and then give it to them. Jim’s survey is a fast, accurate way to do that.
Thanks for reading Video Production Tips.
Lorraine Grula
