Nehlsen Notebook

Producing Effective Web Video - Part 1

By Guest Blogger, Geoff Kelly of Pic Two  5.12.10

Video on the web. It isn't just the world's greatest time-suck anymore (I mean who doesn't want to watch "David after Dentist" for the hundredth time?). More and more companies are using videos on their websites as a way to engage their customers. Video grabs our attention like no other medium, and gives you the opportunity to get your message in front of your customer in a very focused way.

In part 1 of Producing Effective Web Video we'll take a look at the first steps in pre-production and what goes into preparing a successful video for the web. Some of these may seem obvious, but being able to clearly communicate the following information allows everyone involved to be on the same page throughout the project.

Purpose
Start by thinking about what your needs are and what purpose your video will serve. The more specific you can be in what you want to accomplish, the more effective your message will be. A great way to do this is by asking yourself what it is you want your audience to think, know or do once they've seen your video.

Target Audience
Time and again we hear clients tell us that everyone is their target market. They want to inform everyone about their product, service or event.  What they mean though is that they would like it if everyone were their target market. Unfortunately they're not. Know who you are trying to reach. Know not only why you want to reach them, but more importantly why they want to be reached. If you know what motivates your audience, or what their needs are, you'll be much more successful in connecting with them.

Length
I think brevity is typically the best and most effective way to communicate your message. People's attention spans are ever dwindling. There is no shortage of media and messages competing for our time. Make your point as quickly as possible, while still being effective, and you stand a better chance of your customer watching and retaining your information.

Quality
There have been a lot of people saying that you don't need an advertising agency and production company to produce effective videos for use on the web. And they're right. Partially. Think about the purpose of the video and the audience that will see it. Now think about the message your video quality sends to your audience. While content is king, as they say, the quality of production conveys a message about your level of professionalism and how much you care about the message you're trying to convey.

Budget
Establish a budget. Share your budget with your marketing department, ad agency, production company or whoever is working with you to produce your video. The goal in sharing your budget is to eliminate surprises and establish expectations. If everyone involved in the project knows what to expect and what it wil cost, you stand a much better chance of getting your video produced on budget.

OK. We have the basics down, but we're just getting started. By this point you should have a clear picture of what your project should do for you or your company, who should see it and how much you have to spend. Next comes the fun part, so get ready to be creative because we're going to start developing concepts... next time. Part 2 will look at concepts, outlines and scripting. See you soon!

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