Transcript For Video Newsletter: Best Practices For Making A Video

Bill: Hey, for you guys that have been following some of our newsletters and such, we’ve been asked to do a video version of this because we’re going to discuss the best video practices for your video box, or video brochure, or video mailer.

So, we have the good fortune to probably see, I would say, thousands of videos here every quarter or so. So, we have a little bit of experience with being… I guess… experts. And not biased, right?

So we get to see some really great videos. We get to see some that are ehhh (okay), and some that are just like Wow! Having said that, I get asked…like the number one question I get asked is: How long should a video be?

So, you go on the internet, there’s all kinds of different suggestions for how long your video should be. And I think that that’s probably a generalization of video…how long it should be, and it depends, right?

If you’re gonna do a commercial, 30 seconds (Amy agrees). Also, are your video brochures and mailer boxes and video gift boxes going to be a commercial, or are you educating someone, or are we training someone? Those are like two different scenarios, right?

So in most cases, I believe like with video boxes, which is what this is really formatted for, is basically introducing someone to a product, because you might be providing a sample. And certainly you could be introducing somebody to a service, which you’re providing them a gift, or using it for an influencer to launch a new product, which would be informative, right? You’d want a little more pizazz for fun, right?

So what I tell people, I’ll tell people here: If you’re on the internet, you’re probably going to see 2 minutes. It’s all over the place, saying 2 minutes. I’m telling you right now, if you guys are marketers, that’s what I’m about to tell you, you know. We all fall in the same pitfalls, okay? People’s attention spans, like they hit a website for like 2 to 3 seconds, right? Then they either decide to stay or bounce.

If you’ve got video content, we don’t want a piece of video content to be 2 minutes long. We want to be concise with what we’re saying because in most cases, we need some call-to-action. We need them to do something, right? And we don’t want to lose them.

So that 2 minute rule, I would basically throw that in a bucket and just say, “How quick can I say what I need to say for them to have 80% of the information so they can trigger the call-to-action?”

So, typically I tell people as short as you can make it. So 45 seconds, a minute, keep it under that. If it’s going to be longer than that, you might want to think about doing some other things…like segmenting. What do you think about that? (He looks at Amy)

Amy: I think segmenting is a great option. When you start with a shorter video, you really want to gain someone’s attention. Have them be interested in the video. You want them to watch it from beginning to end with an emotional connection to the video. If you do a video that’s too long, you don’t grab that attention and keep their attention enough.

So, if you can segment and start with a 30 second video and give them a reason to watch a longer video, then you’ve created their ability to have patience for an additional segment. So segmenting is a great tool.

Just make sure your initial video follows that rule that Bill talked about in having it be really short because then, the additional segments, your call-to-action is kind of Watch the next video. Sometimes when it’s only a one-video piece, the call-to-action is to Call us, email us, go to this webpage, use the product that’s in the box, etc… There’s lots of different things, but sometimes your call-to-action in the first video is Watch the 2nd video.

Bill: Yeah, and I think that… Think about that recipient being able to consume whatever it is you’re delivering. So, video content is emotional. That’s why we do it. If we wanted analytical thought, then maybe we would send them pages and pages of written documentation. Okay? That’s not what we’re after.

We know as marketers that video is where it’s at. It creates an emotional reaction before there’s an analytical thought. Okay? And that’s what we need.

So, if they’re starting to get bored or you’re starting to lose them, or the information is really dense, you need to break it up.

So if you find yourself needing a video that’s longer than 2 minutes, or longer than a minute for that matter, start thinking about how you’re going to segment that so it can be consumed.

And I used to tell people because the thing is like, “Well, you know, what should I do and how should I do it?” And I’d basically say, well, 3 things are important, right?

1. Who you are.
2. What you do.
3. Why they can’t live without you.

So, if your one-minute clip does all of that, then fantastic! If it doesn’t, if you need more time, you might want to think about segmenting.

Amy: And I’ll add to that, and this goes right into what they should talk about, and I tell clients all the time, and keep in mind that we are not videographers. We don’t write video scripts. We do not do video production here. So this is all just knowledge from what has worked for other clients and what we relate to after seeing thousands and thousands of video brochures.

I tell clients to speak to their pain. People don’t like pain. They want it to go away. If you make their pain go away, they have a reason to call you.

So, when you’re creating a video, any said length of video, it should speak to whatever that pain is and why you have credibility to make that pain go away. And we could talk about how that works in each industry. Call us and we’re happy to give you personalized attention on what we think that would be for you because we’ve done it thousands of times, but that’s really what I think makes a great video is — it speaks to whatever that pain is, or you know, sometimes it’s pleasure.

Like one of the greatest videos we have that I love is a video box, and we’ll show a clip of the video at the end of this and you guys can watch it, but it’s a box that was featuring a brand of tequila, and it was the owner of the distillery. He was talking about, you know, he was just talking to his patrons and saying, “I wish you could be here. I wish that I could enjoy some tequila with you.” And the emotion that he was able to generate…

Bill: It was really genuine, right? And it was genuine content, and you just felt, it was kind of a real compassion, and kind of thing…

Amy: It was like he just hugged you through the video screen.

Bill: Yeah, and those are great videos, and those are the videos that we like to share with people. So, and what we do a lot here too… Guys, if we’re collaborating with you on a project, you can send us a video… We’re more than happy to get on there and look at it and give you our honest opinion. And you don’t have to take it, but you know your brand and you know what you’re after, but just keep in mind that we see thousands and thousands of videos here, and we take notice of videos that speak to us, especially when we’re not familiar with the product or the service, or what’s being offered, and we get it and it makes us emotional — that’s a good video.

Amy: But I also want to say this: Not all of our clients send videos that we’re like, “Oh my gosh. That was amazing!” Seriously, they all have great results, so don’t get too much in your own way trying to make an Oscar Award winning commercial…

Bill: Well, perfection I think… I think perfection is a big deal with people where they’re like, “Well, it needs to be perfect.”

I’m telling you right now, if you’re watching this, you’ve either considered video brochures, or video boxes, or video mailers… I’m going to tell you that the ROI is off the charts with those pieces.

The video doesn’t have to be perfect. The fact that you’re delivering a piece of your content to connect with a recipient in this form will be extremely impactful. Certainly, you can take that and tweak it, but you can spend a lot of time in an editing bay, or a lot of time in the studio trying to make the perfect video and never get your message to market.

Amy: And you stumble over your opportunities because you took too long trying to make it perfect. So be careful…

I mean, we’re doing this because we get asked this question all the time, but I really do follow up with saying we have people who shoot a video of them just talking on an iPhone similar to what we’re doing right now, and the success they have with their video brochure is crazy.

So just keep that in mind too… That you really don’t have to spend a gazillion dollars on a video for your video brochure. But if you want best practices, that’s really what this video is about…because we have an idea of what makes a video stand out, and we wanted to share that opinion.

The video from the distillery owner begins to play…and it’s awesome!

And to wrap this up, if you'd like to see examples, click MediaFast Product Gallery with videos.

Or to learn more about why Video Brochures, Video Boxes, and Video Mailers are so effective and how we can help you successfully distribute them, contact us today at sales@mediafast.com.

This Month's Case Study:

Goli Nutrition Video Box

Just like with this month's newsletter, we're presenting the Case Study in video as well.

This one features a video box made by Goli Nutrition.

They're having wonderful success with their video box campaigns, and as their designers get more and more creative, the sales just keep pouring in...