Before you hit the record button

Before you hit the record button you need to make sure you’re making a video about the right thing. Sometimes a different type of online media does a better job of getting your messages across.

Written May 09, 2011, read 3063 times since then.

Are you considering whether or not to make a video? Well, before you hit the record button you need to make sure you’re making a video about the right thing. Sometimes a different type of online media does a better job of getting your messages across.

Using too much video
Our product tour does not use video at all. Instead, we have an interactive menu with text and screenshots:

tracking analytics

Considering that we’re a video hosting company, people tend to be surprised that we don’t have a video tour. But there’s a reason that we chose not to use video, and it’s not because we’re camera shy (Adam is a natural born star). It’s actually because we tested our tour page with and without video and found that people responded more positively when we didn’t include video.

Through extensive testing we came up with three situations where video will not be your knight in shining armor:

1. When your audience will want to go at their own pace
Over time Wistia has become a very comprehensive product. There are tons of features, many of them only useful for very particular (but important!) purposes. When we tried to cover everything in one go in a few tour videos, viewers had to slog through an overload of information.

Some people look to our tour for an at-a-glance view of the product and others want to spend more time delving into features. Our videos felt overly detailed to some viewers and not detailed enough to others. Videos encourage a controlled stream of information (which is one of the greatest benefits of video), but our goal for the tour page was to do the opposite – we wanted to let people absorb information at their own pace.

2. When skimming the content is important
When your content is packaged into a video, viewers won’t have the luxury of skimming everything until they find what they’re looking for. Your audience shouldn’t have to watch an entire video to find one sentence that matters to them.

Unlike video, which follows a linear progression, other types of media let people see all of your content at once. Then, viewers can mentally zoom in on what they care about and ignore the rest. On our tour page, we lay everything out on the page in text and slides so people can see the whole product and then cipher out what interests them. Each section stands on it’s own, so if someone only want to learn about Wistia’s analytics features, they can jump right into the analytics section of the tour. Non-video formats are better when viewers will want to weed through content and pull out only what interests them.

3. When you don’t want to sound pitchy
When you use video, you can present your information in the most attractive way possible. You can organize your content into clever spiels, use alluring graphics, and have a personable subject. But your audience will recognize a pitch when they see one.

When you don’t use video, you allow viewers to control how they take in the information that you’re presenting. One reason we think that people like our non-video tour page better is that it doesn’t feel like we’re trying to sell them a product. Instead, we hope, it seems like we were just trying to teach them what Wistia does. Non-video media gives the audience more leeway to mold their own opinion.

Your audience will thank you for not using a video
Viewers will become frustrated if your video moves too quickly or too slowly for them, if they have to watch a lot of content that doesn’t interest them to get to what they’re looking for, or if they feel like they’re seeing a sales pitch when they don’t want to be. Keep your audience happy by checking the three guidelines above to see if you should think about leaving your camera in its case.

It all comes down to trust. You want your audience to trust you, your story, and your content. Make the wrong videos and you’ll lose your audience’s trust. Make the right ones and you’ll delight them.

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Learn more about the author, Christopher Savage.

Posted by Mélanie Hope, Las Vegas, Nevada | May 16, 2011

I just wrote an article for someone on video optimization. While video is all the rage right now, I have found myself pulling out my hair on a how-to site because I need to pause and take notes (something I wouldn't have to do if it were simply spelled out for me). THANK YOU for your very honest, very timely article! I will point folks to it.
Posted by Ruchit Garg, Redmond, Washington | May 16, 2011

Video is great, but isnt always enough. Checkout this new solution http://9slides.com/demo
Posted by Owen Kindig, Seattle, Washington | May 16, 2011

I'm a video producer who puts up with the medium for what it can do effectively to communicate a message.... so I welcomed your comments and I rated your article 9.0. I agree with most of what you said. Video is best for "who" (telling stories) "where" (showing places), and "why" (emotional and simple factual persuasion) -- but is not as effective as print, web, or graphics for "when", "how", or "what".

I also agree that video is not as effective as something interactive for explaining something interactive like a website. But explaining is not your only task, is it? If you want to communicate customer satisfaction, the character of your leaders, brand attributes or emotional value propositions, you might find it indispensable.

Wistia, for example, has so much to offer as an alternative to YouTube... that I think a humorous 2 minute piece could add some important persuasive juice to your site... justifying the cost and demonstrating the value.

Your company's post on that topic, for example: http://wistia.com/blog/the-cost-of-free-video-hosting/ could have been much more powerful with a short video ... with the right story line and humor.

And the right clip on your explanation page might give you the best of both worlds.
Posted by Sean Marshall, San Francisco, California | May 17, 2011

Thank you Christopher for your thoughts on this topic.

I think there are certainly some cases where having an interactive graph, for example, might be very helpful and contain some unique advantages to video.

It really boils down to your specific offering. Just like any form of marketing, you have to make sure the tools you're using are effective and readily received by your target audience.

For most of the people I work with, video is a powerful tool. Especially because many of my clients are using video as a sales tool on their website.

...And it works. That's really what's most important isn't it?

If the content of the video is good, it won't sound pitchy. A series of How-To's for example allow a business to demonstrate great value and expertise without sounding too "salesy". Throw a simple call to action at the end of the video if the viewer does want more information. It's not QVC. It's simply good content marketing.

Again, it goes back to your specific offering and more importantly, your target audience and what they best respond to.
Posted by Terry Murray, Venice, Florida | May 17, 2011

Interesting article, Christopher! I think the value of employing video to connect, engage, and inspire your prospects is highly dependent on the quality of the production values. People have an unconscious production value threshold that has been conditioned into us over years of exposure to television and film. Simply sitting in front of a webcam and talking at your audience may not be the most effective way to reach them on an authentic level.

The fact is, video is capable of communicating emotion as well as information. And if you have a complex message, one with depth and breadth of value, video can compress this into an enjoyable and informative experience.

It all begins with the quality of the writing, then the blocking, staging, lighting, audio, editing, animations, and music come into play.

Here are two examples of how we use video to connect and communicate the value of our products and services: http://yourbizstartup.com/workshops/transformational-leadership/

and...

http://yourbizstartup.com/2011/04/22/building-your-brand-in-the-new-economy-part-three-an-example-of-integration/

For us, video is just one tool of many we use to get our message into the world.

Thanks again, Christopher!
Posted by Kimberly Gauthier, Marysville, Washington | May 18, 2011

I do most of my surfing from work (shhhh) and this isn't the best environment to view videos - so sites who post a great deal of their content end up losing me. I see a link to their video at 10 am - but by the time I settle down to my computer again around 7pm - I've been blasted with 100 more emails - that video is lost.
Posted by David Krafchick, Seattle, Washington | May 19, 2011

All those elements make a lot of sense, but I would also highlight length. A minute to 90 seconds can do a lot of good, but in teaching, I find that words and video can work together. So there is something to skim as well as watch.. And a slide show with written text can get more views than a video testimonial.

Sharing the knowledge.
Posted by Nancy Meadows, Kirkland, Washington | May 21, 2011

You present a valuable case of when not to use video, Christopher. Esp. now, when we all hear that videos are the new wave to ride for successful internet marketing.

I think, though, that it can depend on the industry we're involved in. As an interior designer, my work is so visual that photos and videos can illustrate a point in a way that copy alone can't accomplish as well.
Posted by Christopher Savage, Cambridge, Massachusetts | May 22, 2011

Great feedback everyone.

Owen, I whole heartily agree that video is about more than just explaining this. Video is an amazing way to convey emotion, simplify complex topics, and fundamentally scale human communication. I'm all for video, obviously!

My point is that it can be really overwhelming and hard to decide when to make a video. If you can rule out some the areas that don't benefit as much from video it becomes easier to decide when to make a video.

David, I agree that a great solution is to make more videos that are between 30-90 seconds. We see lots of people making videos of that length with success at Wistia!

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Posted by Ruchit Garg, Redmond, Washington | Jun 01, 2011

You might find this post useful on how to increase viewer ship for your video. Some great data points.

http://blog.kissmetrics.com/how-to-increase-viewership/

Ruchit
Posted by Nancy Meadows, Kirkland, Washington | Jun 03, 2011

Thank you, Ruchit, for sharing. The statistics you showed were valuable and certainly need to be seriously considered in order to have a successful video.