Many online business videos don’t get results. People click away after a few seconds or move on without viewing the video. Often the technical quality of the video is to blame.
Creating good quality video content is a real investment in time and money, so you want to make sure you get a decent return on that investment. After getting your video content right, follow these tips to improve the technical quality of your online business videos and vastly improve your results – without breaking the bank.
Be heard
Bad audio is the number one reason videos fail. If people have a hard time following what you’re on about they’ll switch off and move on.
The most common cause of bad audio is that filming is done using the camera’s internal microphone. These internal microphones are okay if the camera is close to the sound source and in a reasonable quiet room. But don’t try to use them in larger rooms, at conferences or to video presentations.
The best option is to use a wireless lapel microphone attached to the speaker’s collar. Failing that, use an external microphone that plugs into the audio inputs of the camera.
Lighten up
The human eye has an incredible ability to discern millions of shades of light and colour. Even the most amazing high-end HD camera can’t match that ability, so the camera needs some additional lighting to get results.
You can shoot without lighting in locations that have a lot of daylight, but most presentations are shot in offices with fluorescent lighting. Ceiling fluorescent lights are no substitute for video lighting; people look terrible when lit from above, and your video will look dull and greyish.
Renting a lighting kit is cheap, so it’s false economy to skimp on this aspect of your video.
Want more articles like this? Check out the podcasting and video tips section.
Graphics: less is more
A common issue with online business videos is that editors use every option available in their editing software: text pops up all over the place, along with tacky clip art, graphics and 3D effects.
Keeping your videos clean and simple creates professional content that’s straight to the point.
Think about the videos used by Apple. They’re extremely clean and simple, and they get results.
Consider small screens
A lot of graphics are unreadable because they were put in to the video while it was being edited on a big screen.
Always double check by playing your video on a smaller sized screen and after it’s compressed into the format you’re going to use online. However note that compression can ruin graphics if used unwisely; get informed about what works best.
Having said that, minimise the amount of text you put in your video. Video resolutions are far inferior to static content, so text in video is unpleasant to read. You might be better off including the text as written content to sit alongside the video, where it will also help your search engine optimisation (SEO) and encourage your audience to take the time to watch the video itself.
Music matters
Choice of music is important and often overlooked.
Music instantly conveys where you stand in terms of who you’re targeting and who you are. Make sure the music is appropriate for both your brand and target audience.
If you target 40-55 year old executives, should you really go for that pounding high-energy techno track?
Build your brand
Anything with your brand on it should support the perception you want existing and future clients to have about your business.
Any media that doesn’t match your brand identity and perceived value will have a detrimental effect on your brand perception, so your video should get the same amount of attention as anything else that carries your brand, and should match your website, blog posts, business cards and other marketing collateral in terms of quality and branding.
If you sell high-end shoes, you don’t make your shop sign out of cardboard and duct tape, so don’t make do with a poor quality, amateur video either.
Are you using online business videos? If you have any extra tips to share, please comment below.