Should Your Online Video Be a Snack or an Entree?
Russ Henneberry | May 25, 2009 | Comments 0
What is the proper duration for your online video?
To answer this question you need to ask another one — “What is the purpose of this online video?”
As a general rule of thumb, online video should be kept as short as possible to ensure the clarity of your message and maximize the amount of people that view the entire video.
However, the length of the video will be determined by the scope of the message that it is trying to convey.
To illustrate this point we will look at two different video projects and discuss their proper length.
“This is What I do” Video
Imagine a video that is created for a small, local accounting firm. The intent of the video is to inform clients of the good reputation of the firm, show some customer testimonials and otherwise convince potential clients to do business with their accounting practice.
This video should be a “snack” and should be kept somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 to 5 minutes. The benefits of doing business with this firm should be emphasized quickly and in an interesting manner. The main goal of this video is to inspire contact with the accounting firm that could lead to a new client acquisition.
Many videos with this goal in mind make the mistake of getting too specific about the products or services themselves and lose their audience early in the video.
“How To” Video
This example video from the same accounting firm explains how to use Quickbooks to properly account for contract workers in your small business book keeping.
When creating videos of this nature, your audience is expecting to understand something when they are finished viewing the videos. As a result, the length of the video will be determined by the scope of the subject matter you are teaching.
However, when creating training video on large topics you should consider narrowing the scope to keep the size of the “entree” as small as possible.
If you are happy with the scope and your video is going to exceed the 10 minute mark, consider breaking these videos into a series of videos. You Tube and other video sharing sites have length limits on their video (You Tube is 10 minutes) so it makes sense to break up your videos if you plan on marketing your video through these sites.
It also makes sense to break up your video from an audience standpoint. Your audience will have a difficult time staying focused on anything that exceeds 15 minutes in length. Your video will also be more effective if each video in the series is a “snack” or “light entree” that has a specific purpose.
Remember that the idea is for your audience to consume your video snack or entree. Keep your video as focused as possible to ensure good digestion.
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Filed Under: Online Video
