In a recent study web video (or Digital Media)has become finally taken over television as the more popular video source. In doing so many companies are looking for ways to increase their web presence via video. The down side is that many of the videos are long and boring. How do you know how long to make a video? Simply forget about the length, and worry about content. Make sure you keep the idea of what am you trying to show as your first priority, then secondly keep it entertaining, and if those fail you can follow the guide below.
Four types of videos and their recommended lengths
- Product demonstration.
Depending on how difficult it is to use a product, these videos will vary in length. If youre launching a new product, your video will be longer. If you are shooting for a client and the goal is to showcase a new product then the video would be longer then if the customer is already an avid user. The length will be determined by the subject matter so if you can deliver your messaging in less than a minute go for it, but make sure not to leave any steps out of the demo. Take as much time as it needs to show case all the benefits. You should keep one thought in mind during editing, Get in, and Get out! Don't go longer then needed to highlight the product, and you should be fine. The video will be fine as long as it is interesting, you can go for whatever length you need.
- Educational videos.
These are intended to teach viewers about how to use a piece of software, or to showcase yours skills as an expert on a certain subject. This educational material could be one video, running 5 to 15 minutes, or a series of shorter videos. The point is to educate, and inform. If you can do this in one video under 15 minutes by all means do so, but if you have an hour or two presentation; a series of shorter video would be best. If you go for a series of shorter videos consider the subject matter when deciding what to break apart from the whole piece.
- Nonprofit Video.
This one is tricky, because you want to showcase a great story while not boring the viewer. If the piece is a moving doc on the live touched by the nonprofit then I would try to tell the whole story in under 15. For a video describing the nonprofit and its work with out having a moving story, a 5- to 7-minute video can work really well.
- Lead generation.
Consider this your commercial spot for the web, the goal of a lead generating video is just that, lead generation. Their number one purpose is not to showcase, or demonstrate something, but to make you pick up the phone or fill out the form. You really need to find the motivator in the piece and use that to make it a good video. Making it motivating is very important because in reality you have under a minute to get them on baird with your cause.
So go out and make videos, but remember to make then interesting enough to watch and make them good enough to share. So don't worry about the length, if its fun to watch or interesting content people will pay attention! What videos have seen that fit into these rules?
