September 2009 – Online Insights: Video

Make Your Online Video Shine

By Timothy R. Hawthorne

The online video arena has achieved official “cluttered” status, with companies across all industries uploading moving pictures to the web at lightning speed. Some get it right; others don’t.

Companies like Quiksilver, with its weekly international surf/skate/snow­boarding rock star videos; The Home Depot, through a lineup of do-it-yourself home repair and renovation shows; and NikeFootball, whose online campaigns includes fanatical British soccer hooligan clips are some of the best and brightest in the field, consistently proving the value of creative, targeted online video.

But far too many companies miss the boat entirely by throwing poorly produced, non-targeted material on sites like YouTube, hoping that it will stick. Don’t be one of those companies. Instead, consider these eight tips to make sure your company’s online videos have an impact:

Demonstrate a Product or Service
Give customers a reason to watch and react to your online videos by showing them how to tackle a complex home-improvement project (step-by-step) or how to spot antiques whose value will increase over time. Limit these how-to videos to three to five minutes in length, advises Rodger Roeser, president at Cincinnati-based public relations consultancy Eisen Management Group, Inc. “Make them any longer,” he says, “and your customers will lose interest and move on to another site.”

Use the “Man on the Street” Approach
Did you recently put up a new display in a store, launch the latest product line or begin selling a delicious new type of healthy snack food? Get out your video camera and recruit a few customers or passers-by to react to the most recent addition. “Go around and capture their reactions,” says Roeser, who has used the strategy successfully with various restaurant and retail clients. “This is your chance to create entertaining, engaging video content that customers don’t usually get to see.”

Maximize Video Effects
Real estate agents and large retailers have already discovered the value of the “walk-on” website spokesperson (that tiny person that pops up and talks to you when you pull up their websites). Now it’s your turn. “The walk-on video effect is a great way to add uniqueness to your site and ‘speak’ to your visitors as they browse,” says web marketing guru Ed Taylor, founder of Ashland, Ore.-based Internet Marketing Group.

Use Pop-Up Videos:
Design your company’s website in a way that “triggers” individual videos to pop up when a customer clicks on a specific link. If you’re selling apparel, for example, use a pop-up video to show what specific outfits actually look like on live models. “This is a great way to give someone a tour of your product or service via a fast-loading web video demo,” says Taylor.

Re-create Yourself
If the idea of getting in front of the camera doesn’t appeal to you, or if the concept doesn’t fit well with your product line or marketing goals, a good alternative is to create video out of a PowerPoint presentation. A program like Camtasia Studio will do the job quickly and affordably. “This software will record everything that happens on your computer screen,” says Taylor, “from the movements of your mouse to your voice (when connected to a microphone).”

Use the Videos as “Bait”
Online video watchers are a fickle bunch that are more likely to move on to another clip than to research more information about the one just viewed. Make it easier for them by mentioning your firm’s website, Facebook handle or blog–preferably at the beginning and the end of the clip–and invite them to learn more about your company and its offerings.

Upload to Popular Sites (Not Just YouTube)
YouTube is still all the rage these days, but you’ll also want to check out Google and Yahoo’s video sites, both of which are gaining in popularity. “Uploading to these sites gives your product additional, free publicity,” says Taylor. “You can even use those websites to host your video for you, and link to it through your website (thus saving yourself the cost of additional bandwidth).”

Publish Regularly
Companies like Quiksilver and The Home Depot already know that their online visitors want fresh content on a regular basis. You needn’t stick to a strict daily, weekly or even monthly schedule, but you also don’t want too much time to lapse between videos. Viewers will lose interest and move on to one of the million other websites that does post fresh video. A good strategy is to create a few videos at once on relevant topics, and then post them on a regular basis throughout the month or year.

Finally, don’t rely on the “post it and they will come” philosophy, because we all know that doesn’t work in today’s Web 2.0 world. Once you’ve uploaded your video, you’ll want to post it in multiple places and promote it through your website, blog, e-mail newsletters, marketing materials and anywhere else you can think of.

Follow the steps outlined in this article and it won’t be long before you’re reaping the results of your online video efforts.

Timothy R. Hawthorne is founder of Hawthorne Direct, a full-service DRTV, print, mail and digital ad agency. He has 36 years’ experience in television production, writing and direction and is a cum laude Harvard graduate.