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Every year we see businesses everywhere battling it out on the billboards, posters, and the bus shelters of cities. Then there is the throng of adverts on TV interrupting a broadcast of your favourite edition of Blankety Blank. If there is a great ad among these you might miss it due to the obligatory flicking to other channels that has become a prominent habit during ad breaks. So, where can you find an audience who actually wants to see and hear about your product? Cue (stage left or right, it doesn’t matter really) online video marketing. One of our resident film makers Luke Kelly -Tribeca shortlisted no less, see more about that here - tells us why you will find an audience that will engage more with your product or service through the use of an online video campaigns. He also gives us some exclusive tips on what type of filming options are available and how to ensure your audience doesn’t get bored.

Interviewer: Why is video a good way to market a business?

Luke: Obviously, video has always been important to market any business, just think about how much money is poured into television advertising and film trailers. This is because video is a more immersive and expressive medium than any other, in my opinion. Using both audio and video, film can tell a story faster and more comprehensively than radio, text or images alone. Now, as internet speeds have increased, video has become integral to marketing a business online and video is becoming more and more commonplace online. Social Media platformYouTube is now the second most popular online search engine behind Google, and more than sixty hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute, or to put it another way, an hour of video every second. That number, I believe, will increase in no small part due to the huge pressure on businesses to use video as a marketing tool. Why is video a good way to market a business? In three words – because it works.

Interviewer: What kinds of businesses should consider using video to promote themselves?

Luke: Any business can use video to market themselves. The ‘Startup Video’ has recently been raised to level of an artform unto itself, and is now being used by other businesses besides small tech startups. The ‘Startup Video’ aims to hit a number of main points for consumers in a short space of time:

What does this company do?

Why are you better than the competition?

What is the call to action?

Alongside these points, the video should showcase the style and personality of the company. One of my favourite startup videos is that of Dollar Shave Club, which went viral earlier this year. This video establishes the mission of the company, why it’s better than its competitors, and gives the viewer a lot of great laughs along the way. The final ten seconds of the video establishes the strong call to action, asking ‘isn’t it about time?’ All of this is wrapped up neatly in just over a minute and a half, which is an optimum duration for online video. Dollar Shave Club offers a prime example of how the startup video should be done. The popularity of these kinds of videos recently led to the establishment of startup-videos.com to showcase the best of startup videos, which is definitely worth a look if you’re thinking of using video for your business.

Interviewer: How effective are ‘how-to’ videos in establishing a business’ authority in a certain area?

Luke: How to videos can help to a certain extent, although they’re not for everyone. Businesses choosing to go down this road have to strike a balance between showing off their expertise and not giving away their best techniques or ideas. As a certain staff member in Lucidity is fond of saying, you don’t want to ‘give away the farm’ trying to sell yourself.

Here's one I made earlier: 'How to' videos might be a good way to showcase your business' authority

Interviewer: Which is better for a business in terms of what type of video to make- animation or live action?

Luke: In my experience, they are very different skillsets, but the different styles of video can compliment one another quite well. Animation is particularly useful for explaining and breaking down complex systems or business models, whereas live action can give viewers a much more personal window onto a business. Both can work well for different situations.

Interviewer: You don’t want your business bored or doing the ‘flicking’ thing. What is the optimum duration a video should have to ensure its audience is hooked but also informed?

Luke: A good time to aim for is usually between one and two minutes. Online video viewers are used to short, to-the-point videos for the most part, and many tend to switch off or lose attention after that point. Some may not even bother with your video if it’s going to take up more than two minutes of their time. That may sound ridiculous to say out loud, but it’s very true. It’s worth bearing in mind too that if it takes you in excess of two minutes to get your message across, is it too complicated? Looking back at Dollar Shave Club, that message was very simple, clear and to-the-point. You may want to consider simplifying your message if it’s over-long or too complicated to be grasped quickly. Forget the specifics for your initial pitch, imagine that everyone you’re talking to is in a hurry and get your message out there.

Are you thinking about using video advertisements online to promote your business? Talk to our creative and professional digital video team today.