9 Concerns to Consider When Creating a Video for the Web

Creating a video is a smart way to engage people and drive them to your website or introduce them to your brand. The return on investment (ROI) of video marketing is staggering. Marketers who utilize video receive 66 percent more leads and increase brand recognition by about 54 percent.

However, creating a video isn’t as easy as it sounds. The last thing you want to do is leave consumers with a negative impression because of lack of quality or other video issues. There are some things you need to consider carefully when creating a video for online marketing.

1. Value of the Video

While videos are meant to entertain, you also need to make sure your video has a purpose. What is the unique selling proposition (USP) your video brings to the table? If you don’t know the purpose for your video, then it is far less likely your video will make any noticeable difference for your company.

Take the time to figure out what you want to accomplish with your videos before you create one. This will allow you to hire the best person possible to create that video as well as ensuring you don’t waste time or effort.

2. Cost

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If you create a professional quality video, the cost can add up quickly. For a professional video, expect to pay a minimum of $1500. While you can buy equipment, learn production techniques and create an amateur video, you’ll still have costs. You’ll need either a nice video camera or a smartphone with a high-resolution camera.

Of course, you might already have these items in your life and utilize them for your business, but then again you might have to purchase these items. Costs vary widely depending on who is involved in creating the video, background elements, professionals, such as actors and the equipment utilized.

3. Hearing Loss

Listening to the same sounds over and over again, especially high-pitched or loud noises, can damage your hearing over time. Any sound over 85 decibels (dBA) could damage your hearing. These types of sounds include sirens and music.

Protect your hearing — avoid listening to sounds for long periods of time and reduce the volume on your computer.

4. Originality

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Is your video original? There are over 232 million video viewers in the United States alone, so you can imagine how many videos are uploaded each week. You compete against a lot of videos on sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo. If your video isn’t original, it will languish in cyberspace instead of getting shares and views.

Take time to look at other videos within your industry and figure out what elements are missing. What do your competitors do well? How can you create a video even better than theirs?

5. Bandwidth Issues

Think carefully before uploading a video directly to your website. There are many issues you can run into by doing so, including the pull on your server’s bandwidth as people stream that video. If your traffic sees a sudden uptick, you might wind up paying more for bandwidth or crashing your servers. You might also run into playing errors, depending on what platform you use.

A much smarter way to share a video is to upload it to a video streaming site already equipped to handle higher traffic and streaming. You then simply embed the video on your website. An added bonus is that you reach the users on that platform as well.

6. Length of Video

Experts recommend getting to the main point of your video within eight seconds. While some types of videos require a longer playing time to show how to complete a task, you should still outline your main idea rather quickly.

Newbies have a tendency to get chatty and introduce themselves or go into where the idea for the company came from. This wastes precious time, and impatient Internet users will bounce away. Instead, keep your greeting very short and then go right into the message. “Hi, my name is John Doe, CEO of ABC Company. Today, I am going to show you how to save $10,000 a year.”

7. Script

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Even if you don’t stick to it 100 percent, go ahead and write out a script. This allows you to make sure you hit on the main points and present the intended USP for the video. A script also allows you to create a storyboard that will drive the format of your video.

While you can certainly write a script on your own, you should also have a professional look it over. You might have missed important marketing points you need to touch on. Perhaps you forgot to add a call to action (CTA) at the end of the video. A professional can easily spot anything missing before filming begins.

8. Time Allowance

Filming tends to take much longer than you think it will, so allow plenty of time to complete the process. Remember that even after you film the elements for your video, you’ll need time for editing and production of the video. Editing can take hours as the video editor meshes everything together in the perfect combination of elements.

Overestimate how much time you’ll need to complete the video. Build in extra days in case you need to go back and re-film any elements. You should also allow extra time if you use contractors for parts of the process. There are times when they do not meet deadlines and will put you behind on your own schedule.

9. Marketing Plan

Create a marketing plan to get the word out about your video. Make sure it’s viewed by your target audience. Marketing might include advertising on Facebook and Google, sending a copy in your newsletter and posting on your website.

The more places you can add your video, the more people will see it. You also should team up with influencers in your industry and see if they’d share your video on their social media pages.

Overcome Concerns for Online Videos

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Although there are some basic concerns to keep in mind when creating a video for the web, there are also many advantages to creating videos for your business. A video is another form of content that better engages your site visitors and allows you to present the exact message you want. You’ll find with a little effort that the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.