So let's talk Quality web video. Quality video is actually very easy to talk about. But it's not so easy to define. Mainly because “Quality” is subjective. My Ferrari may be your Ford. But I think that every quality video is composed of the same elements. And it's more than resolution and megapixels. It’s the story presented that keeps us interested, the artistic look of the video, the pacing of the editing, the creative lighting, the clear audio, and the scene composition. So I'm going to go out on a limb and set the definition of quality web video.
Qual•it•y Web Vid•e•o – noun
Anything that looks professional, presents you and your
company in a positive light, captures the viewer's interest, and generates the desired
viewer response.
Then there is the “Wow” factor or “The Hollywood Effect.” If you are trendy you'll call it “sexy,” as in “that shot where the singer morphs into a robot is sooo sexy.” The intensity of the “Wow” factor will vary based on your product or service, your target markets, and your competition. The more upscale your product or market, the more "Wow" you'll need. Likewise, if your competition's web video looks great, well, time to step up or settle for seconds.
A well produced video can quickly get your potential customer's interest and help them along the sales cycle. Of course the opposite is also true, so why is there so much bad video invading cyberspace?
One word: Budget.
The main reason businesses breed bad video is to save costs. In my opinion that is not a very business-smart or professional answer to the problem. While quality video does cost more due to the extra TLC it receives, it doesn't have to be extremely expensive.
So how to get your cake and eat it too? Create a video that will allow you to have Quality within your budget. This will likely mean you'll have to scale back or be willing to take the video in a different direction than you first envisioned. Always keep in mind that your video is a marketing tool. It’s only purpose is to get people to do business with you. A simple, Quality video will do more for your business than an extravagent bad one.
Once you have rethought your video the question now is “Do I hire professionals or DIY?” Does DIY save you money? If you are already a video rock star then YES! If you are a video garage band, roadie, or a wannabe, first ask yourself “How much is my time worth?” With all the time you spend making your video (and yes, you will spend a lot more time than you expect) what else could you have accomplished for your business? Is that time and money invested worth what will probably be a mediocre result? Consider the difference in cost to produce a Quality video against the cost of lost sales due to a bad video.
And speaking of costs, the good news is it can be spread across multiple marketing avenues. The main cost is in the original production. Creating different formats of the final master is peanuts. So go ahead and put it on your website, all your favorite social media and video sites, show it at your trade show, make a DVD. Heck, make a Blu-ray! Use analytics to track how people view it to further refine your marketing.
You created this marketing tool, now it's time it paid you back.
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