If it’s produced well the answer is probably yes but there are a few things to consider before you go ahead with your first big budget Hollywood production.
 
I’m a big fan of video content on the web because it’s a great way to communicate lots of information and it doesn’t require any effort on the part of the viewer. Very few of the visitors to your website will take the time to carefully read long pages of text and understand the content. At best they will skim over the homepage in order to get the gist of whether they’ve arrived at the right place and if you’re offering what they’re looking for. It often pays to be repetitive with key messages in your copy and to use them in headings and bullet points. But what if you have a really complex message to get across that takes paragraph after paragraph of wordy copy to deliver? The answer could be a well executed video.
 

Often the value of a video over text or graphical content is obvious. For example; a complex procedure such as stripping down and rebuilding an Apple iPhone is much easier to demonstrate on video than to describe in words. Search on YouTube and you’ll find thousands of video demonstrations of almost any procedure you can imagine.
 
Sometimes the value of video content is less obvious. It can allow you to provide your website visitors with a taste of the culture and personality of your business. It can communicate the enthusiasm and individual skills of your employees, and in the case of testimonials from your clients, a video clip really is worth a thousand words. However, a badly executed video, even on a great website, can have completely the opposite effect. It can devalue your message and it can make you and your business look shoddy and unprofessional. Just because it’s being delivered on the web in a low bandwidth format doesn’t automatically mean that you can get away with a camcorder and Julie off reception to hold it steady!
 
Here are few pointers on putting a simple presenter style video on your website:
 
Get a professional camera man – if you want it to look professional you need a professional cameraman with the right video kit and lighting
 
Write a script – no matter how confident you are at presenting write a script and don’t try and wing it. Very few people can do it well and if you make a mistake in the middle of your presentation it’s unlikely you will say it exactly the same on a second take so it can’t be hidden with an edit.
 
Use autocue – if you’re delivering a piece to camera you need autocue. I’ve seen the most confident of people go blank and fall to pieces in front of a camera when they try to do it from memory. Don’t underestimate the pressure of staring into a lens a few feet from your face!
 
Keep it short – Not just because you don’t want your viewers to get bored. Even with the latest compression technology video files are big and will use a lot of bandwidth. Bandwidth costs money.
 
Location, location, location – choose a clutter free environment for your presentation so the viewers eye doesn’t begin to wander. If you don’t have anywhere suitable shoot it on green screen and drop a background in at the edit.
 
Get a professional edit – If it’s a very simple piece to camera you can probably get away without one but if it’s more any more adventurous you’ll ruin the end result if it’s not edited professionally.
 
Consider how and where it will be displayed on your web page and at what size before you shoot it. Does it need to fit in with the colour scheme of the site? Does the presenter need to wear the right coloured shirt?
 
What format does the final video need to be in so it has the best chance of being viewed by the target audience? There are many alternatives and the wrong choice could mean a lot less viewers.
 
Video files are big! They use a lot of bandwidth and if they’re hosted on the same server as your website relatively few simultaneous views could adversely affect the performance of your website or, worse still, make it completely grind to a halt. We host our clients’ video content on a dedicated streaming video server.
 
If you’d like to get good quality video content on your website give me a ring on: 0161 2145214 and ask for Tony