The Internet is not television. The Internet is not radio, or cinema. The main difference between these traditional mediums and online is that with the former the viewing experience is largely passive. In the latter it’s active – extremely so. And this greatly influences the formatting of video content for online distribution.
Apart from the remote control (and maybe a time shifting Hard Disc Drive recorder) there’s no control that you, as an audience, have over the supply of content on your TV screen. Yes, you can fast forward over the ads, and perhaps spool around some recorded content but largely, you just have to sit there and suck it up however the programme producers, and network schedulers decide they want to give it to you. Same on radio, and cinema.
Online it’s very different. You navigate your own way around your entertainment and information channels via hundreds of mouse clicks per day. And it’s the same with all your video viewers. Unless they’re settling in with a nice hot cup of chocolate to watch a programme replay or a movie, your website visitors are most likely visiting your pages in amongst 101 other things they’re also doing at the same time.
This means they DON’T HAVE TIME to sit and watch more than probably 60-seconds of your video. TechNewsWord report that longer form video is gaining in attraction amongst older audiences for catching up on the news, or missed TV episodes. But your businesses web pages?? – unless it’s extraordinarily riveting content (unlikely for most company videos) your viewers are going to want to see you get to the point really quickly.
Think 30 to 60-seconds (tops!) It’s what is popularly called ‘snack media’.
If you’ve got a long and involved story to tell break it up into bite-sized chunks. Let your viewers navigate around your video chapters in their own way. They’re very used to doing that in all their other online experiences – why should video be any different?
I think too many video producers get carried away with the importance of their videos and believe that everyone else will find them just as riveting as they do. Online viewing should not, in my opinion, be regarded as a linear viewing environment with clearly defined beginnings and ends. Your viewers will decide what they watch, when they watch it, and indeed, if they’ll watch it at all.
Beware – that mouse in their hand is far more powerful than any TV remote control. Not only does it offer a choice of millions of viewing channels but any one of them can form a relationship with a viewer by enticing them deeper into a website.
Many organisations lose potential clients to competitor sites because they didn’t capture their attention well enough in the first few seconds. An overly long and tedious video could be what bounces your potential customers off to form transaction relationships with your competitors.
Sometimes you might need longer length videos to build an emotion. This is certainly the case with movies, short films and TV programmes. Some demonstrations require long format video to see a process run in its entirety. But ordinarily, videos created to promote and create interest about company products and services should be short, punchy, and to- the-point.
What do you think is the optimum length of video for your website? Have you seen videos get their message across effectively in 60-seconds or less? What’s the maximum time you have in your day for watching videos?
My advice – don’t bore the pants off your website visitors. Make your videos short and focused and keep ‘em coming back for more.
Next time I want to look at the use of music in your video. Again, thanks for reading.
Blu Steven.
