The Power of Video

November 9, 2017

By Shoynear Morrison

With the digital shift in full effect, how do we as communicators continue to engage our audience? How do we truly compete with social media like Facebook and YouTube with the common sayings, “print is dead” and “nobody reads anymore” circulating in our industry?

As marketers and communications professionals, the greatest way to transition into the digital realm is by creating videos for your audience to consume. With the attention span of our audience shrinking below the level of a gold fish, showcasing content through visual means is the best way to demand attention.

Watching a video can be effortless in comparison to reading an article since it requires less from a viewer than it would from a reader. Think about it. Asking your audience to read a 500-word article is a huge commitment: the probability of every person who reads your opening paragraph making it to your closing is highly unlikely.

I’m not saying we should ask our audience to think less. However, we should make it easier and faster for them to understand the concepts we’re trying to portray.

So how do you create a captivating video? In the beginning, don’t let the reality of a small budget discourage you from reinventing your content. When transitioning from writing to video production, I believe it’s about quantity. Make as many videos as you can, about topics you think are important to your organization or our industry. The content you produce will serve as your quality control.

Now, just because you’ve caught your viewers attention through a video doesn’t mean they will stay to watch the entire compilation. Understanding that you can lose the attention of your viewer with a lengthy video is important for propelling your content forward.

This brings me the power of the cut. Making your clips short with smooth transitions is imperative for keeping your audience engaged. Furthermore, making your scenes tight and your message concise will help reduce the timeframe of your videos. If a video clip drags on for too long, it can easily provoke your viewer to break their concentration.

How many times have you checked the length of a video before you’ve played it? If it’s short then you’ll watch it right away. If it’s five minutes or longer than you’ll save it for later. Overall, as communicators we’re fighting for our viewers’ time and attention.

Therefore, the last thing you want is for your audience to feel that your content is a chore they can postpone for later. Keeping your videos under three minutes will help maintain your contents’ attraction.

Once you’ve managed to create consistent videos, it’s time to elevate your content through the power of design. This is when quality becomes important because now you are trying to impress your audience. By implementing appealing designs with captivating transitions, your videos will start to generate shares and recommendations.

A well-designed video can start from a thought-provoking opening scene to displaying the behind-the-scenes production. Through design you can incorporate your company’s brand and ultimately express your creativity.

Our content will always compete against trending videos on YouTube and Facebook. However, by creating them and then designing them in a way that touches our viewers, we will have a fighting chance in the digital realm.

Shoynear Morrison is Communications Coordinator, Sonepar Canada; shoynear.morrison@sonepar.ca.