Web pundits are predicting continuing growth in Web video. Cisco is reporting that by 2017, video will account for 69% of all Web traffic. With that in mind, here is a round-up of web video how-to advice for producing effective video:
1) Light your shot—dark videos don’t invite eyes
2) Get the best sound you can—your viewers are likely listening through headphones
3) Use a tripod for Pete’s sake!!—You want to make visitors stick, not get sick
4) Script and plan your story before you shoot—planning is what makes a video interesting and worth the viewers’ time (which is harder to earn and even harder to keep)
5) Shorter is better—think TV commercial not TV show, 30 seconds is better than 30 minutes
6) Talking heads are boring—get other shots and work them into your story
7) Don’t forget Web video needs the written word—when you post on YouTube, Facebook, even your own site, you will need a title, brief description, and keywords.
8) Post and link and post and link and post and link—get your video in front as many people as possible and link back to your site; it is about maximizing exposure and maximizing traffic
More detailed web video how-to advice from previous posts:
Good enough video–you don’t need to be an a cinematographer to be effective
How Web video differs from TV
Video scripting–six keys to script writing
Ideas for Web video
And web video a series from Fortune 500 corporate executive speech coach Kayla Schwartz:
Web video how-to: Preparing your message
Web video how-to: Thinking about your delivery
Web video how-to: Visual presentation