Surely, we can all remember the days of MTV and Friday Night Videos, when music videos were in their prime. For those a little younger and unfamiliar, MTV was the Youtube of the Gen X generation. Back in the 90s, any reputable music artist had a 3-5 minute music video that visually represented the lyrics. Each week, we Gen Xers would eagerly await and sit peering at the television to watch about 10 videos in 30 minutes. 

I bring all this up for one reason…video consumption has changed BIG TIME! Now, in a 30-minute period, you have options. You can watch 30 videos on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook,  10 videos on YouTube, or an episode of some of your favorite television series on Hulu or Netflix. This leads me to an imperative question for anyone looking to promote their brand, how long should a video be, let’s all be honest, our attention spans are dwindling. 

Read on for some guidelines to help minimize a lackluster number of video views. 

Consider Your Content

I know you know this. In order to ensure anyone is looking at your video, especially beyond 1 second, ok, maybe 3 seconds,  you have to be offering something interesting. These days everything has to be incredibly compelling to immediately stand out. Think interesting faces, 3D pictures, amazing colors, important information, and engaging music. 

When you are ready to create your next video, consider the content you are looking to release. Imagine being your audience and determining how your content will relate to them. If scripted, make it direct. If visual, make it. You have to get your audience from point A, the beginning of your video, to point B, which should be wherever your video CTA is. Most likely, your CTA is not at the beginning of the video!

Authenticity and quality storytelling that evolves with the times and will keep people engaged enough to watch an entire video. Be confident in your story. 

Who Is Your Audience?

I’m sure you are sick of considering this inevitable detail. I get it. This, my friends, is where it all comes together. Where everything you produce can make or break your video.  If you have already determined who your audience is and are sure they haven’t changed, settle in and get to the creative part of your video project. If you are in the beginning phase of discovering your target audience take a look at how to create a video for your target audience. 

Where Will Your Video Be?

No platform is the same, so it is important to examine your target audience and where you should place your new video content. This is a great opportunity to get into data to make a decision. Sprout Social has a great breakdown of social media demographics based on social platforms. Just note you shouldn’t be limiting yourself to just the social broadcasting of your video. Your website, blogs, landing pages, and email campaigns need compelling content and branding. Be prepared to create content specifically for your chosen video placement. Learn more about the best video length for various platforms. 

What Is Your Objective?

Your objective will drive all of the above – your target audience, the platform(s) you choose to use, and the content that needs to be shared. 

Are you wanting to:

  • increase brand awareness?
  • Increase website traffic? 
  • Increase video views for retargeting purposes? 
  • Increase leads by the clicks coming from the link in your video? 
  • Explain a product’s purpose? 
  • Drive donations? 

Whatever your video objective is, jot this down and compile a content strategy around your goals so you can gather the best video content to regulate your success. 

You should be extremely conscious of video length, but valuable content should be the priority to trump video length concerns. There is a time and a place for everything; video content is no different. As you create your video content, the story, purpose, and audience should be at the forefront of your strategy. Not to mention, partnering with a team of video professionals to assist you with the creative process will make your video seamless and purposeful. 

From conception to delivery, we love this video stuff and can talk about it all day long. To learn more about Bottle Rocket Media and what we can do for your brand story, connect with us for your video production services.