How You’re Killing Your Video Content Without Knowing It

by Kim Niemi

I came across a video the other day – posted in a LinkedIn discussion group, with a nice leading question that got me to click. Good job to that video poster! They got me! And then two seconds later they lost me. What went wrong? 

​The video was 18 minutes long. And I didn’t have 18 minutes just then. So I clicked away. I know what you’re thinking: Bookmark the thing and watch it later! Except I already have 9000 things bookmarked to read, listen to, or watch later. And when I scroll through the endless list of bookmarks, it’s hard to remember what was what, or why I cared in the first place.

Don’t worry, I never bring up a problem without offering a solution.  

Long videos need a trailer. A preview. Just like a 2-hour movie gets a 3-minute trailer at the movies, your 18-minute or hour-long video needs a teaser to draw me in and make me DETERMINED to remember to watch it later.

It’s so easy to do this! Here’s how:

• As you’re shooting your full-length video, set aside a few minutes to record a “plug” – a one to two minute commercial for your video that tells viewers what you’ll be talking about and why they should tune in
• No matter which network is hosting your full-length video – YouTube for example – use all your video options to get the word out. Record short plugs using Vine, Instagram, etc.
• Include a link to the full video in your trailer
• Include a link to your YouTube channel or Vine account, etc. in the trailer as well – if viewers can’t watch right away, they can subscribe to your channel and find ALL your videos later

And of course, make sure your video and trailer follow general video best practices for good lighting, sound, etc. Share the link to the trailer on social media, and let people click through to the full-length video from there if they have time, or to bookmark to watch later – now that their interest is piqued.

The Internet is a speedy place. With so much to absorb, anything requiring a long attention span is likely to be passed over – unless you can catch the reader’s or viewer’s interest immediately and make them want more. Using short video trailers can do that.

Have a video promo tip of your own? Tweet me about it!

IMAGE CREDIT: IDREAMLIKECRAZY