5 Tips for Making An Overview Video

5 Tips for Making An Overview Video

Every business needs to have an overview video. This blog post is going to first, tell you why, and then go over five things that make for an effective overview video.

And last, but not least, we’ll review the different ways you can share the same overview video content, so it can perform double, triple, quadruple-duty!

What is an Overview Video?

An overview video is a high-level introduction to your business. These types of videos are still an important core piece of content, and having an overview video strategically placed on your website and social media platforms offers great advantages to businesses today:

Having a video on your home page makes it at least 53% more likely for your site to show up on page 1 of search engine results.

The average site visitor spends 88% more time on a site with video.

A Facebook video receives, on average, 135% more organic reach than a photo.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to leveraging a well-produced, engaging and effective overview video. Now let’s talk about what makes an overview video engaging and effective…

1. Keep it Short

An overview is meant to introduce your company, and can include:

  • your products
  • services
  • history
  • mission
  • team or leadership
  • ways in which you excel or stand out from your competitors
  • and much more.

But, you don’t want to cram everything all in one video. It’s ideal to keep this video under 2 minutes. Select 2-3 of these points, and focus on what’s most important to your first-time site visitors.

Remember – you don’t need to share everything up front all at once. In fact, that’s just impossible! People can only take in so much information and the more room they have to breathe and explore, the better their experience on your site will be.

2. Get to the point

When personal or business video first became more available and feasible, it was common for it to emulate film, Hollywood movie styles or documentaries, and hence length was not so much an issue.

But, times have changed! Video content is everywhere and most of it is viewed on mobile. Long, drawn out introductions can be the kiss of death when it comes to modern marketing.

In a social media feed, you have less than 1.7 seconds grab a viewers attention, and once someone’s watching your video you have less than about 3. Eliminate long introductions with brand logos and cut right to interesting visuals or important on-screen text.

3. Leverage the first 10 seconds

65% of people who watched the first 3 seconds of a video, go on to watch the first 10 seconds, on average. So be sure to deliver your most important message to prospective customers within that 10 seconds.

  • Some important messages that can capture attention in under 10 seconds:
  • There’s a danger or risk to the viewer that they don’t know about or fully understand.
  • There’s a limited time to get involved, or reap savings or other benefits.
  • There’s something funny, inspiring or eye-opening you have to share.

4. Drive them to a next destination

Your video should leave viewers with a next destination in mind – ideally one that is on your website that allows them to learn more or take action.

Once they’ve found you and gotten a taste of what you’re about from your overview video (as well as your home or social media page), where would they go next? The next stop in their customer journey could be:

  • Product details or pricing
  • Logistical details or event dates
  • Testimonials or reviews
  • Industry certifications or standards

Consider this when creating your overview video. Be sure to leave off with a call-to-action to encourage them to visit the next destination on your site.

5. Multi-purpose Your Overview Content

An excellent rule to follow with regard to video content is to mix it up and tailor it to whatever platform it may be viewed on. As long as your content is being filmed and edited, you may as well create multiple video deliverables that are effective on different platforms.

This can be as simple as producing two different edits of your overview video:

  • A full-length edit (about 60 seconds) to host on YouTube and your website.
  • A micro-content edit (under 15 seconds) to upload to Facebook and YouTube or run as an online video ad that drives viewer traffic to your website – where they can obviously see more!

These two videos can be used in a number of ways, such as:

  • Send the shorter video out to new contacts as a first introduction.
  • Use a 30-second version as a TV commercial.
  • Use the longer video at a tradeshow, meeting or presentation.
  • Send the longer video to recruits or new hires.
  • and more.

Every business can get started with video content by creating an overview video and a strategy for multiple ways of using the filmed footage.

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