Going Viral. Short, sharp and sweet
Truth is everybody's selling one thing or the other, you can't enjoy an ad free page on the internet anymore, more than 30% of screen real estate has gone to Google ad, with sidebars, banners, pop up screens and sort fighting for your valued attention. That's the world we now live in.
Remember how you can't stand 5 seconds of those YouTube adverts that get in the way before you can view the video you searched for? You just can't wait to click 'Skip'. It might interest you to know that while you find them annoying, they have become an invaluable marketing tool for small and medium scale businesses even big corporations. While you still focus on traditional offline marketing, technology has opened up more business opportunities, giving people access to contacts and businesses they never thought they could engage. The online market is inexhaustible and smart businesses are making major sales while you still run your business the usual way.
Attention more than any time in history is now greatly priced, if I'm giving you a fraction of my attention you owe me value in exchange before I move on to something else.
So here's where businesses lose it, they violate the cardinal rule of video marketing, which is ‘keep it short, sharp and sweet' yes brevity is the name of the game.
If your story turns into a documentary of some sort you lose me, if your message is becoming far fetched you lose me, if your story isn't funny, interesting and enjoyable you lose me, and no matter what your message is, it's gone down the list of never to be remembered videos.
So here's where businesses lose it, they violate the cardinal rule of video marketing, which is ‘keep it short, sharp and sweet' yes brevity is the name of the game.
If your story turns into a documentary of some sort you lose me, if your message is becoming far fetched you lose me, if your story isn't funny, interesting and enjoyable you lose me, and no matter what your message is, it's gone down the list of never to be remembered videos.
Getting it right is just a matter of being creative, the ultimate question to ask before you invest in a viral video is -how can you project your brand in an interesting yet brief way without boring the heck out of people? Here are some pointers that can get you that soft spot in your potential client’s heart.
Brevity: Off course you’re emotional about your business and there’s always a whole lot you’ll want to say but seriously nobody cares how you fared during the Jurassic age. So get to it and get to it fast. Your first consideration should be the length of your video, at this point it’s safer to have another draft of your short draft. It’s always a bore working with clients who find it hard to let go, every word of their story must come in, I find it a lot easier cutting down than argue how irrelevant a client's story is. So thread carefully with a paying client.
Humour: You can't go wrong with humour, there’s a great chance you’ll retain people if your content is funny. Making people laugh just doesn’t guarantee you their time, it also endears them to your brand but off course you’re a business and you don’t want to be goofing around. So use humour right and use it well.
Treatment/Style: So you have a script, how you approach it is another question to consider, you can either shoot with a camera or look to other film/video making techniques. The look and feel is up to you. 2d explainer videos are still a thing, making a 3D animated video is also cool but the budget might be on the high side. Consider your script and purse before deciding on your approach.
Budget: Your production budget is one thing, broadcasting it through Youtube, Facebook and other pay per click facilities will cost you too, depending on your reach or niche market. So you need to get the figures right before embarking on this sort of project. Things are getting easier by the day, a good camera phone shoots HD (1280x720 pixels) that should get you good videos, with the help of a few friends you can put something up in no time. A handsome budget can get you the services of a creative agency, which takes the whole production hassle off you and you get that professional feel from scripting to delivery.
Platform: Each platform has its peculiarities. As you set out you have to decide which of the online platforms you’re going for. For instance Instagram allows only 15seconds of video (they are working on making that longer), Twitter isn’t video friendly in my opinion, Facebook requires your video be in specific size and codec, Vimeo’s for HD contents, Linkedin is strictly for professional contents like brand videos, explainer videos and the likes. Except you’re an online marketing rock star settle for the few ones you feel the most comfortable with, the one that gives you the most in terms of feedbacks and engagement and continually build your reach.
The ultimate truth is viral videos are here to stay, use them to turn your brand or business around. Here are a few I developed for clients and in collaboration with advertising agencies. Drop a line or send a mail to okusidaniels@gmail.com if you're in need of consultation.
15seconds cut down for my Instagram page
Stanbic IBTC cashless viral campaign
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Inspiration
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