We all knew that video was HOT, but wow, check out this recent Forrester study.^* Websites featuring video have an 11,000-to-1 chance of making it onto the first page of Google search results, whereas websites only featuring text, by comparison, have about a 500,000-to-1 chance of appearing on the first page of results. In other words, on the keywords for which Google offers video results, any given video stands about a 50 times better chance of appearing on the first page of results than any given text page that Google has indexed.

Now before you run out and leap headfirst on the video bandwagon, there are some things to consider…what you should do and not do … when creating video content. Resident Video Guru Charlie has chimed in to help address this question.

What are some basic mistakes to avoid when creating a video?

That is a really good question because making a good video simply means avoiding some basic mistakes. Nothing’s ever perfect of course, but it’s rather simple to make something that you can be proud of — and with very little money.

The Hook or Narrative is Missing

Whenever you see the word ‘video,’ right below it, in invisible ink, is the phrase ‘presentation is king.’ You can have the best microphones, the best cameras, the best lights and the best talent in the world, but if you don’t put it all together in a way that ultimately makes sense to the viewer then you’ve got nothing. No matter what your video is about, you’re telling a story to your audience. So before you start filming it’s good to know how you want that story to be told. Of course there should always be a beginning, middle and end, but do some research before you start making your video. Watch videos that other people have made and try to figure out how they did it. Ask yourself what about it appeals to you. Try to mimic what you like. Places like YouTube and Vimeo make this very easy to do now.

Avoid Recording Bad Audio

Despite how backwards it might seem at first glance, audio is one of the most crucial parts of a video (unless you’re making a silent film). If you can’t hear the speaker because they’re either too far away, in an echoing room or there are loud environmental noises like wind, air conditioners or screaming children then you don’t have an effective video. If don’t have the money for pro microphones, don’t worry…a lot of cameras come with decent on-board microphones. Just read the owner’s manual so you know what you’re doing, and, at the very least, wear headphones so you can hear what your audience will hear; which should be good, clean audio.

Never Be Boring

Don’t ever be afraid to get creative because nobody will watch a boring video all the way through except, of course, the people who made the boring video. It’s not the tools the artist has, but how they use them. If you want to make great low budget videos that don’t look like low budget videos, be creative with whatever tools you have available and with the way you tell your story. My favorite part about making videos is figuring out how we’re going to make them. But by no means should you record a talking head. It’s better to have your audience read a block of text with pictures than watch Mr. McHenry caught in the headlights, chewing on marbles while he reads a script for fifteen minutes. That’s not effective video and it’s not video that’s fun to make, (sorry Mr. McHenry).

—- Charlie Diaz, Online Video Guru
Multi-Award Winning Director, Writer and Online Media Specialist

* (Marketing Profs case study)