PR/Marketing Videos and Length
Earlier this week I blogged about a recent video Hyatt posted on Facebook. The theme of the post was about how Hyatt understands the power of social media video content, but I also mentioned that I would have done some things differently.
I didn’t get into what I would have done differently, but since then I’ve received a few questions about that so I thought I’d dive-in now.
FINDING THE VIDEO: to see the Hyatt video, visit their Facebook page, scroll down the Wall a bit and look for the video entitled, “Hyatt Thrive.”
First and foremost, I’m not here to rip other video producers. I mentioned in the previous post that the video is a solid effort. Most of the things I would have done differently revolve around style, so I’m not even going to get into those. Every producer has their own artistic style, and as far as I’m concerned it’s not a subject up for criticism.
My main complaint with the video is its length… 4-minutes. It’s way too long. I’m a big believer that if you’re producing something for social media, it better be short and sweet… 2-minutes or less for sure. In this particular case, I would have recommended to my client to aim for 1-minute, maybe 1-minute 30-seconds.
Web video is all about attention spans, which aren’t very long. Especially when the audience has the ability to simply point-and-click to leave. That’s something clients need to know going in to the project. It’s a delicate balance. Finding a way to provide information in an effient and entertaining way.
Now, it’s entirely possible the video was produced for a different purpose, and then shared on the web as well. If that’s the case, then no big deal. We produce videos meant for captive corporate audiences all the time that are then also shared via social media. Might as well, right?
However, if your main intent is to produce something for the web, especially your social media, keep it short and to the point.
–Tony Gnau