Top tips to make better online videos

27/01/2015

Codeweavers have partnered with Big Table TV's video production team to provide you with best practice tips for online video.

Clear Message
Your video must have a clear goal and a clear message. Way before the cameras come out, you need to know what you want to say and how you want the audience to feel about it.

If you have more things to say, make another video instead of muddying a strong message.

Be Concise
You’ll often hear that, if you’re making online content, you are absolutely not allowed to make anything over 90 seconds.

That’s a bit of an overstatement (we've made very successful online videos that are closer to 90 minutes, for example), but it is a good idea to make your point concisely. The less of a time commitment your video is, the more likely your audience will watch to the end.


Personality
Actors are a rare breed. You’re probably not one of them, so if you are featuring in your video just relax and be yourself, both in the tone of the video and in any situation where you find yourself in front of the camera.

Everyone appreciates honesty, especially when you’re talking about something (in this case your business) that you know really really well.

Audience
That clear, short point should end in a call to action. Like keeping things short, this one isn’t necessarily true 100% of the time. That said, it’s a really good idea to know what you want your audience to do after watching your video.

Do you want them to look at a particular part of your site? Give you a call? Dance around the house? Whatever it is, know it and make sure the audience knows it to.

Visibility
You just spent effort and time making a great video, so don’t bury it in a tiny embed half-way down your website’s least visited page.

Put a nice, big embed right at the top of your homepage or on a custom video landing page. There’s no point in following tips 1 - 4 if no one can ever find your new video. 

Eye Catching 
The still image that you click to start a video is called a thumbnail, and most people click on that image only if they like the look of it.

So design a nice, correctly sized (that’s 1920 pixels high and 1080 pixels across) image that includes that title of the video and a striking, eye-grabbing image.

Take a look at the video that Big Table TV tailor-made for us


 

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