Monday, January 10, 2011

Online Video: Testing Still Trumps Best Practices

One of the dangers of writing video scripts is getting too comfortable with a certain format. Specifically, using the same approach regardless of what industry you're writing for.

To create an effective video script (or any marketing, for that matter), you need to research your client's business sector. Differences in tone, response and format can be considerable from one niche to another.

Below is an excerpt from John Forde's copywriting newsletter. He discusses how he and his client (an information publishing company) use video for marketing and the results they're getting. It's quite surprising in many ways...


"For one, we've found so far that low production values
-- at least in our info-publishing market -- out pull
fancy fireworks.

Our best performing stuff is just text on screen, with
a voice reading it aloud in the background.
And
otherwise, it's barely changed from the copy we used in
the print or online sales letter versions.

Short? Not even close.

The most astounding successes in our area, of the last
six months, have been videos that run for -- brace
yourself -- as long as 45 minutes to an hour.


I'm not making that up.

And when we try to edit it them down, do they pull even
better? Not at all. Response drops by 20% or more."

(from COPYWRITER'S ROUNDTABLE Issue #496, January 4, 2011)


Some of Forde's results seem counterintuitive to most online video marketing. So while every marketing channel has its own set of best practices, these should not be a substitute for testing different approaches.

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