Bringing Content to Life: 5 Tips for Creating Online Video

You don’t have to be Martin Scorsese to create online video for your brand.

But that doesn’t mean you can just whip out a shaky hand-held camera and videotape a squirrel riding a skateboard with bizarre ambient sounds in the background.

So how do you use online video to extend the pages of your print brand to reach the 178 million web users who watch an average of 14.3 hours of video online per month?

By following these online video tips from Michael McCarthy, editor in chief and content director of Washington Flyer Magazine & Media—and the star of “Washington Flyer TV.”

Don’t Replicate: Animate!

Online video can extend the experience of your content from print to the web. But avoid the temptation to simply replicate the content from one to the other. Instead, view online video as a chance to make your content come to life and continue telling the story, albeit in a video format.

“What video does for us as far as how it compliments print and digital, is that it animates and brings to life the many faces and places of our magazine,” says McCarthy.

Other Tips for Creating Online Video?

Keep it short: Remember your audience and their attention span. Though there has been a recent rise in the viewing of long-form video content, people generally expect web videos to be succinct. In fact, the average web video is less than 5 minutes.

Keep it engaging: It’s no secret that comedy kills when it comes to online video, with more than 50 percent of web users saying that they watch humorous videos in a given month. Play to this by showing personality in your online video and having a bit of fun.

This doesn’t mean everything you do is going to end up on SNL, but it does mean you should avoid posting footage from a panel discussion shot from the back of an auditorium. Before producing and/or posting video, ask yourself the ultimate telltale question: Would I watch this video?

Remember your brand: It’s easy to get carried away when creating video, especially if you’re injecting humor and personality into your piece. But at the end of the day, your video is branded content that needs to put your brand in a better place than it was before you invested your time and money.

Don’t get ahead of yourself artistically: Like we said, you don’t have to be Martin Scorsese to be able to produce quality online video, but that doesn’t mean you should try your best to act like him when you’re shooting and editing. Avoid overly artistic angles and non-traditional techniques when you’re creating your video content. Focus on telling the story and not reinventing the medium.

Don’t replicate your print content. Give it a new life online.