Product Demo Video: The Importance of High Quality Video

product demo video

A good product demo video not only showcases the product you are demonstrating, it also sends a message to viewers about the product’s quality. Make sure that your product demonstration video features the best production values possible so that viewers receive a message of quality. After all, an amateurish product video screams out that your product or company is also amateurish while a high quality video has the opposite effect. In addition to production values, your video should also contain quality content that shows you understand the benefits your viewers will realize by choosing your product.

Product Demo Video: Production Values

Whether your product demonstration video focuses on luxurious cosmetics or heavy duty construction equipment, the quality of the video production says something about the quality of the product. For example, if you were considering purchasing a $250,000 bulldozer, what would you think about a product video with fuzzy images, horrible sound, and jerky camera moves. If the video looks like it was shot on a cell phone by one of the equipment operators, what does that tell you about the company’s commitment to its customers?

While you may not be able to drag a bulldozer into a video production studio, you can certainly hire a professional video crew to shoot and edit the product demo video. Using a professional-grade video camera, tripod, sound equipment, and lighting is a must because the overall quality of the product demonstration video relies on the production values used at every point of the process including shooting.

In addition, the product video should be professionally edited. A good editor can do wonders with raw footage, voiceover, music, and interviews. A good video editor can transform a lengthy product video into a short, engaging product demonstration video.

High Definition Product Demo Video – Is it Necessary?

Before you shoot the product demonstration video, make sure to consider shooting in high definition. Even if your product demo video is destined for your website where high definition may not be necessary, shooting a high definition product video gives you options. Remember, you can always scale down a high definition product demo video for the small screen, but you can’t necessarily do the opposite. Once you have your product demonstration video produced in high definition, you can repurpose it for tradeshows, sales presentations, Blu-ray discs, or even television commercials.

Most video production companies have the capacity to produce your product video in high definition. In fact, most will be happy to produce the product demo video in HD and provide you with alternate formats for the Web and other uses.

Product Demo Video: What to Include

Okay, so you know you want your product demonstration video to have the best production values possible and be shot in high definition – now what? Before sending a product video film crew to your jobsite or booking studio time, you’ll need a solid idea about what your product demonstration video should include.

You may have already detailed which features to demonstrate in your product video. While that’s a great start, a feature-rich product demo video is missing a key component: the viewer. Instead of focusing your product demonstration video solely on your product’s features, switch perspectives and adopt the viewer’s perspective. What benefits will viewers of the product video realize if they purchase your product?

A product demo video that focuses on benefits answers the question of “what’s in it for me?” Viewers watching a benefit-focused product demonstration video will know that the product makes them look younger, saves them money, saves them time, reduces injuries on the job, makes them more productive, and so on. A product video that focuses on benefits creates an emotional connection and helps frame buying decisions.

When a product demo video features high production values and focuses on the benefits viewers will receive by choosing that product, it’s bound to be a success. How have you incorporated benefits into your product demo video? Share your thoughts in the comment section below:

Website Video Spokesperson: Choosing Talent Your Visitors Can Relate To

If you’re considering adding a website video spokesperson to your website, it’s vital to cast an actor that your website visitors can relate to. Not only can a relatable virtual spokesperson welcome your visitors, that Web video spokesperson can help them feel at ease. Choose the wrong talent for your site, and your visitors will likely click the “stop” button – or worse, the “back” button. Choose the right talent for your site, and your visitors will feel engaged, nurtured, and empowered to make a favorable decision.

Determining the Ideal Website Video Spokesperson for Your Site

Before you look at audition tapes, consider the demographics of your website. Is your audience primarily male? Female? How old are your website visitors? What are they interested in? What problems do they have? What type of person do they look to for advice?

This doesn’t mean choosing a virtual spokesperson that looks like your target audience; it means that your Web video spokesperson should be someone your target audience can relate with.

For example, if your website sells cheerleading outfits to teenage girls, you don’t necessarily have to choose a female teenager to serve as your website video spokesperson. A 30-something virtual spokesperson playing a cheerleading coach may be more effective.

Casting the Web Video Spokesperson

Once you understand what your ideal website video spokesperson looks like, you can start casting. By determining the gender and age of your virtual spokesperson in advance, you’ll save time and be able to focus only on those audition tapes that meet your criteria.

What to Look for As You View Web Video Spokesperson Audition Tapes

You may have a specific look in mind for your website video spokesperson such as our 30-something cheerleading coach example. However, not all of the audition tapes of 30-something actresses will contain athletic wardrobe changes. You may need to use your imagination to visualize the virtual spokesperson in appropriate clothing. Many audition tapes do contain clips with the Web video spokesperson wearing various outfits such as business suits, casual clothing, and athletic wear.

Listen to the voice of each website video spokesperson. Does the virtual spokesperson have a delivery style that matches the mood of your website? For example, if you’re looking for an authority figure, a Web video spokesperson with a perky delivery style might not be the best choice. Similarly, if you want a perky, upbeat voice, a website video spokesperson with a deep, authoritative voice may not be what you’re looking for. Keep in mind that each virtual spokesperson is an actor who may have a range of delivery styles. Listen to the entire delivery and review each Web video spokesperson’s bio to see if other accents or delivery styles are available.

Watch each website video spokesperson as if you were your target audience. If your website appeals to teenage girls, pretend you’re a teenage girl while watching the audition. If your website appeals to 80-year-old men, pretend you’re an 80-year-old man. Ask yourself if you can relate to the virtual spokesperson from your temporary perspective. If so, you’re getting closer. If not, ask yourself who you would prefer to hear this information from and rethink your Web video spokesperson criteria.

As you can see, casting a website video spokesperson is more involved than picking an attractive actor or actress to play a role. You absolutely need to know your audience and what type of virtual spokesperson your audience can relate and respond to. Once you know that, you can choose your Web video spokesperson with confidence.

What else should you look for in a website video spokesperson? Share your thoughts in the comments section below:

Online Video Marketing Tips: Hosting Online Video

If your online video marketing plan calls for including videos on your website, you have several options available as for as placing a promotional video goes. For example, you could upload your video to YouTube and then embed the video into one of your Web pages. You could also store your videos on your own website or use an online storage service such as Amazon S3 and then host your own videos.

Hosting Videos on YouTube

Using YouTube for Internet video marketing is almost a no-brainer. After all, YouTube is wildly popular – and it’s free. All you need is a YouTube account, a series of short videos to upload, and the ability to copy and paste an embed code into your website. There are a few downsides though from an online video marketing perspective. For starters, even if you embed the videos on your website, they will play in the YouTube player and will bear the YouTube logo. If you’d rather use an unbranded player and want the ability to insert clickable links into your player, consider hosting your video on your own website and using an alternative video player for your Internet video marketing videos.

YouTube may also display ads, which can dilute your online video marketing message. In addition, some Internet video marketing professionals have had their YouTube accounts closed by Google for a variety of reasons. If you want more control over your online video marketing, self-hosting your promotional video files may be the better choice.

Hosting Videos on Your Own Website

If you have just one promotional video or a few video testimonials, hosting online video marketing videos on your own website shouldn’t take up too much bandwidth or server space. However, if you have numerous promotional video clips or plan on creating an extensive Internet video marketing program, be aware that you may need to upgrade your hosting account to accommodate these large promotional video files.

With hosted online video marketing videos, you’ll also need to install a video player onto your website. This can be as simple as installing a Flash video player plugin on WordPress sites or can involve ordering and installing a commercial video player loaded with features. An advantage to using a commercial player for online video marketing is that you can set up clickable links within your promotional video. As people embed your promotional video into their own sites, when their visitors click the video links, they’ll be directed back to whichever website you linked to.

Using a Video Hosting Service such as Amazon S3

If you plan on extensive Internet video marketing, consider getting an Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) account. This service is low cost and easy to use. You can use either free or commercial video players in conjunction with your Amazon S3 hosted videos.

Other Online Video Marketing Hosting Options

Other services are available for Internet video marketing. For example, Viddler.com offers branded video players, analytics, embeddable widgets, and other features. Another service, Fliqz.com offers several different plans both branded and unbranded players available. Numerous open source Internet video marketing players exist as well.

Whether you invest in a commercial player and video hosting or not, consider hosting your promotional video on your site as well as on popular video sharing platforms such as YouTube.

What are your thoughts about hosting online video marketing files? Share your thoughts in the comment section below:

Website Video Production: 3 Success Factors

website video production has a set of success factors unique to the nature of the Internet. While just about any video production company would agree that videos in general should have strong production values and be produced according to established standards, the way people view videos on the Web influences how online videos should be produced. A successful Web video production takes the following three success factors into account: length, focus, and call to action.

Website Video Production Success Factor #1: Length

While many people watch full length movies online, few have the attention span for a marketing-oriented Web video production of that length. Just as online website visitors tend to scan text, online viewers expect short videos that get to the point quickly. If your website video production involves a marketing message, keep it short. A sixty to ninety second video should be sufficient to get your message across. Anything longer and your viewers may stop watching and hesitate to share the video with others.

Tutorials and training sessions can be longer; however, it’s smart to break these longer videos into smaller modules. Doing so makes for smaller file sizes and minimizes issues with bandwidth and video streaming. As you plan these longer videos, ask your video production company to break up the video into shorter segments. Your viewers can watch each segment all at once or over several days.

Website Video Production Success Factor # 2: Focus

Just as your articles and blog posts should have a narrow focus, the same is true of Web video production. This isn’t the time for an in-depth exploration of your company’s history, values, and goals; it’s the time to drive home a single message. Work with your video production company to identify that message and write a tight script around it. The entire Web video production should remain tightly focused on that single message.

For example, if your website video production is focused on how your products relieve stress, focus on the stress relief aspects of your products and avoid the temptation to add other benefits such as return on investment or durability (unless those benefits contribute to stress relief). A video production company can help you develop the concept and write the script to appeal to a Web audience.

Website Video Production Success Factor # 3: Call to Action

In addition to length and focus, a successful Web video production tells viewers what action to take next. This is known as the “call to action.” For example, a Web video production focused on detailing the benefits of a given product or service will have a call to action along the lines of “order now” or “download a free trial version.”

You should know the call to action long before website video production begins. As you write the script, ask yourself what action you want viewers to take after watching your video. Again, your video production company can help you here, especially if you choose a video production company with a strong marketing background such as Visible Conversions. During the planning stage, you can come up with as many different calls to action as you want, but you’ll only want to include one in your final Web video production. Carefully consider what action you want your viewers to take (order now, sign up for a newsletter, participate in a trial, and so on) and then focus the website video production on leading up to that action, making that action a natural choice.

A successful website video production incorporates all three success factors. It is short and tightly focused with a strong call to action at the end. Choose a website video production company that embraces these three important factors and your next Web video production is sure to be a hit with viewers.

What do you think is the most important factor involved in website video production? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.