When going short means going long

There will be times when you will come to realize that your online marketing may just need to go short in order to go long. Most small business owners have finally come to realize that they must have video content in their online marketing mix if they are going to succeed. The challenge has become that most attention spans are almost non-existent these days so marketers are resorting to short form videos to try and capture an audience and drive conversions over the long run.

  • YouTube continues to prove itself as a short form video platform that has been successful for companies. Thirty second to one minute commercials have seemed the norm for quite some time especially on television. These days, however, fifteen, and even ten, second short form video is finding huge success and driving traffic. Especially when viewed on a mobile device.
  • The key to engagement is, of course, emotion. You must draw them in and make a strictly emotional appeal. Don’t give them time to think or even to breathe. This is, by no means, an easy proposition but if you can pull it off you will likely see immediate increases in your traffic. Combining these short bursts with your longer videos will give you just the right balance of traffic driving power.
  • Your short form videos can be quick product promotions, behind the scenes looks or a teaser for a contest or special webinar event. Be sure that they are well scripted. This is not something you leave to amateurs or to your sixteen year old niece and her friends. It must be professional and hit hard and have an immediate enough impact to get the audience to click through to your site to see what all of the excitement is about.
  • Make them something people will remember and pass on to their social networks. You can distribute them everywhere and rather easily since they are extremely small file sizes and easily transportable. Constantly come at them with short jabs forcing them into the metaphorical ropes so that they click through to your site where you can deliver the final knock out punch.

-Written by Kevin Sawyer