In this video marketing tip, we’ll explain the elements of an effective video. There are eight essential factors: the video’s length, script, content, format, sound, lighting, editing, and captions.

When you create a business video, or have one created for you, it’s important to follow this checklist. You don’t have to hire a Hollywood director or cinematographer, but you do need to pay attention to the basics. Otherwise your video might get ignored online.

Elements of an effective video

1. Video Length: Keep it short.

For most business videos, shorter is better. While video is the preferred form of content today, your viewers won’t have the patience to watch an epic about your product or service.

An ideal length for almost every type of business video is under 2 minutes, except perhaps some training videos or video blogs.

Consider these guidelines:

• Social media ads: 15 to 25 seconds. The first 3 seconds are crucial to capture attention and “stop the scroll.”
• Social media posts: 15 to 45 seconds. Since these are typically shown to your established followers, they can be a bit longer than ads and still hold attention.
• Explainer and “About” videos: 45 to 90 seconds. Use these to explain your company, product or service on your website or social channels, but keep them tight.
• Deep explainers: 90 seconds to 2 minutes. If you have good material, such as a customer testimonial or case study, you can extend your video length up to about 2 minutes.
• Training videos: 1 to 4 minutes. If you have a lot of training material, try to break it down into smaller bite-size lessons rather than creating a single long video.

Check out these examples of videos with varying lengths.

 

2. Video Script: Make your message clear.

Your script drives almost everything else in your video, especially its length, visual content and call-to-action. Before you spend time (and money) creating video scenes, make sure you’ve got a script that says what you want and that’s approved by all stakeholders.

The best scripts are conversational, authentic and to the point. Try to tell a clear, concise, engaging story that leads to the action you’d like viewers to take at the end.

If writing isn’t your strength, consider jotting down your main ideas as notes and letting a professional writer take it from there. As a reminder, all of Entente’s video packages include professional scriptwriting.

Human narrators typically speak at a rate of 120-130 words per minute (about 2 words per second), so use this as a guide for video length. As an example, a 200-word script would yield a video of about 90 seconds. If you’re aiming for a 15-second narrated ad, you’ll need to keep your script around 30-35 words.

 

3. Video Content: Support the script.

Use the concepts, key words and actions in your script to select supporting visual content (your scenes).

Humans respond to other humans, so including people in your videos — as long as they support the script — is a good thing.

You can use live footage, stock footage, still images (with or without a motion effect) or even animation to tell your story.

If you or your video creation service are using stock clips and images, select the most natural-looking scenes that you can find. Don’t overuse obviously staged visuals of handshakes, thumbs up signals and similar imagery – these can appear trite.

As for live footage, capture scenes that are relevant to the script and natural for the presenters involved. For example, unless your presenter is a born comedian, don’t try to create America’s Funniest Video.

 

4. Video Format:  Match the channel.

The layout, or format, of your video should match the requirements of the distribution channel you’ve chosen. Identify this before you start filming or producing any video.

• For website use and LinkedIn posts, a horizontal (landscape) layout is preferred.
• For Facebook, Instagram and many other social channels a square format is preferred. Instagram also accepts vertical (portrait) orientation.
• If you’re shooting scenes with your camera phone, keep it horizontal unless you’re specifically creating content for social channels that emphasize vertical formats.

Strive for a video resolution of at least 720p (1280×720 pixels; also called standard HD).

1080p resolution (1920×1080 pixels; also known as Full HD) is accepted by almost all distribution channels. Full HD quality is helpful if your video will be magnified significantly, such as on a large flat-screen TV or video projector. However, this format takes longer to render and results in much larger video file sizes. The resulting cost and time might not be worth it; check with your video supplier if in doubt.

 

5. Video Sound: Don’t scrimp on quality.

Viewers will stop watching because of bad sound sooner than mediocre visual quality, so make sure your narration and any background music are as clean as possible.

A good microphone and a quiet environment are key. If your live scenes are shot on a smart phone, don’t rely on the built-in microphone. Instead, use a lavalier-style microphone that plugs into your camera.

If you’re hiring a video creation service to record your voice track, make sure they have professional sound-recording equipment. Again, they shouldn’t rely on just the built-in microphone of their computer for this critical element.

Auto-generated voices are an expedient alternative to live narration. They can also be more affordable than hiring live voiceover talent. The artificial intelligence that drives auto-generated voices is getting better and better, but some people are put off by their somewhat robotic sound. When in doubt, be sure you can listen to samples before you choose this option.

Keep any accompanying music track well beneath the level of your narration.

Finally, even good sound won’t make up for a recording full of “um’s,” “ah’s,” “likes,” and other filler words. The use of a teleprompter can help avoid these, especially when recording live footage.

 

6. Video Lighting: Even and natural.

If you’re shooting live footage, light your subjects from the front using an outside window during the day, minimizing harsh shadows.

Use a lamp (or lamps) while filming indoors at night. The light should be bright but also diffused and indirect. Play around with the placement of lights, especially if your subject wears glasses, striving for the most natural look possible. Try to avoid harsh shadows and glare.

 

7. Video Editing: Less is more.

This element of an effective video depends greatly on the length and script elements. The goal is to tell your story as precisely as possible in the time you’ve allotted.

• Cut out all non-essential footage.
• Avoid distracting special effects such as spirals, waves and other jarring visuals.
• Consider soft scene transitions such as fades and dissolves.

Your video editing should be almost seamless and invisible, allowing the viewer to absorb your messages without noticing that the scenes have been edited in any way.

 

8. Captions: Use them.

When it comes to on-screen captions, use them whenever possible.

85% of videos viewed on Facebook are watched with the sound off – and most other social channels have similar statistics.

Videos on your website are also likely to be watched in silent mode at first, especially if your audience is watching in a business setting.

That means that if your video doesn’t include captions, your message is likely getting ignored. So, use captions whenever you can!

If your combination of visuals and captions is compelling enough, viewers will eventually turn the sound on. At that point, good quality narration and a great background music track will keep them watching.

 

Start leveraging the elements of an effective video

Whether you’re filming your own, directing staff, or hiring a video service, these eight elements of an effective video always apply.

• Use them to help plan your next video project.
• Use them to make sure you get the best quality for your money.
• Use them to ensure your viewers will watch what you’ve created.

 

Have you missed any of these elements in your past videos? What was the result? Do you have other elements you’d like to suggest?

Share your experience in the comments below. And as always, let us know if you have suggestions or questions about the elements of an effective video.