1. Cut to the Chase

Attention spans are short. No one wants to sit through a meandering 10 minute video detailing your company’s entire history and workflow. They want to get the condensed version of what you’re about and what you do, then move on with their lives.

We typically recommend a business video be no longer than 2 minutes with 60-90 seconds as the sweet spot. If you can deliver your story in a minute, your potential users will appreciate you respecting their time. A shorter runtime also encourages you to make the most of it and not include anything extraneous.

2. Show Some Personality

This video might be your one chance to make an impression, so do everything you can to stand out from the rest. By creating a video that shows off your personality and sense of humor, you’ll create something unique to your company and that doesn’t fit into any existing mold.

Quirky and playful videos go a long way in building a brand and resonating with your viewers. If you can stick in someone’s head, they’re much more likely to check out your company and share it with others.

3. Get Specific

People love to throw around buzzwords. They have their place, but it’s not in your explainer video. Avoid verbiage like “We let you leverage userbase data to disrupt the growth hacking market”. Your script will turn into a muddled cliché that no one will absorb.You also don’t want to rely too much on another business’s model to describe your own. Saying “we’re the Airbnb of car rentals” or “Yelp for nursing homes” might be a good shortcut for an elevator pitch, but it’s a waste in your video. Describe the problem you’re solving, then give the viewers a visual explanation of your solution. Going into specific examples will illustrate your value and drive the message home.

4. Call to Action

We’re going against our own advice by using a buzzword here, but call to action is an essential ingredient in any advertisement. You need to leave your audience not just informed on your product, but knowing exactly what their next step should be. Whether it’s download, sign up, order now, it doesn’t matter, just give them a direction to take.

There’s a lot more that goes into creating a successful promo video, but these four concepts should be on your mind every step of the process. At DreamItReel, we create promotional videos for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Reach out to us at general@dreamitreel.com if you need any advice on how to create the perfect video to launch your startup or campaign, we’d be happy to help.