Lessons on Creating Effective Videos for Digital Consumption

Digital market has today evolved from a humble clutch of tools like email, Facebook and Twitter to a complex ecosystem of niche communication platforms catering to very specific needs. Add to this a host of devices that enable users to access information and content practically anywhere and anytime.

With 243 million Internet users by June 2014, India is all set to take over the US as per IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) estimates. This increasing internet reach has huge potential for newer marketing avenues.

What’s more is that we are seeing a corresponding increase in mobile internet users. As per the latest IAMAI report (Jan ’14) the number of mobile internet users is going to reach 185 million by June 2014, maintaining a Quarter on Quarter growth of 20%.

This simply implies that not only are an increasing percentage of Indian consumers accessing internet but are doing so through a variety of mobile devices. Today one in every ten Indians is a mobile phone owner. One in every thirteen Indians accesses social networking sites and one in every 6 Indians is an internet user.

The flexibility and sheer range of online tools in the digital space is replacing a host of traditional mediums pertaining to day to day activities like monetary transactions, news updates and research among others. Today 30% of US citizens receive news updates through social networking sites. Nearly all banking services are available online. A huge percentage of consumers now buy clothes, groceries, books and electronics online. Same is the case with marketing. Consumers today look to the digital space for updates pertaining to products and their favorite brands. A tangible measure of the increased reliance of the marketing domain on digital avenues is the increase in online ad spends. Industry estimates that CAGR for digital ad spends at about 30% from 2011 to 2015 (as opposed 11.5% rise in print ad spends and 10% rise in Out of home media ad spends).

This kind of growth in digital content consumption and digital avenues offers huge opportunity for upcoming brands to reach out to their target audience. The right message, in the right medium and right format implies enormous visibility. Apart from the huge visibility one can garner, digital marketing tools are also cost effective, a fact evident from increasing use of digital marketing by start ups and low budget marketing campaigns.

Within the digital media space as well, videos are gradually becoming the most preferred format for content consumption as per Gartner.

A simple video if made with strong understanding of one’s target audience and the online space can offer a huge scope for economical and effective campaign out reach.

Based on our experience of making an extremely liked and successful video, we would like to share some important aspects of video making.

The Message

While there is a lot that can be depicted through a video, it is imperative to have just one key message. A single message ensures easy understanding and strong recall. In case of the video we were working on, we were clear that we wanted to highlight one major USP that CommonFloor.com offered consumers. This USP was the sheer range of solutions CommonFloor.com offers an average property seeker. With consumer needs and demands becoming increasingly evolved, property requirements are becoming more and more precise. Some are so specific that they are downright hilarious. Despite the requirement being extremely specific in nature, CommonFloor.com is able to fulfil nearly all of them. The major objective of the initiative therefore was to inform consumers that no matter how specific their requirement, a property suited specifically for them is out there for the taking with the help of CommonFloor.com

The Path

There is a lot of choice that one has while choosing the theme of a video. It is however best to choose a theme that is topical. A topical theme gives you the advantage of people relating to it easily. Since it is topical, audiences would have clear thoughts and ideas on the concept and would therefore not spend much time or effort on understanding it. For our video we decided that a current on-going political scenario would work well to ensure engagement and consequent recall (in this case the scrutiny of political characters in the wake of elections).

Enough Time

Allocating the right time for the development process is essential. Good work does take time and investing the right amount of time will ensure good results. The entire process for coming up with our video took about a month. Conceptualization took a week. While the actual execution (selection of political characters, script development, selection of actors, selection of the portrayal format, filming) took about 20 -25 days.

Execution

Be very clear on the tone of your video. If it is your first time it is advisable to go with something tried and tested. In our case we considered two options with respect to the tone of the video based on what works best with Indian audiences. These options were: a humorous video or a sentimental one. We opted for a humorous video. Then we worked on a list of topical issues that would form theme of the video. Keeping in view the buzz around the recently conducted elections, we felt that a political theme would work best. We then shortlisted the characters that would be depicted. We finally zeroed in on filming the video in a popular TV debate show format.

Agency partners

In case you wish to go in for external help - partner with an agency that has the right skills in your domain. The market today has evolved a lot and finding help within your budget and as per your requirement is possible if you invest the right amount of time in selecting the right team. Take references. Examine previous work of the agency to make a final decision.

What next?

Be on the lookout for honest feedback and views. If the video is a success making it a regular feature is an effective tool to cash in on existing popularity and sustaining brand recall. Also there is huge scope to share quotes, views and updates for featured characters to keep audiences engaged later. In our case, the video has already garnered over 8000 views and we expect this to only increase.