In the last issue, I put a lot of focus on an important business principle – “make or buy” – as it applies to to helping you decide on the best way to get involved in video marketing on the Internet.
Today, let’s focus on some ‘down and dirty’ practical stuff.
Talking heads… No, not the rock group from the 1980s, but the common video presentation format.
A “talking head” is a fixed shot from the shoulders up of a single person talking…
You see a lot of this on the Internet today and we’re going to see a lot more of it in the months and years to come.
But is this the best use of Internet video?
Yes and no.
One thing to keep in mind is that when a medium is new *anything* you do will work as an attention getter. And since attention is the first step in the sales chain, more attention usually generates more sales.
But attention-getting devices wear out if they’re not used intelligently.
— A lesson from the jungle
If you bring a digital camera into the Amazon jungle and demonstrate it to rain forest dwellers who’ve never been out of the woods, they’ll be amazed by *any* picture you show them.
And in the early days of the movies, people used to gladly pay good money just to watch short one-minute reels on completely random topics. The *newness* of it all is what made it entertaining, not the content.
But as time goes by, everybody – even people who live in remote rain forests – becomes more sophisticated and demand worthwhile content, not just pictures flashing on a screen.
At the moment, seeing a clear, full-motion video talking head on a web site is fascinating – especially when it comes from a source you don’t expect – but I would not place a long term bet on this kind of video content working on the Internet indefinitely.
Does that mean that you should never use talking heads on a web page?
No, not at all.
But you do need to use them strategically.
When’s a good time to use a talking head?
To introduce new visitors to the content of a web page – briefly.
Then, if you’ve got relevent video to show – of your product in action, of charts and diagrams, of screenshots – show it.
Otherwise, use old fashioned text or, if it makes sense for what you need to accomplish, audio.
Remember: Interner users are sitting at a workstation with a keyboard and mouse at their fingertips and they’re used to taking frequent and rapid action.
They’re not lounging around on the sofa passively watching pictures on a tube. Actually, even TV viewers aren’t that passive any more thanks to remote control and Tivo.
My colleague, Jakob Nielsen, who is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on how people actually use the web, has given a lot of thought to how to use video on the web.
He’s written an article that’s worth paying close attention to.
Make sure you click on the link within the article called “gaze replay recording.” It’s a great demonstration of what happens to people’s attention when someone is droning away at them on a computer screen.
You can read Nielsen’s article here.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/video.html
Best,
– Ken McCarthy
P.S. For over 25 years I’ve been sharing the simple but powerful things that matter in business with my clients.
If you’d like direction for your business that will work today, tomorrow and twenty years from now, visit us at the System Club.
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