Rules to live by when creating videos for online use

Adding video to your company site or your blog can really engage your audience and if you do it right, your video could go viral sparking millions of views. Any company would kill to have that kind of content. Just look at Will it blend?

Zoe Siskos posted a fantastic post over at the Social Media Group blog, about the things you’ve got to keep in mind when creating video. She did her first at Mesh (which I so wish I’d been able to go to!) and learned a lot about creating video content.

Here are her rules to live by when creating video content:

1) Content is king. Can we drill this home enough? Nowadays it doesn’t matter what you are producing, a blog post, podcast, even your product. If it sucks, people will tell you.

2) Educate and Entertain. The MGI media crew have a formula they call E squared, education x entertainment. You want your audience to learn something as well as be entertained. The lesson doesn’t have to be as complex as chemistry but they should be able to walk away with at least a tidbit of new information.

3) Tailor your content. This is the beauty of having so many online options and niches. Do you like knitting? Origami? Steam punk? Make a show about it because, more than likely, there are a lot of people like you that enjoy the same topic. The bonus, as a content creator, is that you get to work on something that you are really passionate about.

4) Engage you audience. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. By participating in different communities you promote your show. This doesn’t mean spamming and leaving links to your show everywhere. Haven’t you learned? Instead, leave comments on other shows and participate in conversations related to the topic of your show. The people you engage will check you out and if you followed rule #1 you’re set.

5) Be regular. As in distribution. Your audience should expect when you are putting content out there. If it takes you two weeks to produce a decent show then take that time. It’s more important to follow the rules above and to be consistent.