How to make your point in two minutes or less

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, your attention is already slipping. Five more browser tabs open and beckoning? Email and Twitter alerts popping up on your desktop? Chat messages blinking? The Internet is a giant playground for the multi-tasker; distractions are constant. Getting people to view your content is the first step, but keeping them there is just as important.

Grab hold of your customers’ attention spans by keeping your message concise. Keep your videos to two minutes or less, and a reasonable percentage of your potential customers might watch until the end.

Even if your message is interesting, “viewer abandonment” is inevitable, so get your most important points out right away. Nearly 20% of viewers stop watching an online video after the first 10 seconds, and 44% are gone after a minute, as reported by the New York Times (October 11, 2010). For those that do stay until the end, reinforce points already made; don’t introduce new information. Internet marketing videos are not the place for delayed punch lines.

Think of your online video as an elevator pitch. The elevator is full of potential customers, but as the doors open at each floor, you lose another one or two. If you share your most interesting information right away, more people will be around to hear it. Keep it clear, quick, and to the point for best results.

Posted by Rachel Blumenthal
Thursday, 31 March 2011