Video is a powerful medium. It’s attention-grabbing, makes an immediate impression, and helps you to communicate your message more effectively.

It’s also slow to load and can make sites seem cluttered, so striking the correct balance is important. Here are some tips to help you get it right.

#1 Short video works best

In the era of snappy social media posts and soundbites, attention spans certainly seem shorter than they once did. You should tailor your video content accordingly. Short videos that deliver immediate bursts of easily digestible information are much better than lengthy explanatory pieces. Anything over two minutes is too long but keeping it under a minute is even better. This is a useful exercise in itself. By abbreviating a lengthy message into something bitesize, you’ll be better equipped to market yourself in the crowded field of social media.

#2 Avoid autoplay

Autoplay might seem like a good way to ensure that your content is watched by visitors, but in reality, it should be avoided. Rather than enticing viewers, it usually drives traffic away from a website. There’s nothing more irritating than navigating to a site only for an unwanted video to play automatically. Not only will this put visitors off the rest of your content, but they might simply close the site. Autoplay increases loading times, too.

#3 Hire web designers

Poorly implemented video content slows your site down, gives it a clunky appearance and doesn’t always optimize well for smartphone viewers. If your online infrastructure is video-heavy, it’s worth hiring professional web designers to ensure that everything works as intended. Hiring professional web design agency Birmingham will ensure that your videos are properly formatted, speed up loading times, and even ensure that they appear correctly on mobile devices. The best videos in the world are ineffective if they display poorly or undermine the user experience.

#4 Use SEO

Most people are aware of Search Engine Optimization as a way to increase web traffic, but many assume that the same techniques can’t be applied to video content. This couldn’t be further from the truth. SEO still works for videos, and it’s just as important. Using the correct keywords, optimizing your video descriptions, and including high-quality links to similar content will all increase the chances of your content being watched. SEO isn’t just for pros and blogs. It’s widely applicable across every area of website design. 

#5 Don’t forget the call to action!

Video content is a means to an end. That end might be somebody making a purchase; you might want them to sign up for a newsletter or to subscribe to you on social media. Be sure to include this call to action both in the video itself and also in the description. Remember that not everybody will watch your video until the end. Leaving a call to action in the final frame often means that it goes unnoticed but including text in the caption ensures greater visibility.