Will you give me some feedback?

[berglin]

I subscribed to Raven before SEOMoz but I genuinely consider Rand and the rest of you to be the experts. I am learning as I go but I really value your opinions. I just had some fun putting together a website/business promo video. Can I put it on here for legitimate feedback without being accused of spam. I hope so. I'm wondering if the video takes too long to show what it is about, maybe lacks a call to action, or focuses too much on the security.

I think very few people realize how safe a secure transaction reslly is so I made a point of explaining that but may have gone overboard.

I think it's pretty entertaining but I am terribly critical of everything I do, so I would like some expert unbiased opinions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSUGPxszmCQ

One more thing, what is the best way to promoe a video like this?

watch?v=FSUGPxszmCQ

[AdamThompson]

Hi Terrie,

Here are my thoughts:

It's basically an advertisement for your company, so I wouldn't expect people to share it or spread it virally. PPC may be your best option to promote it.

I agree with your suspicion that your video takes too long - way too long, in fact. I would suggest hiring someone who can help you create a higher quality video (i.e. footage and editing), also. I believe a more professional video would be  much more effective marketing tool.

Congrats on jumping into video, and hope this is helpful!

[StalkerB]

WARNING: You're going to be taking this on the chin, as I didn't like it. I'll try to be as constructive as possible.

I'm not a video expert, but what the hey

I will semi-live post my experience:

Hmm, what's going on here, why's there no sound?
6 minutes?! I'm never going to get this time back
Oh sound. Hmm, Symphony no.5. We'll see.
Ugh, is all the font Arial?
So you guys renovate houses or provide storage for redoing houses. Pretty cool examples.
Wait a minute, I don't believe these are actual examples ಠ_ಠ
Bored now.
Super bored now.
Skip, skip.
You really don't know what I'm thinking.
I still have no idea what you're trying to sell me.
Okay. Products. Let's see.
Flashing by too quickly.
EPILIPTIC FIT
Topical Charlie Sheen reference. I'll give you that.
1 minute of credits?!

I'm not a big fan.

Firstly, I'm not going to watch a 6 minute advert. Realistically you've got 20 seconds to pitch me your product or hook to get me to continue watching. If you hook me I'll watch for up to 2 minutes if it's consistantly entertaining. Not having sound at the very start has immediately got me looking elsewhere or thinking about clicking back.

As for having to convince people it's safe to buy online, if you're pitching to that market they're not going to be persuaded by a video with a talking dog. Identify who you're targeting and maybe split the video up into different parts tailored to each.

Apart from the Charlie Sheen reference I didn't find it entertaining enough to carry me through the first 90 seconds, let alone the remaining four and a half minutes. You'll need something a little more wild to tap into the psyche of a frequent web user like myself and your secure message and charity message lost my attention even more.

Change the font, it's boring.

Make sure your logo's are proportioned correctly and not squashed.

Less of the dog, MUCH less text, less assuming you know what I'm thinking.

The save the Earth thing didn't work for me as you never went into any green credentials or how you're 'doing your bit'. I'm left with the impression that was just some nonsense you threw in there.

You need to focus a lot more on what you sell as it's unclear.

Ultimately I'd go back to the drawing board and come up with a (or several) shorter video(s).

Show the problems your products fix or why they're cool, couple it with something 'zany' and then get it in front of people who need to know about it and hope they share.

[berglin]

Thank you for the feedback. When you said...

It's basically an advertisement for your company, so I wouldn't expect people to share it or spread it virally.

By that, do you mean that I shouldn't bother to try to promote a promotional video? (I realize this one is too long) but in general, you don't promote advertisement videos for businesses? Are places like TubeMogul a waste of time?

[AdamThompson]

A lot of the power of video marketing lies in providing content that users are going to love, rate well, share, etc. I'm not saying you shouldn't promote an advertisement video, but you lose a lot of the power of video marketing.

[berglin]

Well, there we are then. I made this video yesterday, had fun doing it, but I guess that's all it is, just a fun little diversion. Thank you for your candor. I certainly did not expect this to be the cornerstone of our marketing efforts, just hoped it may have some value. Clearly , it does not. Video, like all things in life, takes a lot of work and experience to get good at. Again, I appreciate your feedback. This is why I come to SEOMoz, no B.S..