Each week I look at actual video and/or social media used by small businesses. I look at what works and what doesn’t as well as how I could take a different approach. That way, you can avoid similar mistakes and duplicate what works.
This Week’s Business Video
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing - 23600 El Toro Road, Suite D303, Lake Forest, CA 92630
The Breakdown
What Works
The video presents the Unique Selling Proposition (USP): The Punctual Plumber. A number of video elements support the USP.
There’s two solid testimonials in this video. The first details some heating work done for a customer. She is pleasant and gives a good account of her problem and how Benjamin Franklin Plumbing (and Heating) solved her issues. The second shows support for a professional real estate agent. This shows Ben Franklin as a good B2B business as well.
What Doesn’t Work
Slow, slow, slow start. My first instinct was to move on after the first :10 seconds. Shaky camera work created an “amateurish” feel to the video. A full :20 seconds to hear anything spoken is way too long. The footage is harshly lit in the daylight, creating hard light and shadows. Also, the shots of the plumber are too far away. This makes it hard to connect at a personal level.
Pacing of the video is WAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY too slow. Snail-like. Which equals “boring”.
The plumber looks very uncomfortable, which makes me, as a viewer, uncomfortable. Additionally, the video tries to do “too much”. It’s a commercial, an infomercial, a testimonial. Which translates to…too long.
By :59 seconds, I was done with the video. But I pressed on to see the rest of the 8:10 of video, wondering, “What could they possibly say in that time?” Nearly 10 minutes of video is way too long for the average viewer. Period.
What’s A Different Approach
The strongest element of this video is Monica Gonzales’ testimonial. She has a story to tell. We relate to stories. So I would focus the video on the story: Monica’s problem and how Ben Franklin Plumbing solved her problem.
I’d use more B-footage to show her problem areas and how they were solved. Show the furnace unit, show the registers, etc. Keep things moving and interesting. Additionally, I’d use closeups of Monica as well. Remember, people connect with people. And we connect best with our eyes. So let us see the eyes of those speaking on video.
The main elements of the story and supporting details could be told in about 2:00 minutes. I would not try to do anything more than that. Monica’s testimony is powerful. Let it stand on its own without wasting the viewer’s time.
Final Word
I think the video tried to do too much, which ruins its effectiveness. Focus, focus, focus on ONE message. It will keep your videos short and consumable, as well as give you more options for more videos.
Truth be told, there are two separate testimonials and a profile video in this footage alone! Remember, small, bite sized chunks are more attractive to your viewers. Keep your portions small!
Remember, these opinions are entirely my own and are just that - opinions.
Your turn. What do you think?
