Video Marketing FAQ

Will my video go viral?
What format do you use?
Do you handle HiDef?
What is Letterboxing?
Can I kick start my videos?
Can I make money from my videos?
Do I need many videos?
How long should my video be?

Will my video go viral?

No. Only one in tens of thousands of videos go viral and when they do most often it is simply luck. Further, most viral videos do not originate from Australia. We do not recommend pursuing what will be an expensive process to research, develop, film and implement and launch a video in the hope of it going viral. Rather you are better spending the money on paid video placement and advertising that has a guaranteed metric.

What format do you use?

We have spent a lot of time working through the file formats and have settled on a format and settings that render your web video in the best possible bandwidth/quality ratio. Our format is suitable for all video sites, and once loaded will play in everyone's browser. For proofing or physical distribution - our format will play on any PC, and on a Mac with a common additional player - which is probably already installed on most Macs. Alternatively we can provide your video in a Mac format.

Do you handle HiDef?

We handle all file formats. Most video has until recently been in 4:3 format, such as 720 x 480. This is also the format used in DVD production. This is a measure of pixels - so 720 pixels across and 480 down. Recently YouTube moved to 16:9, which is 1720 x 1080 pixels. Mindfor Studios film their work using the latest Sony XD TV quality cameras, that film in what is called true HD - 1980x1080 pixels. As you can see this is almost 2:1, and suits modern widescreen monitors and widescreen TVs. YouTube can handle any of these formats

What is Letterboxing?

Letterboxing happens when you play a 16:9 video in a standard 4:3 player. The space on the top and bottom of the screen is filled with black, and your video appears in the middle of the screen - which looks like a "letterbox" slot. This happens as the older 4:3 format is replaced by the new wider formats. It can also happen if you are playing a 16:9 video in a player designed to take true HD - 1980 x 1080.

Can I kick start my videos?

You bet - videos on social media sites are just that - social media. You can certainly use your social circle to get a new video going. Ask your family and friends to watch the video, rate it and leave comments. Also look to embed the video on your MySpace and Facebook pages, and on your website if you have one. The more people you can get to watch and interact with your video the more chance you have of getting it ranked highly in YouTube when people search on a relevant keyword.

Can I make money from my videos?

We now have this information on an expanded page here.

Do I need many videos?

YouTube give preference to videos that have a lot of views OR which come from a channel that has a lot of plays. If your video relates to a niche then coming up in a search for that keyword is not hard, and you are better concentrating on quality not quantity. That is you should make the video really worth watching. If however you are in a crowded space then you need frequency. Weekly is best, monthly at worst. One trick is to break a longer video up into pieces and load each piece a week apart. This does mean we are saying that there is a frequency/quality trade-off in a successful YouTube Channel.

How long should my video be?

Short and getting shorter. 8 minutes used to be the optimum length for what was called a "webisode" a few years ago. This is now down to 3 minutes. However videos of less than 90 seconds don't get a lot of plays unless the length relates to the content - mostly news and funniest home videos clips. Aim for 2 - 3 minutes for promo clips and 3 - 4 minutes for clips with substance to them.