Successful business videos come in a variety of formats, including informational, educational and entertaining. To attract new customers, videos must offer something of value. And, when you are seeking to distribute your video, the place of choice is currently YouTube, as it is currently the leading online video sharing platform for both individuals and businesses.

When developing videos for your organization, consider the following 10 tips:

1.)     Shoot your videos in High Definition (HD). Despite the additional production cost, many video viewers expect this format.

2.)     Aim smaller. Online videos are often viewed in small screen format. So, your images and messaging needs to be clearly visible in this smaller sizing.

3.)     Shoot in contrast. Choosing contrasting colors so that your main images or messaging can be clearly seen and understood.

4.)     Consider slideshows. If you aren’t ready to invest in video production for your organization, consider putting together slideshows for your viewing audience. Product launches, messages from the President, how-to’s and news updates are great concepts to integrate into a video slideshow.

5.)     Entertain. Your videos need to be memorable in order to gain repeat viewers and to encourage viewers to pass the messaging along to their network of contacts. Find unique ways to make your message, product information sessions or general news updates entertaining (not always humorous) and you will be sure to gain repeat viewers.

6.)     Keep it simple. Don’t overcomplicate your messaging.

7.)     Watch the length. Even though video formats on YouTube can be as long as 15 minutes, videos should be between 2 and 5 minutes to gain and keep your viewer’s attention. If your information requires more time than this, consider a multi-part series that breaks up more complicated or lengthy information into shorter viewing segments.

8.)     Offer fresh content. Update your video library on a regular basis to ensure that your content doesn’t become stale and to encourage viewers to return.

9.)     Don’t oversell. While it is perfectly acceptable to promote your company and its products and services within a video format, you don’t want to go overboard. Utilize a soft sell approach that will get your messaging across versus a harder direct sale approach.

10.)     Include URLs. When targeting new customers using video marketing techniques, the key is to get the viewer to click on embedded links that lead to your company’s website or dedicated landing pages. You can also conclude your video with a screen that is dedicated solely to your organization’s contact information. For viewing purposes, your contact information should starkly contrast to the video’s background; i.e. white against black.

To appeal to the greatest quantity of B2B prospects, integrate marketing messages in all available formats; written, video and audio.