3 all-too-common killers of corporate videos

Well-executed corporate videos can attract and retain enthusiastic audiences.

Done poorly, though, they will send potential viewers fleeing in droves.

Bad audio, poor camera work and unflattering lighting are typical of amateur videos. Yet corporate videos usually suffer from entirely different flaws. Here are three of the most common:

1. Playing politics. Veteran video producer Guy Bauer believes PR people often factor internal politics into their decisions about whom to put on camera, rather than determining who will deliver the most engaging message.

“When you stack the deck full of important people who don’t have subject matter expertise, are you really going to tell a compelling story?” he asks. “And do you really need to interview nine people to tell a two- to three-minute story?”

The problem isn’t limited to agencies that must pander to clients, he says. In-house communicators can face intense pressure to appease bosses and execs by showcasing them in front of the camera lens. Here are several solutions:

Here is a video that Bauer made for EMC. “Their team is huge,” he says, “but is this video any less effective because there aren’t eight people interviewed?”