When TruScribe and other video content creators talk about a video series, we’re not referring to a series of Hollywood films, or a television program. A video series is a different type of content, with different potential audiences and messages.
So what defines a video series, and how can your organization benefit from one?
A video series is a group of videos that contain consistent elements. They are meant to be watched by the same audience. Often, these videos will be sequential. The intention is generally that the viewer sees the first one, then the second, and so on.
Video series can, however, also have a looser sense of order. Take a series of product explainer videos, for example. It might be written in a way so the viewer can watch in any order and still understand their messages.
Consistency Matters in a Video Series
The above-mentioned ‘consistent elements’ are vital to a good video series, and can manifest in a variety of ways. One of the most common of these ways is visual consistency. Visual consistency can be achieved by using the same format for each video. For example, each video in a series may be a whiteboard video. The audience will know from the hand-drawn images reinforcing the voiced script that they’re watching a video from the series they’ve encountered before.
Visual consistency can also be achieved within formats. In other words, say all of your organization’s videos are whiteboard videos. You may choose to feature a specific character, icons, accent color, or another visual signifier. That can also create a similar visual consistency in the series.
Use the Same Narrator or Music
You can also rely on your audio track to create consistency within your video series. By using the same narrator or music, you can signal the audience that they’re still watching the same series. This works even as you vary the images employed or topics covered.
Keep a Similar Topic or Message
Speaking of topics, the topic/message of your series can be another great way to create consistency. When each of your videos is titled, say, “Joining the Team,” followed by a sub-topic or number of the video in the series, you’ve created a consistent theme that will jump out to viewers. This can be especially useful in videos you disseminate for later viewing. Titles and topics are easier to locate than, say, a narrator’s name or the format of the video.
Why is Consistency Important in a Video Series?
Consistency establishes expectations and primes audiences for the message to be delivered. In doing so, you’ll be able to get to the heart of the specific message of each video quicker. Audiences won’t have to be reintroduced to each element of your series.
Particularly if your audience is external, a consistent video series is one that will set expectations regarding your brand. Associating your brand with videos that feature specific icons, for example, will help link a style and personality with your brand fitting the format. Your brand is informative, easy to process, enjoyable, and memorable.
The other above-mentioned aspect of a video series is a maintained audience. For a series to truly be retainable and useful, it’s best to make it entirely for the same audience.
If your video series contains six videos, writing some for one audience and some for another may prove confusing to both audiences. Worse, it probably won’t make business sense. Why would you create a “series” that is aimed at internal development, while including videos targeting the end consumer? It’s not necessary or appropriate to show the public internal materials, and your staff won’t need to be sold on the products they make.
What is the Value of a Video Series?
A strong video series is consistent and intended for a single audience. So what is the value of a video series generally. While we’ve mentioned the efficacy of consistency in branding, the strength of the series itself goes beyond this.
Let’s take a customer-facing video series as an example. In contrast to a single video, a video series promotes engagement with your brand over a long period of time.
Market your video series to optimize this continuous engagement—make it clear on your website, YouTube channel, or wherever you prefer to host your videos that customers will get to watch another video next week.
Whatever your publishing timeline for your series is, and whatever the number of videos that will be in that series, let your audience know up front. You’ll see increased traffic to your website, and very likely a similar increase in conversions as more customers encounter your products with more frequency.
You’ll also see increased sharing of your content. The never-ending story, or the brand story that has no fixed endpoint and continues to develop over a long period of time, is a highly successful content marketing strategy.
Even if the story is not truly never-ending (perhaps it’s twelve videos, not an indefinite number), consumers appreciate a continuous narrative. It allows them to engage with a lengthy, content-rich visual story without the potential turnoff of an extensive runtime.
In turn, this allows you to produce a high amount of engaging content without fear that a forty-minute video won’t be attractive to potential viewers. Ten videos with a four-minute runtime, however, will appeal easily to interested audiences.
Key Takeaways
A video series is a great way to express brand consistency and heighten engagement with external audiences, and set expectations and values for both external and internal audiences. The next time your organization considers making a whiteboard video, think about going a step further and creating a series. The results—engagement, page views, and conversions, as well as internal retention and reviewability—will speak for themselves.