Don’t upload your higher ed video to YouTube (or other video-sharing websites) before doing these 5 simple things

Yesterday morning, I spent a couple of hours reviewing the 3 nominated websites for the eduStyle Awards in the “Best Use of Video” category: Boston University, NJIT and University of Notre Dame.

I watched all the videos accessible from the 3 websites and even checked out the YouTube channels of these 3 institutions.

After spending some time watching the videos available on these YouTube channels (and a few others), I was surprised to see that many videos still don’t follow these 5 basic rules – and thus might not realize their full potential:

• Make your video visual, short and fast-paced
  You really got to have a compelling reason to go beyond 2 minutes (UCLA Newsroom pulled it off with its video about decoding caps and gowns, but it’s really the exception to the rule). Stay on the safe side. Even 120 seconds can look like an eternity – especially if your video is composed of a monologue. Go for fast-paced editing, include different settings, interview several people and if you can make it shorter, please do.
• Include a call to action (or at least a web address) at the end of your video
  Don’t forget that your video will be seen on YouTube – not on your website. Some will find it on your (somehow branded) YouTube channel, but others will just select it in a list of search results. While your YouTube username might be enough to identify your institution (that is if you’ve chosen it carefully) within YouTube, it won’t be of any help if your video is embedded on blogs or shared on facebook. Do yourself a favor and include at least a web address that will allow viewers to look for more information if they wish.
  Looking for a good example? Check out this video from Duke University.
• Provide contact information for the media
  I’m sure you’ve noticed that traditional media (and especially cable TV) has fallen in love with YouTube videos. Make it easy for them to contact you in case they want to show/use your video or are interested in the topic featured in your production. Just include a contact email address or phone number in the description field of your videos that could be of interest to the media.
  Looking for a good example? Check out this video from UC Berkeley.
• Play the video-sharing game by the rules, make your videos embeddable
  What makes YouTube such a powerful channel is the fact that you can embed a video anywhere by just copying and pasting a few lines of code. You can always choose to turn off this setting and prevent people from sharing your videos on blogs/websites, but why would you do that? (I know why, but do you think that the illusion of controlling the message — or at least the context in which it is delivered — justify the missed opportunities in terms of exposure?)
• If you’re looking to generate some big numbers in terms of page views, make your video very short and difficult (impossible) to understand at first sight (OK, this one isn’t really a rule, but something I found funny)
  Yesterday while wandering in YouTube land, I found out that MST Communication Director, Andrew Careaga had posted a video to YouTube that generated more than 80,000 page views over the past year. I was stunned. So, it took me half a second to click on the play button… once, twice and many more times to understand what this 8-second video titled “What happens when aerogel material is hit” was actually about – which might also explain the high number of views as it literally takes at least 4 times to actually see anything.

UPDATE: Don’t think the videos produced by your institution should be on YouTube? Have a look at this video from the Chronicle featuring what pops up at the top of search results for some universities (I didn’t know it was possible to embed the Chronicle’s videos – great!):