Dec

13

Al and Laura Ries’ Weekly Video Marketing Report demonstrates online video done right

Filed Under Video

Membership site owners looking for an example of effective online video content and design should immediately visit www.riesreport.com. It’s one of the view cases I’ve encountered where online video lives up to expectation. It’s one of the few video sites I frequently return to.

Why does The Ries Report succeed where so many others fail? Here are six possible reasons. You may want to add additional comments to this list:

  1. Delivery. The Ries Report combines the structure of carefully-developed presentation visuals combined with the immediacy and personality of a face-to-face delivery. By looking to the left of Al or Laura, your eyes can track the key ideas being discussed. This is one of the few times that an online video brings the impact of a professional presentation to your computer.
  2. Simplicity. Note the simple site layout and the equally simple layout of the screen. Note the way Al and Laura clearly emerge from the background, and the simplicity of their clothing. There’s no “Hollywood” in these productions, just feelings of education, immediacy, and sincerity.
  3. Personality. Al and Laura’s personality clearly emerge in the videos. I especially like the “torso” layout, rather than the common “talking heads.” By including more than just Al and Laura’s heads, there’s room for hand gestures as well as facial expressions.
  4. Length. Averaging 8 minutes in length, the videos are long enough to explore topics in detail, yet short enough to avoid “video hostage” situations, or the frustrations typically encountered when trying to return to a longer video at a later date.
  5. Improvement. Comparing the latest Reports with earlier postings, it’s obvious that they are committed to constant improvement. Obvious attention has been paid to simplifying the screen, in particular, the background behind the presenters. A comparison of “before” and “after” communicates a willingness to improve the viewer experience.
  6. Navigation. Visitors will find it refreshingly simple to navigate the site and access different reports.

Expectations versus reality

I was pleasantly surprised when I first visited The Ries Report. I’ve been an Al Ries fan since his first co-authored Positioning Era book appeared, and I frequently visit Laura Rie’s Origin of Brands blog. So, I had high expectations before my first visit.

Quite frankly, I was expected to experience the all-too-familiar video “dilution of content.” The “video for video’s sake” scenario.

Instead, I encountered the video equivalent of the focus and simplicity that has consistently been a characteristics of their writing. There are definitely lots of lessons for membership site owners and other online marketers at www.riesreport.com. I don’t know what kind of budget they have for video production, but they’re definitely getting their money’s worth!

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