Touch it up? Or make it over?
I have a kitchen table in my house. I love the table. It serves the purpose, but it’s old and kind of ugly (not in an antique way either). It still functions well, but someone decided it wasn’t up-to-date with current trends. Should I stain it? Repaint it? Is this a DIY project? Or should I save my time and just get a new one?
You can think of video much the same way. With all the content you produce, it’s inevitable that some of it may end up out-of-date as well. But that doesn’t mean you have to throw it out and start over. Sometimes all it needs is a quick touch-up. There are also situations that call for a complete makeover, and others that should just be left alone.
Leave it Alone:
Evergreen How-to Content: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Evergreen content is called that for a reason; if it’s still teaching a valuable lesson, leave it alone.
When to Touch-up/Refresh:
Culture videos: Has your team changed? If you’re interviewing a specific person in a culture video that no longer works at the company, consider replacing just their snippet with a new interviewee or shot.
Product videos: Do you use screenshots or clips of your product in your demo videos? If so, make sure they are up to date because products are always changing!
Research: New research comes out all the time, but that doesn’t mean you have to scrap last quarter’s video just because some updated research has come to light. You can always update one stat or add a stat in. This even works if the video is a motion graphic.
Testimonials: Sometimes your biggest advocate leaves the company they were working for and their testimonial is no longer as impactful, since … well, they don’t work for that company any more. As long as your customer team has been doing a great job of re-building relationships at that company, consider updating the speaker in your testimonial video. You can even do this while keeping most of the messaging the same.
Blog videos: Has a method or concept changed since you last published on that topic? You don’t necessarily have to update the entire video, but you could add updates throughout the clip with text annotations or a even a quick filmed update at the beginning or end.
Webinars: If your webinars are posted chronologically, chances are no one’s watching your hour-long webinar from 2013. Try updating it or even re-purposing it by cutting it into smaller pieces and adding it to a new blog post.
When it’s time for a makeover.
Home Page Video: This is the video that sits front and center. Unless there is a mistake or your tagline needs updating, you should simply create a new one. Change on a home page can be a great way to re-engage visitors and catch people’s attention.
Rebranded Video Content: If you’re going through an entire rebrand, an update to video content probably just isn’t going to cut it. Chances are you’ll need to start from scratch, and it will probably be a more efficient use of everyone’s time.
So how do you know it’s time to refresh your content?
When you’re wearing low-rise and everyone else is in skinny jeans, then you know it’s time for an update. When you’re talking about video it’s different. But with a good system of checks and balances you’ll be ahead of your content, before it becomes too outdated.
Keep Products Site Videos Updated: If you have any big changes in the company like a large number of new hires or layoffs, product launches or product updates you’ll likely need some refreshed content. For smaller changes keep a spreadsheet or a checklist with all the pages on your website and the videos on each page and the date they were made. Make note of those that might need a refresh and ensure your video team is aware of it.
Keep Content Marketing Videos Updated: A quick way to keep track of all video blogs is to use a specific tag or filter. Written blog posts require a bit more work. You would have to set up a personal system to remind yourself to update dated material. Remember even adding a quick update to a blog post can bring it back as up-to-date. Or you can always completely rewrite the post.
Alas, the table – much like some of your content- has legs to stand on and passes the test for a touch-up. Now.. that pool cage with the holes in it.. that’s a different story.
About the Author: Roshni Hannon
Contact: roshni@madbearproductions.com
Her name means “light” and that is what she is… high energy, bright and fast. And yes… she does run regularly. While we’re not sure what she is running from (perhaps her two young kids) we know she’s covered a ton of ground. She was the Executive Producer for an award winning and number one rated morning show in Tampa for years. And now, she uses her unique blend of organization, storytelling and curiosity to help Mad Bear clients find their stories. Think of her as an architect, a story architect.
