A few months ago, I paid ~$250 for a copywriting training from one of the best copywriters ever.
There were four videos and so far I’ve watched one.
Each lesson is about two hours long. So I keep saying: “Eh, I’ll get to that when I have more time.”
That’s the thing with long videos. People see them as a time commitment. So they put them off.
And that’s the huge issue with a lot of the case study videos people put out.
They post these 20-90 minute interviews but nobody watches them.
Because the viewer goes: “Eh, I’ll get to it later.”
Or worse, they start the video but give up after 3 minutes because it’s just 2 people talking about the weather or where they live or whatever.
The trick is to make your videos connect right away. Then take the gold that’s buried deep in the interview and bring it front and center. So people can’t help but witness the incredible transformation this person had using your product.
How do you do this?
When I do Hero’s journey case studies, I always include “movie scenes” videos.
I’ll record a 1-hour interview then break that down into multiple 3-6 minute video clips.
Each clip focuses on one specific part of their journey.
For example, the first section of the case studies I write often dive into the struggle the person faced. I use text and quotes to tell the story, then go even deeper using a video clip.
The video isn’t just a repeat of what was already said. It adds new details and insights that make the story more engaging.
Doing this lets us jump straight to the good stuff. Right away view sees content that connects with where they’re at.
The later clips can blow their minds with valuable insights. Then prove how awesome your product/service is.
We scatter these clips throughout the page. Almost every section of the Hero’s Journey Case Study I write has a video clip that expands upon what was just talked about.
The results?
When my client made videos in the past, people watch an average of 10-20% of them. They would bail before they even got a quarter of the way through.
Using this “movie scene” method, view rates went through the roof. People watched 70-90% of the clips.
In fact, we included both the full interview as well as the short clips. In every instance, short clips smashed the full interviews.
The clips got as many as 12X more clicks. And people watched 3/4 of them on average — as opposed to only watching half of the full 20-minute interview.
Breaking up the long video into short clips, then sharing those clips in my Hero’s Journey Case Study format shot engagement way up while also increasing sales 15%.
So if you want to boost engagement and close more sales, share more case studies. And if you use small chunks instead of long interview clips people will consume more of the content and see the amazing transformation available to them if they buy your stuff.