If you run a video production service, having a video along side your advertisements can attract new customers, but if done poorly it can also scare customers away. What things attract new members and what things cause them to shy away? We asked 73 small business owners to share their opinion.

18% of businesses reported that their business currently has a marketing video. 85% of small business owners said they think video has, or maybe has the potential to benefit businesses (15% do not think video can add value). 85% said that if all videographers had a short video, it would help them choose.


In general, people want videos to be concise. Shorter lengths are a signal to the viewer that the video may do a good job of being concise. When it comes to videographers, the general message from small business clients is that they want to see all aspects of the business, and they don't mind if the video is longer if they can see that the business is run well. "What length of time should a videographer's video be limited to?", here are the results:

  1. 1 minute: 23%
  2. 30 seconds: 16%
  3. 90 seconds: 15%
  4. 3 minutes: 15%
  5. 2 minutes: 14%
  6. No limit: 4%
  7. 15 seconds: 3%
  8. 5 minutes: 1%

We have found that when customers are in browsing mode they have a shorter attention span than when they are in a more serious buying mode so it can often be a good idea to have both a 30 second and 90-120 second video.

When asked "What things in a video would improve your interest in choosing the videographer?", the first 1 to 3 things that came to their mind were:

  1. Great production quality (great lighting, clear audio, creative shots, past work samples, appealing background music) 30
  2. Clear, concise, compelling message, good speaking/communication skills 14
  3. Case studies, past client results, track record, customer testimonials (list of known local businesses as clients), reviews 11
  4. Specialty/past experience is relevant/fits needs, knowledgeable of my audience, or has portfolio variety 9
  5. Shows creativity, is unique, artistic 6
  6. Good pricing (upfront) 6
  7. Style is a fit 5
  8. Good client interactions/Videographer at work (appears to listen to client, open to my opinion) 5
  9. Personality is a fit 5
  10. Shows what to expect, the process 3
  11. Appears detail oriented, accurate, careful 2
  12. Has a drone 2
  13. Professionalism 2
  14. Aren’t pushy/trying to hard to sell 1
  15. Consistency of quality 1
  16. Ability to capture the viewers’ attention 1
  17. Can also help post the video/marketing 1
  18. Able to provide different lengths/versions 1
  19. Showing how different lighting or camera angles work 1
  20. Have something that makes them stand out 1


When asked "What things in a video would cause you to shy away from choosing the videographer?", the first 1 to 3 things that came to their mind were:

  1. Low production quality of the video (shakiness, blurriness, poor audio, poor lighting, busy text, cheesy graphics, poorly shot scenes, poor soundtrack, poor narrative, poor portfolio, over or under exposed, poor editing, poor animation) 20
  2. High price 7
  3. Style does not fit preference 6
  4. Too much about themselves, not enough about what they can do for the client 6
  5. Failure to be clear, concise, videos too long 5
  6. Signs of unprofessionalism 5
  7. Poor speaking/communication skills 4
  8. Inappropriate or offensive content 4
  9. Genre specialty does not match (sports, outdoor) 3
  10. Overproduced (rapid cuts 2, too much special effects) 3
  11. Using actors instead of authentic presentation, drama 3
  12. Ego/arrogance 3
  13. Pushing the client to do it “their way”, imposing their ideas 2
  14. Personalities not a fit 2
  15. Awkward client interactions 1
  16. Pushy sales pitch 1
  17. Unaccommodating terms/payment up front 1
  18. Tells me video will help their business when this is already obvious 1
  19. Poor attire 1
  20. Reputation 1
  21. Political or religious comments 1


We asked small business owners if a videographer's video should include these 6 features:

  • 88% want clips of previous work (11% indifferent, 1% do not want)
  • 80% want project rates (13% indifferent, 7% do not want)
  • 58% want the videographer speaking about their qualifications (34% indifferent, 8% do not want)
  • 51% want the videographer interacting with a client (36% indifferent, 13% do not want)
  • 38% want the camera and equipment (48% indifferent, 14% do not want)
  • 18% want the office they work out of (60% indifferent; 22% do not want)
For more survey results, check back here: https://biveo.com/learning.


Run a search on Biveo.com for local business videographers in your area

Create Your Small Business Marketing Video Yourself Following These 6-Steps