How To Decide if Old Video Content Is Still Effective

Video is a great long-term investment in your brand. However, despite video’s long shelf life, it’s important to review your content regularly to make sure it’s still serving its purpose. It’s true that video content can be useful for years until it starts to lose value, but if you think your brand’s video content is completely timeless, think again.

To make the assessment process easier, we’ve compiled a list of questions you should ask yourself as you check up on older content. If your video passes the test, great! Keep using it as planned and make a note to revisit it again down the line. If you answer “no” to any of these questions, though, make a plan to refresh your content or start the production process for something new.

When you’re ready for your video audit, these are the questions you should ask yourself while you watch.

Is the information accurate?

First and foremost, you’ll want to assess whether the information you’re providing in the video is still accurate. The most obvious example of a video being obsolete is if you’re highlighting products or services that have since been discontinued, but there are less obvious options to consider, too. 

For example, use this time to verify that your contact information and company details are correct. If your location has changed but your video provides an old address or phone number, you’ll want to update that. If your video directs viewers to a landing page that’s out-of-date, you’ll want to update that, too. 

Finally, keep an eye out for people featured throughout the video who may no longer represent your company well. Examples might include an employee testimonial from someone who no longer works for your brand or a quote from a high-profile customer you no longer serve. The people you highlight throughout your content should be people that you’d be proud to associate with your brand. 

Is the CTA clear?

If your video passes the accuracy test, the next step is to decide whether the call-to-action (CTA) is clear and effective. To assess your CTA, you’ll have to begin by thinking about your viewers and what their needs are when they watch the video in question. If your CTA provides a logical next step after watching, it’s probably worth keeping. If not, it might be time for an update.

This one can get tricky if your video has ended up serving a purpose that it wasn’t designed for. For example, let’s say your sales team regularly sends an informational video—originally intended for your website—to give contacts more detail about your brand. 

Because the video was designed for your website, the CTA asks the viewer to set up a sales meeting. But, in its most common use case today, the salesperson is already in contact with the viewer by the time they see this content. A more effective CTA for that scenario might ask the viewer to request a quote or product demo instead. 

Because you have a misalignment between the video’s CTA and the use case, you’re potentially hurting the impact of your content. Make a plan to update the CTA or create new content for these cases so that you push viewers to take the action that makes the most sense for your sales funnel. 

Has your branding changed?

Once you’re confident in your CTA, watch the video again through a branding lens. Look at details like your logo, tagline, and color scheme. If any of those branding elements have changed since the video was first produced, it’s time for an update. 

A lack of cohesion between branding elements ultimately means that your viewer—your prospective customer—will have a hard time developing a consistent perception of your brand. When it’s time to make a purchase, you may not stand out as a clear solution because your branding is contradictory. Save yourself this headache by refreshing your content with up-to-date branding. 

Is it up to your quality standards?

All of the above questions focus on the meat of the content itself, but now it’s time to look at the video’s production value. Is the quality up to your standards? The answer might be no, especially if your company has grown since the video was created. 

For example, if you had a tighter budget at the time the video was developed, you might wish your content looked a little more professional. Or, if you were new to production when you began the project, your content might reflect a learning curve that would be less of a barrier today. In either case, if you can tell the quality of the video doesn’t meet today’s quality standards, it’s time for an update.

Is it the best you can do?

Finally, one last question: Whether your video is still technically good or not, could you make a better version? Don’t look for tiny improvements here, like a font choice you don’t love or a graphic that comes in a second too early. Instead, think about big-picture changes that would make the whole video stronger, like better testimonial content or updated product descriptions. 

If you have new information since the video was created that would be an overall improvement over what the video features now, you may want to err on the side of producing a new video sooner rather than later. Even if your current video is effective, why not strive for a version that’s exceptional?

Next steps

If you get through all of these questions and can’t come up with a reason to make new content, then good news: your video is probably still paying dividends. However, if you answer “no” to any of the questions above (or even give a hesitant “yes”), it might be time to start thinking about a refresh. 

If that’s the case, you have options. Depending on what the offending issue was, you might just be able to tweak your existing content slightly to bring it up to par. Or, if the issue is more holistic, it might be time to start from scratch with a new production concept. Or both! You can always correct anything you can in the existing video to improve the current version while you work on something new. 

Once you make a decision, don’t forget to set a reminder to revisit your content again sometime in the future. Even if you move forward with a new production, that content will need to be reviewed down the line to make sure it’s still effective. 

A review roughly every six months tends to be a good benchmark unless you know something drastic will change between now and then, like a rebranding or a product launch. Otherwise, these questions will be ready for you again six months down the line.

Need help deciding when you should repurpose content or order something entirely new? Hop on a free call with one of our experts to learn how Lemonlight can create video content that meets your goals without breaking the bank.

* This article was originally published here