So, you’ve distilled your Big Idea down to its most important elements, and made a one or two minute Explainer VIdeo. Way to go!
You want to post it to your social media, but we’re all familiar with The Scroll… how many times have you watched a video on Instagram and then scrolled away when it was longer than 30 seconds? You’re not alone. Some studies suggest that you have just 10 seconds to capture your audience’s attention.
Enter the Sizzler. A Sizzler – also called Pre-Roll, Commercial-Length, or Preview video – is a 10-20 second cut of a longer video. The ideal explainer video prompts your audience to take action; a sizzler does the same thing… just faster.
The point of a Sizzler is to grab attention and turn heads, NOT explain your entire deal (that’s what an Explainer is for!) In fact, some of the best sizzlers don’t give away much at all – they just grab attention, build excitement, and leave people wanting more.
No single video is going to accomplish all of your goals, like drumming up interest AND converting a lead to a sale AND informing your audience about your Big Idea. But there’s no reason to start from scratch when you need to turn heads. You can take your explainer video and smartly edit it down to a sizzler, which is a super efficient way to reuse existing content to get a different outcome
What are some ways to use your Sizzler?
- Website and Landing Pages: Wherever your product, service, event, or idea lives, add a sizzler that people see when they first arrive at your site.
- Email: Send promos directly to prospects or contacts – people prefer watching videos to reading pitches or white papers.
- Social Media: Duh. We’re all hanging out on the Socials, put your content where the eyeballs are.
- Digital Ads and Paid Social: It’s pretty affordable to have your video played before YouTube videos, in people’s Instagram or Facebook feeds who have shown an interest in your topic, and on Twitter.
- Webinars (or even in-person conferences): Sizzlers can be part of your presentation, or can be shown between sessions.
Getting excited about Sizzlers, but want to see some examples? Glad you asked! Here are a few of our favorites.
