{"id":37033,"date":"2025-02-26T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cloudinary.com\/blog\/?p=37033"},"modified":"2025-02-28T10:32:04","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T18:32:04","slug":"how-to-test-video-previews-for-engagement-using-dam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloudinary.com\/blog\/how-to-test-video-previews-for-engagement-using-dam","title":{"rendered":"How to Test Video Previews for Engagement Using DAM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Videos are an essential component of modern marketing campaigns, with 93% of video marketers<\/a> reporting that video gives them a positive ROI. That same study links videos with users staying longer on a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first few seconds of a video often determine overall engagement. Users decide whether or not to click on a video in seconds. They see titles, thumbnails, and video previews, and that\u2019s all they need to make a decision. If the preview doesn\u2019t hook them in, they\u2019re unlikely to click through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testing different previews can help you get more clicks on your videos, and you\u2019ll need to create a lot of them to test for impact. Scale your asset management with Cloudinary<\/a> Assets, an API-first digital asset management (DAM), then edit and transform your videos either through the Video Player Studio<\/a> or with dynamic URLs, which allow you to programmatically generate multiple variations of your high-quality, original videos on the fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog post, you\u2019ll learn how to create and test video previews using Cloudinary Assets, Video Player Studio, and dynamic URLs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating Video Previews in Cloudinary\u2019s Video Player Studio<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To follow this guide, you\u2019ll need a Cloudinary account. Sign up for free<\/a>, and when your account is ready, log in to access the Media Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cloudinary enables you to edit video assets you upload with the Studio tool in the Media Library. To go to the library, click on Assets<\/strong> > Media Library<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Cloudinary Media Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now click Upload<\/strong> to upload the video assets you want to create previews for. If you already have videos in the library, select one of them by navigating to the Assets<\/strong> or Folder<\/strong> directories. Right-click the video file and select the Video Player Studio<\/strong> option:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Editing a video asset in the Cloudinary DAM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once inside Studio, you can configure your video player settings and profiles, set titles and descriptions, posters (or thumbnails), and add chapters. It also includes tools that can help you generate transcripts and set subtitles for your videos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studio also includes a video trimming tool, which you can use to create previews. To create a preview, click Edit<\/strong> > Trim video<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Cloudinary Video Studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next, use the indicators in the video timeline to select the parts you want to trim. Video previews should be short (five to 15 seconds is a good rule of thumb) so users can get a quick idea of what to expect and click it to see the full version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trimming a video using the Cloudinary Video Studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Click Save Asset As<\/strong> to save the preview as a unique asset:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Saving an asset in Cloudinary\u2019s Video Studio Player<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before you leave the Studio, navigate to the Poster<\/strong> section to set up a new poster for the video. The Auto Select<\/strong> option uses AI to find a great frame. Alternatively, you can decide which frame to use manually:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Setting a poster for a video preview<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To get the link to the preview, exit the Studio and return to the Media Library. Look for the newly created asset and consider adding a Preview <\/strong>tag to it for easier identification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now select the asset and look for its public ID. If you plan on using dynamic URLs, you\u2019ll need to know the public ID for selecting the video assets you want to transform:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The public ID for a Cloudinary file<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can embed the video file on a website or application using the Cloudinary Video Player. The Video Player will give you access to analytics, which makes it possible to track video engagement and run A\/B tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to see those instructions in action, watch the recording below on how to create a quick preview<\/a> using the trimming tool:<\/p>\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong>

You can use any video player to reproduce previews and full videos on your site. If you use the Cloudinary Video Player<\/a>, you can get access to analytics, which makes it a great option for testing video previews.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Deploying Video Previews Using Dynamic URLs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So far, you\u2019ve learned how to create video previews using the Cloudinary DAM and Studio. That\u2019s a manual approach that works if you only need to create a small number of previews. At scale, Cloudinary dynamic URLs enable you to deliver assets while applying video transformations<\/a> based on the address parameters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To follow the next instructions, you\u2019ll need to find your Cloudinary cloud name. Access your Cloudinary account and navigate to Programmable Media > Dashboard<\/strong>. Look for the Cloud name <\/strong>option and copy the value:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Finding your Cloudinary cloud name<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dynamic URLs have a basic structure that includes your cloud name<\/strong>, the transformation parameters<\/strong>, the asset\u2019s public ID,<\/strong> and the video format<\/strong>. Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n\n\n

https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/<cloud_name<\/span>><\/span>\/video\/upload\/<transformations<\/span>><\/span>\/<public_id<\/span>><\/span>.<format<\/span>><\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> HTML, XML<\/span> (<\/span>xml<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
You can use the trim parameter to create a preview of a video asset. To do so, you\u2019ll include both a start (so_X<\/code><\/em>) and an end offset (eo_X<\/code><\/em>). With this dynamic URL, you\u2019d retrieve ten seconds of video, starting at five seconds and ending at 15:<\/p>\n\n\n
[video src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/demo_cloud\/video\/upload\/so_5,eo_15\/marketing_video.mp4\"<\/span> \/]<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JSON \/ JSON with Comments<\/span> (<\/span>json<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Here\u2019s an example of a dynamic URL using the preview effect to create a five-second video with a maximum of three segments (to show different parts of the video in the preview):<\/p>\n\n\n
[video src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/demo\/video\/upload\/e_preview:duration_12:max_seg_3\/marketing_video.mp4\"<\/span> \/]<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JSON \/ JSON with Comments<\/span> (<\/span>json<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
In this URL, you have the following parameters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you don\u2019t want to tinker with different trim parameters, you can use the preview transformation<\/a> effect. This effect can generate an automatic video preview from your file using AI. You can set its length to ensure that you get a manageable file and configure a maximum of segments or different parts of the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n