David Meerman Scott just launched his revised & updated book The NEW RULES of MARKETING & PR (Click to buy).  If you haven’t read it you should.

In it David talks about the creation of a video category called business casual (page 252). He explains that video in all its forms need not be the high production difficulty and cost you’ve come to expect from “formal video”.  David goes on to make several points

1. You can produce simple low cost engaging content that works/converts.
2. Do not create poorly shot video, with bad lighting and editing – there is a baseline.
3. He is “convinced that the trend towards casual content means that consumers want to get closer to the organizations they do business with”.
4. Informal “telling it like it is – will make us more efficient”

One additional learning that David and our customers have stressed is -

Trust.

Business Casual video is honest. You’re standing out there on your own with no fancy backgrounds nor teleprompter.  People love the directness and the honesty that comes through the simple format.  We find that people appreciate it and are therefore willing to advance to conversation with such a forthright individual that’s focused on the content delivered.

Never forget that no matter how produced your video is – the content must be authentic and engaging. That is what converts visitors. The business casual content is easily produced on small high definition capable cameras (Cisco Flip, Kodak Zi8) that are simple to use and cost less than $80 to purchase. The quality is fantastic and as of this post Flip cameras are still online for sale.

Here is an example of business casual video content –

Today, when visitors see this business casual content they find it genuine and engaging. The results are excellent and the more you do it the easier it gets.

AOL recently announced that they would team with Mark Burnett (Producer of popular TV show Survivor) to produce video versions of CliffsNotes (John Wiley Publishing).  The concept is to engage the audience by using video with a comic approach.  Although there has been much criticism regarding the further destruction of literature appreciation, this approach is rather focused on engaging an audience so they can comprehend and retain the information.  I believe that this idea is a variation on our theme of  “Business Casual Video”.

There were a couple of interesting takeaways for me:

• Short is getting shorter -  CliffsNotes were the original way to take long form content and shorten it.  Video makes it easier to make short even shorter, as the story can be told more quickly with site, sound and motion.

• Video increases retention -  Studies show that we absorb and remember content much better when it is communicated with pictures, sound, and type together, rather than simply text alone.

• Fun is fun -  Comics are a great medium for engaging an audience.  They are not necessarily easy to make–but it is much easier to be fun than to be funny. Comics can provide a great way to tell a story, and make content digestion much easier for viewers.

So, when you want to mix it up, think about a short video that is simple, with pictures and a fun voice.  These drive engagement, comprehension, and retention, leading to higher and better conversion.

Do you have examples of other ways that traditional written information is being transformed in video?

(Image from http://www.cliffsnotes.com)

Writing comedy for businesses is not easy. A lot of businesses actually stay away from it because they’re worried about the messaging and offending someone. Plus when a business attempts to make a comedy, it’s usually shot down, changed or ruined in a way that takes everything funny out of it. I myself have had a few scripts that needed to be passed onto others that didn’t turn out the way I had planned them. This is mainly because you can’t share comedy through paper, unless you’re telling a series of knock knock jokes, but then honestly, we’re at work! There’s no time for knock knock jokes!

Here is a video of Tim Washer talking about his expenses writing comedy for business, and I mean big business like Microsoft and Cisco. Tim talks about how you should share your ideas and why you should work with a small group.

In my last post, I suggested that newly minted college grads with liberal arts degrees are wonderfully skilled to fill the new role in marketing for content creation. Today, I read in the NY Times about  a new program for film-making including The Cinema School, the first high school focused on developing cinema skills with a goal of building confidence and putting kids on a course to college. I am intrigued as this is a further indication that the importance of video is spreading into the education system.

My view is simple; video is now part of our communication lexicon. While some are still worried about using it (mostly due to limited experience), many others are getting very comfortable in creating video based content. They are getting comfortable because the cost of the equipment is cheap as is the cost of the software to edit. Also, it lets them express themselves in unique ways.

While everyone will not become a filmmaker, the skills of communicating with video can easily be used in marketing and sales, especially for B2B organizations.  Marketing 2.0 and Inbound Marketing has become about creating  informative, authentic  content delivered in a short, succinct, fashion. Video complements text here as a wonderful way to communicate.

In the next few years, every marketing group will want people experienced at using video. Just like we wanted people with good writing skills in the past, we will want people with good video creation skills going forward.  If you’re having trouble getting over the hump, try collaborating with a recent graduate that may already have the skills…