With the introduction of easy-to-use video cameras like the Flip, Kodak Zi8, and smartphones like the iPhone 4, high quality videos are being made every day by people who never would have shot video before.  Sure, there were camcorders back in the day, but they were such a pain to use that parents would only break them out on Billie’s birthday or on Janie’s first dance recital.  These days, the amount of video being shot is growing and Cisco projects it will be 90% of consumer internet traffic by 2013.

Along with the growth of consumer usage of these cameras, we’re experiencing a rise in business usage as well.  A testament to the interest level is that two of our most popular blog posts have been Business Casual Video and Produce Video Without The Producer.  90% of our customers use either the Flip or the Kodak Zi8 to capture the video clips for the Video Apps they make with our software.

You’d think that this movement would be very positive for video production companies.  After all, if video is more pervasive, then that means more demand for professional video producers.  Based on my interactions with producers over the past year and posts I’ve read in message boards around the web,  producers generally seem scared that their craft is going to disappear.  Here’s an interesting excerpt from a post on CreativeCow:

Forget the Flip for a moment, it’s just a symptom, the underlying problem is that video is becoming a commodity to them and the Flip allows them to exercise that theory. It’s no longer the arcane alchemy art/voodoo of ex-hippies and artists, it is something they think (I said “they”) anybody can now do, since after all, “they” are proving to themselves anyone can do it.

Like any disruptive innovation, there is a chance that these new video cameras along with innovative software will eventually kill the art of business video production.  I don’t think that will be the case.  Instead, the new technology is opening up more opportunities to use video than ever before.  Who would have though of doing a video blog in the 90′s?  Who would have thought of hiring a video production firm to promote a webinar?  Nobody would.  It was too hard and way too expensive.

What we’re finding is that by using video in new and innovative ways on their website, in sales interactions, and in customer support, our customers are getting “over the hump” with video.  They are learning the lingo and how to use the equipment.  In addition, they are getting an appetite for more video.  A number of our customers have followed a similar pattern:

1. Video was an enigma to them.  They thought video was hard.  They were afraid to try it.
2. Using our software along with our coaching, they made a few marketing and/or sales videos that were successful
3. Do-it-yourself video quickly became a key part of their marketing and sales lifecycle
4. After several months of doing this, they ask us to help them to find an accomplished professional producer to help them with their “Homepage Video”

In the long term, I believe that innovations in technology and software are good for professional video producers, as long as they are willing to adapt their business models appropriately.  Sure, some of them will go out of business, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Interested in DIY Business Video?  Download our eBook Best Practices For Using Video To Convert Visitors To Leads

Photo Credit: Jon Gos

Hey, this is Chris from VisibleGains. When people think of video now they think of really expensive cameras and hiring really expensive people to create their videos.  That’s not the case anymore.  Cameras are getting smaller and easier to use all while capturing HD video. If you’re having trouble figuring out what you need and where you can shoot I’ve put this video together to show you what you need to do to get your shoots running quickly and easily.

If you need equiptment, you can purchase a Starter Bundle by clicking here.  This Starter Bundle includes, a camera, memory card, microphone, and tripod.  Here are two documents that cover everything in the video for you to use offline.  You can download:

Scouting For A Location – Download

Setting up Your Shoot – Download

Just Grab A Camera And Go!

In an earlier post, The Four Commandments of Shooting Effective Video, we discussed the importance of lighting, sound, background and traffic.  In this post, we’ll cover four more tips that will make you a better videographer and free you to do more (and more adventurous) videos for your business.  In this post we’ll cover basic elements of wardrobe, framing, recording and review.

Wardrobe – This is simple. The day before your shoot, tell your subject(s) to wear solid colors and avoid stripes and other designs that create harsh lines.  Lines, stripes and complex patterns can cause distortion when your video is being encoded and it can distract viewers.

Framing – Proper framing makes it much easier for a viewer to follow along with the video.  You should be aware of headroom, how much room is above the head of the subject and the edge of the video frame, and angle, which can be off-camera and direct-to-camera.  Below are some examples to help you understand the differences.

Here are some examples that illustrate the concepts described above:

Recording – When recording, you may have the option on your camera to record in full HD 1080P video.  For many videos this may be overkill.  If you’re using the Kodak Zi8 or similar camera, you can set the quality setting at 720P 30FPS (FPS= Frames Per Second). This still offers high-quality recording without requiring too much storage and increasing upload times (higher quality takes more storage space and can take longer to upload from the camera).  If you’re adventurous and are using a higher-end camera, it can’t hurt to shoot in higher quality, but be sure to monitor your on-camera storage so you don’t run out of space in mid shoot!

Review – Before your subject leaves and you pack up, take a few minutes to review some of the footage you just captured. Does the lighting look okay? Is the audio clear? Although spot reviewing your footage can’t discover all possible glitches, it can save you from discovering a complete wash-out later. A few minutes invested onsite can avoid an entire re-shoot later.

These tips are basic, for sure, but our objective is to get you started, not help you win film festivals. As you get more comfortable with shooting video you may experiment with higher-end equipment, remote lighting and more elaborate shooting techniques. Hopefully by then we’ll have posted some experts tips to help you on your journey to the next level.

Good luck!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/newsbiepix/ / CC BY 2.0

If you were not among the standing-room-only crowd in Waltham yesterday, you missed a great panel discussion with Tim Bradbury, American City Business Journals; Joe Chernov, Eloqua; Judy Gern, Constant Contact; David Meerman Scott, best-selling author; and Dave Toole of MEDIAmobz.  Our own Cliff Pollan moderated the session.

The event, sponsored by VisibleGains, Business Wire and MEDIAmobz, and graciously hosted by Constant Contact, generated many insights about the use of video. In fact, there was so much valuable content that we’ll likely explore topics in more detail in upcoming blog posts.  For now, however, we wanted to recap some of the important observations from the event in the hopes that it will spark ongoing dialogue.

Here are seven things you’ll want to know right away:

Video is no longer a novelty; it’s a necessity. 100% of those in attendance have watched a business-related video. If you’re trying to sell to any of the more than 100 attendees who were in the room (or companies like them), video would be a great tool.

Video is the new literacy.  According to Dave Toole from MEDIAmobz, “we’re just seeing the beginning” of video storytelling. Brands are using it for new product introductions, customer testimonials and to capture real people using their products.

Video has proven power down the marketing funnel. David Meerman Scott underscored the ability for video to drive higher conversion numbers. It’s not just an awareness-builder, it’s a lead generator and sales closer.

Prospects who consume video convert at higher rates. Judy Gern from Constant Contact shared her company’s experience with video, revealing that prospects who consume video become customers at a much higher rate.

A company of authors is a boon for SEO. Joe Chernov from Eloqua said companies should encourage more content contribution, especially optimized video. More authors, including video subjects, within your company means stronger search performance.

Soon everyone will be video “talent.” Cliff Pollan predicts that someday soon “we’ll all be talent.” At one point we all learned Powerpoint to communicate.  Soon we’ll all learn to communicate better through video.

Video is key to the future of news distribution. Tim Bradbury and his team at American City Business Journals encourage businesses to add video to news they distribute. Joe Chernov agreed, providing the staggering metric that companies that embed video into their press releases get a whopping 500% more views.

There you have it, seven nuggets to ponder right away. We knew this panel would be interesting, but we had no idea how eager marketers are to incorporate video into the mix and how successfully many are already doing so.

To see more of the commentary during and after the event, please check out this hashtag on Twitter: #bwvidevent.

Cecil B. DeMille was famous for flamboyant productions such as the Ten Commandments, with lavish sets that almost outshined the actors (which, in some cases, was actually his objective). How much of Cecil B. DeMille’s flamboyance should you bring into your productions? Let’s just say that in most cases less is more. In fact, if you’re just getting started, we suggest that you focus on the fundamentals of lighting, sound, background and traffic control. We’ll call these our “Four Commandments,” in honor of Mr. DeMille.

Lighting – Look for a location with good lighting that can be placed in front of the subject. If the subject is up against a wall, for example, be sure the room has more than one overhead light to avoid harsh shadows. Windows can bring in ambient light, but be sure the subject is facing the window to avoid the issue below (TIP: the brighter it is behind the subject the more light you’ll need in front).

Sound – New videographers ignore best practices for sound at their own peril. There’s nothing worse than getting home and discovering that your footage is marred by whirring, whooshing or extraneous voices you didn’t hear onsite. A little extra time in advance of shooting, however, goes a long way. If you’re in a quiet room without any echo, you may be able to get away with using the microphone built into the camera. Rather than take any chances, however, it’s better to have an external microphone on hand.  A lavalier microphone easily clips onto your subject and connects to your camera (be sure you have enough cord!). Ideally, the microphone should be 1-3 inches from the center of the chest.  Hide the cables by clipping them onto ties, button down shirts and jackets.

Backgrounds – Less is often more with your background. A cluttered background can distract the viewer and make your video seem amateurish. Removing the clutter, such as in the right-hand image below, immediately gives your video a more polished look. Note how the left-hand image has lines going through the subject’s head and reveals clutter behind. This is an easy fix by simply taking an extra minute to frame your subject through the viewfinder.

Traffic – Even seasoned videographers avoid high-traffic areas for video shoots. Your best bet is a conference room or office where you can shut the door.  It’s also a good idea to prepare signs saying “video shoot in progress” and, if possible, distribute an email to your company letting them know you’ll be filming.  And don’t forget about people and noises outside any windows. A bus going by or loud laughter in an office next door can ruin a “perfect take.” Be sure to anticipate all distractions and make plans to avoid them before you start.

Cecil B. DeMille was judged by his colorful sets and how well he could direct “a cast of thousands.” You’ll only be judged on how clearly your subject’s message is received by the viewer. By following these four commandments for lighting, sound, background and traffic, you may not win an Academy Award, but you will produce video that converts potential leads online.

Yes, this is a plug, but it’s an important one. Yesterday we announced an important partnership for our growing company. While we continue to preach how easily and cost-effectively you can produce video, we realize that some companies could still benefit from professional guidance and/or extra arms and legs, at least early on.

As of today, our clients in the U.S., Europe and Asia can outsource the production of their video-enabled marketing apps, including event promotion, customer testimonials and product/service demos, to MEDIAmobz, a marketplace for creative services, particularly video production. Once you contact us (or them) you’ll immediately be matched with a team from their global network of video producers and you’ll be off and running. Video in less than 24 hours has never been easier.

To learn more about our partnership with MEDIAmobz and discover why they are such a strong global partner, please see the press release we jointly issued yesterday

Also, please don’t’ forget our upcoming Business Wire event on April 27 in Boston where MEDIAmobz will provide examples of how video-enabled marketing apps can be beneficial to your business. You can learn more about that event here.

Did we hit our top three messages hard enough? Did we include enough mentions of our brand and/or product name? These are often among the first few questions marketers ask as they review a near-finished video.  But are they THE most important criteria for judging the conversion potential for video? We don’t think so.

If you want your video to convert, it must first engage, at least long enough for the prospect to receive your call to action or offer. And the more personal a video feels to the prospect, the greater the likelihood of engagement. So, does this mean your messages and brand/product mentions aren’t important.  Certainly not, but it does mean that if you fail to create a personal connection and engagement, those messages and mentions will likely go in one ear and out the other.

So how do you make a video more personal and engaging? After all, you’re only shooting one video, right?  Wrong, you should think about shooting multiple videos (very short segments) that, when stitched together, create a branching experience that will appeal to (feel personal to) multiple personas.  This doesn’t have to be highly complex or technical and can often be accomplished with some thoughtful up-front scripting and shot planning.

To get you started, here are three tips for creating more personal and engaging video:

Speak directly to your buyers – all of them. When you’re on a sales call, you don’t talk about IT infrastructure to the non-technical end user. Instead, you appeal to them by discussing their problem and how, in simple terms, your solution can solve it. When you shoot your video, create an inventory of short video segments that appeal to as many of the key constituents in an organization you’re hoping to convert.

Let the user control the experience. Once you’ve built an inventory of segments that will appeal to various viewer types, make it easy for them to control the experience. Non-linear branching, enabled by simple on-screen interactivity, accepts user input and gives the viewer a much more personal experience.

Create a social experience. Today, buyers are learning the ways of social media, which means they are accustomed to engaging with your brand and your employees in multiple ways. It’s how they validate their potential decision. So give them clickable elements on and around the video that allow them to fully engage. This could include links to supporting content online and links to social media profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. The more they connect with you and the person in the video the more personal the experience will feel to them.

In the end, messages are important, but meaning (to each potential online prospect) is even more important. By creating a more personal, interactive experience – one that mirrors a conversation instead of a mass market commercial – you’ll turn you video into a powerful conversion engine that pulls prospects all the way through to your offer and, ultimately, the sale.

To read about other tips for using video to convert online visitors to leads, please download our eBook, Best Practices for Using Video to Convert Visitors to Leads, here.

And be sure to come back to our blog for more tips and tricks.

Click here for a video intro to the event

Can online video turn press releases into SEO gold? We don’t have an answer to that question. At least not yet. But with your help – and an esteemed group of experts – we’re hoping to get closer to understanding the role that video will play in the press release of the future.

On April 27, we’re hosting an event with Business Wire and MediaMobz entitled Combining SEO and Video to Drive Awareness and Lead Generation Online. You can watch a video intro for the event or learn more here and, if you’re in Boston, we encourage you to attend. At its core, the event is designed for marketing and communications professionals who are looking for innovative ways to generate new business leads. If that sounds like you, please come.

If you can’t attend, we’d still like to represent you at the event. Cliff Pollan, our CEO, is moderating the panel, and he’d welcome your questions, concerns and opinions in advance. What would you ask Tim Bradbury about his print media enterprise or David Meerman Scott about his recent book? How about asking Judy Gern from Constant Contact about ways video plays into their strategy or Joe Chernov from Eloqua about ways to link all this to marketing automation?

If you’d like Cliff to pose a question or broach a particular topic, please add it as a comment to this post.

As the event invite explains, unique content such as video has tremendous power to attract and convert new leads online. Because video is SEO-friendly and dynamic, many companies are using it to help generate and convert leads. But many companies still have questions that range from concerns about cost to the real conversion value. The event will address some of these questions and provide best practices for effectively using video and SEO in the press releases you distribute, whether it’s via a wire or in some other way.

We hope you’ll join us on April 27 or that you’ll send along some questions and insights for Cliff.

Image Courtesy of djcodrin

In his recent USA Today column for small business, Steve Strauss suggests that “maximizing your web presence is key to building your small business.” We couldn’t agree more.  We especially like Steve’s point that “video is probably the top Web 2.0 tool out there right now.” He points out that if you have video on your homepage, upwards of 80% of your visitors will click on it first.

Steve isn’t talking to Fortune 1000 businesses here; instead he’s providing advice to small businesses looking for an edge. So, if you could get a video up on your web page in less than one day, for less than $500 (assuming you already have a decent camera), would you consider it? Of course you would.  Especially if that video – the first thing eight out of every ten visitors will click on – was proven to convert better than text alone.

Still not convinced? Here’s how you might get started.  Let’s say you’re an accountant and this season has been slow. Perhaps more people are doing their own taxes. You take your handy Cisco Flip Camera, place it on your desk (it will stay up, trust us) and you push play (one red button), covering your key points (you spent 30 minutes earlier today creating these).  “Hello, I’m John and I know many of you have put off tax preparation until the last minute….I have some good news…we have people standing by to help…please click on the button to my right if you’d like us to get started on your return within 24 hours and guarantee that it is filed before the IRS deadline.”

To stay with the simple theme, let’s say that because time is running out, you decide to do a simple email campaign. You add your newly created video into your HTML email, select your current mailing list and hit send.  Now, within minutes, you can see that potential tax filers are accessing your video. You’ve created a personal connection and made a clear appeal (I’ll get started within 24 hours) that is driving people to your offer.

The following example is simple, but it underscores how easy and cost-effective video creation can be. As you become more experienced, you’ll likely experiment more, but it’s unlikely you’ll need much more than your honest appeal to customers or clients, your simple, but compelling offer and a means to distribute or promote your campaign.

So go head and give it a try. Use it for new products, upcoming events or special offers.  And be sure to let us know how many new prospects you convert with video.

Once you’ve shot your video, you’re probably anxious about the next “hurdle,” editing it. But it doesn’t need to be a hurdle at all. In fact, unless you’re submitting the video to the Sundance Film Festival, too much fussing is not only unnecessary, it can also distract potential leads from your core message.

For most business-oriented video, you’re better off with simpler formats, basic editing software and a few best practices. Even if your boss’s kid is home from USC’s Film School, resist the temptation to add unnecessary complexity, and instead focus on the message and the messenger.

If you’re just getting started with your video initiative, here are three tips to help you avoid overkill and get started successfully and (relatively) pain free:

Garbage in=garbage out. Every editor has a story about being handed disjointed raw video and being asked to transform it into a great finished piece. Sure, the best editors can perform miracles, but the cost and time required is too steep. A script template (how to promote an upcoming webinar, for example) can help you produce clear, concise footage from the camera that requires very little post production. Planning in advance will save you editing time later.

Let the camera be your guide. There was a time when generating high-quality footage required expensive equipment. And even then much work was necessary in post production to correct lighting and audio problems. Today, many easy-to-use HD cameras are on the market that can deliver excellent results with little practice. In most cases, you can upload the video and prepare it for your email campaign or website with very little post production.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Although many finished video pieces require only a little extra editing, sometimes a bit more work can increase impact. Software programs such as Camtasia, Jing and Animoto can help you easily add static images and screen captures to your finished video for a more professional look. You’d be okay without them, but they’re so easy to use you might as well give them a shot.

There are certainly other tips that will help your videos get better over time, but these three are a great starting point. If you think before you shoot, shoot with a good HD camera and take advantage of inexpensive, easy-to-use software to add a professional look, you’ll be producing conversion-worthy video is less than one day.

To read about other tips for using video to convert online visitors to leads, please download our eBook, Best Practices for Using Video to Convert Visitors to Leads, here.

And be sure to come back to our blog for more tips and tricks.