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.

Cisco announced today that they are discontinuing the Flip Camera. Also, our favorite camera, the Kodak Zi8, has also been discontinued. We all know that every phone/tablet/iPod has a camera, but they are not good enough for business video. So what can we do?

The good news is that Kodak recently came out with the PlayTouch. The PlayTouch offers all the features the Zi8 offered, including 1080P HD video, a mic in, USB plug and play video transfer, as well as a few new features we like.

Watch the video below where I review the PlayTouch

Key Features Of The PlayTouch

• Clipping/Trim Videos Right On The Camera – this is a huge time saver!
• Microphone In Jack Can Also Be Headphone Jack (not both at the same time)
• Same great quality video recording as the Zi8, including image stabilization
• New Larger Touch Screen
• Video Effects, Like Sepia, B/W and 70′s (whatever that means, maybe it puts bell bottoms on everyone?)

We’ve always recommended the Kodak Zi8 for our customers, and we’ve begun to recommend the PlayTouch. Until portable device cameras get better, we’ll be sticking with these.

Let us know if you have any questions. Comment below.

We’ve found a very nice microphone that will work with the Kodak Zi8, Canon DSLR’s and a lot of cameras that allow a headphone (1/8″) microphone input jack.  It’s the Sony ECM-AW3 Wireless Micriphone (Click Here To See The Mic).  The mic works pretty great, take a look at the video below for my test review, technical specs and where you can buy this wireless microphone.

Pros:

• Fairly Inexpensive ($160 – Amazon)
• Easy To Use
• Great Sound
• Works on Many Cameras
• Package Comes With Needed Cables
• Uses 2 AAA Batteries (Not Included but No Digging at Radio Shack for Button Batteries)
• Portable & Easy To Move Around With
• Automatically Reconnects When Walking Back Into Range
• 3 Hour Battery Life

Cons:

• The Mic Is Large, Hard to Hide
• No Way To Listen To Audio While Recording (Unless Your Camera Supports It)
• Bright Blue LED Gives It Away (Does Come With A Cover)
• Very Open Mic (Will Pick Up A Lot Of Background Noise)

Please let me know if you have any test cases you would like to see or have any questions.  Just comment away!