February 2015
Issue: #64

Getting Started with Video

There are certain pleasures I get out of working in this business.

One of them is reaping the entertainment value from all the annual marketing prognostications out there.

Most of these predictions follow a predictable pattern – the foreshadowing of either the breakout or death of some marketing tactic.

I bring this up because I came across a post on the MarketingProfs website the other day titled, “2015 will be the Year of Video Marketing.”

Yeah, sure… Just like each of the last five was “The Year of Mobile.”

But I digress…

In typical sage fashion, the author spliced together a few generalized attributes and statistics that prove video is hot: Things like, it offers a compelling way to tell stories. It generates lots of click-throughs and leads. It’s measurable. And marketers are flocking to video like college students to Miami in March.

Of course he didn’t mention that video production can be a costly venture. A well-done, basic, three-minute explainer video might come with a price tag in the neighborhood of four or five thousand dollars. Add in some animation, a professional voiceover artist, location shooting, and now you’re talking real money.

Hard to justify as a first-time investment, especially if you’re a small or mid-sized organization.

Nor did the author mention that when choosing a communication medium, what matters most is audience preference, the objectives you want to achieve, the nature of the information you present, and how well you present it.

So, okay. Let’s say video seems like the perfect fit for your customers and your prospects. How can you join the party without going all Hollywood on the production values and cost?

Here are some ideas…

• Slides with voiceover. With this approach, you combine narration along with presentation slides or quality photos shot by a quality photographer. There are two ways to put this kind of video together. One is to use a cloud service like Brainshark, specifically intended to quickly create and distribute voice and slides.

  The other way is to create a video in-house, then make it available via your own website or a hosting platform like YouTube or Vimeo. Free basic tools (like Microsoft’s Movie Maker) abound for putting visuals together with a scripted narration, music and other effects.

• Skype interview series. Although a bit like watching radio on TV, this approach lets you pull in experts from your industry or profession for conversations about topics of interest. Tools like SuperTinTin let you record all the Skype participants and create separate or integrated voice and video streams.

• In-studio series. This is a good one for recording interviews, conversations or presentations using one location. From a technical standpoint, the beauty is that once you get your equipment and process fine tuned, you can concentrate on the content.

• One-minute wonder series. Think of this approach as an informal way to look straight into the camera and offer a quick tip or new way of thinking about a problem. Pick a location that is comfortable and informal, but not distracting. Like the in-studio series, once you get the setup right, you’re good to go.

• Demonstration series. Use this if you sell a product or service that lends itself to visual explanation. Perhaps you can take suggestions from your customers on best practices and show how they work.

Done right, these do-it-yourselfers can be as powerful as any highly-produced cinematic masterpieces – as long as they convey the right information to the right people.

And – just like any other medium – your audience will stay tuned longer if the videos look and sound professional. This isn’t nearly as difficult as it used to be given the availability of affordable (and free) equipment, services and software.

If you’re in the market for insightful – and highly understandable – technical advice, check out these learning videos from the folks at Wistia. Their material covers a range of topics, including…

• What kind of camera to use and how to get the most out of it

• How to choose and position a microphone for high-quality sound

• How to get professional lighting effects without spending a fortune

• How to incorporate music to enhance your message

So will this be “the year of video marketing?”

Bleats me. The only thing I know for sure is what the Chinese calendar says: It’s the Year of the Sheep. Or is it Goat? Or Ram? Or…