Tuesday, February 25, 2014

How to Start a Video Blog

How to Start a Video Blog


Starting a blog can be a frightening endeavor and adding video to that seem almost impossible to a fledgling blogger. This guide is here to help show you how it’s not that bad and gets easier the more you do.
Tips on How to Start a Video Blog
------------------------------
Deciding on a starting goal can be fun!


Figure Out Your Goal





Figure out your overall goal with this blog. This what you are going to target your overall efforts on.

Examples:
  • Improving the following of an existing blog
  • Promoting your products
  • Building a stronger relationship with existing clients
  • Educating your followers on a topic
  • Demonstrating your expertise
  • Adding fun to your brand

 ------------------------------

Plan Out Possible Videos
This part may seem hard at first but before you start make sure you have at least 5 videos planned. You won’t need to publish or produce these all at once but planning them out ahead of time will make it easier to keep up with a publishing schedule. (To help keep content fresh) Once you have published content you can develop a new list of videos to create based on views and feedback.

Examples:
  • Introduction to the blog
  • Product Videos
  • Company Introduction Video
  • How to Videos
  • How Things Work
  • Introduction to Your Staff
  • Adaptations of Older Blog Posts

------------------------------


Decide on a Brand


Your brand is the overall look and feel your company makes, this expands to your video blog experience as well. There are several ways you can brand your video posts and they are easier than you might think.


Branding Elements for Your Video:
  • Opening Title Card (normally an image or a color scheme over an image)
  • Overlay Graphic (normally a logo that sits in the bottom corner of your video)
  • Video Player Colors
  • Genre of Background Music
  • Possible Ending Credits

------------------------------


Automatic Scheduled
Publishing is Wonderful.

Plan a Schedule


Part of the challenge of a blog is keeping it fresh and the best way to do that is to plan out little deadlines to help motivate you. These deadlines can help you scope out what you need to get done and track what times/dates work best for getting the most views from your audience. Don’t fret that doesn't mean doing a post everyday!


Common Schedules:
  • Once a week (experiment with what day works best)
  • Tuesdays & Thursdays
  • Mondays, Wednesday & Fridays
  • Random days but set number a week
Remember to experiment to figure out the best schedule for your blog. How to Schedule Your Video Publishing. How to read video statistics.

------------------------------
------------------------------
------------------------------

Work out a Routine for Shooting Video

This is the part that most people find daunting, but once you have a routine down it makes things a lot easier. We have several resources to help you out with this step.

 ------------------------------

Promote all Your Posts


Socially sharing your Video Posts is a good way to expose it to potential new followers. To help remember all the steps to promoting your content check out our New Content Checklist. (Customize it and print it out and keep it next to your computer to help you remember.)
Have Fun!
Remember that your video blog is a chance to express your personality or brand. Let your personality shine!
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Turn Your Presentation Into A Video

Turn Your Presentation Into A Video
Tips on how to make your presentation into a powerful video presentation

Remember this is not just a chance to do the same old thing
take the opportunity to improve your traditional presentation.
Start with What You Have
Whether you have a brochure or a slideshow you can adapt it to a promotional video. Brochures take a little more effort to scan images or get the original image files but that is achievable still. The goal is to use what you have as a starting point so you don’t have to start from scratch.
How would You Improve It?
This is your chance to add in or change things you may have wanted to update already. Take this opportunity to look over your current presentation and make changes.

Here is a quick checklist:
  • Is it up to date?
  • Can you address common questions?
  • Is the presentation too long?
  • Are you missing visuals?
  • Do you have a new product?
Prep it for Video
There are 2 types of Presentation Videos you can do, you will prepare for your video differently based on the type you want to create.
Spokesperson Video
These are videos that feature a real person or persons. They might be speaking, demonstrating a product or present in another manner. If you are using a spokesperson make sure you do the following items before you start recording.
Double check your equipment.
  • Make sure your cast’s appearance represents your company brand
  • Make sure your cast has a teleprompter, script cards or has memorized their lines
  • Make sure the lighting looks good
  • Make sure you equipment works
  • Make sure you have water on hand for your talent and breaks!




Slideshow Video
Unlike a spokesperson video the focus isn't on your talent’s appearance but on the visuals you use. You can still use shot video (ex product footage) in addition to still footage (images, charts) but this form of production generally is less expensive. If you have a PowerPoint slideshow you already have everything you need. Preparing to create your video does have some items you’ll want to do before you start producing.
  • Do you have Powerpoint 2010? If you do you can save it as a wmv right now!
  • Are the images large enough to look good?
  • Do you need additional images / charts?
Start Building
Now we can start, here are some resources to help you if you don’t already have a video production/editing software.
Be sure to take breaks as you work on your video.
 Keeping a fresh eye is important to doing a good job.
Tips as You Work
  • Save often
  • As things load go and take a break
  • Check the volume levels
  • If you computer slows down turn off unnecessary programs as you work
  • Keep the special effects professional
  • Consider adding some quiet background music
Testing, Uploading
Once you complete your video be sure to watch your video to make sure it looks good from start to end. I’m not kidding when I saw watch it from start to end, I've helped many people who had missing elements at the end of their video where the audio track was longer than the video track substantially.


Once you are ready you can upload your video. (Supported Formats)

--------------------------------

For a good example of how a presentation can turn into a video check out how Impression Management who uses both types of presentation videos.
Impression Management's Videos are a great example of presentation type videos.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Basics to Video Statistics - Learning From Your Reports

Understanding Your Video Statistics

Learning from your video reports to improve your video broadcasting success rate
understand your video reports
It's easier than you may think to learn form your active
video content and playlists.
Bizideo’s content management solutions offer a wide range of reports as well as custom reports, however we’ll be covering the most basic statistics. If you would like to learn more please contact us: info@bizideo.tv.


To Get Started
  1. Log into your account and go to “View Reports”
  2. Click “Video Statistics”
  3. Have fun! (don’t forget you can download any report as CSVs or customize a report using the filters at the top)

Playlist Views

As you can see sometimes one playlist is just far more popular than others of a similar nature.
These are the views for all the videos in a published playlist, what this can help you do is gauge what playlist is getting the most traffic. From there you can further analyze it based on it’s availability type (subscription, free, limited time… and so forth) and the items within the playlist.


  • Your Goal: Find out what playlist is getting the most views.
  • Why?: Experimenting with new playlists based off the successful one will help you figure out what formula/appearance/wording works best.

Views Themselves

This is pretty easy to understand. This is where you look at what videos are getting all the views and what aren't. Compare like elements from videos that work and those that don’t work.



Popular
Worst Performing
Upbeat music in the background
No music in the background
Alice was the spokesperson
The dog puppet or Anderson were the spokespersons
Custom Stop Graphic with Stock Images
The automatic Stop Graphic
Short Title
Longer Title
The above is a quick example of a comparison table.
Day of the Week
When you click to see more about a video’s views you may notice that there is a pattern between the day of the week and the amount of views. As simple as this sounds try releasing your next video on your most popular day to see if it fares well. You can also schedule content to be published at the prime times if they are inconvenient for you.

Don't get discouraged by a lack of views, it's an opportunity to learn how to better promote and place your content.
Starting small with these three areas of focus can help you refine your content until you have a formula that works for you. Best of luck!
-------------------------------------------
Additional Resources
-------------------------------------------

Once Published
Video Creation Help

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, February 17, 2014

3 Examples of Approachable Brand Videos

A good video for a florist would be how to care for your
cut flowers, it would be informative as
well as give you a chance to make your staff
seem more approachable.

3 Great Examples of Approachable Brand Videos


Video can serve a lot of purposes in your company but building a relationship with your customers can often be overlooked. A brand video doesn't have to be void of personality, in fact as you'll see in these three videos personality can help make a video. People respond to emotion and a video that leaves them smiling or makes them feel that you are more approachable can be powerful.

Gerber's Taste Testing Video

Not only is it easy to tell it's Gerber (even muted you see the logo on all the highchairs) but they show the product being enjoyed or at least experienced by babies who are always a win. This video is cheerful, friendly and therefor popular.



Great Points

  • Happy
  • Adorable - babies always are
  • Funny / Charming
  • Brand Obvious
  • Product Featured
  • Short

Melissa & Doug Anniversary Video

This video may run a little long but it's definitely charming and makes the company feel more approachable. The placement of product in the video also adds to the charm, and helps showcase what it is they do.  


Great Points

  • Humor
  • Tells company history
  • You meet the owners - very endearing
  • Product placement

Coke Happiness Machine

This video is longer and like the above is meant to be fun so you associate those good feelings with the brand itself. It's hard not to smile as the video unfolds and you get to see the reactions of those getting the pleasant surprise.



Great Points

  • Fun
  • Happy
  • Great reactions
  • A bit of the unexpected
  • Brand still obvious
  • Product Featured
The above are just examples of how other companies have successfully used video to create emotion in their viewers. You may have noticed they range from high production to a more affordable level. Showing that you don't need to use your entire marketing budget to create a successful video. 

Other Resources:

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , ,

Small Business Video Creation Tips : Part II

Helpful Tips for Creating Videos for your Small Business Part II


In the first part of this tip collection we focused on getting ready for your video in this portion we'll share tips about making, editing and sharing the video.

Creating Your Video

This is the part that many companies find challenging, and one where a good video production company can prove worth it's the price. Don't worry though it's normal for small businesses to create their own videos, and once you've done it a couple times it will get easier. That sure doesn't mean that if you can afford professional video production it's not worth it (it really is) but that also doesn't mean you need to sell your car to start off with video either. To keep this part less frustrating we'll break it down to some simple things you can do to make your self made video work.

Pick a Location

Find a place where you have plenty of lighting (but not blinding), where you are in control (so not a McDonalds) and were it's quiet (not a playground). It may sound simple but if you pick a busy area you'll find yourself more frustrated with everything that goes on around you.
With more people working from home it's important to remember to keep the location for the video clean and to make sure that all kids and pets are happily distracted elsewhere. 

Pick a Time

It's normally to have to do several retakes, so don't try to slot yourself into a 15 minute slot or you'll find yourself frazzled to start. Select a time of day where business is normally not as hectic and give yourself a broader window so you have time for revisions if you need.

Dress the Part

If you are a plumber don't force yourself into a tie and jacket. What you want to do is represent your company to your potential customers, so wear what you would when you do interact with them. It's also important not to wear distracting or indecent clothing, but we're assuming you don't wear that when you go to meet a client in the first place.
Dressing the way you do when you interact with your clients keeps things consistent.

Keep Water on Hand

If you start getting flustered or have to do a couple takes be sure to take a moment to breath and drink some water.

Start off Smiling

Do what you need to be happy before you start, dance, sing, look at kitten pictures on the web... whatever works. Take 5 minutes to get mentally pleased before you start. Not only will you come across happy in your video but most new tasks are easier to face when in a good mood.
Cubical plushies count, just as long as it makes you happy.

Check Your Equipment

Make sure your camera and microphone are working! It may seem obvious but there is nothing more frustrating than doing a great take just to find out you didn't plug in your mic. Make sure everything is ready before you dive into your first take.

If your equipment uses batteries make sure they are charged.

Save Your Takes

You may not love your last take but save it anyway. That way if it turns out you hate part of your video but love the other part you can clip that out for later use. Remember there aren't normally perfect takes so be sure you have what you want before you go and dump the rest.

Tip: Number your takes and take notes on what you liked from different ones. 

Save Your Editing Progress

Like all programs whatever you are using to edit your videos can freeze so be sure that when you start making progress with your editing that you save along the way.

Tip: Name your video file progress as versions if you have a lot of editing to do. 

Watch Your Video

Sounds crazy but you might have missed something when editing or might feel like changing part to have more visuals would be helpful. Watch your video from start to finish and have a couple other people watch it too.
Getting feedback doesn't mean you need to redo everything, just keep it in mind for future videos.

Promoting & Publishing Your Video

There are a lot of places you can upload your videos to but the thing you want to consider is "am I in control of this environment"? Remember your video is representing your company and where it's posted should be someplace you can regulate and control the experience for.  Your company Facebook Page, Google+ Page or Blog should be a safe enough place but anything that has feeds you can't help regulate plastered all over it is something you should great with caution. Placing your video on your website is generally the end goal, it's where you can control things the most and where you want people to be heading.

 Tip: Be sure to adapt your script in to a transcript and Closed Caption.  
Tip: Brand your video player to match your company website to keep things feeling consistent.
If unsure where to publish your content start with just your website and expand it's exposure gradually.

Other Tips

A collection of advice from others on video production.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)