We received a piece of regular ole’ mail at our home the other day that caught my attention. My wife is a Monmouth College grad and they sent us a mailer encouraging donations to the school’s annual scholarship fund.

What caught my eye was the image of an online video player and a QR code.

You know video has come a long way when it’s even being incorporated into standard mailers. The QR code sends you to a YouTube video of a student talking about getting a scholarship to Monmouth and what it has meant to her.

The video itself isn’t anything special, although I applaud Monmouth for producing it. I much rather hear from the student herself than read a short and sanitized snippet about her.

Where Monmouth really scores big points is recognizing how powerful video is as a medium, and then looking for creative ways to get their videos in front of people.

Traditional mailers will continue to hit our mailboxes, but there’s no reason you can’t give them a modern twist. Monmouth’s leaders found a great way to do it.

–Tony Gnau

Happy New Year!

This is a natural time to start planning for next year, and mapping out a video strategy should be part of that discussion.

One of the beauties of the medium is that the more quality video an audience sees, the easier it is for them to connect with the brand. That’s why a single video might be nice, but a series of videos will make an even bigger impact.

You’re certainly welcome to do something every week. Social media make delivering that amount of content possible, but if you’re not ready for that type of commitment there’s an easier way to go.

A monthly video would be a great thing to do along with a e-newsletter campaign. Still too much? How about quarterly?

The idea is simply to get videos in front of your audience on a regular basis. The more they see you, the more you become a part of their lives.

–Tony Gnau

Southwest Airlines recently posted a video that’s supposed to give us a look behind the scenes of a day at Dallas’ Love Field.

Okay, that’s fine, but here’s the thing… so what? Why as an audience member should I care?

I feel like this is the classic example of a video where someone simply said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we gave people a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in a typical day at the airport?”

I love the sentiment, but as a marketer and audience member I demand more. “Wouldn’t it be cool” isn’t a reason to go through the time and expense of producing a video. This video does give us a behind-the-scenes look, but how does it benefit me as a traveler? It doesn’t.

If you want to stretch it, I suppose you could say it demonstrates how hard Southwest team members are working for the customer… but that’s a real stretch.

Whenever you’re working on a video, keep asking yourself… why should the audience care? If you don’t have an answer that’s going to ultimately further your brand… you need to refocus.

–Tony Gnau

Wouldn’t you love a million hits on YouTube!? Of course you would, getting your videos in front of as many people as possible is the goal of many businesses.

Reality check… it probably isn’t going to happen… and you know what? It’s okay. You don’t need to get your videos in front of as many people as possible. You just need to get them in front of the right people. Prospects who are interested in your products or services.

Find that audience, give them quality storytelling, and your videos will do their job… even without a million hits.

–Tony Gnau

One of the great things about video is that it’s versatile. Sales, marketing, recruiting, public relations… even internal communications can it use to connect with people.

That makes it very important to focus attention on the task at hand. The likelihood that you’ll create a single video to satisfy all of those needs is pretty slim, so figure out a plan in advance.

Maybe you want to start with a video your marketing team has been itching to produce. Then move on to something specific your sales force says they need. There’s no perfect plan, just pick the one that’s right for you.

Whatever you choose, always look at who the audience is and create videos that target them… not your department heads.

–Tony Gnau

Is your company or organizations setting goals for 2012? If one of them is to communicate better, video might be your answer.

Whether you’re attempting to position yourself in front of customers or trying to send an important message to employees… video can do the job and do it in a way that’s better than words alone.

Video delivers information, but it also does it in a way that makes an impact on the audience. It’s not some simple message that gets thrown in the trash. A video makes people sit up and pay attention.

How’s that for satisfying your communication goals?

–Tony Gnau

December… the home stretch. Chances are you’re already making plans for 2012, and if those plans include new PR and marketing initiatives it’s time to think about video.

You can get good quality video storytelling produced for as little as $5,000. Nice to know if you’re working on budgets. You and I know it’s worth the cash.

Once that’s in order, it’s time to hire a production company. Remember, there’s tons of people who can produce video that looks and sounds good from a technical perspective, but don’t settle for that.

You need to find a storyteller. Someone who can take your marketing plan and create a story that’s going to be a good fit.

–Tony

So… American Airlines filed for bankruptcy yesterday and they issued an online video. They get in front of the issue and we get a valuable lesson.

First, some kudos… American Airlines officials clearly understand that video is a terrific way to reach millions of people. I’m glad to see them explaining the situation using the medium.

Second, some advice for you… the business leader, marketing professional, public relations expert. Ditch the script.

American’s CEO is clearly reading from one and it makes him sound… corporate… like a phony. Not to mention the legalese at the very beginning… talk about stripping away any notion of sincerity.

Video is all about emotion, so speak from the heart. This goes for any video, whether it’s a basic profile on your company or breaking bad news to employees, stockholders, and customers.

Go ahead and write down some bullet points, but don’t script a speech. It just doesn’t sound genuine.

In the end, you still get to control the message whether you script it in advance or not. It’s your video. You don’t have to post it unless you feel like it will work for you.

–Tony Gnau

If you can’t afford a professionally produced video, I understand. By all means, do your best to produce your own video.

Think about it though. Remember, this is something you’re sending out into the world. It’s going to reflect on you. A bad video will make a bad impression.

There’s no sense in producing something that isn’t going to impress your prospects.

–Tony Gnau

IKEA held me hostage this weekend. I mean that literally. I entered the store at 9:30 a.m., and store personnel held me against my will until 9:55 a.m.

The store apparently doesn’t open until 10 a.m., but they start serving breakfast in the third floor cafeteria at 9:30 a.m. I had no idea. I simply saw the doors were open and people heading upstairs on the escalator, so I went in expecting to shop.

When I got up to the third floor, I figured it out. I was trying to pop in and out as quickly as possible, so when I realized the store was closed I looked for an exit.

The elevators… not running. The escalators… blocked. I asked an employee how I could get out and was informed I couldn’t… I’d have to wait until they open at 10 a.m.

It took me speaking with two different managers before someone got a clue and escorted me out. I seriously had to explain to them that they couldn’t hold me against my will in their store. It was ridiculous.

Here’s my point… what if this had been my first trip to an IKEA? What kind of impression would that have made on me as a customer? Luckily for them, I’ve had enough good experiences with IKEA that this won’t impact future purchases… although I refused to wait the additional five minutes to then make my purchase on this particular day. Principle.

Anyway, this is why your video content is so important. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Many of your prospects who seek you out will surf the web and watch whatever PR/marketing videos you’ve produced. A bad video makes a bad first impression.

In a way, you’re holding them hostage too… watching a bad video is a waist of their time.

A good video makes a solid first impression and creates a foundation for a happy client.

–Tony Gnau