I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Around here we got to watch the Chicago Marathon. It has really become a huge event, and year-in and year-out I really love their marketing videos.

Marathon officials capitalize on something business leaders should think about… passion. Runners are a dedicated bunch, and their passion comes across so well.

That’s what corporate video needs to be about. Companies need to find the passionate people who work at their organizations and make sure they’re the ones who are being featured in the PR/marketing videos.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Chicago Marathon Inspiration Videos

We’re putting our money where our keyboard is. T60 is in the midst of producing its own video series. We figured I’ve been blogging about the concept so much lately, we should do one of our own.

The production started this week, and it’s a process that’ll take us several months. I’m going to wait to reveal the subject matter for the series, but we’ll debut it here at the blog so stay tuned.

Each segment will feature a T60 client, and I’m already finding that these interviews are going to provide us with more than just a PR/marketing benefit.

We shot a segment yesterday with the marketing director for the Glenwood School for Boys and Girls. She’s awesome. I can’t wait for you to meet her in the video.

Anyway, shooting her segment gave me an opportunity to talk with her about our business relationship, and why they’ve been with us now for three years (Glenwood’s 2010 video). She gave me an interesting response.

She said we’re not condescending. She appreciates that we’re willing to listen to her ideas and build on them instead of taking the attitude that her ideas stink and we know it all.

I certainly appreciated the compliment, but it definitely wasn’t what I expected. Our creative expertise is our biggest asset, and that goes for piecing together a project from the ground up or expanding on our clients’ existing plans. I guess I had never thought about it that way until speaking with her.

I think this video series is going to give us a lot of insight into what we’re doing right as a company, and what we need to improve upon.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Glenwood School for Boys and Girls

My friend Chris Knight, who’s a talented news videographer at WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, posted this video on his Facebook wall.  It features the Ohio University football team and its reaction to getting new jerseys.

Stick with me here, there’s a great PR/marketing lesson to be learned from this “football” video.

I love it for a couple of reasons…

1. enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. I didn’t go to Ohio University, could care less what jerseys they wear, and yet there I was watching the video and getting excited for those players right along with them.
2. it gives fans a real behind the scenes look at this team. This wasn’t some well-orchestrated, use-the-talking-points PR video. It was pure and unfiltered joy. What a great thing to share with their fans. Now those fans are in on a special moment with the team they cheer for and they have video and social media to thank.

Are you reading between the lines here? PR/marketing pros… you can do this for your clients. Business leaders… you can do this for your company.

I’m not expecting the same kind of over-the-top enthusiasm from a company’s staff, but you’re doing things right now that they’re excited about. Let them share that enthusiasm with your customers… your prospects. Give the rest of the world a look behind the curtain at your company.

The power of video is a wonderful thing.

–Tony Gnau

p.s. the Bobcats won the game. They beat Marshall 44-7.

VIDEO: Ohio University Black Jerseys Reaction

PR and marketing maestro Gini Dietrich blogged last week at spinsuck.com about measuring public relations success, and she included a list of things PR pros should hold themselves accountable for everyday.

• Sales
• Lead nurturing
• Lead generation
• Lead conversion
• Thought leadership
• Web traffic
• Brand awareness

I posted a response thanking Gini for making my sales pitch for me since I feel like video can help accomplish those tasks. She asked me to elaborate, so here was my take.

Sales: video can be a terrific sales tool. It allows you to show customers what your product or service is all about. Not just write or talk about it, but actually show them. It’s not just words on a screen. Your company is a living breathing thing, with real people behind it. Video transports the customer, giving them a sense of what you’re about and the people who make it all happen.

Lead nurturing / Lead generation / Lead conversion: videos do a great job in these three areas. Working in reverse order… videos are a great way to lead conversation. Posting a quality video that focuses on the audience’s needs via social media is bound to generate some sort of response. The more you’re able to do that, guess what happens? The more likely your brand will grow and the more your brand grows the more leads will flow your way. Once you have those new customers, continuing to post videos will only solidify that base. Especially if you figure out ways to incorporate your customers into your videos (essentially promoting them as well).

Thought leadership: videos take it to a whole new level. Addressing the issues facing your industry and your customers can position you as a leader in your field. Anyone can write about those challenges. Only a company that’s incredibly dedicated is going to produce quality videos to take on important trends. The better your videos and the more you do them on a consistent basis, the more people will turn to your business for your opinion and your solutions.

Web traffic: is there any doubt videos drive web traffic? There’s a ton of data out there supporting this. It’s a no brainer, web surfers are more apt to watch a quality video than read pages of text.

Brand awareness: video is all about brand, but this comes with a word of caution. In many cases, good quality video brands you as a good quality company. Crappy video brands you as… well… you get the picture. If you’re going to do something, do it right. Video leaves a lasting impression on people so treat it that way.

–Tony Gnau

To animate, or not to animate… I’m not sure where I stand with this question. Now, I’m not referring to cartoon-style animation. This is more of a speaking PowerPoint on steroids.

Here’s an example of one of my favorites: Dave Ramsey-Drive Free, Retire Rich

I do like this sort of thing, but is it as effective as video? Does it connect with an audience the same way video does?

I’m thinking “yes,” but only in certain instances. In the case of the above example, I think it’s a great way to illustrate numbers.

Could it have other applications where it’s equally as effective?

–Tony Gnau

We took a family outing to IKEA yesterday. I know. Sunday at IKEA? Yes, it was every bit the madhouse you’re imagining.

But among the madness, guess what I found? Okay, my wonderful wife spotted them. Shoppers escaping the chaos by sitting in the prearranged living rooms watching… IKEA videos.

There were actually videos running all over the store.  Most of them appeared to show customers the many ways they can use their products to decorate… and the customers were watching.

It’s a great example of how to focus on the audience and still meet a marketing goal. The videos weren’t necessarily hyping IKEA. They were videos focused on the audience’s interest in decorating.

You don’t always have to come out and tell people how terrific you are. Deliver a series of videos over time that focus on the audience, and it simply becomes understood.

–Tony Gnau

A lot of companies now recognize the power of video. Many are making the leap to produce some sort of video about their business. That’s great. I encourage them to continue. An About Us video is something every company should have these days.

The thing is… that’s only scratching the surface of what video can do. Producing a video series can put a business on a path to video success. It can capture someone’s attention, encourage them to share what they’ve discovered, and get them coming back for more.

The content is up to you. I recommend producing a series of videos on specific challenges facing your customers. Identify the problems, then show them how to address those issues. The videos may not be all about your company, but they are demonstrating your expertise. Turn yourself into the industry expert.

Not willing to make that leap of faith? Focus a series on your business. Create a series of videos featuring outstanding employees. Highlight your customers and how you’re meeting their needs. These are just a few ideas off the top of my head.

Regardless of what you choose for your series, keeping them focused on the audience’s needs… not yours… is critical. This isn’t about pumping you up, it’s about serving the customers. Even if you focus the series on your business, the theme behind the videos should be, “This is how we help you… our client.”

Create quality videos that do that and you’ll benefit from something. Watching quality video is habit-forming. Once you’ve demonstrated to an audience they’re going to get quality video content, they’ll continue to click when you inform them there’s a new video.

A video series is custom-tailored for our social media world. Produce one and let users help build your brand.

–Tony Gnau

In part one, we explained the importance of keeping the videos in your series short. Part two was about viewing habits. Today we’re hitting on maybe the most powerful aspect… sharing.

The idea behind a series is to capture an audience. Short videos, covering topics important to your viewers will help you develop that following. Now we want them to share them with others. The best part is if you’ve done your job well in the other areas, this will likely happen all on its own.

Post it on YouTube. Share that link on Twitter, Facebook, in e-mails campaigns to clients and prospective clients, with your friends, family, your dry cleaner… EVERYONE! If they like what they see, they’ll pass it along too.

The more people that see it, the more people will turn to you for your expertise.

Tomorrow… we’ll wrap things up with some final thoughts.

–Tony Gnau

If your business is embracing social media. If your business is into e-mail campaigns. If your business is interested in getting noticed, a video series will do wonders. The best part is the more videos you produce, the  more people will watch.

The most important thing is quality. The videos need to look and sound good. Second, you need good content. Something that addresses the needs or issues faced by your audience. Finally, the videos need to be produced on a regular basis. It could be quarterly, monthly, weekly… it’s up to you and your budget.

Once your audience notices you’re producing quality videos, a magical thing happens. They watch. Not only that, if you promote the series, they’ll look forward to the next video.

There’s so much garbage out there that quality stuff stands out. Producing a solid series will get you noticed, and it will have viewers looking forward to your next production.

Tomorrow… the sharing factor.

–Tony Gnau

This is an idea whose time has come. There’s no denying the power of video, but there’s an even better way for businesses to use it. On top of that, it’s a way that will give them more bang for their buck.

It’s the video series. All week long I’ll be highlighting why it’s such a good PR/marketing idea.

First reason… doing a series of short videos will capture short attention spans. How short should the videos run? One minute and 30-seconds or less.  That’s 1:30 or less.

Think it can’t be done? Wrong. The average story you watch on TV news every night is exactly that length. You may have to find a quality storyteller to help your business do this, but you’ll be rewarded with the type of videos that will capture people’s attention.

A series of short videos will also do something one long video can’t do. It makes it much more likely your audience will watch the videos all the way through. If you produce five 60-second videos and release them on a weekly basis, you stand a much better chance of getting people to see all five minutes than if you produced a single 5-minute video.

Coming tomorrow… why a good series encourages viewership.

–Tony Gnau