A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by the smart folks at Spin Sucks to write a few things about the benefits of hiring a video professional. I made some good points, if I do say so myself, but there’s one I left out.

Perspective

When you hire a video pro, you’re getting someone who sees the world differently. Where most people might just see people sitting at desks or products being produced, a video professional is seeing shadows, potential camera angles, opportunities for interviews… the list goes on and on.

They also “see” story ideas all around them. Story ideas that are right in front of most people but go unnoticed.
When I walk around a company for the first time, these are the things I’m seeing. My clients are often pleasantly surprised by the video(s) they get back because they’re so used to seeing what’s around their business they sometimes forget what it looks like to fresh eyes. That’s what a video pro brings to the table.

A Walk In The Park

One of the things I do to reinvigorate my perspective is… well… I walk.

I love to walk. I live in a big city where walking is a practical way to get from place to place. As a matter of fact, I walk to work everyday. It’s something I have really grown to love.

It’s good from an activity standpoint, it saves on gas, and besides the occasional polar vortex… it’s a nice way to enjoy the outdoors on a regular basis.

The fresh air, the sights, the sounds… I love it. Walking puts your senses on high alert… a good thing for a video producer. But even a walk to work can become routine, until you shake it up.

Path Less Traveled

Two weeks ago I traveled to San Francisco to shoot a video series for The Marine Mammal Center. It was a fun shoot, but one of the best parts was I got to live in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for a week (the Marin Headlands) and I got to walk to work.

You want to talk about an awesome walk to work! Surrounded by wildlife, listening to the Pacific Ocean surf crashing on the shore… pretty awesome stuff. It was a welcome break from the norm.

Hiring A Professional Video Producer With Fresh Eyes

Having been back for over a week now, my usual walks to work are refreshed. I’m looking at the same houses in a different way. I’m noticing little changes to landscaping.  In short, I’m seeing things differently. I’m seeing them with fresh eyes.

Hiring a video pro is like taking a new way into work. It’s like walking a different path around the office cubicles. Only you don’t need to think about it… it’s just one of the benefits your video pro will bring.

–Tony Gnau

Photos from my walk to work in the Marin Headlands

 

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DIY video production is something that makes a lot of video producers cringe. Sure, it means less business for us, but I think the biggest reason is we just hate seeing people/businesses struggle through it.

It takes them a lot of time… time away from other tasks they need to accomplish… and at the end of it all they have a finished video that usually isn’t very good.

Having said that, there are times I think it’s okay for businesses to produce their own videos. But in most cases… it’s important to go with a pro. Watch the vlog to find out why.

–Tony Gnau

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A company video hits the web. A few people watch. They share it with their friends and colleagues. Then, those people share it, and so on and so forth. Next thing you know it’s getting millions of views. Awesome, right? I’m sure that just about every business leader would love a viral video.

You know what, though?

I’m not a fan of executives setting out with that sort of goal in mind.

Forget the Viral Video

As a video producer, I’ve been approached on several occasions by business owners and executives who were looking for someone to produce a viral video for them.

If only it were that easy.

I’d love to produce a viral video. It would be great for our client, and it would be great for my company. The problem I have with viral videos is that I have very little control over whether or not a video goes viral. I do have some control over earning viewers’ trust, but I’ll get to that later.

You can certainly brainstorm video ideas that might catch-hold of an audience. You can even execute one of those ideas flawlessly, but there’s no guarantee people will watch and share it on a mass scale.

YouTube estimates 100 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute. How many of those videos go on to viral success? I’d venture to say hardly any. As a matter of fact, some say you have a better chance of winning the lottery.

Viral Doesn’t Always Equal Profit

Let’s say a business strikes gold and has a viral hit. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll profit from the success – and here lies another problem.

This past winter I attended an event and heard a speech by the marketing executive who helped create the Blentec awesome series, Will it blend? He talked about how the videos have generated millions of dollars in sales, which is exactly what you’d expect.

On the other hand, take a look at the viral video for 2013 remake of the movie, Carrie. Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise has over 55-million views on YouTube, but the movie has only earned an estimated $30-million according to IMBD.com.

The marketing video – a runaway hit. The movie itself – a major box office flop.

This means that even if a company beats the odds and gets its millions of views, it still might not be enough make a profit if the product or service doesn’t live up to the hype.

Alternative for Video Success

All is not lost, though. Video marketing is alive and well, and it’s helping plenty of businesses reach their customers. Business leaders just need to get past the viral video dream and look at video in a more realistic way.

Video is one of the most effective content marketing tactics a company can employ.

Using an About Us video to tell the story of the business, producing a series on a product or service, promoting a corporate event… these are all highly shareable pieces of content. More than half of social media users report sharing online video, and that number soars for anyone younger than 35.

It’s also a great way to reach business-to-business clients. Seventy-five percent of executives say they watch work-related online videos on a weekly basis and 65 percent say the have visited a vendor’s website after watching a video.

What corporate leaders need to do is make video part of their overall, long-term content marketing strategy.

Video is great content because it allows viewers to get to know the people behind a business. The more they see, the more connected they feel. The more connected they feel, the more they begin to trust that company.

And we all know that we buy from people we trust.

Feel free to shoot for a viral video, but manage your expectations. If you’re looking for a better bet, a long-term content strategy is the slow steady road to video success.

–Tony Gnau

This content was originally posted at spinsucks.com… the best darn PR blog around.

No doubt about it, video cost tends to be one of the most important factors people consider when they hire a production company. From our end we can present them with the best video idea ever, but a deciding question will always be… how much is this going to cost?

Like a lot of things, especially creative endeavors like video, the amount of money you spend can have a direct impact on the quality you receive. What I’d like to do is provide a way for you to improve your cost to quality ratio.

Video cost to quality… not savings

This doesn’t have to do with how-to save money. In this case, I’m working under the assumption that you have a video budget. It doesn’t matter whether you have $1,000 or $20,000. This tip is to make sure you get the most out of that budget.

Are you ready? Share that budget with the video companies that you’re considering.

I know, I know… there are a lot of people who are wringing their hands at that idea. We’re supposed to keep that information close to the vest. You never know, you might plan for a big budget then get a proposal back that’s half that.

Well, in my experience, that’s unlikely to happen with video. As a matter of fact, most people underestimate what their video is going to cost. It’s not because video production costs a ton, it usually has more to do with people not knowing how-to figure out video production cost.

The big thing to keep in mind is that there are all sorts of variables when it comes to pricing a video project:

• How much time will it take to shoot?
• What sort of personnel will be needed?
• What equipment will be used?

A video could range in cost by several thousands of dollars depending on those answers. When you don’t share your budget, you leave the video company guessing. In many cases, they might put together an awesome proposal for you that costs way too much. That’s a bad situation for a couple of reasons.

First, it’s a waste of your time. After you get a proposal and tell the production company it’s over your budget, you now have to wait for them to produce another proposal.

Second, and maybe worse, you might just pass over your favorite company and go with someone else you’re less enthused about because you think your favorite is simply too expensive. However, if you had shared your budget, they may have adjusted their resources and still come up with a killer idea that cost less than the proposal that was “too expensive.”

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Why you should share your budget

The main reason sharing your budget is a good idea is because it’s going to ensure you get your money’s worth. Here’s how to do it when you start shopping around for a production company:

• Inform each company about your budget.
• Tell them you’re getting proposals from three companies and you’d like to know what they can do for that budget.
• You may consider telling them they’ll get bonus points if they have some great ideas that come in under budget, but I’m guessing that won’t even be necessary. I’ll get to that later.

When you tell them these things, here’s what’s going to happen at those video companies. First, remember those important variables I mentioned for pricing a video project? Having a budget figure in-mind means they can start to answer those questions accurately.

They might love the idea of a 2-3 camera shoot, using a quadcopter to get aerials, and making sure there is a field producer who accompanies the videographer(s) on the shoot. However, your budget might only support the cost of two of those three things… or just one… or none for that matter. The point is they’ll be able to produce a proposal that fits your project.

How it works

Here’s where you get the most for your money. You’re going to be getting proposals from multiple companies. I assure you… they will look very different from one another. Some companies are heavy on technical ability, while others are more focused on storytelling. In either case, you’ll have a much better idea of what you’ll be getting for your money. So while you might not be saving money, you’ll be able to pick a proposal where you get the most for your money… or at least those things that are most important to you.

Also, notice I wrote you “might” not be saving money? Well, a funny thing happens when you tell people they’re in competition for your business. Not only will they try to give you as much as they can within the proposal for your budget, they might even give you a lower-cost option. In some cases, they might be able to produce a video that will help you achieve your marketing goal for a lower cost. The competition you set-up is their incentive for trying to come in under budget. In many cases, you won’t even have to suggest this. They’ll just do it on their own in an effort to earn your business.

I’m not good at sharing

Having gone over all of that, I totally understand that some people just won’t want to share their budget… especially if it’s a big figure. So here’s my last piece of advice. If your budget is $10,000+ for a single video, by all means keep it to yourself. Ten grand is a substantial budget. On the other hand, if you’re producing a video for less than that, go ahead and share your budget. The process will go much smoother for you and your production company partners.

–Tony Gnau

 

Nobody likes a corporate crisis. Okay, maybe the media enjoys them, but if you work at a company facing a very public corporate crisis you’re probably not a fan. I mean, it’s the type of thing that can sink a company, and your job along with it. Which is why in a crisis situation, your business might need a crisis management video.

Now, I’m not going to advocate producing a video for every crisis that comes down the pike. It’s not a cure-all. However, a well-done video can turn the situation around and do it quickly.

The reason it’s so effective is that video allows you to go beyond words. Sometimes in a crisis there’s no better way to dispel a charge than by showing people the truth.

Ronald McDonald is on the case

One of my favorite cases of this is the way McDonald’s Canada handled the big question about Chicken McNuggets. You know… what are they made of anyway? Instead of letting rumors about pink goop persist, McDonald’s Canada took people behind the scenes with a video showing the whole process of how McNuggets are made.

Over 4-million views later, do you think McDonald’s executives are happy they produced that video? I should think so. McDonald’s haters will surely find some fault in it, but the general public? I think the video is probably very reassuring.

In that case, the video allowed McDonald’s a chance to get out in front of a potential crisis.  Video can do the same thing for a company in the midst of a crisis.

Well-played Domino’s

After Domino’s employees posted some disgusting pizza videos on YouTube, the president of the company responded with his own video apologizing for their behavior. This is impressive on a couple of levels.

First, he made his apology using the same medium the pranksters used. When someone watched the “bad” videos, his video popped-up right along side of them thanks to the way YouTube tags and searches work. Second, he puts emotion behind the corporate response. It’s one thing for the public to read an apology on a page or computer screen. It has so much more impact when it’s read aloud to them.

I would have preferred to hear him speak from the heart instead of reading the message that was presumably screened by Domino’s attorneys, but it was still a good effort.

3 Tips for your crisis management video

So… here are some tips for creating your own crisis management video.

1. Be honest.
2. Be sincere.
3. Be honest.

I could go into detail about production tips… highly produced versus minimally produced… music bed versus no music bed… scripted versus non-scripted, but in the end it all comes down to honesty and sincerity.

People can see right through a lie. They can tell when someone is being insincere. So… just be honest. Because while a truthful and sincere crisis management video can help you win back hearts and minds, an insincere video can do the opposite. It can make a crisis even worse.

Be honest, show people how you really feel, and you’ll be on your way to crisis recovery.

–Tony Gnau

If you’re going to produce a PR or marketing video, you probably have a bunch of questions.

Thankfully, we have answers.

Even better… we’ve probably already written about them. Which is why we’re providing this list of helpful video marketing blog posts.

Video Production Cost and Budgeting

• How-to Figure Out Video Production Costs
• 5 Things You Get For Your Video Budget
• Video Strategy: planning for next year’s video budget

How to Pick a Video Production Company

FYI… either one of these are helpful for selecting companies in Illinois, Wisconsin, or anywhere else for that matter!

• Chicago Video Production Buyers Guide
• Milwaukee Video Production Buyers Guide

Just Getting Started?

• Top Tips For Marketing Video Newbies
• Don’t Hire A Photographer To Produce Your Videos

Different Types of Videos

• How-to Create a Great “About Us” Video
• A Lucky 7 Marketing Videos To Produce
• How-To Do Better Testimonial Videos
• Corporate Event Video Ideas Everyone Can Do

Why Marketing Videos Work

• Earning Trust Through Authentic Marketing Videos
• You Are In The Trust Business
• Finding Video ROI
• Video ROI Is Missing The Big Picture

Did we miss something you’re interested in? First, type some keywords into the “search” box in the right column of our blog. We’ve written over 700 blog posts, so you might find what you’re looking for there.

Don’t want to search and rather get straight to the point? No problem… get in touch.

–Tony Gnau

More and more business leaders are embracing the power of video and that’s great. The big question for many is where to start? My advice is to begin with the one video every company should have at their website… the “About Us” video.

It seems simple enough, and I have given advice in the past on how-to create a great “About Us” video. Unfortunately, many businesses still produce videos that miss the mark, so why not learn from other company’s pitfalls?

Thankfully, we know some business, marketing, and public relations experts willing to help guide you past the “About Us” video mistakes they’ve seen.

Gini Dietrich – CEO, Arment Dietrich | Founder, Spin Sucks the Blog (PR Readers’ Choice Award-Top PR Blog) | Author or Spin Sucks the Book | @ginidietrich

I have a saying, which is to take the French (the we, we, we) out of all of your website content. Most “About Us” videos are, well, all about the organization and don’t put the customer in the shoes of what it would be like to work with this particular group of people. Use your “About Us” video to tell a story that matters to your customers.

Andy Crestodina – Strategic Director, Orbit Media Studios (web design and development firm) | Author of Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing | @crestodina 

These videos are so powerful, especially when they get right to the point. And the point is your passion. They need to explain why you do what you do. The text on your website let’s visitors KNOW something. But this video let’s visitors FEEL something. Keep. It. Real.

A common mistake is to bury it. An “About Us” video doesn’t need to go on your “About Us” page. It’s often effective to put it right on the home page. The most prominent home page message is WHAT you do. But WHY you do it (explained in a compelling video) should be right there next to it.

Danny Brown – Danny Brown Blog (#1 ranked marketing blog by HubSpot) | Co-Author of Influence Marketing | @DannyBrown

I’d say the biggest “mistake” is focusing on the leads. Yes, it’s great to see who the strategic players are – but how about a friendlier, “This is Mary, she keeps us informed on why we’ll never understand the appeal of SnapChat”, etc? Make the video fun, involving, self-deprecating. Unless you truly need to make a boring corporate video, stand out from the others and make it a real “About US” video.

Jill Salzman – Founder, Founding Moms (Forbes Top 10 Websites for Women Entrepreneurs) | @foundingmom

Some video mistakes I’ve both made and seen:

Taking too long to get your message across really hurts your video and your brand. Strong editing is always a plus, especially in the day and age of no-attention-span video viewers.

You have to tell a story. If there’s no story, you can’t captivate the audience. I stand by the fact that you have to give your viewer the why. Tell them why they should be paying attention to your video by way of a story in said video and you’ll capture both their attention and their imagination, and eventually, their loyalty and purchase power.

Too Long!  A well produced video should give the viewer just enough information that they need while keeping them engaged. Too many times I’ve seen “About Us” videos that give a complete history of the organization, what they do, why they do it, who they do it for, etc. that ends up being way too long for the bite-size tolerance of most people today. Brevity shouldn’t be undervalued.

Low Quality.  Lighting, sound and visual elements (whether it’s images, video, or animation) need to portray the same quality that your business stands for.  It doesn’t necessarily need to be perfect, but it does need to be high quality. A poorly produced video is worse than no video at all. If you are going to take the time and effort to create a video, make sure you do it right.

Okay… we actually had more than five mistakes there. Five experts gave us EIGHT mistakes. Yup… you got three bonus mistakes to avoid!

So… do you have any mistakes to add?

–Tony Gnau

If you’re a marketing or public relations professional, you know the value of video. You know how it can help a business communicate. You know how storytelling can help a company sell. It’s a fun and creative process that can deliver big time for a business… but there’s definitely some things to know in advance of starting. This blog post should serve a handy guide to video for both you and your clients.

Budget

First thing you need to do is to plan how much you’re going to spend on the project. That is… unless you have unlimited funds! Yeah… right.

Budget is important for one big reason. It will dictate the type of video you can produce.

A big budget means being able to hire professional storytellers, bringing in all sorts of fancy equipment, and the personnel needed to run everything. The more your budget drops, more decisions you’ll need to make about what to prioritize.

Don’t get me wrong, more money doesn’t always equal better results. Not all dollars are equal. Sometimes the difference between a $6,000 video and a $20,000 video can be minor. However, the difference between a $500 video and a $6,000 video can be huge. The trick for you will be finding the right balance within your budget.

I recommend that you contact a few video companies early in the decision making process. Ask for a ballpark quote. They should be able to help guide you and let you know how to figure out production costs.

Picking a producer

There are all sorts of business leaders out there who are attempting to produce DIY corporate videos. Ugg. Here’s the deal. I love video. I love when a company wants to produce videos. I am not a fan of amateur productions for businesses. Here’s why.

The company’s video is potentially going to be seen by a lot of people. Hundreds? Thousands? In some cases, millions? It all comes down to reputation.

Business leaders won’t bat an eyelash at spending thousands of dollars on business cards for employees. An item that more times than not, will end up in the trash. Why? Reputation. A good quality business cards project something about a company. So why would they then choose to produce a video that could look unprofessional and potentially damage that reputation?

If you’re a start-up with no money, by all means produce your own video. If you’re a mom and pop shop with no marketing budget, grab your iPhone and shoot away. But if you work for a quality small, medium, or big business… hire a video professional.

[tweetthis]Work for a quality company? Don’t DIY a company video. Hire a video pro. Your reputation is on the line.[/tweetthis]

Need some help on what to look for in a good producer? These are some thoughts on how to pick a video company.

Concept planning

You might have an idea of what type of video you’d like to produce, but when it comes to brainstorming I suggest that you wait on the heavy-lifting until you start the process of hiring your video pro.

Tell them what you’re hoping for. Maybe give them some rough thoughts, and then let them run wild with their own ideas. It’s a smart thing to do for a few reasons.

• Video pros will have a realistic idea of what they can accomplish and how much it will cost you.
• They’re producing videos all the time so they know what types of videos have been successful in connecting with audiences in the past.
• It gets their creative juices flowing and makes them excited about the project. Executing an existing plan is fine, but it’s a lot more fun for them if they get to work on an idea they helped develop and are passionate about. An engaged producer means you’re going to get their best effort and a better video.

Once you’ve decided who you’d like to hire, continue to talk with them about the project. Be sure to duscuss how this video is going to work with your overall marketing plan.

I’m not a fan of scripting things in advance, but if that’s your thing… this is when you’ll start working on it.

Pre-production

There are all sorts of variables before you start to shoot any video. Here are some things you’ll want to make sure you have squared-away… whether it’s your video producer who’s handling it or whether you’ve decided to help.

• Make sure you schedule when and where the video will be shot. Make sure the appropriate people at the location know you’re going to be shooting video on that date.
• Contact anyone who needs to be at the shoot. Make sure they’re aware of when and where they’ll be needed.
• Coordinate with the video crew. Give them all the scheduling details, contact names, and addresses for where they’ll be shooting.

Remember, communication is a wonderful thing. The more everyone is on the same page, the easier the production will run.

The shoot

Believe it or not, this is the easy part and when the real fun begins. If you’ve done a good job with the concept planning and the pre-production, you should be able to sit back and simply let your video pros do their job.

By all means, keep a close eye to make sure everything is being done properly, but there shouldn’t be any reason to micromanage. Chances are your video team is cranking on all cylinders.

Also, keep in mind this is a creative venture you’re now on, and sometimes things might not go as planned. Lean on your producer to comes up with creative solutions. Sometimes some of the best production elements come from improvisation on the day of the shoot. It’s part of the fun.

Post-production

This is when the project really starts to come together. Your video pros are likely combing over all of the raw material. They’ll probably provide you with a more detailed script. Then the video editing begins.

Take a look at the finished product. Try not to watch it as an insider. Watch it through your audience’s eyes. Talk with your producers about anything that needs to be tweaked.

Promotion

Alright, the editing is complete. You have the digital file. But honestly, your work has just begun.

That video isn’t going to do the company any good until you get it out into the world and let people know about it. Make sure your client understands that people will not miraculously find their video. If you or they need some specific ideas for how to do it, check out these seven ways to promote your video.

–Tony Gnau

Taking a little summer break from blogging this week, but with the 4th of July just days away… a special treat.

You know how anyone involved in content marking is supposed create super-helpful content? Well, this is information every American should have for this special occasion. We didn’t produce it… but we wish we had. :-)

Happy Independence Day!

–Tony Gnau

How-to Make a Bacon American Flag

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Joe Pulizzi is the founder of the Content Marketing Institute and one of the nation’s authorities on content marketing. He knows how to reach people.

No surprise… he LOVES video and is a strong advocate for storytelling. My favorite take from my interview with him:

“If it’s not in some sort of story format, what is it in? How are you going to make the stuff you have interesting because if we want to get found in search, and we want to have social media work for us, if we want to drive leads, you have to be interesting.”