It’s officially Chicago Craft Beer Week. The 5th annual event is quickly becoming a city staple with local brewers, drinkers, and chefs all getting in on the fun. T60 has a rich history in beer videos, so I thought we’d take a trip down memory lane to share some suds stories and marketing lessons learned along the way.

We have produced more than a dozen videos for Goose Island Beer Company, the king of Chicago craft beers, and have won a couple of Telly Awards for that work. We haven’t produced any videos since Anheuser-Busch bought the company in 2011, but believe it or not, I actually take pride in that. See, Goose Island leaders had such a good experience with video marketing they decided to hire a full-time, in-house video producer. I like to think the videos we did for them performed so well they wanted to do so many more it made more sense to put someone on staff.

Anyway, Goose Island was one of our cornerstone clients. They put us on the map since everyone in Chicago knows the company. It should come as no surprise that prospect pitches are much more fun when you show-up with beer… I mean, beer videos… when you show up with beer videos.

Getting to work with the Goose also exposed me to some really smart marketers who were always ahead of the curve, and I learned a lot from them. I’ll give you a couple of examples.

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Beer tasting

T60’s first big project for Goose Island was a series of videos featuring individual videos on many of its beers. I pitched an idea for how to go about it and they liked it, so we jumped in with both feet shooting nine videos.

I thought for sure they’d post them on their website, so I was surprised when they told me that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, they sent the videos to wholesalers and retailers. The idea was to better educate the people who ultimately sell their product. The more a wholesaler knows about Goose Island, the more likely they are to encourage their retailers to buy it. The more retailers know about Goose Island, the more likely they are to recommend it to customers.

Pretty smart, right? It really opened my eyes to the different ways you could use and deliver marketing videos. Know your intended audience and think about the best way to deliver the videos to them. Keeping viewers in mind will always be a good guide as you produce videos.

Party on

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Another project really demonstrates how forward thinking Goose Island has been. I remember when the then COO Tony Bowker called to tell me they were hosting a party and wanted to produce a video during it. There are some businesses that do that now, but very few were doing it back in 2009.

The Craft Brewer’s Association was hosting its national convention here in Chicago, and Goose Island was going to hold a tasting party for all the attendees. Tony told me they wanted a video that would feel like the build-up to a rock concert.

It was a really fun video to shoot and produce, and it really solidified my belief in the value of event videos. Sharing them with attendees, as well as the people who couldn’t attend. Event videos are a great way to allow your event to live on even after it’s over.

Promoting a brand

The final example is a video we produced specifically to highlight Goose Island’s 312 brand. It isn’t really a marketing lesson, just a production tip to keep in mind.

312 is known as the company’s most accessible beer. Company leaders wanted to show wholesalers how committed the company is to promoting the brand, so they asked us to visit several of the events 312 sponsors.

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Running events, cycling, boating, rock concerts… it was a project that took us all summer. They wanted a video to capture the energy behind the brand and they got it. There was so much good video, but as we started to edit it all together it was clearly missing something.

What it needed was the right music. We listened to dozens of songs and finally hit one that really seemed to give us the pace we needed. The music also inspired the video’s opening sequence. For some reason as I listened to the music, the beginning made me think of a countdown.

People always comment on that opening sequence and we owe it to the music. Never underestimate how music can provide inspiration and influence the mood of your video.

Chicago Craft Beer Week

So… there you have it. Beer-inspired video marketing lessons. Chicago Craft Beer Week runs through Sunday, May 25. I recommend checking out the event schedule. Bars, breweries, and restaurants are all holding special events and planning beer pairing menus, so whether you’re a beer aficionado or just a foodie this is a perfect week for you. Enjoy!

–Tony Gnau

 

Congratulations… you have a new marketing video. Whether you produced it yourself or hired pros to create something awesome, you’re only half-way through the process.

What?

You thought you were done?

Nope.

You might have the best video ever, but it’s useless until people get a chance to see it. It’s now time to promote your video.

Video Promotion Strategy

Contrary to what many people believe, you just don’t post a video to YouTube and watch the views grow and grow.

You might get some, but you’re missing out on your video’s true potential if this is all you do.

We won’t let that happen though, right?

Video promotion needs to be a big part of your video strategy.

Here are some things you can do to get your video out to the masses.

Post your video to YouTube

Wait? Didn’t I just tell you that you need more than this? 

Yes, you do. But you do have to post it to YouTube because it’s great for search engines, especially the big dog. Remember, Google owns YouTube.

Once you post your video, you have more to do. You need to optimize your video. 

Think of it as doing SEO for YouTube. Keywords, semantics phrases… these are good things to use.

Here are a few things you should always make sure to do:

• go to your video settings and make sure your video is titled properly. The name of the file you upload will be the default title, but you can rename it anything you want.
• under the title you can enter a description. Write a paragraph or two here.
• next thing down are tags. Enter as many as you like… think of search words you’d like to tie to your video.
• enter a transcript. Yes, a written transcript. It’s one more thing Google will to scan to help people find your video.
• would you like to add subtitles? You can upload a SubRip caption file directly into YouTube. Don’t bother making them yourself, Rev.com and other transcription services like it are inexpensive and give you what you need. You can use it for that transcript as well.

You’re doing all of this to give YouTube (and by extension, Google) written information to crawl to help rank your video and help it show up when people search.

Post it at your website

Now that you’ve uploaded your video to YouTube and optimized it, you need to put it on your website. 

You can create a page just for the video, but I recommend using it in multiple places.

Think about it logically. 

What type of video did you produce? Is it an About Us video, an event video, product demo? 

If you have an About Us page, put your About Us video there.

If you have a blog post about an event you hosted, include your event video.

If you have a product page, add the product demo video to that page.

But don’t stop there, think about who your audience is for your video and place it on the pages those people are most likely to visit.

And again, you can put the same video on multiple pages.

You can host the video yourself, or you can embed the YouTube video. Not sure how to do this? Ask your web professional or contact my buddy Brian Bender at Net Elevation.

Blog about it

If you have a blog for your business, you’re probably always looking for content ideas. Use the video for some inspiration.

Write about what you learned during the production process. If your video is about a specific subject surrounding your business or industry, write a companion piece.

It all depends on the video content, but think about it and I’m sure you can come up with something to write about and to feature the video.

Post it on social media

For many people, this is the most obvious aspect of video promotion strategy.

What’s your social media of choice? Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn… and on and on and on. Post the video wherever your business is active.

If you’re posting to social, you should definitely add subtitles! 

Most people watch social videos with no sound. 

Again, use Rev.com to create a SubRip captions file, and simply upload the file.

Now… when you’re ready to post… here’s the trick. 

Don’t just post it once. 

Remember, people are looking at social media on their own schedules. If you post the video on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m., people who look at social media that night will likely miss it.

Put together a social media calendar for when to post the video… Tuesday at 8:00 a.m., Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., Thursday at Noon. 

Also, if the video isn’t time sensitive, make sure to bring it back and post it again in a month, 6-months, a year.

Keep in mind, posting it this much seems redundant to you because you’re the one posting it over and over. That’s not the case for your social media followers.

They’re not seeing it posted every time, and you never know when someone might watch the video.

Even if it does appear to them multiple times, a social follower might not watch the video until the third, fourth, or tenth time it appears in their feed.

I like to joke that when you reach the point of being sick of your video because you’ve posted it a gazillion times… POST IT AGAIN!

Finally, don’t forget to use social media to target influencers in your field. Send them a note with a link. They might decide to share it with their networks which will expand your reach.

Email campaign

Definitely send an email to your list introducing your new video, but don’t stop there. 

If you do any email marketing at all, include a link to your video in everything you send out.

Make it visually appealing. Use an image of a video player and make sure to make it link to your video. 

An easy way to do it is simply take a screenshot of the YouTube player with your video inside it. Then make sure to link the video player image to your video.

Your About Us video, testimonials… these are great videos to add as staples to all of your newsletters.

Make sure your team knows about it

After the video is done, make sure to send it to every member of your team and encourage them to share it with their networks.

One of the most successful online video campaigns ever, Will It Blend?, was originally an internal series for team members at Blendtec.

They started sharing it with their friends and family and the rest is history.

Share it with your network

Don’t forget your own personal network. They can help with your video promotion as well.

Share it with your friends and family. 

Your Aunt Clara might not have any idea what your company does until she sees the video. For all you know, she’s sitting on a huge contact or business lead for you.

Going back to the last suggestion, ask your team to share it with their personal networks as well.

Not everyone will do it, but you’re bound to get some employees to share it.

BONUS TIP!

I love this one. 

I was talking with a customer at one point and asked how his company had been promoting the video. He listed off some of the ideas mentioned above, but then he added something unexpected.

He said he had all of his team members add a link to the video in their email signatures.

BOOM! 

What an awesome idea.

They have hundreds of employees sending who knows how many emails everyday?

Every email becomes a video promotion!

This is a technique that takes very little effort and is a great way to get the video out there.

You can certainly do it as just a text link, but again, I recommend making it visual by adding a video player image and linking it to the video.

Continue your video promotion education

This is all good stuff, but if you’re hungry for more I have some suggestions. There are two books I highly recommend.

Gini Dietrich is the woman behind what many consider to be the best public relations blog in the country, Spin Sucks.

I have written several guest posts for Spin Sucks, and Gini’s company is a T60 customer.

Her latest book takes the same name as her blog, Spin Sucks, and it’s a digital communications manual for business leaders.
BOOK: Spin Sucks (watch a video preview)

We’re big believers in content marketing at T60, and video is a fantastic addition to anyone’s content strategy. If you’re interested in improving your search engine optimization (SEO), or posting your video in email or social media campaigns… Andy Crestodina has done you a big favor.

He and his team at Orbit Media Studios (another T60 customer) have put together a how-to guide complete with charts, graphs, and screen captures to help all of us figure it out. It is an extremely handy guide and something I use frequently.
BOOK: Content Chemistry

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention another T60 customer.

MarketingProfs is a great resource for upping your video promotion and communications strategy game.

Ann Handley and her team deliver amazing content and the more you consume, the easier promoting your video will be.

You’re just getting started

I’m really excited for you. Producing a video and sharing it with the world is fun.

Whatever goal you’ve set for your video, I hope you achieve it.

Fair warning though, it’s addictive. Producing a video and having it connect with an audience… it’s a magical thing. You’re going to want to do more and I hope you do.

One of the great things about video is the more you produce, the more effective a tool it can be.

It has a cumulative effect on viewers. The more they see from you and your team… the more authoritative your opinion will be, the more they’ll feel like they’re getting to know you, the more they’ll want to buy from you.

Good luck with your video.

 

I’m in the trust business. You are in the trust business. When it comes right down to it, we’re all in the trust business. The more our customers and prospects trust that we’re going to deliver for them, the more willing they are to buy from us.

Edelman, the world’s largest PR firm, believes that so much the company created its Trust Barometer. It measures trust in business, trust in government, trust around the world. When you go to the Trust Barometer page at Edelman’s website, it features a brief description regarding what the Trust Barometer is all about and a pretty cool info graphic.

But do you know what I found most interesting? On a web page devoted to trust, the very first thing you’ll find… is a video.

The trust business trusts video

It’s one of the biggest benefits of video, and there’s a good reason why video helps build trust. When someone looks for you online, they get text and maybe some photos. Those things are necessary and valuable, but they don’t bring much life to your business.

Video on the other hand… video is all about emotion. It’s about tapping people’s emotions and building a connection with them. Video brings your business to life in the eyes of your customers.

Put a face on it

The Edelman video isn’t anything Earth-shattering. It’s simply a series of sound bites featuring business people around the world talking about why trust is important. Here’s why the video works though. It puts a face on the Trust Barometer. It tells us, this is more than facts and figures on a website. The Trust Barometer is a survey of people… real people.

It’s hard to communicate that with just text and an infographic.

People respond to people

Start thinking about your own company or organization this way. Imagine giving your customers an opportunity to get to know your team members. Videos featuring what they do in their jobs to help serve clients. Videos highlighting how they decorate their office space. Video letting them talk about their hobbies and interests.

All of these things help us get to know them. Information like this helps us build a connection with these people. And for content marketers, team members provide a cornucopia of content ideas.

Connection = Trust

Sometimes it’s hard for business leaders to imagine that videos featuring employees talking about their love of Star Wars or quilting or muscle cars or jogging or… whatever… could lead to better sales. But hobbies and interests establish common ground.

Would you rather buy from an impersonal company filled with sterile cubicles and robots or a company with real people who have family photos over their desks and diverse interests?

When your customers start connecting with your team, you’re on your way to earning their trust.

It’s possible

Video is a way to make this sort of thing happen. It provides clients with a chance to see you and your team in action. They get a chance to meet team members they normally wouldn’t get to meet. They get to see your company as more than just a vendor.

Video helps build trust.

–Tony Gnau

Trust. Can you think of a more valuable commodity when it comes to marketing? We buy from those we trust, which is why I consistently encourage our clients to help us create authentic marketing videos for their companies.

I have never met with a business leader who was setting out to lie to their customers, and thankfully, I’ve never met with any who would like to “spin” how they do things. Having said that, we all know they exist.

Gini Dietrich wrote the book on why Spin Sucks, literally. That book and her daily blog by the same name detail better ways to do PR and marketing. It’s all something that translates well to videos since they’re a terrific tactic for a communication strategy.

Having said that, even executives who have no intention to “spin” their message can fall into some traps that in some cases can complicate a video production and in others… even doom them to failure.

Don’t do anything special

One of the most common things executives want to do when the decision has been made to produce a video is… do it up. You know what I mean, nothing crazy deceptive here. On the day of the production they want every desk filled, every machine operating, the office sparkling clean, et cetera. Most executives just want things to look great, but they really don’t have to do anything special.

My college football coach John Robinson had an expression… just do your stuff. Anytime someone would pose a mundane question like, “Coach, should we wear coats and ties when we travel to a game?” J.R. would always respond the same way, “Just do your stuff.”

What he meant was this isn’t a big issue. You know what’s right for you. Just do it. If you think you should wear a coat and tie. Wear them. If you think you look nice and presentable in something else, wear that instead. The idea is that unless you put on something whacky, nobody is going to notice or care.

Same thing goes for staging your video shoot. Don’t worry about having all hands on deck, making sure everyone’s desk is clean, or every machine is up-and-running. While you’re scrutinizing every detail, your viewers are simply paying attention to the story. Unless something is distracting or looks wrong, viewers won’t notice.

Now, you don’t want the place looking like a wreck and you don’t want the place devoid of activity, but you don’t have to play up anything. What’s your busiest day of the week? Is there a day this month when things will really be cookin’? That’s the day you shoot.

It’s good to look busy, but we don’t want to fake it. Viewers can tell when you’re faking it and that’s not good.

Let your team go about their business the way they always do. The visuals are important, but your story is far more critical. If your video producer does a good job at helping you tell that story well, then your video will accomplish its goals regardless of how busy you look.

Let people speak for themselves

The other thing many business leaders want in their videos are finely-tuned corporate messages. They are attempting to communicate something after all. It only stands to reason they want that message sounding perfect.

This is something else you want to avoid. You know what a finely-tuned corporate message sounds like to viewers? It sounds like a finely-tuned corporate message. In other words, it doesn’t sound authentic at all… because it isn’t.

I’m not even a big fan of talking points. You’re far better off letting people speak from their hearts during interviews. A skilled interviewer is going to get them talking about their job and how it’s going to impact customers. The people being interviewed will talk about subjects they’re experts in and the things they do everyday. Let them say it all in their own words and what you’ll get is an authentic message.

Remember, you’ll have a professional storyteller piecing together the sound bites to tell the story. So while you won’t have control over what they’re saying, you’re still going to control the overall message that’s going out.

Will it sound perfect? Maybe not or maybe your people will surprise you. Either way, it’s okay. What you give up in control you get back in authenticity.

Audiences are far more receptive to a message that doesn’t sound scripted. When it sounds genuine, they pay attention and take it in. Viewers respond to the people on-camera because they’re real.

Authentic marketing done right

These are just a couple of things, but they go a long way to delivering an authentic video to your audience. When you focus on authenticity, you create videos that stick with people and help earn their trust.

–Tony Gnau

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Whether it’s a small business owner or a big business executive working in the C-suite, there are many corporate leaders who need a crash course in modern communications. Thankfully, there’s a new guide to get them up to speed, Spin Sucks.

The first thing that came to mind after reading it is… this is the manual. The manual for business leaders trying to market their companies in our digital world. It’s bound to scare the crap out of them and excite them all at once.

Full disclosure

First thing’s first… you need to know that the book’s author, Gini Dietrich, is a T60 client and she has definitely become a friend over the last few years. T60 has produced videos for her communications company, Arment Dietrich, on several occasions and she and her team have referred their clients to us as well.

Having said that… the book is awesome. Take it with a grain of salt if you like, but I wouldn’t be putting that in writing if I didn’t believe it.

As a matter of fact, I plan on recommending the book to current and future clients to read. One of the things we frequently tell clients is that producing a video isn’t good enough. It’s one tactic in what should be a greater digital communications strategy. This book can be the first step in building that foundation.

Spin Sucks… the blog and the book

If you’re new to Spin Sucks or Gini, here’s a brief background. Spin Sucks is actually a blog… a pretty important blog. It’s without question one of the most-read and well-respected blogs covering marketing, public relations, and communications. It’s consistently ranked as one of the best in the industry, and it receives an average of 43,000 readers a month.

What? You’re interested in the title? What’s the deal with that? Well, I’ll let Gini tell you herself. Just watch the video.

The majority of people who read the blog and participate with comments work in and around that field. The book, on the other hand, is intended more for corporate executives. Decision makers at companies and organizations who need an education on how the world of PR and marketing are changing.

PR and marketing folks will also enjoy it, but it will likely be familiar territory. If anything, the book might give them good ammunition to better explain to their bosses or clients what it is they do.

Wrapping-up

Like I mentioned, I plan on recommending the book to our clients. It truly is a manual for digital communications and a guide to building an effective PR and marketing strategy. It’s a quick read and well worth it.

Spin may suck, but the Spin Sucks book is helpful guide in today’s digital world.

–Tony Gnau

 

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Another year, another fantastic BrandSmart event. T60 is a ChicagoAMA sponsor and with good reason. It’s a marketing organization that puts on awesome conferences like this one, so we’re happy to be a part of it.

This is the second BrandSmart conference we’ve attended. I took some good notes this year and thought I’d share some of the things that caught my attention…

Out create, don’t out spend. —Jeff Charney, CMO, Progressive

Disruption is alive and well. –Jeff Charney ** ^{watch our vlog for more thoughts on this topic}

Relevance or Bravery? Both. You can’t be one without the other. –Jeff Charney

They were watching the videos from beginning to end and engaging with us. —Victoria Morrissey, Brand & Ad Strategy, Grainger

Improve your conversion funnel, go big with the type of content… audio, video, other visuals. —Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder & Strategic Dir., Orbit Media Studios

Any company is going to benefit from video testimonials. –Andy Crestodina

It’s emotionally unsatisfying not to get a story from someone. –Andy Crestodina

Authenticity is the key to brand storytelling. They story has to be based on a truth. —Cathy Fracque, Managing Dir. B2B, Ogilvy Chicago

When you have no money, all you have are the people in your company and the people who buy from you [tell their stories]. —Roberta MacDonald, Sr. V.P. of Marketing, Cabot Creamery

Whatever is real has longevity. –Roberta MacDonald

Everyone in the organization has a story but doesn’t know it. —Steven Handmaker, CMO, Assurance

Video will rule the day here [in content marketing]. –Steven Handmaker

The pace of change will never be slower than it is today. —Julie Fleischer, Dir. of Media & Consumer Engagement, Kraft

It’s hard to get people’s attention, much less tell a story. –Julie Fleischer

We weren’t connecting to the hearts of people anymore, and that’s what we need to get back to. –Julie Fleischer

We show videos at events like this because they get you going. –Julie Fleischer

Find the “why” for each social media channel you’re using. —Joe Pulizzi, Founder, Content Marketing Institute

Create a content strategy mission statement. —Joe Pulizzi

Social Sharing Ratio | Influencer Content : Content Marketing : Sales (4: 1 : 1) —Joe Pulizzi

 

Great stuff! So much of it tied into what video does best… telling stories and tapping emotion. I tweeted during the after-party…

That about sums it up. I couldn’t have been happier to hear speaker after speaker talk about the value video brings to content marketing. Clearly… we’re big believers in the power of video as well.

There are many types of marketing videos organizations can use to promote themselves. They’re a great way to get attention and influence feelings.

Video is definitely a smart thing for brands to produce.

–Tony Gnau

 

Okay… you get it.

You’re a believer in the power of video.

You’ve produced your About Us video (the video every company should have), and now you’re ready to do more.

The good news is you have a wide variety of marketing videos available to you.

Usually what we recommend to customers is to first tackle what we believe are the core videos:

• About Us video
• Product/Service videos
• Testimonial videos

However… there are no rules here. There are TONS of different types of videos you can produce.

You’re only limited by your own imagination… and probably your budget. ;-)

Below are descriptions of different types of videos you might want to consider, as well as some video examples.

Product and/or services videos

This is a no-brainer when it comes to producing your next marketing video.

Chances are you sell something, right? Whether you have a physical product or you provide a service, focus a video or a series of videos on all of the things you offer clients.

Research has proven that the majority of people who watch product videos feel more confident about purchases. It only makes sense to show and tell people about what you offer.

One tip though… make sure to think about these videos from your audience/customer’s perspective.

Make sure the videos focus on how your product/service can help them as opposed to simply patting yourself on the back.

Testimonial Videos

These might take a little more work on your part, but boy… are they worth it!

Testimonial videos might be one of the most effective videos you can produce.

Marketing experts will tell you, if you can get a testimonial quote or story from an existing customer, it’s a great way to prove to prospects what you can do for them.

Now… put it into video form and you’re taking it to a whole other level.

Let your prospects literally see and hear from an actual customer about how you helped them. It’s not just words on a page. It’s a real human being telling them how awesome you are.

Great stuff!

Testimonials take a little more time because you need to track down clients willing to go on-camera, but the payoff in the form of an excellent marketing tool is worth the effort.

Like the About Us video, a testimonial can be used anywhere in your sales/marketing funnel, but the best fit might be the closing stage.

It’s confirmation for your customer that they’re making the right choice in hiring you or buying your product.

Just make sure you use our best practices on how-to to better testimonial videos by focusing the storytelling on the person giving the testimonial.

Charity work

If your business is taking part in any charity efforts, make sure to document them with a video.

It’s especially important if you have employees getting out into the community doing some sort of work.

Send a video producer with them.

Shoot video of them doing the work, interview people with the charity as well as the employees. It’ll turn into a marketing video that doesn’t feel like one.

Here’s another thought… do you simply donate money to a local cause?

Go feature that organization and let the their people tell your audience how your funds are helping their cause.

Use the same storytelling techniques as when you produce a typical testimonial video.

There’s plenty of love to go around.

Event videos

We’ve written extensively about why it’s important to produce event videos.

Looking for the Cliff Notes?

Event videos are something you can create before the event to boost attendance.

Video is also something you can use during the event. It’s an attention grabber to re-engage the audience.

Finally, they can also be produced during the event itself, allowing you to share the experience afterwards with attendees and people who couldn’t make it.

It’s a great way for the event to make an impact even after it’s over.

Vlogs

Blogs are great, but vlogs help you kick it up a notch.

If you’re into content marketing and writing a blog on a consistent basis, producing a vlog is the next logical step.

Have the CEO answer questions, talk about industry trends… you name it.

The CEO doesn’t have time? Get other employees in front of the camera.

We’re no stranger this this ourselves.

Usually what we do is write blog posts, then create vlogs to work along side them and even promote the blog post.

For example our most popular blog post is How-to Figure Out Video Production Cost. It gets thousands of views every month.

So… we created a vlog which highlights some of what we talk about in the post.

You can do this too!

Highlight employees

Having employees take part in vlog posts isn’t the only way to get them involved in your communications efforts.

They are a seemingly endless supply of marketing content.

Believe it or not, some of your best sales people might not be working in the sales department. They might be working the assembly line, managing the shipping department, or answering the company’s phones.

Produce features about who they are and what they do.

Remember… we don’t buy from companies. We buy from people.

By putting faces to your company… by highlighting the people who work there… you are allowing your customers to get to know them.

That builds trust!

How valuable is earning your customers’ trust?

Corporate culture

Culture is a big deal these days. If you’re doing anything special in this area, it’s something that will catch people’s attention.

Do you order pizza for lunch once a month? That’s a video.

Are you the type of place that has a ping-pong table in the office? Organize a tournament. That’s a video.

Take a look at how people are decorating their desks… that’s a video.

And while all of those are some fun ideas, you can always focus on more traditional stuff as well.

Think about what your company does well from a culture standpoint and feature it.

Not sure what that is… start asking employees why they like working at the company.

They might start talking about the business being good at…

• life-work balance
• benefits
• autonomy vs. micromanaging
• a caring atmosphere

No matter their answer… that’s a video!

BONUS IDEA: companies with multiple brands

If your company produces and markets a specific brand or brands, tell each brand’s story.

Educate people about any products under the brand’s name.

Tell them about different things the brand sponsors.

This is an opportunity to let people know about all the endeavors under your corporate umbrella.

The interesting thing with brand videos is you can really apply all types of marketing videos to the brand itself.

Create a brand About Us video, product/service videos, testimonials, et cetera.

Treat the brand the same way you would treat a company when it comes to marketing videos.

Just the beginning for marketing videos

I’m really just scratching the surface here. What you really need to do is look at your business through video producer goggles.

Just about anything can be turned into a marketing video opportunity.

The best part… the more quality videos you produce, the more people will look forward to seeing them. The more excited they are about watching the videos, the better they’ll feel about your company.

Sounds like you’re building some loyal customers, right?

–Tony Gnau

Video has come a long way as a marketing tool. Gone are the days when it was a luxury. Now… it’s a must use. You’ve likely seen the data regarding the number of people who are watching online video, so it’s no wonder companies are choosing to use the medium to promote their brands. There are several types of videos businesses can produce to get started, but one stands above them all as the video every company should create.

The About Us Video

Imagine you have a specific need for a product or service. You sit down at your computer to research companies. You Google… surfing from web site to web site. You’re greeted by images and lots of text, and it all starts to look and feel the same.

That is until you come to Company X. It has the familiar images and text, but there’s also a video. You click and you watch. If it’s a well-produced video that tells a nice story, you’ve just found a company that has set itself apart from the rest. That’s the power of video.

Whether your business is B2C or B2B, a solid About Us video can help your company stand out. It can set your company apart from the competition. While most companies require prospects to read and imagine what it’s like doing business with that company, others show them through video.

Create a Great First Impression

For many people, your About Us video is going to be the first time they’ve seen and heard from you. That’s why I like to refer to it as your first impression video, and why it’s crucial to have a good one.

It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. It doesn’t have to list off every product. It doesn’t have to detail every service. Video isn’t about facts and figures. It’s about emotion. We want to use the About Us video to tap emotion, and start earning people’s trust.

I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats!

When people put together “video” and “emotion” in their minds, many instantly think it means their video needs to either make people laugh or cry. They’re wrong.

Those are great emotions to tap, and if you can pull it off… great… but they’re not the only emotions you can target.

Think about it this way. How do you want your audience to feel about your company? That’s the type of emotion we’re going after with the About Us video.

How about confidence? Do you want people to feel a sense of confidence about your business?

Want them to feel good about you? Want to make your prospects smile?

Maybe you want them to feel impressed by your company’s size and stature, or maybe feeling excited about the prospects of a small business on the rise?

There are all sorts of feelings available to you. The key is to pick one important to your business and make sure your video reflects it.

Tricks of the Trade

How? The music you choose will go a long way to setting the mood. If you’re using sound bites, picking the right ones will help as well. These are the types of things a professional video producer (aka storyteller) can help with. Talk with them ahead of time. Let them know about the feeling you’re trying to elicit from the audience and they’ll craft a story to achieve that goal.

Don’t Make This Mistake

Of course, while you’re creating that feeling for viewers you’re also passing along some basic information. “Basic” is the key word here. What’s your company all about? What sets you apart from your competition? How do you help solve your customers’ problems?

It’s kind of crazy, but one of the biggest mistakes business leaders make when they produce any video is that they create something for themselves instead of their audience. The video is packed with all sorts of things they think are awesome about their company, but hold little interest for viewers.

When you look at a script or a first-cut of a video, you should always do your best to put yourself in the audience’s shoes. What’s important to them? If there’s something in the video that doesn’t speak to them, eliminate it.

Remember, your About Us video might be about your business, but it isn’t for your business. Every decision you make about the content and tone of the video should be focused on your viewers. This video is for them.

DIY vs. Pro

We can handle this… we’ll just shoot it on our smart phones!

Are you sure about that? Just because we all carry HD video cameras in our pockets and purses these days doesn’t mean everyone is capable of producing a marketing video.

Having said that, there are circumstances where I endorse people producing DIY marketing videos:

• the company is a startup and/or has no marketing budget. That’s ZERO dollars for marketing.
• it’s a kitschy company culture, and customers like that about the business.
• the marketing videos are things like Facebook Live, short Instagram videos, slideshows with text and music

Everyone else… please, hire a pro to produce your About Us video. If you have a decent budget, great. If not, don’t worry… there are ways to produce low cost videos. Yes, hiring a professional is going to cost you something, but it could cost you more than dollars if you do it yourself.

How’s that? Your reputation is on the line. Amateur videos make your company look like an amateur. This is not the first impression you want to create.

Wrapping Up

An About Us video is a great place for any business to get started with marketing videos.

It’s a way to make your company standout from the crowd, and start earning the trust of your customers.

Don’t just tell people about your company, show them.

– Tony Gnau

Are you one of those people who looks forward to the commercials more than the game? The Super Bowl may be the only live television event that holds us all through the commercial breaks. Mainly thanks to some terrific Super Bowl ad storytelling… something every business needs in its online videos.

I’m not going to breakdown the best and worst ads like others have done. I would, however, like to focus on one company that seems to have one of the best ads year-in and year-out.

Budweiser

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Yes… the King of Beers in many ways is also the King of Super Bowl ads. The thing I love most about the company’s ads is that they typically tell a nice story. In many cases, it’s done with little or no dialog or voice-over.

Budweiser went with a pair of spots for this Super Bowl featuring two subjects meant to tug at our heart-strings… soldiers and puppies.

The puppy ad is the one getting the most attention. It depicts a puppy that seems to spark a friendship with one of Budwesier’s famous Clydesdale horses. It’s only a minute long, but the commercial follows a classic storyline.

• introduction to the characters
• present a conflict
• resolution (happy ending)

The other ad taps Americans’ appreciation for the men and women of our armed forces. The commercial shows a surprise homecoming for one soldier returning to his Florida hometown.

What I like here has less to do with formula and more to do with one aspect of the storytelling. It’s authentic. This was a real American soldier, not some actor. It’s obviously a staged event, but we as an audience figure out early on that the soldier had no idea what was coming. Everyone was in on the surprise but him.

Maybe Time to Reinvent the wheel

Both the ads were well-executed. If I have one criticism, it’s that we’ve seen these ads before. Not only have we seen these ads, they came from the same company… only this year’s crop wasn’t as good.

Budweiser’s best ad last year featured a young Clydesdale that grows-up, leaves home and is reunited with the man who raised him. It’s pretty similar to this year’s puppy ad.

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There’s also my favorite Super Bowl ad of all time. A group of soldiers arriving home at an American airport and getting a standing ovation. I challenge you not to tear-up. Again though… same theme as this year’s soldier spot.

Clearly, Budweiser found a sweet spot and isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. I get it, but I’d love to see them tackle (pun intended) something new.

Super Bowl Ad Storytelling takeaway

Whether it’s following a storyline formula or capturing authenticity, these are both techniques businesses and organizations can use in their own videos.

Using a formula can help business leaders provide a clear focus for their videos. Authenticity is one of the great storytelling techniques available to each and every company or organization producing videos.

Watch these Super Bowl ads with new eyes and they could inspire ideas for your online video campaigns.

–Tony Gnau

 

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Content marketing is on the rise, and video is going to be a big part of it.

We recently shot a video for Content Jam, a professional development event for people in the marketing biz. We got to interview a bunch of experts in the field, so in addition to the event video we were shooting… they were nice enough to agree to answer a question for our vlog.

What role does video play in content marketing?

No surprise… they all think video plays a big part, so we decided to make it the subject of our first vlog post in 2014.

One of the comments that found its way to the cutting room floor remains worth mentioning. It comes from Andy Crestodina at Orbit Media Studios. He said, “Video is the next best thing to being there.”

What video does better than other content

He’s absolutely right. One of the reasons video is such a powerful medium and perfect for content marketing is its ability to transport viewers. They might not be able to physically go on a behind the scenes tour of a company, but video can take them there. They might have missed a recent event, but video can help them experience it. They might never get a chance to meet the person or team making their favorite product, but video can provide the introduction.

You can do those things with text, photos and graphics, but video does it better because video is an emotional medium. That doesn’t have to mean making an audience laugh or cry. The emotional response we frequently try to elicit for our clients is one of confidence. We want viewers to feel confident in our clients’ abilities.

The best way to do that is to introduce viewers to the people at the business, let them go behind the scenes… and… video is the next best thing to being there.

It’s no wonder why experts think video is a great match for companies using content marketing.

–Tony Gnau