I hope everyone is having a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah. We’re going to take the next week off, but we’ll be back with all sorts of great content in 2012.

Happy New Year!

–Tony Gnau

Photo Courtesy: Apple

I don’t really know too much about Steve Jobs. Sure, I’ve read the basics over the years, but I don’t know much about the man himself.  What I do know is that he ran a company that’s done a lot to make video accessible, and for that… I’m grateful.

Over the last decade, we’ve experienced a revolution in how people can acquire, watch, and share video. It’s driven down costs to the point where just about anyone can harness the power of video.

What’s next for Apple now that he’s gone? I hope they continue to innovate, but this video revolution flywheel is spinning now. All we need to do is keep it moving.

–Tony Gnau

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

If you’re going to produce video content… and you should… do it right. Put some effort into it. Don’t just produce something for the sake of having video content. It’s lazy, the video will likely be boring, and it could make your business look bad.

Yes, it would be great to share professionally produced material, but that’s not what this is about. Even if you’re producing video on a budget, at the very least approach your project with some passion and focus.

Why is this material important? Why is it relevant to my audience? Why should they care to watch?

Ask yourself all these questions, answer them, then move forward.

–Tony Gnau

I love Monmouth College. I’ve been there and my wife is a proud alum. It’s a small Illinois school that doesn’t think small, and its leaders understand the power of video.

The school’s YouTube channel is loaded will all sorts of good stuff, but my favorite has to be this… 1993 Monmouth College Admission Video.

LOVE… IT!

By 1993 standards, I’m sure it was terrific. Not so much by today’s standards, but that’s not the point. I love that they posted this on YouTube and then shared it via Facebook. It’s kitschy… and kitschy is fun.

Why not post it!? School leaders clearly aren’t trying to use this as their current recruiting video. The school’s “revolutionary classroom… utilize sophisticated computers.” Hilarious stuff when you see the images that accompany those lines.

Companies could even look at this another way. Dust off any outdated video and include it in the next project. Sort of a… look how far we’ve come… example.

Regardless, the main lesson here is that the Monmouth video is cheesy… school leaders know it’s cheesy… and it puts Monmouth in a good light.

Don’t be afraid to by a little kitschy.

–Tony Gnau

Not every video has to be a masterpiece, and amateurs shouldn’t try to fake a professional production. Sometimes it’s enough just to give people a look behind the curtain.

Are you launching a new product? Did you hire a new employee? Are you extending a promotion? Pull out your FlipCam and shoot us 30-seconds.

Sure, a video pro can do it better, but if you can’t afford one, I rather see a short glimpse at what you do rather than a poorly edited amateur production.

–Tony Gnau

I was admiring the new Volvo Station Wagon the other day. Don’t judge, I’m a new dad. Suddenly finding Volvos cool is like a right of passage.

Anyway, I wanted to learn more so I went to the Volvo website and I found a fun video. It highlight’s Volvo’s overseas delivery program, and it’s a good video marketing example for other companies.

Basically, you can order your customized vehicle, then Volvo will fly you to Sweden where you can tour the factory and take your new car for a spin around Europe before they ship it to you in the U.S.

Now, I’m not in the market for a new car. I’m a big believer in quality used cars… thank you Dave Ramsey… but the video really captured my imagination. I consider that a win for Volvo.

A nice video about a program I may never use enhanced the whole brand for me. That’s the power of video.

Find something about your company that captures the audience’s imagination and the same could happen for you.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Volvo Overseas Delivery

While the social media world is all a-buzz about Google+, I’ve been focused on something else… Netflix.

The DVD and streaming video giant changed its subscription structure and raised prices, outraging many loyal customers. I wasn’t exactly outraged, but it did cause me to start looking at alternative services and it really got me thinking about corporate video.

The rise of online streaming services means yet another way to deliver video into people’s homes. Only now you can bypass computers and send it straight to their televisions.

AppleTV, Roku, Playstation, many Blu-Ray players… these are all devices incorporating online video streaming capabilities and allowing people to received countless “channels” featuring tons of videos, movies, and TV shows.

While the world wonders about business applications for Google+, they’re easy to see in this area. People following a company through social media may soon find those feeds delivering videos to their TVs. There’s already a Facebook channel on my Roku player where I can watch video. Vimeo has a channel as well. Sooner or later someone’s going to develop software to consolidate channels into a single feed making them even easier to browse.

Yet another way for a company to deliver its message.

–Tony Gnau

People who host PR/marketing events have their checklist. Venue, caterer, decorations, photographer, et cetera. The problem is it rarely contains the one thing that will make the memory of the event last the longest.

A videographer.

People don’t think twice about adding a photographer to the budget, and they shouldn’t. However, while a photo captures a moment in time, a video can transport the viewer to the event. People who were there get a chance to relive it and people who couldn’t attend get a sense of what it was like being there.

The best part… since you’re going to post that video to your social media, share the link in an email campaign, and put it up on the company website… you are going to do those things… right?… chances are good viewers will share that video with friends, family, and colleagues.

A good video makes memories last.

–Tony Gnau

Some props today for public relations expert and blogging maven Gini Dietrich. She wrote about how all businesses these days have become media companies… and she’s right.

Thanks to social media, from Facebook to YouTube, business leaders need to realize they’re now a part of the media industry so they need to start thinking that way.

The number one thing to consider… why is our content relevant? Why should someone watch our videos? If your answer is simply… because they should be interested in our product or service… you probably don’t have many people paying attention to you.

Start focusing your content on the audience. Make it relevant to them and they’ll start showing up in greater numbers.

–Tony Gnau