Tag Archives: business

This post is for anyone who’s hosting an event. PR pros, event coordinators or the company employee who’s been given the task of organizing an important party, launch or meeting.

You booked the venue, worked out catering, created the invites… did you remember a videographer?

Sure, a photographer might be on your to-do list, but a videographer brings even greater social value.

I’m not talking about shooting some general video, slapping it together and sending it out. I’m talking about creative video, interviews and quality storytelling that gives viewers a sense of what it was like to be at the event.

perfect for email follow-ups

Now you have something special. Now you have something to email to everyone who attended. “Thanks for attending our event.  We hope you enjoy the video we produced and share it with your friends and colleagues.”

Now you have something to email to everyone who couldn’t make it. “Sorry you weren’t able to attend, but you can still be a part of the party! Check out this short video.”

Social Media and future promotion

We haven’t even gotten to social media yet. You can share the video there as well.

Did I mention you can use the video to promote the same or similar event the next year?

You spend lots of time, energy and cash on these events, and they’re usually over in a matter of hours. Why not produce a video that allows the it to live on well after the party ends?

–Tony Gnau

Want to see how some of our clients have done it? — Event Videos

Another good behind-the-scenes video today from American Airlines. Good, not great. There are some rough edits, but it’s still pretty good and I LOVE the concept.

American’s leaders understand there’s all sorts of aspects about their business people might find interesting, so they regularly do these types of videos. In this case, it’s the process of buying a new airplane.

That’s Them, Not Us

You might be thinking to yourself… sure, they’re an airline. There are tons of things they can produce videos about that viewers will find interesting. I don’t do anything special that people will watch.

Trust me. There are people at American who once felt the same way. Guaranteed there are people there who are always prepping new planes and don’t think it’s anything special. When you do something everyday, or frequently, it might not seem interesting to you, but in the hands of a quality storyteller it becomes something that will capture an audience.

Look Using The eyes of your customers

The idea is to start looking at your business through the eyes of your customers and prospects. What are the things you’re doing that might peek their curiosity?

Remember, it’s not about you. It’s about the audience. Focus your videos on what they might want to watch.

–Tony Gnau

I’m a big Dave Ramsey fan. My wife and I started on his financial plan when we got engaged, and we haven’t looked back.

If you’re not familiar with Dave, he’s a financial counselor who’s spread his vision and brand via a hugely popular, nationally syndicated talk radio show and best-selling books.

While those mediums have been a big part of his success, his daughter is going a different route… VIDEO.

Move Over Radio, Hello Video

Rachel Cruz is the face of FoundationsU, Dave’s financial curriculum for college students and young adults. How’s she communicating with her audience? YouTube videos via a vlog.

What’s significant about that? Rachel is the next generation of Dave’s company, and she and their team clearly understand they’re gunning for a different audience. Instead of being stuck on past mediums, they’re turning where these new followers reside… the internet.

The company is moving forward and not stuck in the past. While radio and print have served the brand well, they have embraced digital marketing and all it offers. No doubt, video is a HUGE part of it.

Learn From Dave And Rachel

Your company might be doing well. It might even be a success, but if you want it to continue to grow… watch those companies already growing and take some notes.

Dave and Rachel see value in video… do you?

–Tony Gnau

Courtesy: Entrepreneur Magazine

You know I’m all about storytelling, so when Entrepreneur Magazine posts something like this (see photo) in its Facebook feed… you have my attention.

Actually, I prefer another quote from the same piece with Gary Vaynerchuk…

“Storytelling is the most underrated skill in business.”

Love… it! And couldn’t agree more. The better you tell your story, the more likely you are to make a sale.

Why? Storytelling tugs at our hearts. It has the ability to help build an emotional connection between the viewer and storyteller.

How valuable can that be when you go to make a sale?

–Tony Gnau

I got to meet marketing expert Geoff Livingston during a shoot a couple of months ago. He and one of our clients, Arment Dietrich CEO Gini Dietrich, were launching a new book. Geoff’s a fun guy. I’ve been reading his blog ever since, and yesterday’s post really got my attention.

The title says it all… Customers Don’t Care About Us. He writes about how social engagement doesn’t always add up to more sales… that recommendations by peers rule.

That’s one of the reasons I frequently encourage clients to make their videos about their customers… not them.

I’m talking about going beyond the testimonial. The heart of the story is about your client’s business, then eventually work in how your company helps them.

You can also use them in projects or with issues you’re passionate about. In our case, we have an ongoing video series about why our clients use video.

Each is a powerful way to show a) how dedicated you are to your clients… giving them some free publicity. And b) how dedicated they are to you… that they’re willing to go on camera for your company.

That’s a message prospects will trust.

–Tony Gnau

I advocate pretty hard for video. I’m a big believer in the medium and what it can do for businesses. I’m also realistic, so I get excited when someone with a bigger megaphone takes up the charge.

Enter Gini Dietrich… PR/marketing expert, superstar blogger and a published author. Her following is measured in the tens of thousands and we’re proud to call her a T60 client.

One of her blog posts last week caught my attention. She wrote about how PR pros aren’t keeping up with what journalists want, and she cited some recent studies…

These combined studies showed 80 percent of journalists and bloggers value images that are easily available and ready to use. And 75 percent says they want video and that 30 percent of their websites now use externally produced video.

Did you catch that? 75 percent of journalists want video. This speaks to me on multiple levels considering I own a video production company and once made my living as a TV news reporter.

As a matter of fact, it wasn’t too long ago I was offering some suggestions on how companies can cater to the media. These studies only prove it’s an even better idea than I originally thought.

So… PR-types… keep these stats in mind. If you want to provide extra incentive for journalists to cover your clients, video is something you should consider.

Business leaders… if you want to make your company a source for information related to your industry, you should probably update you media page with some video as well.

–Tony Gnau

Yesterday I met with an old friend of mine and a very talented graphic designer, Julie Woertz at We Cre8 Design. It was followed by a phone call with the friend of a friend who’s looking for a video-related job. Two totally different conversations but something similar struck me about each.

We’re still having to sell people on video.

Julie was telling me how she’s always recommending to clients to include video on their websites, but people haven’t been biting. My new acquaintance was talking about how hard his former employer had to work to sell video B2B.

I’m faced with it as well, and it shocks me. I mean, I get it. If a business leader sees the potential for how video can help them, but they feel like they just can’t afford to do it right now… okay. But that’s not what we’re talking about.

Many executives still don’t see the point of video. What’s more, they seemingly ignore all the stats out there telling them how many people are watching online videos.

All I feel I can do is continue to advocate for the medium. It is such a powerful way to reach people… to connect with them on an emotional level. These are clients and prospects, and business leaders need to realize they’re out there watching.

–Tony Gnau

Some people are surprised to find out T60 doesn’t own a bunch of expensive equipment. We have the essentials… a couple of cameras, lights, microphones, and a computer for editing… but that’s about it.

We occasionally take on projects where we need more than we have, and when we do we turn to AV Chicago.

I recently returned some gear to them, and they surprised me. The guy helping handed me a business card highlighting the company’s social media. He said if I had a good experience with the rental, he hoped I would “like” them on Facebook and write a review on Yelp.

Nicely done. I was really impressed. I’m a big fan of there’s, so guess what… I just “liked” them and now I plan on writing a glowing review on Yelp. Chances are I wouldn’t have done either without the classy suggestion.

A good lesson for us all.

–Tony Gnau

Reading material is essential for an out-of-town shoot, and a couple of things I picked-up during our flight to San Diego really drove something home.

Video rules over print.

We all know this. When given the choice between a lot of text or watching a video, most people will choose the video. There’s all sorts of online data out there supporting this, so it’s no wonder even print publications are trying to offer video.

Examples A and B… USA Today and Skymall catalogue. I snapped a couple of photos showing how they ask people to go to their websites to watch videos. USA Today does mention you can find other things like features and photos, but tops on the list… video.

Business leaders need to get with it. They need to realize just offering text on a website or in social media posts won’t cut it anymore. If they want to remain competitive and on top of the marketplace they need to be producing videos.

It’s how their customers and prospects are consuming media.

–Tony Gnau

As I mentioned yesterday, our San Diego shoot inspired a bunch of blog posts. Here’s a tease ahead to next week…

Frontera Tortas: I was excited to see that celebrity chef Rick Bayless has his own restaurant in O’Hare Airport’s American Airlines terminal. It serves all sorts of gourmet tortas. I was there in the morning and had one of the best breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever tasted. While sitting at the bar eating, I looked up at the TV and was impressed with what I saw. It wasn’t the Olympics.

American Airlines Safety Video: yes, the video that tells us all to buckle-up and points out that our seats are also flotation devices. Of all things that could impress me, this might have been the most surprising. The video was… terrific. It was a whole new spin on something we’ve all seen before.

Print Turn Video: this is something I’ve written about in the past, but it was driven home during our trip. Print publications that now offer video. Sounds ridiculous, but it’s happening in all sorts of different ways.

Don’t Pass Up Good Shots: we’ve all be there. You’re producing a video, you’ve been shooting all day and put away your gear, you’re tired and thinking about evening plans… when… you spot a good shot. Do you take that camera back out? We did… and I’ll show you why.

–Tony Gnau