Tag Archives: Corporate video

Don’t get lost in your video’s details. Too much precious editing time can be spent working out a tiny detail that viewers will never notice, and it costs you money.

Certainly, errors need to be corrected, but try not to focus on “correcting” cosmetic things like a single shot that lasts one second.  Some edits to make a “correction” like that can take hours of work depending on how complicated the task, and guess what… you’re paying for that time.

Remember, you’re breaking down this video second-by-second, frame-by-frame. That’s not how the average person watches your video. They watch it once, maybe a couple of times, but they’re not dissecting it.

What you should be hoping for is that the audience leaves your video feeling good about your company. Chances are they’re not even going to notice a one second shot that includes a desk in the background that appears a little messy.

Don’t waste your editing time and production budget “correcting” those shots.

–Tony Gnau

Producing a video is a good way to make a great first impression, but before you start make sure you’re on target with your budget.

I know, it’s a tight budget. Just about everyone has a tight budget these days, so why waste time? If you only have $3,000 to spend, ask the production companies you contact what they can do for that budget.

Why show them your cards? Giving the company a budget to work with from the start will allow them to custom tailor something to your needs. Without of budget, they’ll likely give you a proposal with all sorts of bells and whistles you can’t afford.

You’ll save yourself a lot of time and potential disappointment by telling them the budget upfront.

–Tony Gnau

It sounds so obvious, but a lot of businesses fail to do it… highlight what they do best. If you’re ready to start having videos produced, this is a good place to start.

Many corporate videos get bogged down in the details. Company X shipped this many widgets to Y number of countries. Great… but tell me about the widget!

Isn’t that what you do best… build a good widget? Who came up with the idea? How is it made? How is it going to help me as your potential customer?

Don’t lose focus… show me the widget!

–Tony Gnau

If you’re looking for someone to produce a company video, don’t search for a corporate video producer. You should look for a corporate storyteller.

Now, some video producers are storytellers, but not all of them. You can find tons of people with the technical expertise to edit together a video, but a storyteller will help make the video relevant to an audience.

How do you know if they’re a storyteller? Look at their work.

Does it hold your attention? Are you curious to see what’s next? Do you connect with the video’s message?

If the answer is yes to one or more of these questions, then you might have found someone who can tell your company’s story.

–Tony Gnau

Jim Collins writes a lot in his book Good To Great about how important it is for companies to “get the right people on the bus.” In short, finding employees who are self-motivated.

That’s something we take seriously at T60. Right now, I shoot and edit most of our video, but T60 is growing so more and more we turn to freelancers to help. These aren’t just any freelancers though, they’re rock stars! Photographers and editors we can trust to create great content for our clients.

I was reminded how talented they are last week when I got the good news that Jeremy Nichols won a pair of Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Jeremy is a news photographer/editor at WISC-TV in Madison, WI.  He has worked for T60 in the past, and I hope he’ll continue to play a part in the company’s growth.

Jeremy just won awards for best use of video, watch Goat Art and you’ll see why, but he didn’t stop there. He’s so motivated that as a photographer/editor, he even won an award for sports reporting. Jeremy shot, wrote, voiced, and edited Good Eye, Tanner.

Any doubt this is the type of person you want creating content?

–Tony Gnau

I’m a big believer in transparency. In government, in business, and yes… in marketing videos. That’s why I’m pretty excited about seeing a new movie coming out this week.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is Morgan Spurlock‘s latest documentary. The concept… produce a movie about product placement and advertising that is paid for by product placement and advertising.

Love it.

Sure, it’s a clever way to focus on the subject, but I love the fact that some companies were apparently willing to jump onboard.

A business that respects an audience’s intelligence is bound to reap rewards.

–Tony Gnau

There are all sorts of videos that can help a company make a sale. Whether you provide a product or a service, a good video highlighting what you do can go a long way to earning new business.

But don’t discount your current customers.

A good video can also be an investment in them. If you don’t think your competitors are trying to lure their business away, you’re kidding yourself. That means its just as important to share your videos with your “faithful” clients as it is with your prospects.

It’s an investment worth making.

–Tony Gnau

I watched a good interview over at the Social Media Examiner last week, and it really hit home because it gave me a different perspective on one of my favorite topics.

Social Media author Scott Stratten talked about corporate video and how businesses need to tell emotional stories to get people to share them. He thinks this is the key to making videos go viral.

Anyone who reads this blog knows my feelings on this subject. Video is all about emotion, not facts. Call it my mantra. A good video touches emotions and connects with the audience. A powerful concept for any marketer.

Anyway, Stratten did open my eyes though because I’ve never thought about it from a “sharing” perspective, but it makes sense. People rarely share videos because they have great facts. They share videos that elicit emotion.

In some cases, facts lead to emotions, but it’s still the emotional response that’s driving viewers to share.

Emotion is apparently a key that opens many doors.

–Tony Gnau

Ditch the actors in web videos. Real people are just a better way to go.

I was watching an American Airlines video yesterday when this thought jumped to mind. The airline actually does a great job of posting online videos, some good, some not so good.

This one focuses on a contest the airline is running, and the video features actors posing as real people who talk about needing a vacation. This would have been so much better with real people, in their real environments.

Real people work well in videos because it immediately allows the viewer to connect with who they’re watching. Once you see an actor in a video, that sensation is gone. You know the company is selling you on something.

Real people on the other hand, their message is more authentic. Viewers are simply more interested in what they have to say, and they’re even trusted.

Real people, real messages, real impact.

–Tony Gnau

It doesn’t take long. A good video can get people’s attention and peak their interest in less than a couple of minutes. That’s important because most web surfers have very short attention spans.

However, that’s not why I think shorter PR and marketing videos are better. Shorter is better because it allows you to do more.

Instead of producing a single, let’s say, 10-minute video, businesses should turn out five, 2-minute videos. Breaking things up into segments does a couple of things…

1. it’s a manageable time for people to watch
2. it creates an event to look forward to

I want to focus on that second point. Producing a series of videos allows a company to release them as a web series. Using our previous example, we’ll say one video a week for five weeks.

Show them over your social media networks, in an email campaign, and now you’re producing content your followers will anticipate and appreciate every week.

Less really can be more.

–Tony Gnau