Tag Archives: Public Relations/Marketing

It’s no longer business as usual. Companies that are jumping on the social media express need to understand something… they are now content creators.

Sure, they still sell widgets or provide a special service, but now they have another identity. They are a media company. That means thinking about the media they produce and how it can affect the business.

Gone are the days when a business relies on the traditional media to help spread its PR or marketing message. Now it’s up to the company to do it. It might appear to be a daunting task, but it really opens a world of options.

One of them is the opportunity to harness the power of video. Businesses can create video content that serves an audience and turns viewers into customers.

It won’t happen overnight. The first step is changing the mindset. We no longer just sell widgets. We are a media company.

Once they’ve accepted that reality, businesses can begin looking at all the great stories surrounding the company and start producing videos.

–Tony Gnau

You know why video makes for great social media content? It works. People love videos and they love to share the good ones.

According to emarketer.com, the number of internet users who are watching online videos every month is on the rise. By 2015, it could surpass the 195-million mark.

If you’re a business owner, those are numbers that can’t be ignored. If you’re a PR or marketing pro, those are numbers you need to share with your clients.

–Tony Gnau

Public relations maestro Gini Dietrich occasionally blogs at spinsucks.com about gaming and how it can be used in a PR/marketing setting. I’ve been thinking about various ways to incorporate video into social media games, and apparently I’m not the only one.

I love the promotion Dodge is running via YouTube. It’s basically an online video scavenger hunt for three of the company’s new SUVs, and the winners who find the vehicles get to keep them. Dodge is posting a series of videos at its YouTube channel providing hints.

Most of the videos are pretty simple, but it’s clear they’ve been well-produced. We’re not talking video shot by some amateur in the company’s marketing department on a FlipCam. It’s clear that pros shot and edited these segments. They actually look and feel more like TV ads than online videos.

Regardless, the game is fun, the videos look great, and it has my creativity synapses working overtime.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Dodge YouTube Channel

You can pay just about anyone to shoot some video. Chances are they’re also capable of editing together that video. What you should be paying for is someone with a storyteller’s vision.

It’s their creativity that will set your video apart. It’s their creativity that will drive engagement. It’s their creativity that holds real value.

Don’t look for a vendor. Hire an artist.

–Tony Gnau

An authentic voice isn’t always polished. People who speak from the heart occasionally stutter, and sometimes they say, “um.” Don’t worry about it. Leave those things in your videos.

It’s okay for a couple of reasons. First, audiences don’t even notice it. Okay, if someone says something like, “you know,” four times in the span of 10-seconds, people will notice. They rarely notice the occasional verbal misstep because that’s simply how we all speak.

This is your video so you’re dissecting it word by word. Audiences don’t watch and listen that way. Stuttering and stammering is what we hear everyday, so hearing the same in a video only sounds like natural conversation.

Second, because it does sound natural, the content of what’s being communicated comes off as much more genuine than a polished answer. Unless you’re a great actor or experienced politician, sounding sincere while delivering a practiced answer is nearly impossible.

The best thing to do during your videos is to speak from the heart, hum, and let your passion show.

–Tony Gnau

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

You don’t always need words to tell a story, but if you have them… make sure to use them well. Content creators and business leaders can certainly learn that lesson from watching a Chicago tourism video that starts with a great concept but falls a little short.

The video uses the written words of Daniel Burnham. For those of you non-Chicagoans who might not be familiar, Burnham was the architect and urban planner who created the city’s blueprint following the Great Chicago Fire.

His words… perfect for this video. The problem… the video is too long, edited to include long musical breaks between Burnham’s well-written lines.

The breaks are so long you completely lose the flow of what Burnham wrote. Tighten up the edit and all of a sudden the story starts to make sense.

This is a mild critique. The video is shot well, and has one of the world’s great city’s as a backdrop. It’s hard to go wrong with that imagery. Adding Burnham’s words in a more efficient way would have put this video over the top.

Your content may have words, but does it tell a story?

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Chicago Tourism

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