Tag Archives: YouTube

One of the great things about online videos is the ability to take people to places they normally don’t get to go. Want to see it being done to near perfection? Start following college athletics.

The University of Southern California takes on Notre Dame this weekend in South Bend. It’s one of college football’s best rivalries, and thanks to YouTube fans get unprecedented access to their teams.

Each university’s athletic department has their own channel, and they post multiple videos every week documenting the comings and goings of their football programs. Pretty cool stuff if you’re a fan.

Business leaders… pay attention. This could be you giving your prospects and customers a behind the scenes look at your company. That sort of access can build real loyalty.

–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

One of our clients did something note-worthy yesterday, so I’m happy to point it out.

We have produced a few videos for DuPage Habitat for Humanity, and one of them happens to be the “About Us” video. We’re very proud of that particular video. It turned out so well that it earned a Telly Award.

Anyway, the video was produced last year, but it popped-up yesterday on the organization’s Facebook page. Bravo!

If you go through the time and expense of producing a quality video… don’t be afraid to show it multiple times. Your video doesn’t have to be a one-time social media post.

Now, I’m not saying you should post it ten times a day, but develop a strategy. Maybe the first week you’re posting it you do it Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning… et cetera.

Also, don’t just limit it to the first week your video comes out. Post it periodically every few months. People aren’t monitoring your social media posts at all times, not to mention you’re hopefully continuing to pick up new followers.

Not everyone has seen your video, so why not continue to share it?

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: DuPage Habitat for Humanity

In part one, we explained the importance of keeping the videos in your series short. Part two was about viewing habits. Today we’re hitting on maybe the most powerful aspect… sharing.

The idea behind a series is to capture an audience. Short videos, covering topics important to your viewers will help you develop that following. Now we want them to share them with others. The best part is if you’ve done your job well in the other areas, this will likely happen all on its own.

Post it on YouTube. Share that link on Twitter, Facebook, in e-mails campaigns to clients and prospective clients, with your friends, family, your dry cleaner… EVERYONE! If they like what they see, they’ll pass it along too.

The more people that see it, the more people will turn to you for your expertise.

Tomorrow… we’ll wrap things up with some final thoughts.

–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

Southwest Airlines clearly understands social media. I found their latest YouTube video when it popped up in my Facebook feed… only to watch and leave unfulfilled. A shame because they missed a real opportunity to educate their customers, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Rangers Trading Place is about some members of the Texas Rangers baseball team trying out different Southwest jobs at Dallas Love Field. As a producer, this has all sorts of great storytelling options.

The only problem… they really didn’t tell much of a story. I mean, you get the gist of what’s going on, but there’s no real storytelling technique here. The result as an audience member is leaving the video apathetic. Some baseball players scanned some tickets. Big deal. How does this impact me as a traveler? It doesn’t.

Or does it? Here’s one quick idea. Really feature the Southwest employees teaching the players their jobs. Make sure the employees emphasize why they do things certain ways and how that benefits travelers.

Apply just a little storytelling technique like this and you have an entirely different experience for the audience.

Having the technical ability to put together a video isn’t enough. Businesses need real storytelling to make their videos relevant so the audience has the opportunity to connect with what they’re watching.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Rangers Trading Places

I was cheering-on Gini Dietrich yesterday as I read her post at Spin Sucks. In short, she wrote about how difficult it is selling change-resistant business leaders on the ongoing digital revolution.

It’s something we often face as well since the majority of our videos are bound for the web. One of the consistent arguments Gini hears is one I’ve heard a time or two myself. Company leaders say they don’t need online videos because their clients aren’t 20-somethings surfing the web.

Oh yeah? Right after reading Gini’s blog I came across this little ditty at eMarketer.com. A recent study shows Gen-Xers (34-45 year-olds) are watching more online videos than any other age group. More than 74% will watch online video at least monthly this year.

After I got over the fact that my fellow Gen-Xers and I are now in our 30’s and 40’s, I realized how important that information is for business executives. This notion that only 20-somethings are surfing the web, using social media, and watching online video isn’t based in reality.

If Joe or Jane CEO isn’t willing to accept it, maybe their competition will be interested.

–Tony Gnau

Everyone’s budget is tight. We run into it all the time. Business leaders want a professional video production, but they say they can’t afford it.

Video production costs are actually very reasonable these days. What would have run you 20-grand ten years ago costs half of that now. The average video we produce these days comes in between $4,000-$8,000. That’s a high-quality, professional video production.

Even so, I realize times are tough. Budgets are smaller and if you don’t have the money, you don’t have the money. That leads me to a couple of suggestions.

First, companies need to plan ahead. Research your video project in advance, keeping one eye on the next fiscal calendar. Get a proposal from your video provider before budgets are made so that you can work the production into it in advance.

“Hi Joe Video Producer, we’re working on next year/quarter’s fiscal budget and we want to have a video produced. Any way you could give me an estimate?”

Trust me, they’ll be happy to help.

Second, look for sponsors. Every business is different, but think about vendors your company works with and see if they have any interest in contributing.

“Hi Jane Vendor, we’re producing an online video for YouTube, other social media, and an email blast. We’d love to get a few of our vendors some exposure as well.  If you’re interested in participating, we can do product placements for $100 or even interview someone from your company for $500 and include a few sound bites.”

Those are just random numbers I threw in there, but you get the point. Would that be tacky? I don’t know, you tell me. I’m just brainstorming here. Keep in mind, I’m suggesting contacting the vendors you purchase from, not customers you sell to.

I’m certainly open to other ideas. In fact, I’d love to hear how businesses are getting creative about paying for any content they’re creating… so let me know!

–Tony Gnau

One of the great new features many mobile phones provide is the ability to shoot HD video, but having quality video at your fingertips isn’t a guarantee you’ll shoot good video.

A whole generation of people have grown accustomed to shooting photos on their phones, and they do it holding the phones upright… vertically. That’s fine for photos, but not for video.

If you’re shooting video on your mobile phone, please turn the phone so that you’re shooting video horizontally. Think about the screen where you’ll be displaying your video. TV screens… horizontal. Computer screens… horizontal. YouTube… horizontal.

Flip the phone 90-degrees counterclockwise and you’re on your way to shooting better video.

–Tony Gnau

Here we go. It’s August 2011, but the presidential campaigning for November 2012 is already here.

Wait! Don’t go away. This post doesn’t have anything to do with politics. Instead, it has everything to do with promoting you and your business.

Subscribe to any of the candidates’ YouTube channels, and you’re going to start getting their videos on a regular basis. They put a lot of time and effort into creating videos they think will appeal to you, and there’s a good reason they produce so many.

The more video you watch, the more you feel like you know them. The more you feel like you know them, the more likely you’ll be to vote for them.

Same thing applies to businesses. That’s why I encourage clients to produce a series of short videos released over a given period of time instead of one long video. We’re trying to capture that same feeling with audiences that politicians covet.

Want to see how it’s done? Check out this Mitt Romney video. It’s not an attack ad or a long internet video. It’s a short look at Romney, and I’m sure one of many to come… from the GOP… as well as the President.

–Tony Gnau