Marketing with testimonials, short film, and promotional videos is no longer an option for the future but has already become a popular promotional tool. Video feedback is "marketing gold" especially when it is readily available to the online audience. Posting customer feedback via video on your website is a great way to get people’s attention while giving your company a good name. Another great way to use video feedback is in training or new employee welcoming videos. Interviewing current employees and asking them to tell how they’ve grown with the company inspires the new employees and gives training videos a personal touch.
The infamous Snuggie, the most popular late night TV product ever, has created their own video marketing strategy using video feedback submitted by others to promote their product. Allstar media has created the Snuggie Film Choice Awards and are requesting users to submit "commercial, short film, documentary or parody" videos to the Snuggie Fan Club website. The one who submits the best video will win a $5,000 cash prize as well as a trip to New York City with a possibility of being included in the newest Snuggie commercial. The company has already posted some of the less-insulting Snuggie video parodies found on Youtube on their website and they have generated quite a buzz. They also allow users to send pictures or videos of themselves or their friends in a Snuggie and post it on Allstar's Facebook and Twitter pages. Together with video and social media, Allstar Products Group are effectively selling Snuggies to all types of people around the world, no matter how ridiculous the product is.
Here is one of the Snuggie parodies from Youtube.
References: Jeffries, Adrianna. "Snuggie Hopes to Recruit Youtube Parodymakers to Make its Next Viral Ad" ReadWriteWeb. http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/snuggie_hopes_to_recruit_youtube_parodymakers_to_m.php
Friday, August 6, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Questions to Ask a Video Production Company
Choosing a video production company can be a difficult process. Remember you are trusting them to represent your company brand, owners, and employees when making a corporate video. Here are some questions to help you choose the best company for you.
1. Clarify what you want to accomplish with the video with your team. Are you trying to impress, educate, motivate, train, sell or market? How will this video be used? Ask them what their suggestions are and the most cost effective way they could accomplish this.
2. Establish background credentials, is the video company new? How much experience do they have? How many projects have they produced, shot, and edited? Do they have any references or samples of their previous work?
3. You should have final approval of the script before the project begins. The script is the map the entire video that follows so make sure to ask for a wording agreement that this happens.
4. You as the client should have ultimate creative control, you should approve the music, narrator and the look and feel of the video. It is after all your brand that you want to promote and protect. Ask for wording that states that.
5. Re-write and re-edit. A professional company will have allowances for client script re-writes, reviews, and re-edits of the video with your feedback.
6. Does this video production company offer their services in house or do they use outside vendors? This can affect the quality and timeliness of work. Many so called companies are nothing more than a clearing house and never do the actual work themselves. Instead they subcontract the work out to multiple sources. The disadvantage to that can be poor communication of exact needs which leads to false timetables resulting in delays for the client.
7. Does the production company offer a guarantee? One that guarantees that you get the video requested on-time, on-budget, and at the quality you expected?
8. A professional company should give you a no-cost quote with a line by line budget.
1. Clarify what you want to accomplish with the video with your team. Are you trying to impress, educate, motivate, train, sell or market? How will this video be used? Ask them what their suggestions are and the most cost effective way they could accomplish this.
2. Establish background credentials, is the video company new? How much experience do they have? How many projects have they produced, shot, and edited? Do they have any references or samples of their previous work?
3. You should have final approval of the script before the project begins. The script is the map the entire video that follows so make sure to ask for a wording agreement that this happens.
4. You as the client should have ultimate creative control, you should approve the music, narrator and the look and feel of the video. It is after all your brand that you want to promote and protect. Ask for wording that states that.
5. Re-write and re-edit. A professional company will have allowances for client script re-writes, reviews, and re-edits of the video with your feedback.
6. Does this video production company offer their services in house or do they use outside vendors? This can affect the quality and timeliness of work. Many so called companies are nothing more than a clearing house and never do the actual work themselves. Instead they subcontract the work out to multiple sources. The disadvantage to that can be poor communication of exact needs which leads to false timetables resulting in delays for the client.
7. Does the production company offer a guarantee? One that guarantees that you get the video requested on-time, on-budget, and at the quality you expected?
8. A professional company should give you a no-cost quote with a line by line budget.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Night of Lux
The Video Editor worked with Elizabeth Wahler of Kiere Media to create this video showing highlights from "A Night of Lux". Walher hosted "A Night of Lux:A Fashionable Fight Against Cancer", a charity event benefiting The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, on May 13, 2010 in Corona Del Mar.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Center for New Medicine
Steve Kosch, owner of The Video Editor, spent several days videotaping 10-15 medical staff members from the Center for New Medicine to introduce the unique medical center to the public.
The Center for New Medicine specializes in combing modern scientific medicine with natural healing traditions. The company will use this video on the web and interviews with the doctors and medical support staff will also be available.
The Center for New Medicine specializes in combing modern scientific medicine with natural healing traditions. The company will use this video on the web and interviews with the doctors and medical support staff will also be available.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Social Media is not a Date but a Marriage
Often times when new technology is introduced we all want to touch it, demo it, date it, fall in love, then use it. However social media is not just some new fad or gadget, it's the new way to conduct business and connect with vendors, customers and clients. Today you can't casually "date" social media you must "commit" to its daily use so that it becomes second nature to you. Social media can help you find your voice in your industry, it can become a friend who watches out for their customer and works to establish and deepen relationships.
When you date someone you can hide certain areas from them, but not when you're married. When you connect to the social media your company must be ready to become transparent, warts and all. Whether you're thinking of a blog, a page on Linkedin, or jumping head-on into the mysterious world of Twitter, people will read about your company, they'll comment, refer, or deter others from using your product or service. At this point in your marriage you can't mess around.
Make sure you know what you're getting into with social media. A seminar or public relations consultant will help get you up to speed without the usual learning curve and perhaps save the company some embarrassment that could damage the company brand. Remember once it's on the internet it's hard to pull it back in. Like the minister says "for better or worse, in good times or bad" make sure you have a great marriage because with social media there is no option for divorce.
When you date someone you can hide certain areas from them, but not when you're married. When you connect to the social media your company must be ready to become transparent, warts and all. Whether you're thinking of a blog, a page on Linkedin, or jumping head-on into the mysterious world of Twitter, people will read about your company, they'll comment, refer, or deter others from using your product or service. At this point in your marriage you can't mess around.
Make sure you know what you're getting into with social media. A seminar or public relations consultant will help get you up to speed without the usual learning curve and perhaps save the company some embarrassment that could damage the company brand. Remember once it's on the internet it's hard to pull it back in. Like the minister says "for better or worse, in good times or bad" make sure you have a great marriage because with social media there is no option for divorce.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tips and Tricks of Online Video
Creating successful and engaging online video is difficult. Here are some tips on what to avoid during your online video production process.
1. Keep It Short.
Promotional videos are meant to be short and sweet. “When is the last time you watched a five minute promotional thing on the Internet?” asks Tim Plum, the owner of Plum, a video production company based in Chicago, IL. “I bet the answer is never.” If the videos go too long viewers don't get hooked and will click away before your message is delivered.
2. Remember Your Production Values.
If you disregard the importance of production values, your videos end up looking unprofessional and turn the viewer off. Cheap looking videos can distract viewers from the message you are trying to convey. Make sure all aspects of the video are professional looking such as lighting, sound, camerawork, and backgrounds. No one is going to take a video seriously if it looks like it was shot in back of someone's garage with a shaky camera with a built-in microphone.
3.Hire a Professional.
If you are hiring a video production company, think twice about going with the cheapest choice. You might save a couple dollars but your video could end up suffering. These companies often have poor taste in font choices, colors, narration, or music and the finished product will reflect this. "You want your video to look fresh and cool" Plum says, "not hacky and slightly wrong."
4.Stay on Topic.
Keep in mind what you want your viewers to feel and think after they watch it the video. Do you want them to take action or remember anything in particular? "Clients tend to want to sneak in a lot of other messages", says Plum. Don't overload them with too much information. Keep to information that supports the goals of the video instead expanding on every little detail about your company. Make it simple and don't go off topic.
5.Viral Isn't Always Right.
Often time companies try to go viral but don't realize it is extremely difficult pull off successfully. "It’s easy to make a bad viral video" says Plum. Feel free to try something crazy and different but make sure your goals are clear. Although viral videos are "cool and hip and mind-blowing", you can still be a hit without being "the next viral video".
Resources:
Dreier, Trou. “Five Online Videos Don'ts.". 20 July 2010. OnlineVideo.net.
1. Keep It Short.
Promotional videos are meant to be short and sweet. “When is the last time you watched a five minute promotional thing on the Internet?” asks Tim Plum, the owner of Plum, a video production company based in Chicago, IL. “I bet the answer is never.” If the videos go too long viewers don't get hooked and will click away before your message is delivered.
2. Remember Your Production Values.
If you disregard the importance of production values, your videos end up looking unprofessional and turn the viewer off. Cheap looking videos can distract viewers from the message you are trying to convey. Make sure all aspects of the video are professional looking such as lighting, sound, camerawork, and backgrounds. No one is going to take a video seriously if it looks like it was shot in back of someone's garage with a shaky camera with a built-in microphone.
3.Hire a Professional.
If you are hiring a video production company, think twice about going with the cheapest choice. You might save a couple dollars but your video could end up suffering. These companies often have poor taste in font choices, colors, narration, or music and the finished product will reflect this. "You want your video to look fresh and cool" Plum says, "not hacky and slightly wrong."
4.Stay on Topic.
Keep in mind what you want your viewers to feel and think after they watch it the video. Do you want them to take action or remember anything in particular? "Clients tend to want to sneak in a lot of other messages", says Plum. Don't overload them with too much information. Keep to information that supports the goals of the video instead expanding on every little detail about your company. Make it simple and don't go off topic.
5.Viral Isn't Always Right.
Often time companies try to go viral but don't realize it is extremely difficult pull off successfully. "It’s easy to make a bad viral video" says Plum. Feel free to try something crazy and different but make sure your goals are clear. Although viral videos are "cool and hip and mind-blowing", you can still be a hit without being "the next viral video".
Resources:
Dreier, Trou. “Five Online Videos Don'ts.". 20 July 2010. OnlineVideo.net.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Get your message out to the world...
Did you know that over 1 billion users from around the globe surf the internet every month? That is equivalent to over two hundred fifty million users a week! Video on the web creates an image, drives traffic, boosts conversions, and adds the personal touch to your business!
Grab the users attention with engaging web videos with help from the experts at The Video Editor. Web videos can help businesses successfully sell, market, communicate and brand their company and are accessible to customers all over the world.
Grab the users attention with engaging web videos with help from the experts at The Video Editor. Web videos can help businesses successfully sell, market, communicate and brand their company and are accessible to customers all over the world.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
YouTube!
According to a recent survey YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. The Video Editor produces corporate, training, trade show, recruitment, marketing, sales, TV and promotional videos for businesses all over the country that can easily be uploaded on to YouTube and shared all over the world. See a sample of our work below and make sure to check out The Video Editor's YouTube Channel to see more samples of our corporate videos!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Video Editor on Facebook
Check out The Video Editor's Facebook page to discover exclusive promotions and special offers on Digital Transfers, Video Production, DVD/CD Duplication, and more. Become a Fan today!
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