Five Ways to Profit from Using Video Online
by: Liz Micik
Reprinted from 2005
The newest media wave to hit the online shore is video. Individual emails abound with links to “the funniest video ever,” or blurry clips of new babies or birthday parties.
Businesses, on the other hand, have largely been left standing on the shore, scratching their heads and wondering if there’s any real value to be earned from diving into making their own live video broadcasts, video emails or video on demand infommercials. Here are just five of the many ways video adds to the bottom line of any company.
1. People remember more of your message
While people generally remember 10% of what they read and 20% of what they hear. But, they’ll remember as much as 50% of what they see and hear together. Before anyone can act on your message, they need to process and remember it.
2. Increase responses by up to 30%
A call to action is much easier to follow if it is actively delivered. Sound and motion are powerful action drivers, especially when they are delivered by your sincere enthusiasm and passion for your topic. Companies who have made the switch to video email and on- demand broadcasts have reported response rates jump as much as 30% following a broadcast.
3. Build your credibility
People do business with people they know, like and trust. When you cut through the technological barriers of the Internet and put yourself online, you put “your self on the line” as far as viewers are concerned. The time it would normally take you to build a relationship with a potential customer can be dramatically shortened as a result.
4. The cost savings are obvious
Anytime you can avoid the high costs of sending someone on the road to meet with clients or attend a meeting, the bottom line savings are immediate and obvious. In addition to any costs associated with attending a meeting, you need to factor in travel costs covering airfares to taxis and tolls, hotel costs, meal expenses, and even your internal costs to process the expense paperwork.
5. Soft cost savings multiply returns
Spare yourself the productivity drain and the physical and mental tolls travel takes on your company’s road warriors and you could enjoy “soft” cost savings that dwarf your hard dollar travel costs. Want an example? Look at your own calendar for the past month and count up just the hours you spent traveling to and from meetings. Multiply that by your hourly wage, and then by the number of employees in your firm.
If reasons like these don’t help you convince the reluctant decision makers in your company to add video to your communications mix, please be patient with them. Historically they are in good company. There were many who claimed the smeary images on hard to handle rolls of paper called “faxes” could never function in place of an original document. And who, they asked, would ever want to spend more time typing an email message when they could so easily pick up a telephone and place a call?
About the Author
Liz Micik turns your video learning curve into a fast and easy profit curve in her newest book, “Cue the Director: 10 Simple Steps to Online Video Success.” Visit www.powerpresenters.com to have free weekly video tips emailed to you.
How to Produce a Demo Video that Sells
by: Wendi McNeill
You want to make sure you leave a lasting image on the minds of the “hiring” companies. They may not hire you immediately and it may be months down the road, but if you put together a professional and entertaining video clip that portrays you as an expert in your field, then they will remember you!
•Have a “comfortable and “warm” background setting
•Your demo video should always show you speaking within the first minute or so of the video; you want to catch the audience and the energy they are generating such as clapping, laughing, listening carefully and possibly jotting down notes
•Your first anecdote or presentation needs to be the most important thing you have; you only have 2-3 minutes to WOW the attention of the “hiring” company (meeting planners, associations, organizations, and groups)
•Show yourself open on the platform; don’t “hide” behind anything
•Energy is the toughest thing to capture on film; create energy with your body movements (use the stage fully) and pitch your voice firmly
•Try to tape the type of audience that you enjoy the most to work with
•When taping make clear what you are an expert on and use your best stories
•Show your excitement about the topic you are speaking on
•Use a little humor
•Tape at least 6 -10 minutes long
•Keep any one-on-one interviews short
•Avoid taping empty seats or things that may be distracting
•Use music underneath your presentation to add energy
Your video tape / CD / DVD cover
•Packaging: should be very attractive with a full-length picture of the speaker
•Top: the title / topic of your program should appear notably
•Middle: leave a blank space reaching to the bottom - this is where you will attach an eye-catching label with your contact information
•Bottom: the speaker’s name should go across the bottom of the cover
•Back: list 3 or 4 of your best testimonials - keep them brief
Wendi McNeill is owner of Charli Jane Speaker Management Services. She provides professional and affordable virtual business support to authors, consultants, public speakers, coaches, entertainers, entrepreneurs, and meeting planners, assisting them with representation, mentoring, marketing, and administration. Subscribe to Call for Speaker Proposals and sign up for her monthly ezine at http://www.CharliJane.com you can also email Wendi at wendi@CharliJane.com
When shooting video, it’s important to remember that the image inside the viewfinder is real. Okay I didn’t really get eaten by an Alligator, but it did make for a quick video. No need to completely waste a good accident.
What happens when you own your own video company, trip over your dog in the middle of the night leaving a scar between your eyes; do you hire someone to be your spokesperson, or do you continue to stand before the camera?
Starting A Wedding Videography Business is FUN, EASY & REWARDING
Written by: Noah Martin
It is a little known fact that WEDDINGS are the #1 growing industry in the WORLD! Every year, billions upon billions of dollars are spent on Weddings. The question I must ask is why are you not getting into this business?
Here are just a few statistics to get your feet wet,
There are somewhere around 2.5 million weddings every year in the United States Alone!
So… about $40 BILLION is spent on weddings every year in the U.S.
Some believe that number is low! The # then rises to be around 80 BILLION!
Today’s average couple will spend roughly $18-30 THOUSAND DOLLARS ON THEIR WEDDING!
“Start a Business in the Hottest Growing Industry around”
Wedding Videographers are making fortunes. For some, like myself, this has become a full-time career. Imagine this, you have 8 Saturday Weddings Booked in the summer charging a modest $2,500 per Wedding. You Just netted a cool $20,000 for a few Saturdays of Summer Work! BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!
Industry Statistics also say that more and more Weddings are being held outside the Summer Months! This means that Videographers are in demand year round!
Noah Martin of http://www.videographybusiness.com has been in the business for a while now and doesn’t see himself leaving any time soon. “It’s a growing business and its fun too! In just two years I’ve tripled my customer base and had to hire student videographers.”
Visit http://www.videographybusiness.com for more information.
This is an exciting opportunity and time to get into the business.