You’re In Business – You Need Video – Now What?

You’re in business. You’re all set up. You have a great looking website, but no video. You may want to consider adding some video content. Text-only websites can be dull and boring. Ten years ago, before high speed Internet, all sites were text heavy, with some graphics, but the world has changed.

So, to bring your website into the 21^st Century, you decide to create and produce video to showcase your product or service.  First, you bring in your family video camera and record some spontaneous comments about your business. It doesn’t look or sound very good, but hey, it’s only the Internet.

Next you hire your best friend’s cousin’s son who is in high school and wants to work in television. The results are not much better and there doesn’t seem to be any reason for the video.  Now you have video, but it doesn’t work.  Time to rethink things.

The fact is that people are sophisticated video viewers. Even people in small town USA watch all the major networks. They expect high quality video and audio.

The very first thing you need to do is define your story. Map this out in advance. “Winging it” or “Working on the fly” just won’t work. You have a message to get about your business. The video tells viewers why they need you. Make your story crystal clear. Prepare your story well in advance. If you’re the on camera presenter, practice the story.

The next steps in mapping out your video are the technical aspects of production. Poor video (and audio) reflects on you and your business. You provide a Rolls Royce service; your video needs to reflect this.

High quality video is the best way to present that information. So follow a few simple rules to get great video and audio.

1. Let’s start with audio. Make sure you or your spokesperson has an external microphone. That means it’s either clipped on you or someone is holding one above your head (out of the camera view). The reason for this is audio from a camera sounds hollow and often can’t be understood. Good audio can even make poor video “look” better.
2. Next, be sure to use lights. Dark images are not interesting and don’t hold viewers long enough to hear your message. Professional lighting is the best, but you can always use lamps to make your video better.
3. Remember, you’re competing with other businesses. You need to look and sound the best you can. Preparing before shooting will make your video “watchable” and generate interest from prospective clients.
4. And lastly don’t create a single video. You need a library of video information so viewers will keep coming back to your site. A single video will create a mild buzz and then die.

Studies confirm that video is the marketing tool for the Internet. Following these simple rules will make your video outstanding.

Mark Alyn is the head of the video and TV division at Anthony Mora Communications, Inc.  For further information email Mark at markalyncom@mac.com