What Type of Website Video Should Your Company Present?

Posted by T. Wall on May 21, 2013
Posted in: Corporate Videography, Event Videography, Legal Videography, Videography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

It goes without saying that your business website(s) should include video, but you may be stuck on what kind of video to produce. Here are some “thought starters.”

Step #1: Who is your target audience?

You don’t write your website content for everyone – you write for a specific, targeted audience. In the same way, you don’t want to make video for everyone.  Start by defining the specific audience you need your video to connect with.

Step #2: What’s your message?

Each of your videos should have a single message. On the pages your visitors land on first, you may need a video that outlines ‘what the product or service is,’ or ‘we are experts at what we do’ or ‘three ways our product/service saves you money.’ On pages people land on next, you might want to establish credibility. Testimonial case studies are ideal for creating credibility because they let your prospects look at your product through the eyes of a satisfied customer.

Another way to create credibility is to videotape a seminar or presentation, and then break it up into short chunks that demonstrate your expertise. In most cases you won’t want to post the whole seminar, because your website visitors expect short, pertinent videos.

Is it important for your website visitors to understand that your company is passionate about excellent customer service? A video featuring the people who will provide that service can do that for you. Are product details important? Create brief product demo videos.

Step #3:  Where is your target audience?

Video is sticky – it keeps people on your website when they otherwise might “bounce” before they have a chance to understand if you’re a good match for them. It’s a very good idea to use video where people first enter your site, to keep them engaged.

It’s also important NOT to tuck the rest of your videos out of the way, where they’ll be difficult to find. Place them on the pages that are most visited, or relevant to the content of a specific page, to give the largest number of visitors the opportunity to watch them.

Step #4 Spread Your Videos Around

Even though you may be creating videos specifically for your website, you’ll be missing a big opportunity if you ONLY use them on your website.

  • Consider placing them on YouTube, Vimeo, or one of the up and coming video sharing sites and properly optimizing them to make them easy to find on search engines. Arguably, YouTube is the second largest search engine on the planet – but Google also loves YouTube videos and will routinely place them on the first page of a Google search. Google ranks YouTube video 53 times higher than a similar text page, according to a Forrester research study. Full disclosure: Google owns YouTube, so it’s in their interest to keep optimization consistent between the two properties.
  • LinkedIn is HUGE: Be sure to put a link to your videos on key employee’s profiles and post regular updates pointing to your videos—wherever they reside.
  • Have a Twitter account? Tweet about them to get people to go to your site and watch them.
  • On Facebook? Put them there as well.
  • Send links to specific prospects and customers. Give them to your sales people to use in their sales presentations

Video is the most effective tool you have for engaging your prospects and customers. These steps should get you thinking about how your company can leverage video to engage your prospects and customers on your website, and elsewhere on the web.

Memorial vs. “Life Story” Projects

Posted by T. Wall on April 28, 2013
Posted in: Event Videography, Heritage Videography, Life Story Video, Videography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of being asked to videotape two memorial services. I’m honored that people would entrust to me an event that by its nature is full of emotion, and it got me to thinking about the power of “life story” videos.

Every person or family has a story to tell and there’s no better time like the present to tell it. Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us and I would encourage anyone who wants to tell his or her story to “just do it.” This could be a session as short as an hour, or could be a multi-session heritage documentary, but if you have a story to be told, please allow us to help you bring it to life!

One question might be: “I wouldn’t know where to start….” Here is a list of thought starters that might help.

  • What was the happiest moment of your life? The saddest?
  • Who was the most important person in your life? Can you tell me about him or her?
  • Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person teach you?
  • Who has been the kindest to you in your life?
  • What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in life?
  • Are there any words of wisdom you’d like to pass along?
  • What are you proudest of in your life?
  • When in life have you felt most alone?
  • How has your life been different than what you’d imagined?
  • How would you like to be remembered?
  • Do you have any regrets?
  • What does your future hold?
  • Is there something that you’ve always wanted to know but never asked?

These are just a few questions to get going…from here, the conversation could go anywhere. And one of the cool things is that the interview style used is designed to get the subject comfortable with the camera, because they’re not looking at it! This is a casual style and when done properly, the interviewee can actually lose awareness that the camera is there. Yes, there will probably be lights and a microphone setup, but it’s usually the camera that makes a subject nervous.

Arguably, one of the best life stories I’ve ever read is Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie, which was adapted into a motion picture with the same name. “Morrie” was played by the incomparable Jack Lemmon, and was a riveting story about one of Mitch’s college professors. Morrie had a profound impact on Mitch’s life and when the time comes to tell your story, we’d love to help you tell it with the same degree of dignity and respect as Mitch did for Morrie!

A message to brides who have elected NOT to include video in their wedding plans

Posted by T. Wall on April 6, 2013
Posted in: Event Videography, Videography, Wedding Videography, Weddings. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

I have read reports that suggest that about 70 percent of brides-to-be have decided to not have a video produced for their weddings. My advice: you will regret it! In my March 27 post, I cited several reasons why brides (and grooms)-to-be should use a professional videographer rather than a friend or relative. But what I want to say today to the fairly large numbers of you out there who may think it’s OK not to have your wedding videotaped at all, there are so many things that you are about to miss…

  • tears streaming down the faces of loved ones in the audience
  • the walk down the aisle
  • the exchange of rings
  • a sudden eruption of laughter during the ceremony
  • actions of the flower girl/ring bearer that are often funny (we edit out things that aren’t amusing or may be inappropriate)
  • expressions are not static! You want to see that emerging smile on your (and the groom’s) face
  • toasts, dances, cake cutting, bouquet and garter tosses
  • and lots of other actions!
  • sounds and music
  • the ability to share the event with people that weren’t able to attend

My wife, a writer, occasionally edits my blog posts for me and when we discussed the value of having a video of the wedding, she put it succinctly, “That whole day was a blur! With so much going on, I remembered very little of what was said, who was there, what we did (other than get married!), and without a video, I wouldn’t have remembered half of what took place that day!”

Now, let’s address the “gorilla in the room,” the price. My “deliverables” can be tailored to meet virtually any budget, so don’t let your wedding video get away for the wrong reason! Hint: this is why I avoid “package” rates…I’d much rather build a rate around exactly what you need. And as for that 70% I mentioned at the beginning of this post: most of them said—afterwards—that it was a bad decision not to include a video!

Don’t let that be you.  98% of newlyweds recommend that couples have their weddings videotaped, which means there are a lot people who wished they’d decided otherwise.  Give a call and let’s see how we can make it happen for you—and add to the memories of this special day!

Sources: The Knot, WEVA International, MSN

Health alert today…make sure your dentist sees this story and takes action!

Posted by T. Wall on March 30, 2013
Posted in: Corporate Videography, Health & Wellness, Videography. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 comment

While watching Good Morning America today, they presented a very alarming story  about a dentist in Oklahoma accused of exposing thousands of patients to hepatitis B and C, and even HIV. Unfortunately, this could trigger an unnecessary backlash towards all dentists, the wide majority of whom employ sound best practices in maintaining a safe, clean environment for their patients. For any dentist that wants to be pro-active and get out in front of this news, I would highly recommend a short (2 to 3 minutes) video to describe the active and passive steps you take to ensure the highest standards of equipment sterilization, to put your patients’ concerns to rest–before they even arise.

Call me! We can turn a project like this around in about 72 hours. And whether you use our services or not, do let your patients and your broader audience know that you operate your practice under the highest standards of cleanliness. To the degree that this is being carried by the national media–and all its extensions–it should not be ignored.

Why You Should Hire a Professional Wedding Videographer (Instead of Asking a Guest to Tape Your Wedding)

Posted by T. Wall on March 27, 2013
Posted in: Videography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

OMG!! The proposal just happened, and you are to be congratulated on the wonderful event that will now take place in the not-too-distant future, as you express your mutual desires to spend the rest of your lives together! Now the work begins in earnest planning the wedding day. It may be a short engagement or a longer one, but you’ve probably envisioned it many times. Invitations must now be sent out and you’ll invite as many friends and family members as your budget will permit. Despite the fact that you may select a wedding planner, you will immediately start getting input from everyone regarding every (and I mean, every!) aspect of this special day. Flowers, music, food, location and so many others, you’ll get opinions that reflect age, backgrounds, experience, musical tastes…you name it.

Sooner or later, the question will arise regarding how you will remember the day. For sure, you will have beautiful photographic representation of the wedding, but what about motion? Voices? Music? So much of this can be faithfully captured in video, and cannot in still photography. Consider the walk down the aisle…the exchange of vows…the first and last dance…the best man’s/maid of honor’s toasts, and so many more nuances of your wedding, that just can’t be captured in a photograph. Full disclosure: This is not a “dis” to photographers! I work with them and hold their skills in the highest regard, but it would be wrong to ignore the true value of video as an essential part of the “memories stash.”

Just as important: while it might be tempting to simply have a friend shoot some of the more relevant parts of your wedding to save money, beware! These are lifetime memories being captured and do you really want to put that kind of pressure on a friend who is there to enjoy the event? What if, because they are having a little too much fun with other guests, they miss a crucial part of the ceremony or reception? For the same reason that you entrust lifelong memories to a still photographer, you should be equally willing to commit that same trust to a videographer.

A professional videographer is there to not only record the events of the day; he or she is also charged with editing all the footage together into a well-constructed “movie,” so that years later, watching the video will bring back all the cherished memories, laughs, tears and emotions of your celebration. To enable this, the professional will have top level cameras, tripods, audio equipment, lighting (where appropriate) and computers for compiling and editing the raw footage and sound.

Think back to a special time that you had in the past and ask yourself if you wish you’d had a video to help re-live it. This is one time you can plan on future memories, for one of the most important occasions in the life of the couple-to-be. Keep professional video in your wedding day plans, and enjoy those beautiful memories…forever!

Thanks for the memories!

Posted by T. Wall on March 3, 2013
Posted in: Videography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 comment

As a videographer, it is my job to help create long lasting memories.

These memories are represented by the life experiences of those I capture on film*. This enables the subject to have a “living” record that can be handed down to future generations. It’s also helpful to understand why it is important to record those stories and how video effectively allows us to do that.

Video captures the facts of the story, as well as the person, allowing us to witness a firsthand account, including emotions, laughter, tears, expressions, and all those other elements that make us unique individuals. Through video, we’re able to transcend time and space and have a direct impact on future generations by sharing our stories, our values, and our life lessons.

A few years ago I discovered the value and importance of video, when asked to capture a memorial on film.

A young Lance Corporal in the Marines was killed in the line of duty in Iraq. His father came to me with a request that we (team of 3 videographers and myself as director) videotape his son’s memorial service. This was personally difficult for me as I am a former Marine. Challenged by the need to shoot both indoors and outdoors, we had  to set up and strike (take down) our gear to be in both locations.  The service went off smoothly, although I had to push back tears—especially when “Taps” was played by the bugler.  I knew we had done something special, but didn’t know how much until I saw the father’s reaction to the finished product, which included “Amazing Grace” played by what sounded like a thousand bagpipes! Props to my friend John for his wonderful contribution to the final edit.

Subsequently, I had the pleasure of capturing my dear Aunt Irene’s 90th birthday celebration. This was a wonderful event and about 100 family members and friends were in attendance. One of my cousins presented a magnificent family tree scroll to Aunt Irene—and then copies were given to each family member! My brother transferred dozens of print photos and slides into images that could be projected onto a screen, while another cousin shot a beautiful group photo of everyone in attendance!  The finished video was well received by all, and several DVDs were  given to family members.

The one thing all biographical and memorial shoots have in common: They increase in value and importance over the years as memories fade. With today’s digital video technology, future generations will be able to study history, and, our culture, in a way impossible before the advent of video. And here’s an important conclusion: The generations that will benefit the most are those whose parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, had enough foresight to capture their stories for future generations to benefit from their life journey.

First Impressions Video looks forward to the privilege of creating these lasting memories for you!

 

*These days, “film” is a generic term that refers to the captured image. Actual film is seldom used, and even video tape is giving way to moving images recorded on digital media. But I still love to be referred to as a film maker…videographer is OK, as well!

Video: no longer “nice to have”…it’s a “must have” for optimal SEO

Posted by T. Wall on February 26, 2013
Posted in: Videography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Over the last few years, we have seen video grow from a “frill” some businesses occasionally include on their websites, to an essential, competitive differentiator that drives search engine optimization — SEO — and increases brand identification. Knowledgeable businesses have already embraced this shift and made video a central part of their online offerings. The most advanced have found ways to create high-quality video that is automatically updated across their websites on the fly, using existing web content. At this point, it’s possible to create endless numbers of professional videos with no human intervention, and the SEO implications make it too appealing to ignore.

Ever since Google integrated video into its universal search offering in 2007, websites featuring video have gained a significant SEO advantage. When a company integrates relevant videos that match the content of its website, search engines find and index the video within the site’s context. This improves your overall website and video search ranking as it relates to your business’ keywords, and also allows search results to be presented with matching videos, making them more appealing, and thereby increasing search-based traffic. And make no mistake…it was no accident that Google acquired YouTube. YouTube has arguably become the fourth largest search engine*, right behind Google, Facebook and Yahoo!.

Still, it is not enough to simply embed videos within a website. To harvest the full potential of videos, they should be deployed throughout the website. Whether a large e-business with 50,000 products or a small business with only a dozen or so products or services, you should have video to illustrate each product or service in your portfolio. This way, those videos match keywords that are specific to each and every product or service, targeting consumers that are more likely to search for products using those keywords. And it goes without saying that your video catalog should be kept current to reflect additions, deletions or changes to your products or services.

Other factors to success include, but are not limited to: checking to insure quality in the content of your videos; having a catchy and relevant title to your movies; deploying keyword “tags” that line up with a searcher’s query; keeping the video’s length under five minutes—and if it must be longer, consider breaking it into segments (you don’t want to lose your audience after working hard to get it!); the use of branding and your company’s logo(s); syndication; and last…share, share, share!!

Video SEO can and should be an excellent way to get your company or organization in front of potential users who otherwise may not know about you. Side note: this is equally pertinent and relevant to non-profits! Engage, entertain and promote, and make sure the search engines can find your videos and rank them well!

 

*Source: Experian “Hitwise” for week ending 2/23/13