By Stu Marks: Chicago Area Media Designer & specialist in Church Video Consultant, Chicago.
Let us assume for a moment that you want or need everyone that you can grab to watch the video on your website. If you are in business, or are responsible for promoting your church videos, this is an easy assumption.
Then, here are some simple guidelines to not only grab viewers, but to keep folks coming back as well as exponentially grow your list of followers.
Information Content is King
Content is King!
In your video collection provide a service if possible. Providing a service creates in your archive real value to the viewer. This can be done in every video, or just one video a week or month. Short, informative videos a resample to write, assemble and publish. You can use PowerPoint to create slides that bullet point and feature your information.
Giving back to your community is a real asset to your business, to you, your employees, those who watch your videos, and of course, your community at large.
“What service can I provide?” you might ask.
Realtors can publish seasonal landscaping tips, tips on selling homes, making property more valuable, etc. Churches can publish holiday celebration events around the community, specific community safety information, time change reminders, recycling locations, leaf removal services, the list is endless.
Your Geographic Uniqueness
If you want to benefit from a growing list of followers, you are in competition with tens of thousands of other video sources. But, this does not mean that your videos have to run higher and jump further, with ever more expensive special effects, new camera techniques and custom jingles such that you find yourself spending thousands on outsourcing and gear. No, the strength of your content is in your unique information or location, not your abilities as a video producer.
If folks see your video, but are too far away to take advantage of your geographically based business or church event, then don’t worry about marketing to them. Market to Your Crowd. Your crowd is that group of folks who can best benefit from your message or product.
If you are a real estate agent, then you can hardly spend time marketing to the whole world, when your properties are right there in your tri-county area. You may market broad enough that folks moving to your area will catch your message, but most of your market lives close enough to shop at the same stores you do. You’re really marketing tom
Target your marketing to your crowd.
you neighbors.
Include information that locals, or those who want to become locals will be looking for. Schools, churches, shopping, recreation, lower tax base (where is that, by the way?) etc.
Any national parks nearby? Shoot a welcome segment in front of your local claim to fame.
Break it up.
Using the same format for every video can become boring unless the content is so good that it is always looked forward to. If your content is not killer, like hang gliding or underwater scuba diving, then make sure to use interesting visuals to break up your boring talking head shots.
One week, shoot from your church or business parking lot with your building in the background. The next week, shoot from a local venue. While you are at an away event, shoot a segment there for future use, etc.
Interview employees, customers and trusted vendors. Children are great video sources. Just make sure that Mom and Dad are involved in the agreement to put little Mildred and her cat Fluffy on screen.
Realtors have an endless supply of materiel in the form of new properties.
Feature your;
- best
- least expensive
- most potential
- largest
- easiest to move into
- closest to town
- best from out in the country
- in the neighborhood voted most colorful or economical, or friendliest.
The list is endless.
Also, you can use the Press Release Format. Cover related but varied topics. Talk about events or programs that are in your industry but not about you. Car dealers are known for donating their cars for dignitaries to ride in during parades. That’s a great PR move. Realtors can host business mixers at their office or a large hotel suite. Video your happy clients at one of these mixers and get their permission to place the video on your web site. Most happy customers are glad to help.
If your church has an Easter egg hunt, or a summer picnic, the pastor can interview some kids, adults and families having a good time.
Smiling, happy positive faces and comments from the heart are what grab folks and keep them coming back.
Smiling, happy positive faces and comments from the heart are what grab folks and keep them coming back.
Be Direct, Clear and to the Point in Your Message
Communications 101 always deals with this one, important fact: you are dealing with the general public when you publish a video. Dealing with the public can be both simple and complex, depending on what you’re used to doing, and what you’re trying to get across in a short video.
This is not the time for vague innuendoes, half truths, talking down to folks or complaining about a competitor, or the government. Strong, narrow messages, if they are necessary at all, are for smaller venues behind closed doors, not for the public venue. Unless your goal is to purposely alienate a segment of your market, and thereby drive them away, be inclusive.
Find positive and beneficial ways to tell your story and make your offer. Feature the obviously positive benefits that pretty much everyone would agree is a good thing. Example: Some churches use busses to bring children to Sunday School. What many folks don’t understand is that this is not a money making venture for any church, but an increasing financial liability. Also, most churches don’t transport children to church whose parents attend elsewhere. These two facts are important to share with the community. A) Your church is not out there stealing kids from other churches, and B) Your church is not in this for the money, but simply sharing the Gospel.
If you have a difficult or complex issue that needs explaining, you might consider only touching the high points that need less educating. But, if your product or service is visual, then here is your moment to shine, because video was obviously meant for this element.
Keep it Short
All video consultants agree that web videos designed to increase interest in a product or service work best when they are short. The powerful, short web video is probably the best returning asset in the marketing arsenal today.
Obviously, if you are publishing your 50 minute church service, the short video part is out. Long programs work best archived and then pointed to using short teaser videos. You can create a short teaser of any long event that includes high-lights and important statements, with the full video only a click away; especially if you choose the right player venue on which to post your videos. For example, EZWebPlayer.com includes simple, one-click advertising links where you can insert web links into videos at customized locations around your video.
Realtors can benefit from producing a monthly testimonial video that is short. Testimonials of real people bragging about the benefits of your product or message are the most powerful content available. And, testimonials are always short.
This concludes Part I of Care and Feeding of Your Web Video Archive
In Part II, we explore;
Archiving; a Momentum unto Itself
Frequent Additions Build Core Viewers
Socialize Your Archive
Networking 101
and Nurturing takes Commitment
Go to Part II Now
By Stu Marks
Chicago Area Media Designer & specialist in videos for business
LINKS:
Chess piece photo by Daniel Y. Go
Crowd photo by Steve Crane
Smiling Happy Faces By Swamibu
www.EZWebPlayer.com
www.techmynd.com
www.digitalbuzzblog.com
Don’t ONLY create videos to increase your chances of being found. Have specific business objectives (a strategy) in addition to SEO such as:
Here are 10 reasons you should look elsewhere when 
This will let you send a click-able message to you viewers right from the video they’re watching! Create a note at the beginning of your video that says something like “For a better ad-free viewing experience click here! Watch this video ad-free at www.MyWebsite.whatever” (
