The Power and the Perils of Video Marketing

One of my marketing mentors, Bill Glazer, recently said, “Today, every business is a media business“.  I think he is right. Words and imagery alone are now not enough.

Instead you have to get into the habit of thinking about how to use video, audio and animation as a way to get your message across and cut through the clutter. And the proliferation of YouTube video adds to the pressure.

Maybe you feel that you are somehow lagging behind if you don’t have a YouTube channel feeding videos onto your site?

YouTube is great because it is cheap, fast and easy to use. But it comes with a whole load of molehills to trip over. Just because you can, and it’s easy, doesn’t mean that you should.  At least, not until you know what you are doing with it and why.

When it comes to YouTube web video marketing presentations, I have identified 3 types:

1. The Casual

This is where the presenter is sitting behind their desk and giving the impression of having a cosy chat with you. They are deliberately trying to make you feel as if you have just walked into their office. It is a high-risk approach. And it’s only really for those who are 100% confident in what they have to say and who are genuinely relaxed in front of the camera.

Personally, I have a problem with it. Most that I view seem a bit too contrived. There is also the problem of the desk they sit behind.  Subconsciously, it is a barrier to hide behind. It is saying, “I am open and friendly but in fact I feel safer talking to you from behind the safety of my desk.”

If you want to try casual, talk from a comfy chair or sofa.

2. The Unscripted

I understand that you don’t want what you say to sound scripted. You want it to sound informal and off-the-cuff. That’s fine, but remember that most ‘unscripted’ videos are, in fact, scripted – they are just using a bad script.

Everyone thinks they can do unscripted… but, the truth is, they can’t.

They know what they want to say, get off to a good start and then start to fumble. They try to pretend to not look at their notes or away from the camera. And the game is instantly over!

In doing so they break the eyeline. This is a crime. With these types of video, good eye-to-eye contact is essential. Break it and you risk losing the attention of your viewer.

Don’t do unscripted. It will do you no favours and make you look like a video marketing amateur.

3. The Scripted

Nearly all professional video presentations use an autoscript. It allows the presenter to look directly at camera and read the script naturally without any fluffs or pauses. As yet, there is no such software for web-cameras.

The best video pieces are all scripted.  This is good as it puts you in control of your message. You know what you want to say, how long it is going to be and where to place emphasis.

The big challenge is that you have to learn it! Yes, if you have no autoscript you have no option but to learn your script off by heart. Learn every nuance so that what you say appears natural and effortless.

This not so daunting as it appears. The viewing period for most videos is around 2 minutes, so you don’t have much to learn.

It is worth going to these lengths when you are making yourself highly visible. It also helps ensure that you are slicker and more professional at video marketing than everyone else.

3 Final Tips:

1. Deliver your piece standing up because:

• It gives you more energy – something your viewers will pick up on
• It makes you appear authoritative – you can command more respect
• It’s polite – you stand-up out of respect for someone and to give them your full attention

2.  Try not to be over-expressive with your hands and arms (something I am guilty of).  Whilst it conveys passion and enthusiasm, it can detract from the key message.

3.  Get a friend or colleague to direct you. Unless you are confident in what you are doing, video to camera is very hard to do on your own.

Video marketing is set to grow dramatically.  Start to think about it and experiment – professionally.

In my time, I have produced and worked on over 100 different types of production. If you’d like more information, please post a comment and I will reply.