OnlineVideoPublishing.com

Strategies, tips, how to's and best practices for online video publishers

Why is Video Important to Your Business

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Excerpted from: Why Is Video Important To Your Business – What Can A Professional Say On Video? | Dr. Marc Kossmann and Charlie Seymour Jr PersonalSuccess Marketing

For many businesses, there’s that Shakespearean moment when it comes to marketing, and that is: “To use video, or not to use video, that is the question.”
It can be a daunting task to decide what to say and how to say it, when most people don’t really have the experience of producing a video. In this video, online video marketers Dr. Marc Kossmann and Charlie Seymour Jr share why video is so important. Video, at it’s core, is about communicating a message, and for businesses, it can be a way to answers questions about the products and services and present a brand message.


Video is everywhere, and if you are not using video to tell your story, if you aren’t producing quality videos that show who YOU are, your competition will beat you every time.

The Four E’s of Marketing from Jeff Hayzlett – Engage, Educate, Excite and they Become Evangelists

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The title of this post is credited to: Twitter / Harry Klein: via @klessblog: The Four E …

@CustEngagement: via @klessblog: The Four E’s of marketing from Kodak CMO Jeff Hayzlett – engage, educate, excite and they become evangelists…

I caught up Jeffrey Hayzlett, two weeks before his departure as Eastman Kodak Company’s energetic and boisterous, celebrity CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), at Streaming Media East 2010, where gave an opening keynote address. He discussed Kodak’s innovation in video with it’s popular pocket cameras and why companies should engage in social media and video. In his role at Kodak, he helped Eastman Kodak Company get its mojo back by using streaming media, video technology and emotional technology to connect with its customers. Hayzlett had joined Kodak in 2006 and has ran all their marketing efforts since 2009. He launched a social media team with the roles of Chief Listener and Chief Blogger, and also landed the company a starring role on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice.

Hayzlett says that in today’s media landscape, it’s vitally important to be where your customers are and that’s why Kodak has immersed itself in social media – to engage in a two-way conversation with customers. Kodak’s social media activity includes a Facebook page, four blogs, free podcasts on iTunes, videos on YouTube ad Kodak.com and very active participation on Twitter. The company turned to the wisdom of the crowd for a Twitter contest to help name their latest pocket video camera, the new PlaySport. Kodak has produced two guides with Social Media Tips and Mobile Marketing Tips to share their experiences of how social media helped grow their business, available for free at kodak.com/go/followus.
Hayzlett kicked off Streaming Media East a few weeks ago, with a spirited presentation on how social media has redefined Kodak’s tactics of product development and customer engagement, and built communities around their brand. It’s no longer just eyeballs and ears, but now it’s the hearts and minds.Hayzlett says:

“These conversation go on with you or without you. So you want to engage, educate, excite people and they become evangelists, or Kodak ambassadors is what we call them. That’s what we call the “4 E’s” So, it’s very important for businesses or individuals, but especially for businesses to get out there and engage with their communities.”

How do companies get started in social media?

In their Social Media Tips guide, Kodak advises that before you jump in think about some basic questions:

  • Why do I want to participate in social media?
  • How can social media improve my business?
  • How will social media be incorporated into my overall customer experience?

A checklist of social network profiles should include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Download TweetDeck and Seesmic to monitor your social media streams, listen and add value to the conversations that are going on. Kodak believes that on some some level all companies are publishers. “Content Creation, Distribution, Engagement, and Measures should be key areas of focus.”


Why Video?
According to Hayzlett:

“If I picture is worth a thousand words, then video is worth ten thousand words… People are very visual in terms of their activity, so they want to see things, and when they can see with their own eyes as they say, they believe it more. So we think video is a big important part of that.”

hayzlett_smCoincidentally, this interview was recorded with a Kodak Zi8 pocket video camera that has a built-in microphone jack, which the idea as Hayzlett points out, also came from Twitter:

“For the older Zi6, which lacked a microphone jack, we saw a Tweet that said we should add it.We did add it and the product is outselling the competition 10:1, and the competitor’s newer product is lacking the microphone jack.”

Hayzlett says that capturing that rare “Kodak Moment” and “Keep it Forever” is as simple push of the button. It doesn’t have to be a Hollywood production either, as he emphasizes, you can make mistakes and start over. Nobody cares, just get the content out there, that’s the most important thing. Hayzlett says that you’ll see more and more technology shoved into the Kodak pocket cameras.

Two days after my interview with him at Streaming Media East, he announced his resignation as Kodak’s CMO, on May 14th 2010 , to pursue personal projects. His new book, “Mirror Test: Is Your Business Really Breathing,” is climbing the best seller list and is demanding more and more of his time along with a packed speaking event schedule. He’s working on a second book with “Mirror Test” co-author Tim Eber, and headed next to New York City, to start his next chapter.He had this to say about leaving Kodak:

“Everybody knows I’ve been on borrowed time. The average tenure of a CMO is 18 months. It’s because of my love of Kodak I’ve stayed as long as I have. We have our mojo back. We’ve certainly raised the profile of the company.”

Yesterday was his last day at Kodak, and he wrote this on Twitter:Ever had one of those days when you are sad but happy at the same time? Got one today. about 17 hours ago via txt@eeUS rt yes… leaving Kodak. My last day. Time to go to the big city and start a new chapter. about 16 hours ago via web in reply to eeUS

Look for him sometime soon on television, or join his army of Twitter followers at @JeffreyHayzlett or at http://hayzlett.com/Congratulations Jeffrey Hayzlett!Related:

Update 6/4/2010: See Jeffrey Hayzlett’s last on-camera interview before announcing his departure from Kodak at Streaming Media East – Marketers Are Like Farmers – ScribeMedia.org

Tips for Web and Mobile TV Producers – Amanda Congdon, Sometimesdaily

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At Streaming Media West 2009, I caught up with Amanda Congdon, new media producer and host of, Sometimesdaily, which can be seen on web and mobile television. Amanda and her small production team that consists of her husband Mario Librandi and brother Andrew Congdon, were at Streaming Media West to promote FLO TV, the live mobile TV service from Qualcomm. Their show is available on FLO TV handsets and has wide mobile distribution on FLO TV-capable phones reaching 200 million cell phone users throughout the United States.



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Amanda became an Internet video star on Rocketboom, the daily news show that she hosted and produced from its debut in October 2004 to June 2006. She followed that with a number of other video projects including, Amanda Across America, a blog based on her travels, a weekly video podcast for ABC and another weekly video blog, Starring Amanda Congdon, produced by her production company Oxmour Entertainment. Amanda also was the co-executive producer of JETSET (now EPIC FU) for the first several episodes of the show. In this interview, she shares similar tips, as her friend Zadi Diaz did in the previous post, for people trying to break into the web and mobile television space.
Amanda says, to be successful you really have to do 3 things:
  1. Keep the content short (2-5 minutes max)
  2. Make content that you are the expert on (and passionate about)
  3. Find your niche audience (and build relationships through email, blog comments and social networks)
Amanda also discussed how the FLO TV distribution model works for her show, which is through licensing. She says their content is uncensored and is exactly as you see it, from the video edited on Final Cut to the FLO TV network. The wide mobile distribution through the FLO TV network expands the reach of SometimesDaily to hundreds of millions of mobile phones, far beyond what the web could provide.
FLO TV president Bill Stone kicked off Streaming Media West and addressed how mobile television is growing both on the mobile phone and on to other consumer devices. See the article by Tim Siglin and keynote video: Streaming Media West 2009 Keynote 1: Bill Stone, President, FLO TV.

Sometimesdaily is an interactive online variety show. Throughout the work week Amanda and company tackle the topics of the day through short videos handcrafted for easy digestion, just like homemade pasta. These episodes include Amanda-on-the-street interviews, quirky skits and news vignettes. Because videoblogging is an interactive medium, we incorporate viewer feedback throughout the show. Our viewer created tagline is: Sometimesdaily – Taming the bizarre for normal people to enjoy.

Video Production for Streaming: Improving Your Video Quality

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This video from Streaming Media East features Jan Ozer, Principal of Doceo Publishing, who provides an overview of video production for streaming. Jan is also publisher of Streaming Learning Center Streaming Learning Center and 2010 Streaming Media All Star, He included lots of helpful information, useful stats, and strategies to improve your video quality for streaming.

The topics covered are:

  • Setting the scene (background and clothing)
  • Lighting
  • Shooting for streaming
  • Editing/Preprocessing
  • Choosing your target,
  • Avoiding/correcting aspect ratio issues
  • De-interlacing
  • Encoding
A101: Streaming Production: Improving Your Video Quality
You’ve got the video production basics down pat, but you’re still concerned that somehow your streaming quality just doesn’t measure up. From camera selection to choosing an encoding tool and encoding parameters, streaming consultant Jan Ozer details the most common production pitfalls that unnecessarily degrade streaming quality. Come learn at least three or four ways to make your video look better.
Jan Ozer, Principal, Doceo Publishing

Download the presentation here: Video Production for Streaming (.pdf file)

Video Production Tips for Interviews

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This post covers the basic tips for shooting video interviews. There are a few golden rules to follow to achieve good results and better looking and sounding video. The specific areas you should focus on are: Camera placement and movement, Lighting and Audio. Also, knowing your location and having plenty of time to reduce distractions is particularly important, to advert any audio and video issues. It’s better to get it right when you shoot your interview, to save yourself from “fixing it in post”. The following presentation serves as a tutorial to help you get started.

Camera placement and movement

  • Use a tripod
  • Avoid zooming and panning of camera
  • Get physically close to your subject
  • Place your camera at eye level of your subject
  • Frame your interview to give your speaker with enough head room
  • Select a neutral background for your interview
Lighting 
  • Make sure you have enough light for a good quality picture
  • Do not place your subject in front of a window (avoid backlight)
  • Close curtains, blinds and turn on room lights
  • Don’t mix daylight and indoor lighting
Audio
  • Avoid distracting background noise (HVAC, TVs, music)
  • Stay close to your interview subject
  • Use an external microphone when possible (clip on lavaliere microphones)
  • Use headphones to monitor microphone if possible

Interview techniques

  • Be a quiet, active listener (be empathic, nod, don’t talk, no “uh huh”)
  • Allow subject to complete answers before speaking (no crosstalk)
  • Ask interviewee to phrase your question in their answer (for context)

Know Your Location 

  • Do a site survey (Look for and reduce lighting and ambient sound issues in advance)
  • Reduce distractions
  • Make sure you have directions
  • Lots of time (for retakes)
  • Sweat the small stuff
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