PETER SHANKMAN
| POSTED ON January 26th, 2011 | 20 COMMENTS | + ADD YOUR COMMENT |
Which do you think is cooler, more fun, and would generate a higher response/action rate?”
“I saw a cool launch at NASA the other day”
Or this?
It’s really not a question.
Yet people are STILL afraid to include video in their day to day online lives! With all the tools at your disposal to do it, if you’re not including video on your blogs, websites, or even social media updates, you’re missing out, big time.
No, you don’t have to do it all the time – But yes, it’s important to do, and good video should be one of the cornerstones of your social media (and online as a whole) strategy.
DISCLOSURE: I’m an angel investor in one of the companies I mention below – Pixability. I believe very much in what they do (or I wouldn’t invest) so I recommend them wholeheartedly, not just because I have a financial stake in them. I have no financial interest in any of the other companies I mention here.
Video is surprisingly easy. It doesn’t take a crew or a team, can be uploaded and edited on the fly, and has the ability to turn your normal blog post or status update into something to which people want to link and share.
Basics:
Go to Flip and get yourself a Flipcam. They’re cheap, easy, and they do the job intended. I won’t leave the house without my Flipcam. I probably have three or four of them, and they sit in various pockets. When I did my No Baggage Challenge to Tokyo in December 2010, that was my video device, and it worked flawlessly. You simply USB the content right to your desktop, where you can edit it, or uploaded it as is.
If you have some money to spend, you can get all fancy and buy a decent camcorder. Here’s a rule though – the less moving parts, the better. My “real” camcorder, as I call it, records directly onto a 32 gigabyte card, which fits directly into my laptop and allows me to upload right to iMovie.
Most important though, use what works for you. I know a ton of people who love shooting video on their Canon 5D Mark II. I have one, and I’ve never used it for video. I probably should, I just haven’t had a reason to yet. Use the tools that work for you.
Content:
Record whatever strikes your fancy. I carry a fully-charged flip with me for several reasons, the least being that I live in NYC, and you never know what’s gonna happen. You never know where the next explosion is going to come from, or the next piece of street theatre, or even the next subway rant. But the fact is, you can’t record it if you don’t have a video camera with you.
Insofar as what to record, that’s up to you. I personally love recording little notes for my blog when I’m on the subway, or in Central Park. I try to make sure there’s something interesting going on besides me – a nice view, or a fun background, or even fun people in the video with me. The goal is to find something that tells a story, as well as makes the viewer smile and want to pass the video on.
I’ve said it before: You can’t make anything viral. But you can focus on making something good. When you make something good, it’ll go viral by default.
Carry the camera, and just start shooting. You’ll be amazed what you find. And unlike the 80s, you don’t need video tape. There’s no cost to shooting as much as you want, it’s all digital. (Yes, children, we used to be limited by the number of rolls of film we could carry, and digital and still photos couldn’t be recorded on the same thing. Damn kids today.)
Progressing:
Let’s assume you’ve done the above, and you’re seeing a rise in viewership to your blog. You want to take video to the next level, but don’t have a video crew chained up in your basement. Consider outsourcing.
I mentioned that I invested in a company called Pixability. They have a brilliant idea: You shoot whatever you want – Your CEO, a product, you name it. Create it, then send the Flip to Pixability. They’ll clean it up, edit it, put some fun music, sound, graphics and captions on it, and send it right back to you – a professionally created video, advertisement, you name it, for a fraction of the cost of what you’d pay to do it all in-house. Easy and simple.
You can also try experimenting on your own – If you have the money, and more importantly, the time, go out and buy a copy of Avid – It’s pretty much the de-facto standard in video editing – But be warned – It’s a time suck to learn, and a massive processor-hog to implement.
Tips:
LSIF: Stands for Light-source in front. ALWAYS have a light source in front. If not, you’re recording a shadow. Don’t do that.
Sound! Sound is important. Always test the first few seconds of any video you shoot (other than breaking news) to make sure the subject can be heard – No loud radiators or air conditioners in the back.
Don’t get jiggy with it. Invest a few bucks in a tripod from GorillaPod or the like. Nothing looks more unprofessional than having your audience puke because your CEO interview looks like the Blair Witch Project.
Lastly, have fun! Nothing shows fun better than a good video of people having fun! Show what you’re doing and shy you love it – People will love to watch, and pass it around from there!
Let me see what you got – Post a link to your best video below!
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Great tip Peter. The first thing I did when I bought QuietHeadphones.com a couple months ago was to shoot a video demoing the headphones so people can get a taste of what it is like to use them. A couple takes by myself in my office with a simple video camera, add some graphics in iMovie, and boom! An hour well spent. Not only does it help with sales on my site, but it also engages people and puts a human face on the product. Love it. Great tip. |
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Saw your comment on buying Avid – why not Final Cut Pro? If you are already on a Mac you can get FCP Studio and have a full suite of tools (most of which you would probably never use), including Color in one package. After editing on both for over 10 years (yes I am an original FCP 1.0 user), I think Final Cut is easier to learn and easier to use for this type of application. |
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I love video! I use it all the time, especially when I keep hearing the same questions over and over again, and feel I can demonstrate the answer better than I can tell it. When I wrote a book last year, everyone was asking how this was accomplished. So, I showed them (in a humorous way), how this could be done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFmO3HpTOgc |
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I recorded Robert Scoble and Gary Vaynerchuk at NYXPO. If you have heard or seen Gary you may know that he can let a curse word (or two) fly when he speaks so in the third video at the bottom of my blog I decided to keep a running swear count of Gary’s cursing. |
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I’m with Mike on the Avid debate. Final Cut (Express or Pro) is much easier for a non-editor to pick up than Avid and a lot less clunky to deal with on a regular, quick basis. Final Cut Express is basically Pro (minus a few features nobody needs in these scenarios) and is only $199. Definitely recommend it, use it every day! |
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Great posting, Peter. I did a crowd funding project on IndieGoGo.com to raise funds to get a good video camera on my site. I bought an awesome, tiny Panasonic camera and a tiny microphone that makes all the difference. I learned how to use iMovie over the course of a few videos. It’s been so great, and I can’t wait to do them even more frequently this year. They do take more time (and hard drive space!) than a photo, so I’m not transitioning completely to video. But it certainly adds a whole new dimension to my site. |
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I’m trying to integrate video into my life quite a bit more. I’ve carried a Kodak Zi8 with me (similar to a Flip, but has a mic input!) for the better part of a year, and also record video on my iPhone 4 if I don’t have time to pull out the Kodak (or if I’m just recording a video to send via MMS to someone). I love the fact that I can show my travels off to friends and family on my YouTube channel, and I also love that I think of things differently as I see them on the street… I’m a lot more aware of what’s going on around me and absorb more of the “city ambiance” than I did before I started carrying a video camera. Great post! Katie |
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Perfect timing, Peter! I was editing a video this morning for a new project I’m working on. Your protein shake video from A Year to 10 Percent inspired me! Video can be intimidating (at least for me!), but it’s a powerful medium. Thanks for the encouragement. :) Heather |
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Since you asked for submissions of “fun” video, Peter, here’s a 25-second clip that I captured with my little Panasonic Lumix. It’s a bit random, but it always makes me chuckle. |
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I just started doing video for my company and it’s proven to be really fun…so far. Here’s our one-take wonder – no editing, but lots of personality. It’s a video tour of our office given by our intern: http://vimeo.com/19127056 Enjoy! |
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No, I don’t video – I don’t watch it either. Business content? video is too bloody slow. I can read 3 pages in the hugely gross length of time it takes video to start loading. Personal? I have no sound cards in my computers, and on laptops I disable sound. Can’t stand the pings, beeps & chirps computers make every time an email arrives, or boot up etc – For the rest of you? go ahead – just don’t forget your market – not all can watch your video. In fact a global business I know blocks all video as well. So if they are your target market, well? Have good text content to back that up. Big Biz often locks down – The above is a short form of full length one I wrote here. |
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Video is a key selling point. One of our products, an electronic fencing target is high-end for the market and hard to describe in text only. Being able to quickly shoot some product demos on a digital camera or a Flip makes the selling and demonstration process much easier. |
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While it’s a little long (you can capture the essence right away) we had SO MUCH FUN making this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrRHmbCk3OM and did so through http://animoto.com |
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Thank you Peter – a great reminder about the importance of video. About Pixability, since you’re an investor and I discovered them through an ad on HARO, I wanted to give you a heads up. I clicked on the ad in HARO to sign up for a free conference call with John Jantsch that Pixability was hosting. I was then subscribed to two different email list (using 2 different mail servers – which required 2 separate unsubscribes) and telemarketed to at least twice. I was surprised that you and John were associated with a company that so missed out on the concept of permission marketing. Hope that’s helpful. |
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