Top three things to do with video to build your business

I was speaking with a colleague during the break about the real advantage to using video from a corporate perspective. We came up with a number of good applications that we had seen throughout the years and then really boiled them down to three really good uses for video on a corporate level:

In a truly Lettermaesque fashion:

3) Use video to capture training, annual meetings and corporate events. This footage is gold when it comes to HR uses, staff-motivational moments, and for use on your website/corporate DVD.

2) Showing off exactly what your business does. Is it hard to explain? Well, real footage of what you do speaks volumes. How you do it, and what the client can expect are really helpful in the selling process of any business.

And the number one thing your company should do with video....

1) Introduce the people who are your managers, customer relations personnel, and executive and put a face to the brand that is your company.

Of course, there are many, many other uses (Product Catalogues, Commercials, Weekly News Updates....the list goes on and on). However, the basis for using video as a business is really easily boiled down to these "top three".

I would recommend that you call us to talk about how to use corporate videos to enhance your business and build profits.

"It's Just Business" An excuse to be a jerk?

Have you ever been in a situation where someone was justifying their actions by saying these simple words: "It's not personal. It's just business."? This is something I am sure any of us can say we have at least overheard. You ever think about this statement? It basically means: "I could not give a crap about you personally and you might as well just hand me your money or I have no need for you".

When someone says something like this to me I almost instantly disregard doing business with them. I do not want the business of someone who disregards that I run a business that affects the lives of many people... PERSONALLY. If you say that it's only business you are likely justifying an underhanded or greed-infused bit of business that you have embarked upon.

Sure, a business needs to run like one, but let me tell you there are a lot of businesses out there and a lot of clients. I choose to find the partners out there who will first focus on the project, the quality of service or the general outcome of our work together before having to justify their actions by believing that it's "only business" in their own minds.

The other truth about this statement is that you will usually hear it immediately after you have discovered that someone has taken advantage of you. It is usually a dishonorable aftershock.

Use your business mind, but remember you are a PERSON. You deal with PEOPLE. They have PERSONS they are responsible for feeding and clothing..etc... If you are justifying your means with the good ol' "It's just business" line, you need to re-evaluate your approach to life, not just business.

Watch out for these people: Their M.O. is take advantage of you and your business. Your only defense will be to not do business with them. They will shut you down without caring.

Have a great day.

Video in a new corporate era

There is no doubt about it, the landscape of communications has changed; video has become a perfect medium for getting your message to a targeted audience at the lowest cost.

With the advent of streaming video (video that arrives seamlessly to most computers around the world); video being used on a corporate level has changed and become elevated with each day that passes.

From a place where only badly-synced video live from the floor of a convention was the initial bar to which we all set our expectations; corporate video online now has graduated to multi-camera shoots which can switch pre-produced video and even include animation, graphics and animated still imagery.

Where once corporate videos online were a way of showing how advanced your company is with communicating; now using video to train employees remotely, test the skills of students, and even incorporate multiple locations simultaneously in the same broadcast are very much a part of the plan companies of all sizes are implementing.

What is next? Communications specialists are always on the look out for where the future of this kind of outreach is headed, and to this point the future seems to have arrived with greater speed than anyone had planned. The future of video online includes the obvious one: video on demand programming that reaches beyond our personal lives. Companies will begin to broadcast daily to keep staff "in the loop". Big corporations will produce their own mass-appeal content because traditional means of broadcast will no longer have enough reach or sell-through. We will be trained, tested, and vetted as employees through online-remote training that is ongoing and meaningful compared to long, boring meetings.

The future is almost here. In fact, it is. Already the search engines are being altered to find good, relatable video content. SEO as an industry is now focused on what video does to put you in the lead on the web. Marketing firms are now creating commercials and content that reaches only online video audiences.

How do you get caught up on the trend that will not slow down? Take the time to find out what your options are and how you can incorporate video into your website, your corporate culture, and your future outreach campaigns.

Don't just tell us about your company. Show us.