I recently wrote an article to make the case for online video. I believe that most websites can benefit from short video clips profiling a company's key people, their products or their services. And to that end, Spectrecom will be launching 2 new online video product-based sites over the next month. These will be showcased at an interactive presentation we'll be delivering in our studio on 17 September 2009. This seminar will be aimed at small business owners who want to know more about internet video marketing, and will be of particular interest to potential affiliate partners thinking of reselling our new services.    

Earlier this week I submitted an article to the online networking site Business Scene. The article heralds a new phase in our drive to educate and cater for the SME sector, and specifically, to open up new markets for what has traditionally been known as 'corporate video'.

We launched this site in January, and our analytics have shown us that 46% of all the traffic that lands on our home page then goes straight to our team profile videos. This bears out what I've always suspected - that a website is the shop front to a company, and that as such, it's entirely natural that visitors should want to meet our people. The proof has been in the pudding. We've won business or attracted affiliate partners purely on the strength of our online presence. I believe that most websites can benefit from short inexpensive video clips profiling a company's key people, their products or their services. So in my article you can find out exactly why I think we're just at the beginning of the web video revolution.

Spectrecom has started work with another 5 universities this summer: York, Lancaster, Sussex, Newman and Goldsmith’s. The videos are predominantly for recruiting students online, and it’s now becoming such an effective marketing tool that it’s being seen as an essential part of the recruitment strategy. The universities that started using online video a couple of years ago have been delighted with the upswing in recruitment that they’ve delivered. I’m especially pleased that we’ve been asked yet again to produce work for Durham and King’s. They’re great clients to work for, and it’s good to see that they’ve been getting fantastic results with their videos.

So what of our most recent work? We’re often asked if, since we specialise in university films, our work doesn’t become a tad, well, samey? The answer is an emphatic ‘no’, and this summer we’ve been working with a number of new ideas and, where the budget allows, more high-end equipment and shooting techniques. For example, we’re incorporating more tracking and crane shots into our work, and we’re shooting more on HD than ever before. And in a move that shows single-campus sites at their best, 4 universities are going to benefit from an aerial shoot courtesy of our partnership with FlyingTv. Beyond that, our story-telling also remains imaginative. Steve Milton has just finished a film for St Mary’s College at Durham in pure student-led documentary format, and it’s resulted in a highly watchable and enjoyable film.

The undergrad students have all gone home now, but we’re continuing to make the best of the weather as the sunshine allows, shooting campus buildings and grounds, and capturing the flavour of local attractions and surrounding areas. The next big push will be to prepare for the Fresher’s season at the end of September when the universities will be alive with activity, the weather will still be friendly, and the new students will experience their first taste of university life. It’s the best time to record the combination of a thriving, enthusiastic student environment, sport and activities, and surroundings that are still passably green and leafy. Not surprisingly, it’s usually the busiest time of our year, and we’ll be there yet again to capture the event for those future students still fretting over their A levels.
 

According to Nate Elliot of Forrester Research in the United States, thanks to the introduction of Google's "Universal Search" feature in 2007 - which incorporates results from news sites, videos and maps right into the body their search results, online videos are now 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of search results than text pages!

Statistics like these are helping to drive an entire industry dedicated to video optomisation and businesses around the world are beginning to take note too. A Permission TV survey, for example, recently revealed that out of 400 company executives, a whopping 67% said online video would be a primary focus of their 2009 online marketing campaign, with 52% expecting to start or extend online video projects in the second quarter of this year, up from 32% at the time of the study in December, 2008.

However, appearing on the first page of Google isn't the only reason why videos are great for SEO. Video content can also easily be used to build those crucial inbound links that every successful website needs; they can be uploaded to social media sites where they'll be viewed by a multitude of online viewers and become part of larger online discussions; and RSS feeds can be created, allowing users to subscribe to videos on your website, notifying them as soon as new content is available.

Clearly, companies and organisations who continue to focus on traditional online marketing methods alone will miss out on a proven, increasingly high-impact marketing tool and soon find themselves behind the competition.
 

Video Production – How To Produce Effective Fundraising Videos

In yesterday's blog entry, I looked at 10 reasons why charities and NGOs should be producing videos to accompany their fundraising campaigns and how video production is one of the most powerful mediums for communicating the work of non-profit organisations. Today, I'm going to look at how produce to an effective fundraising video.

1. Identify Your Target Audience – Before you start to think about the content of your video, it's absolutely essential you determine exactly who it is aimed at? Is the video to target people who already support your cause, prospective supporters or even government legislators? What specific demographics do you want to target? Teenagers, young adults, or middle-aged professionals? How far and wide do you want the film to be seen? Is it a local, national or international issue? And most importantly, exactly how do you want your audience to think, feel and act once they have seen your video?

It's crucial that all of these questions are answered and that your objectives are crystal clear, as this is what will determine the kind of video you'll need to produce.


2. The Content - The key to successful fundraising videos is always compelling story-telling. If the video is to provoke action and inspire change, an audience must be able to make a  genuine emotional connection with what they're seeing. Being transparent and demonstrating tangible impact is also crucial. Potential donors will want to see exactly where their hard-earned cash will be going, who it will be spent on and why. It's also useful to substantiate any claims you make with expert opinion.

3. Duration - The length of your film will of course depend on a number of factors, but less is often more, particularly if you want the video be successful online. People lead incredibly busy lives in the 21st century and you have to ask yourself how much time you are expecting people to give up to watch your film. You don't want them to switch off before the call to action.

4. Distribution - Videos are incredibly versatile and once produced, can be streamed online, duplicated onto DVDs, used in one-on-one meetings or as part of fundraising presentations and events. However you choose to your film, for maximum possible exposure, it's very important that you incorporate the video into your organisation's website, preferably with access to it from the homepage.

However, you should also distribute your  video across ALL of your online marketing channels. That means sharing the videos via online networks, video-sharing sites, blogs, Facebook and My Space accounts, where they quickly become part of larger online discussions, commented upon by multitudes of online viewers. There's even a special section on YouTube dedicated to non-profits  which includes enhanced promotion and a direct fundraising option via Google Checkout.

A number of sites are also emerging that specifically host fundraising videos and when used in tandem with these sites, videos can be an exceptionally powerful medium for conveying the importance of any cause.

Although fundraising videos can be produced in-house using consumer camcorders and basic editing software, for a fundraising film with real impact it's always best to work with an experienced video production company who can get the best out of contributors and tell a truly emotive, visual story.