King Fish Media, Hubspot and Junta 42 recently conducted a study looking at how marketers employ online video in their business activities. The first part of the report I'd like to focus on is Social Media Usage.
75% of the companies included in the survey have a social media strategy. I would be interested to see how many are well developed and how many simply say "post on Facebook and Tweet", but I digress.
75% of respondents say their companies will increase investment in social media marketing over the coming year.
20% of them are redirecting funds from other, more traditional marketing strategies, to keep up with customers who are switching to social media.
85% handle their own social media marketing with in-house staffers, as opposed to hiring consultants.
Only 30% have run an ad campaign on a social media site.
A shockingly high number of respondents (43%) have never done any kind of ROI measurement.
Respondents are using social media with a variety of intentions, with customer relations being the number one reason.
Stay tuned for more nuggets from this research. Want to dig deeper into the numbers and the behaviors behind them? Pose a question in the comments and we'll address it in a future blog post.
This has very little, if anything, to do with online video production or software that helps you distribute your video content online. It was, however, sparked by what I've seen around the Cantaloupe office and in the offices of our clients.*
I'm curious - what inspires and motivates you to do what you do everyday? What makes your role (in the workplace or another aspect of your life) special or your job rewarding (beyond the paycheck, or perhaps simply because of what it enables you to do)? Where do you get the energy to do all that you do?
* On a daily basis, I watch my co-workers get excited about the stories they are able to help our clients tell. I watch them go above and beyond to make sure all aspects of the video will wow their clients. I watch as our clients talk about what they are doing and how their companies make a difference. It's amazing to watch what gets people out of bed each morning and I invite you to share your passion and excitement with us in the comments below.
Cantaloupe is expanding! You may know us best as an Indianapolis Video Production company, but we have been doing work for our clients all over the country & even outside of the country for the past 5 years. Now we are focusing on the Windy City! We have been creating online video for many clients in Chicago over the past year... and now we are making it more permanent - we have found a resource to represent Cantaloupe in the Chicago market!
It wasn't an easy position to fill - we needed a great personality, with experience in the Chicago Marketing community, that had a solid understanding of the needs of online marketers. Someone with talent and experience to build relationships with clients and enthusiastically promote our video marketing solution.
We finally found her! We'd like you to meet Abigail Salch. We like to call her "Chicago Abbey" She's a Chicago native that has been working in the marketing industry for - well, we don't want to show her age.. lets just say 10+ years. In addition to being a marketing whiz she is an avid biker. She recently did some crazy week long bike ride across Iowa! ragbrai.com/
Welcome Abbey, we look forward to seeing more of you.. give her a shout if you are in Chicago, she'll be a great resource to help you with your online video marketing needs!
Over the past five years, Cantaloupe has worked with hundreds of client on thousands of online video stories. Some have been brief projects to meet specific needs, while others have been ongoing engagements.
I received an email the other day that - to paraphrase - said: Do you still shoot and produce videos? Why, yes. Yes we do. But that's not all we do.
Cantaloupe has evolved ('ripened' as founder Jon DiGregory would say) from our early days of shooting video for the web. We still tell compelling stories for our business and non-profit clients, but that's only one slice of what we do.
Cantaloupe has been peeling back the rhine of what makes for well produced, delivered and measurable online marketing video campaign. We've broken it down into bite sized chunks that provide an organic recipe for success.
Take a look at our 5-ingredient process that begins with strategy, moves on to production, publishing, distribution, measurement and back into strategy. Yes, Cantaloupe continues to help our clients tell compelling, authentic stories online and off, now ensuring that it closely aligns with your business goals and unique flavor.
Online video marketing is fun and exciting, for sure. It's also important to ask if your video is working for you as best it can. To assess the impact of incorporating your video stories and content into your social media marketing strategy, here are five metrics to keep an eye on:
People. Think quality over quantity. Are people viewing your videos? Are the right people in the right places viewing your videos? Are they sharing your video stories and helping you extend your reach?
Stories. Have you told a variety of stories that paints a well-rounded picture of who you are and what you do? Are they tied to goals that are, in turn, measurable? Are your stories being talked about by clients, prospects and viewers you didn't even know were listening?
Perception. How has the sentiment toward your brand changed since using your video stories? Have your videos helped to handle objections normally encountered during the sales process or at other points in your relationship.
Actions. Have your viewers responded to your on-screen and in-video calls to action? Are these stories aiding their buying decisions?
Profitability. What product sales can be traced to your product stories? What are the costs related to the production of your video stories compared to the benefits you have experienced?
Your stories provide the basis for brand affiliation and make people want to use and interact with your product or service. Getting your video with the right message in front of the right people in the right places will help you to meet your marketing and overall business goals.
To see how Cantaloupe's Backlight provides you with insights into the metrics of your online video, request a demo here.
We've talked about how to make your online marketing videos talk-worthy or prepare them to go viral (on a moderate scale). It's important to integrate stories into all of your content marketing - on your site and across social media channels where dialogue, interaction and sharing occur.
Here are five ways to create and use video stories online:
Determine trending topics. Relevancy is key. Leverage interest around hot topics with new, creative insights. Remember that your story has to be consistent with your brand and messages and allow this to enhance your other online and offline efforts.
Source stories from customers. Let others tell stories related to your product and brand. Create brand advocates and highlight the real-world impact of your product or service.
Incorporate a human-interest element into your videos. People are attracted to people like themselves. Be authentic and help your audience put themselves into the shoes of your customers.
Allow for interactions and additions. Using social media outlets as distribution channels allows your audience to interact with you and your brand. It provides the opportunity to post comments, share with friends and become personally invested.
Enable easy sharing quickly and broadly. One of the major attractions of social media and online video marketing is the ability for users to share your content when and how they desire. Using a video player, such as the one included in the Backlight video management platform, that includes share features encourages and assists with the sharing of videos.
Want more tips on making video content compelling? Contact me and we can discuss the process we use for developing a video strategy for clients, and how we do our story development process to ensure we produce engaging, compelling videos.
I'm always fascinated with what others' world look like - be it people in other industries, jobs or areas of the world. So, when I came across this video - a taste of the Nature documentary Ann Johnson Prum created on hummingbirds - I couldn't help but start watching. Mix in a little technology and an inspired message and I'm hooked.
Her team used high-speed HD cameras and specialized lenses to create this unique video story which even puts the viewer inside a flower. Using online video, she has sold her vision and passion about this small hyper bird. Through her words and images, she has built excitement in me and hopefully countless others. Because of this video, I want more.
The exquisite footage lets you take flight with these tiny, amazingly-fast creatures in a dozen different countries and high in the mountains. I'm not sure which is more fascinating - the birds, the technology or the vision of the crew. Perhaps its how all three converged to tell an amazing story.
Here's a behind-the-scenes glance at the PBS documentary...
I just read a paper from Omniture talking about Steven Slater, the flight attendant who stormed off the JetBlue flight in dramatic fashion recently. In the post, it was noted that he has amassed 200,000 Facebook fans since the tantrum incident (more than many corporations can boast). Really? Why?
Simple. We find Steven's story fascinating. It's being described as "urban myth quality". His story is one we can relate to. It's compelling content. It has all of the attributes of good content marketing.
To make your content talk-worthy on social media platforms, develop strong stories that are in line with your brand, including its voice, language and visuals. When you create your online marketing videos, make sure you incorporate these elements to create powerful stories that your audience wants to hear, engage with and share.
Add emotion. Just telling your audience the facts about your product or service won't get them to care. Find the connection and make your product or company's story resonate with your audience.
Identify with the protagonist. Stories must motivate your target to connect with the man character in some way, perhaps by stepping into his shoes.
Memorable. Stories have a beginning, middle and end, making it easier for viewers to remember your video's message. Familiarity increases memorability, add your own twist.
Easily adapted. Stories can be changed and embellished by the teller to suit his or her purpose. This makes stories more dramatic and increases the audience's ability to empathize, personalize and share your message online and off.
Sharable. This can occur in the old fashion way where one person tells another or it can happen through social media and electronic channels. Using the proper video player to support your message will aid your video in going viral.
Want more tips on making video content compelling? Contact me and we can discuss the process we use for developing a video strategy for clients, and how we do our story development process to ensure we produce engaging, compelling videos.
Scott Berkun recently wrote a blog post about the "Four Minute Men", a group of people who worked for the US government in 1917 to convey important information to the masses quickly and eloquently.
The rules that they outlined for themselves are included below. These hold true today for public speaking, internal meetings and even with online marketing videos. I've bolded some of my favorites and those that apply most to your video stories, video case studies and online marketing.
Stick to your time allowance. Five minutes means a guess; four minutes makes a promise.
Begin with a positive, concrete statement. Tell them something at the start.
Use short sentences. The man who can’t make one word do the work of two is no four-minute speaker.
Avoid fine phrases. You aren’t there to give them an ear full but a mind full.
Talk to the back row of your audience; you’ll hit everything closer in.
Talk to the simplest intelligence in your audience; you’’ll hit everything higher up.
Be natural and direct. Sincerity wears no frills.
Give your words time. A jumbled sentence is a wasted sentence. You can’t afford to waste on a four-minute allowance.
Don’t fear to be colloquial. Slang that your hearers understand is better than Latin that they don’t.
Don’t figure the importance of your job on a time basis. Four hours of thinking may go into four minutes of speaking.
You represent the United States of America. Don’t forget it. And don’t give your audience occasion to forget it.
Finish strong and sharp. The butterfly is forgotten as soon as he departs, but you recall the hornet because he ends with a point.
Why four minutes? That's how long it took the movie projectionists to change film reels.
If you're an information junkie like me, you really should read more about the Four Minute Men and how they have influenced many of the things we do today on the Joyful Public Speaking Blog.
The once bold dividing line between television and web content is rapidly becoming blurred.
More and more people are replacing there television watching habits with the convenience of online options.
A large number of companies have new offerings of hardware gadgets that enable you to watch online video on your television.
Sezmi, Boxee, Roku, and Kylo are all companies introducing innovative products that enable users to take advantage of the convenience and affordability of web video, right on their flat screen.
For those interested in reaching a broad audience, video marketing on the internet seems to be a bright-future option.
This inspiring 6 minutes of awkwardness was Microsoft's attempt to motivate customers to host their own Launch Party. Launch Parties were to test and use Windows 7 with friends. It sounds like an acceptable marketing idea until you match it with sad jokes, bad acting and weird lighting. Imagine if they hosted a REAL party with REAL people and captured them experiencing Windows in REAL time.
There are a few if not many lessons to learn from the Launch Party video: 1. If you dare script anything make it entertaining 2. Talking to the audience online only works for so long, not 6 minutes. 3. Reality is king and poor acting only motivates customers to laugh at you!
Getting started with online video isn't as daunting of a task as some people make it out to be. There are really three things that you need.
First of all you need a camera, you have to get yourself onscreen somehow. How much you want to spend on that camera is kind of up to you. Video quality isn't really as important as the content, which is one of the other things you are going to need.
Content is king. If you don't have anything relevant to say, it doesn't matter how good the video quality actually is. You can get away with shooting with something like the Flip HD or even using the iPhone 4, which shoots pretty good looking HD video. I'm actually using the iPhone 4 for a different series. The third thing you need, the first two being a camera and content, is probably some form of computer. You don't want to do a whole lot of editing in a Vlog. You want it to be very conversational and honest, but doing a lot of editing takes that away.
You are still going to need to get it up on the web somehow and other than the iPhone 4, which has some editing and posting capabilities, you are going to need something to get the video from the camera to the computer, polish it a little bit and get it up to YouTube, your website, blog or wherever you are going to put it. I really suggest using a Mac. They are very easy to use and come installed with iMovie, which is a very easy to use video editing system. You can add some lower thirds and graphics without learning something like Final Cut Pro, which is what I use.
If you have any questions or topics you'd like addressed, email me at justin@cantaloupe.tv or find me on twitter: @justingutwein. I hope this is helpful to you, I will be diving deeper into cameras and content in some later episodes. Thanks a lot!
“No more long, cumbersome marketing documents – no more boring presentations. Video is how companies and business should communicate."
That's a pretty powerful quote, especially coming from IBM. They're not talking about online commercials, rather web-based video content that helps feed information to their key audiences. They're replacing old-school business practices of creating binders of typed prose with online marketing, communication and training videos.
Internally, IBM managers and teams are using video for sales training, communication where they want to propose a particular course of action, and to provide training for their technical solution architects and solution specialists. They also are doing internal case studies - talking head interviews and lots of screen capture using their own web conference solution and mixing it with live video.
IBM is also using video externally to promote and market their assets and solutions worldwide. The video messages are designed to help customers select, purchase and use the appropriate business solutions.
If an organization like IBM is willing to change the way they communicate with workers, prospects and the general public, shouldn't your business at least consider how it can help streamline your business communications?
Last week Christian and JD found themselves with a few free hours between shoots at the Indiana State Fair. Earlier that day they heard of deep fried butter being sold this year.
So they fired up the camera and were off to learn about this culinary wonder. They spoke with the owner of the butter stand, a number of customers and even consulted a dietitian. They ended up with a web video that provides a glimpse of what this battered, buttered, ball is all about.
We all did this exercise as children. We ask a question of an adult and get an answer. We then follow it up with "why?". Another answer from the ever-patient adult. "But why", we ask.
When did we stop trying to dig a little deeper and begin taking things at face value? I've watched clients' faces when I've put on my kid hat (not my kid voice - let's not get those confused) and asked, "but why" in a meeting.
Yes, you want to do a video about X, but why? What's the story? What's the business goal it serves? What's the objective this video or the larger online marketing campaign? Why now? What is the larger plan that this marketing video fits into? Why this particular audience (you do know who your audience is, right?)?
Answering the 'why' questions will help reveal the deeper objectives of the video and will help us craft the most effective online video for you. Ask yourself "why" when you are making decisions about your authentic video stories. Ask "why" of your coworkers when they pitch the next great story idea. And don't be afraid to ask your Cantaloupe video production team "why" when we recommend your next video strategy and series to you.
In the process of moving to a new house this week, I came across a memo from a former co-worker, Rob Harris. He was one of those guys who inspired me to think and try and want more out of everything I took on. I wish I could remember the conversation that spurred him to write this to me.
Enjoy and see if you can't also use these 7 steps to executing your own (seemingly) crazy idea in your work or personal life.
7 Step Process for Execution of a Crazy Idea
Dream up some ridiculous idea or activity.
Resist thinking about the short- and long-term consequences to the idea or activity.
Tell as many people as you can about what you are going to do so that at this point you have to do it.
Resist thinking about the short- and long-term consequences THEY point out.
Execute your idea or activity.
Rectify any of the short- or long-term consequences of your actions, apologizing profusely to those you care about (or those that care about you), if necessary.
Enjoy a lifetime of bragging right / story telling and know that when you are old and spend all of your time in a recliner watching the weather, that there was once a time when you were actually among the living.
Rereading this has reminded me to put aside my doubts and to stop making excuses. These crazy ideas set us apart as individuals, companies and forces to be reckoned with. So, what crazy idea are you going to take on?
Thanks to the folks at GapingVoid, we're reminded that there's no secret sauce. There is no magic bullet. There is no one canned plan that will satisfy all tastes and cravings when it comes to your business and message.
Every marketing project requires a unique recipe for the just-right outcome. Authentic style video stories is one ingredient. Your distribution channels are another. Stir in a little of your company's singular flair and all of a sudden you have the winning recipe you've been craving.
Let the chefs at Cantaloupe whip you up a strategy for online video marketing that will set off the taste buds with your clients and prospects.
King Fish Media, Hubspot and Junta 42 recently conducted a study looking at how marketers employ online video in their business activities. The first part of the report I'd like to focus on is Social Media Usage.
Online video marketing is fun and exciting, for sure. It's also important to ask if your video is working for you as best it can. To assess the impact of incorporating your video stories and content into your social media marketing strategy, here are five metrics to keep an eye on:
We've talked about how to make your online marketing videos talk-worthy or prepare them to go viral (on a moderate scale). It's important to integrate stories into all of your content marketing - on your site and across social media channels where dialogue, interaction and sharing occur.
I just read a paper from Omniture talking about Steven Slater, the flight attendant who stormed off the JetBlue flight in dramatic fashion recently. In the post, it was noted that he has amassed 200,000 Facebook fans since the 
The once bold dividing line between television and web content is rapidly becoming blurred.
“No more long, cumbersome marketing documents – no more boring presentations. Video is how companies and business should communicate." 
We all did this exercise as children. We ask a question of an adult and get an answer. We then follow it up with "why?". Another answer from the ever-patient adult. "But why", we ask.
In the process of moving to a new house this week, I came across a memo from a former co-worker, Rob Harris. He was one of those guys who inspired me to think and try and want more out of everything I took on. I wish I could remember the conversation that spurred him to write this to me.
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