Convert Video Online

I originally wanted to interview Michael Davey, Cantaloupe's Project Manager, (and overall great guy) but he was using the restroom so I opted for the closest person in proximity to me, Stacy Billanti, our CEO.  I guess it's fitting that my first vlog would be an interview with our CEO.  We talked about the usuals.  Authentic Storytelling, our frustrations in getting people to tell good stories, what is a good story, etc. etc. 

Honestly, I just watched it and even though I caught her off guard and it wasn't rehearsed I still felt like she came off a bit "markety."  No offense to Stacy.  She's not your typical CEO and definitely not over "messagey" or "markety."  But, it's hard not to be when you're on camera and you know this video will, in some way be used for marketing.  That's the trick.  How can you plan and produce video for the web without it being the same old regurgitation of marketing messages?  It's hard enough when it really is candid. That is where Cantaloupe comes in.  

I'm not going to explain it all here but this vlog will hopefully give you a little insight into how Cantaloupe thinks about using video online to your best advantage.  Hopefully through some candid interviews around the office, unannounced and unedited we can cut through some of the marketing crap and get some real comments from the heart. 

You can expect some more difficult questions from myself as these vlogs keep going. This one was hopefully just a warm up.

Also, I mention in this vlog that software companies are generally boring and have the same marketing messages.  Please don't take offense:)  All software companies do cool stuff.  BUT, it's hard to talk about it without it being boring.  But have no fear, it's our job to make sure you don't get stuck in a rut when you market with video online. 

Do you have any plans for your clients this holiday season? Heck, you can take it one step further. Are you doing anything this holiday season for ANYONE that is coming to your website? You see, your clients don't want the same ole' holiday card that you always send them. They want to see YOU. And if you are going to take the time to put yourself out there, why not use it to thank all of your website visitors.

After reading a recent blog post from Kyle Lacy of BrandSwag, you better be exposing your brand online and what a better way to do that, than with online video. Online video marketing is a quick and easy way to show your clients and followers the REAL you. With Cantaloupe's special holiday video offer you can engage your clients and friends with a fun and entertaining short video. Hear what Cantaloupe founder, Jon DiGregory, has to say about this below and learn more about the offer.

Check out this article by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) on crisis communication.

There big takeaway, and I quote exactly: "Video dominates as online communications tool"

The article goes on to say:
Organizations need to already have an established video channel that informs — or entertains — your key publics so that you have built an audience and goodwill before a crisis hits. Having an online Web presence will increase the speed of distribution and reach of your crisis response.

This is exactly what our online video magazines at Cantaloupe.tv do. We specialize in producing authentic, online video content which is the exactly what you need when communicating a crisis situation. And our web video platform, Backlight.tv, makes it easy to get that video up immediately.

The last thing you want to be worried about in a crisis is about how to get your video online. Backlight handles everything you need to get that video up immediately. Things you don't need to worry about with Backlight:

• The file type. We handle mov conversion, mp4 conversion, mpeg conversion, flv conversion, and more
• The online video player. Backlight provides you with that as well as an easy to use embed code
• Online video hosting service. That's also included out of the box.
• Distribution. Backlight helps you get your video on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, email campaigns, Twitter, partner websites, or wherever else you distribute online
• Video analytics. Backlight provides you with all the online video tracking you'll need to determine the effectiveness of your story.

So don't wait for a crisis to hit before you start thinking about online video marketing and the video platform you need to distribute it. Take a look at our offering now.

Video formatting is a complicated subject to understand, especially when you aren't in the video business. That's one of the reasons why we are here at Cantaloupe -- to help you make the most of your online video. Let me explain a little more.

I came across a web video a couple of days ago. The picture was stretched and pixelated (meaning boxy, unclear), and the sound was unbearable. To say the least, this video looked and felt unprofessional. If you are going to put video on your website, you want it to look sharp. If you disagree, let me know. It doesn't matter how great your site is, if their is one ugly video on their, it could ruin the entire experience. Here is an example snapshot of a video that is poorly posted to the internet:



Like I said, the video is stretched and pixelated, and the one I watched was jumpy (caused by a really low framerate). There are also two black bars on the sides of the video for no reason. Another thing that catches the eye is the video player. It is clunky and not very functional. There are a small amount of options, and a few a them I would never even use. I know this seems extreme, but search the internet and you will find videos similar to this image. So, now that I've addressed this poor video and poor web video player, let me talk about what Cantaloupe offers in these areas.

Cantaloupe's videos are always great quality, and look professional. We also have launched our own web video platform called Backlight that will do the online FLV Conversion for you and give you our sharp looking and great functioning video player. If you want to learn more about everything it can offer you, go here.

Now, let's look at a few snapshots of a Cantaloupe video so we can all vizualize this. These are from our most recent CantaSeries video.




The videos are clear, even the text. You can make it full screen, higher or lower the volume to any level, or use the menu to share, embed, or link to the video. There is much more the software can do, including tracking and converting, so I would suggest looking further into it.

If you are looking to strengthen your online video marketing, give us a holler and we will help you out. We shoot everything in High Definition, expanding the possiblities, and are constantly working on updates for our software, Backlight, which will eventually include HD internet streaming of your online videos. Of course, we know story and content are of utmost importance, which we also deliver, but don't underestimate the quality.

It seems Bluelock has found a way to establish themselves as experts in cloud computing, and it seems a big part of that is their internet video marketing strategy.

I recently wrote a post about how their videos have shown up on a social network for cloud computing. Now it seems that someone else has grabbed the embed code for their LEGO demonstration of server virtualization and embedded it in their blog.

The ability to let others grab this video and spread it around is made possible through Backlight, Cantaloupe's online video platform. What kind of impact is this video having on Bluelock's business? Well, Bluelock can see exactly how many views their getting from this video placement by checking out the online video analytics report also provided through Backlight.

Another valuable feature is Bluelock's ability to change the ads in this video, that is, to change in-stream calls to actions. Even though this video is already embedded, Bluelock can control and change the message to viewers. (Check out the 2:20 mark in the video) Now they can actually convert these viewers into prospects or even customers.

I also think it's worth mentioning this quote from the blog:

It took less than a week for two of our videos from our video newsletter to rise to #2 and #3 in Google's video search for "Indianapolis video production"

Check it out for yourself.

I have to find out if our clients are having the same results or if they're even getting the full use out of Backlight and it's video SEO capabilities. As a video management system, it's such an easy tool to use and it's the perfect answer for so many internet marketers who are trying to figure out how to use video online.

("Backlight Tip" and "Clarian" are ours and the cool thing is if you click through to the actual video, it leads you to our blog)

Not only is Bluelock one of our clients, they are also a leader in "cloud computing," which at Cantaloupe we clearly get since our very own online video platform brings all kinds of cool things to the cloud like a video hosting service, video conversion online (many types including but not limited to mov conversion, mp4 conversion, flv conversion, mpeg conversion), video analytics, video uploading etc.

Well here is an example of how Bluelock has leveraged their videos to further their demonstration of expertise in the field of cloud computing. Using Backlight, they've embedded their videos into a community site specifically for networking around cloud computing.

What's really cool about this is that because the videos are embedded using Backlight, Bluelock maintains control over the messaging in the videos.

What do I mean? Check out the 56 second mark in the first video. Bluelock has inserted a video "ad" with a link back their website. This is the perfect way to convert otherwise casual viewers into potential customers.

There's no shortage of ways that Backlight can help you get more use and value out of your videos. Check out a demo today to see what Backlight can do for you.

So for the moment it's a self-described accomplishment, but it's an exciting topic to rally around which is why I think so many high-profile people from the Indianapolis tech community have contributed comments to this blog thread. (Internet marketing software city? by Norm Heikens)

Cantaloupe's own contribution to the Indianapolis online marketing community includes Backlight, a Saas video solution for helping marketers utilize video online to strengthen their businesses, engage prospects, and sell more stuff.

It can be difficult to know what to do with your web videos when you are first starting, or even if you have done a lot of videos before. Too often I find people who are just coming up with videos by grabbing someone, and having that person talk about a random subject. This may turn out to be a good video sometimes, but there are much more effective ways to go about your video marketing campaign.

I will use my post today to show an example of a great web video series that Cantaloupe has produced--Clarian Health's "Hero" series.


This series shows how effective your web videos can be. They accomplish exactly what they're supposed to by presenting all of the information in a consistent style that supports the overall theme of the series. They are raw and fast-paced, capturing a day in the life of a nurse, then finishes with a clear and bold call to action. The whole series of videos have a unique style that fits in with the message and goal.

When watching these videos, there is no confusion about what is being said. There is no talking about Clarian and why they are better. Everything is visual, and all of the videos in the series support the same thing. They know who they are trying to reach.

I also think these would be a strong candidate for our new online video platform, Backlight. People will search for nursing and nursing positions. If these videos were converted in Backlight to other sites such as Google video, they might come up and help people find what they are looking for.

Watch these videos, and think about ideas that you could use for your video marketing strategy. The more you use your internet video as a marketing campaign, the more effective it can be.

I just want to congratulate Denise Meyer and team at Interactive Intelligence for successfully launching their first video playlist using Backlight. You can check it out for yourself here.

These are some very powerful videos and I'm glad our online video platform could embed them on their website. I'm not currently in the market for a call center software solution but I found myself watching this whole video all the way through. (Note how easy it was for me to grab Interactive Intelligence's video from their website and embed it in my blog using their online video player)





If you haven't heard, Backlight is Cantaloupe.tv's new online SaaS video management system that makes it easy to upload all your videos, convert them to web-ready formats, embed them on your website, and then analyze the online video tracking.

Check out our website to learn more about Backlight.

As a runner, I don't think I've ever seen a more inspirational advertising campaign than the New Balance LOVE/Hate. I think it has something to do with the subtlety of the inspiration and their ability to make tangible the psychology of running.

Instead of showing blood, sweat, and tears or flashing up words like "pride" and "toughness" and "win" they show runners going through the psychological hurdles we all go through, like the challenge of leaving the comfort of your bed to train, or the fact that the first mile alway seems like the hardest.

I caught one of these traditional video marketing pieces (ahem...tv commercials) and wanted to share it with a friend. I searched on Google. No luck. I did a Google video search. No luck. (well, I got some YouTube results but they were poor quality) I went to New Balance's website. Still nothing, but they did lead me to their Facebook page...

There they are!

New Balance has done a great job using their facebook page to distribute online video, but they could be doing a better job with video search engine optimization. At Cantaloupe, we think Facebook is a great way to get some extra eyeballs (we're starting to see quite a few leads for our own business come through our facebook page) but we're still more optimistic about the power of video search.

The key to both video search and distributing video on facebook, or any other social networking site, is having a tool that makes it quick and easy to convert video online, manage it, embed it, and distribute everywhere you market. If you haven't seen it yet, Backlight is a tool to help you do just that.

In case you missed it, Cantaloupe sent another installment of its Cantaseries Video Magazine earlier this week. (Cantaseries is our ongoing web video marketing series where we feature an interesting, heartfelt, inspiring or just otherwise entertaining story. We use it to keep in touch with clients and other Cantaloupe fans.) 

This latest web video story was called "Laughter Yoga." I won't waste any time telling what that is, because the video itself is worth a million...laughs?. 

I have to say, it's a behemoth at over 7 minutes. Sounds crazy considering how often we preach shorter content for the internet, but more of the results on that in another post.

Basically, I wanted to share with you something else cool we saw yesterday. We sent "Laughter Yoga" out through our latest release of our online video management system Backlight 2.0.

One feature we've been very focused on is video search engine optimization. Our goal is for our clients to know that when they upload a video and embed it using our system, that they're taking advantage of the best practices in Video SEO.

Yesterday, we saw a small part of that in action with Laughter Yoga. It's a small confirmation, but if you go to Google's video search and type in "Cantaloupe Yoga" you get the following result: 



We're probably not going to convert a lot of people with the search term "Cantaloupe Yoga" but it's a start. Another cool thing is that our ads, or calls to actions" if you well, stay within the video (check out the 0:56 mark and the 5:35 mark) so if people find us there we can direct them what to do next.

This is all very exciting for us here at Cantaloupe. We're looking forward to bringing this online marketing practice to all current and future clients.

Today I had the opportunity to speak at a women's professional group - Network of Women in Business.  The topic was "Your website is your best salesperson".  The website plays a role in everyone's buying process, including mine - from where I eat dinner, to what yoga studio I go to, to what Sales Consultant I choose to help my business.  People are researching you on the web - can they find you and what are you giving them when they get there?  If you aren't drawing that visitor in with an engaging story via - web video, blogging, and other interactive marketing; you are losing your opportunity to convert them.  Because they are spending time on the sites that have the interactive marketing.

I met women from a myriad of industries - from Chai, Baby an online tea company, to Slingshot a company that scours universities looking for the next generation of sales people.  The same advice and tools apply to all industries - setup Google Analytics, search for yourself with the keywords you think your clients will use in looking for you, START BLOGGING, and incorporate web video.  Tell your story..... engage your prospects when they get to your site, make it your best salesperson.  If you don't - someone else will...

In 2007, Enquiro conducted a survey to answer the question, "How important is online research in business to business purchase decisions?"

As it turns out, online research is the most important influencer of business to business purchase decisions, with a vendor's website being the most important tool in the mix.

Even when taking into account word of mouth, the tool marketers look at as the holy grail of lead generation, the website ranked just as important. (see graphs below)



So what does this mean? It means the old idea of the "marketing wheel" is dead. You no longer should be looking at up your marketing like a pie, with a portion of time and effort going to all your marketing channels - newspapers ads, sales teams, radio ads, search marketing, blogs, billboards, website, etc.

Instead, you need to start looking at your marketing as a hub and spoke system with the website at the center of it all. Even if prospects learn of you through offline channels, they almost always turn to online channels to learn more about you before inviting you to "sell to them."

So when they get to your website, what's there to convert them? What's there to persuade them to convert?

If you look closely at that graph above, you'll see that online video only gets a 3.7 - the bottom 50% of importance, which isn't at all surprising, and not at all discouraging.

We haven't reached the point yet where people are consistently searching for and expecting internet video to supplement their research (some people are though, and there will be more!). Instead, online video is that pleasant surprise they stumble upon.

It can help better explain a process, show the real people behind all the marketing lingo, or entice someone to hang out long enough to hear exactly what they were looking for. Video on websites is a spoke, not the hub, so if you've been putting off that web video project because it just doesn't seem important to your prospects, ask yourself if your website is important, and then ask yourself what are you doing to improve your website?

Maybe internet video marketing is exactly what you need to take your website to the next level.

What kind of expert in internet video marketing would I be if I didn't share with you that Google can now automatically generate text from the audio in your internet videos and make it searchable?

The truth is, I've been sitting on this information for a couple weeks now. I just haven't been sure what to make of it.

The benefits are obvious. Search engines still rely nearly 100% on text to create relevant search results. Up until now, optimizing web video for search meant including the right text with the video. The obvious next step was finding a way to use speech recognition technology to convert the audio content that is already there to searchable text. The next step after that is making the image content searchable. (Which is well on its way. Here's an article)

What's been holding me back from talking more about this is I don't know what Google plans to do with this technology. Right now, your streaming video is only audio searchable if you upload it to YouTube (and actually, for the time being they're still testing the technology only on political videos).

YouTube is an amazing tool and has pioneered the online video industry, but it isn't always the best answer when marketing online with video. For one, the video quality output is too poor to use to put video on websites. And while YouTube does offer some video analytics, it's not as robust or as useful to business marketers as it needs to be or as you see with other video platforms.

At this point using YouTube for video marketing is a little like using hotmail for email marketing.

But at the end of the day, Google Audio Indexing (aka GAudi) is a monumental advancement for not just video marketing, but for search engine marketing as well. Everyone interested in either area should take 5 minutes and check out GAudi's FAQ page.

There's been a lot written about NBC's online video coverage of the Olympics. There are people on both sides of the fence - those who say NBC failed with its coverage and those who say NBC set a precedent for taking traditional tv media and putting it on the internet.

The argument for the "failed" side says NBC proved that it's still difficult to impossible to make money off of web video. The "succeeded" side points out the technical feat involved.

For a broadcaster looking to make money this begs the question, "If people are watching video online, what does that do to my tv viewership, and ultimately the ad dollars I can get for selling tv ads?"

It turns out, putting video on the web is fueling tv viewership, rather than reducing it, with 50% of online viewers trying to catch up with what they missed, and with 40% watching something they already saw on tv.

This is interesting news for marketers trying to determine whether to put money into its online collateral or other traditional collateral. I'm sure many of them have figured out that one influences the other, often positively. (Take GQ's video magazine as an example)

However, in the long run my prediction is these technologies blend so much that you can't tell the difference between when tv stops and when online begins.

TV and online video aren’t necessarily in competition with one another.  Most studies have found that people watch online video IN ADDITION to viewing television.  People are really just consuming more media without making too many trade-offs. 

However, there are some major differences between online video and television that force trade-offs in regards to marketing and advertising.  Marketing/advertising budgets are not infinite…so making the most of your ad money is important. 

Online video has more benefits than TV when it comes to advertising.  It’s more measurable.  In a world where 30-second TV ad spots used to reign supreme, viewing time is now becoming the new currency for video ads.  When it comes to TV, advertisers purchase based on impressions.  Now, no one ever really knows how much of a TV ad was actually watched, or if it was watched at all (especially with new DVR capabilities).  So, impression-based ad purchasing never made much sense to me.  But when it comes to internet video marketing, you can measure exactly how many views or unique views there were and how long the video was watched.  More statistics than that are available, but for brevity and consistency’s sake (not all online video posting sites are equal) we’ll stick with those.

More importantly, online video is much more interactively powerful than television.  Users are already on their desktop or laptop ready to interact with your brand beyond the commercial/branded content/video.  Online video promises interactivity beyond the click-thru.  Users can share, subscribe, comment and more.  They can also personalize the content they receive by opting in and out and preferencing certain types of content.  This is interactive marketing at its best.  Moreover, businesses can personalize the kind of content they are feeding certain users by tracking what’s being watched and searched by a certain user.  All of that information is vital and useful to marketers.

Another reason why online video trumps TV: online video has the capability of being viral and “sticky.”  There’s nothing greater or cheaper than viral marketing: having your online video spread to millions.

Cantaloupe has got its hands in something big: Internet video marketing.  Of the 150 million Internet users, about 85 million are viewing video online at this point in time.  The future of online video may seem mystifying, but if one thing's for sure, it’s not going away. 

Online video spending was at $225 million in 2005 and then $640 million in 2007 (these numbers include video advertising dollars, digital media production costs, and online media firm fees, etc.).  eMarketer projects that by 2009 spending will reach $1.5 billion.  With the increasing popularity of this entertainment medium there's good reason to expect that kind of growth.

According to a study by F.N. Magid Associates for Online Publishers Association:

-       5% of consumers view online video daily

-       24% view it at least once a week

-       46% view it at least once a month

Marketers want web video because it engages viewers.  Viewers want it because it’s engaging (and entertaining).  Online users watch many forms of video, but news video ranks highest in popularity (except with younger viewers), and humorous videos came in second place (probably because these videos are most likely to be shared with others).  According to the study conducted by Pew Internet & American Life titled "Online Video," professional videos are preferred among viewers over amateur content.  Thankfully Cantaloupe can help you out in the area of professionalism.  That's not to say if you really want amateur-style video we wouldn't do it though...

The more popular and available online video becomes, the more people will view it.  Google and Yahoo already have video search options making it easier for people to find video on websites.  Strides like this will only amplify viewer numbers.  

Since the emergence of Internet video marketing, companies have looked for more and more ways to incorporate video into their own marketing plan.  We all know people don’t want to read through a bunch of mumbo jumbo to figure out what you/your product/your business is all about.  Just show them.  Through video.  It can be fun, entertaining, informative, and chock full of your wonderful marketing messages (but not blatantly full of them of course).  Soon there will be a day when people expect video.  Might as well start giving it to them now.  

Let's face it, viral isn't anything new.  The only thing that has changed is that technology has made it easier.  I remember when I was a kid, my parent's friends gave them an audio cassette.  On the cassette, was a man calling for an ambulance that cussed a lot, and was bitten by a deer that he had put in the back of his car.  Google "I need a bambalance" and you will find it.  It is NSFW.

The reason my parents got a copy was because we had a tape dubber.  They wanted it to give copies to everyone in the circle. 


When I was in high school, a friend of mine found this video online.



It took him a day or so to download it, and we all had to gather around one computer to watch it.  Today, it took 2 minutes to find it, but also embed it into this blog. 

Technology has allowed us all to become that guy.  The guy, or gal, that finds something funny/interesting/emotional, and share it with or friends and colleagues.  Internet video is so easy that almost everyone is doing it, but it isn't done well.  They are nothing more than funny little clips that we watch and discard.  What if we take viral, and add marketing.  Instead of sending our friends clips that are just funny, let's give them the power to say, "Check out this company, I think they can really help you out." 

In the end, internet video marketing is all about creating "Digital word-of-mouth."  Thank goodness the internet is easier and faster than dubbing 15 audio tapes.

So the question is just how many?

A recent article says that *"Online video viewing is a mainstream activity for Internet users in the US. Nearly three-quarters of the online population watched an online video in March 2008." If you missed the important factor there it's the three-quarters of the online population section. The last time I checked that population was extremely large.

*From March 2007 to March 2008 there has been a 64% increase in the amount of videos viewed online. In March of 2008 the online population consumed more than 11.5 billion videos online. YouTube was the top platform with  4.3 billion views.

I do feel that the YouTube  number can be a little deceiving as to where you should place your videos, however. If your little brother is shooting bottle rockets at the neighbor you probably want to put your videos on YouTube so that it can spread like wildfire. But, if you are trying to reach an audience of clients or prospects you may want to look at a company like Cantaloupe. The reason being is that Cantaloupe can help you tell your story in a more professional manner as well as help to build a video magazine that holds all of your related videos in one place.

Online video is obviously here to stay and there are definitely a lot of avenues to travel when moving into the online video sector. One important thing to keep in mind is how you want your end user to perceive you. The company the puts their corporate video next the little brother with the bottle rockets or in a clean professional location with all of your other related videos?

*Statistics reported by comScore Video Metrix.