Do-It-Yourself Video Marketing

You can always rent the Hollywood film crew later, once you dip your toe in the water. Until then, why not try something simple? Do some behind-the-scene video blog posts. Do a webcam interview with someone outstanding in your field, to help your customers out. Or just shoot a short video introduction to greet new people when they show up at your web site.

There are varied uses of video for your business-- surely one's right for you.

A lot of people think making a video should be left to the professionals, like cardiac defibrillation. They think it must be awfully hard, considering how much the people in Hollywood make. So they outsource it to some local hack they found on Craigslist and get a video no one even wants to watch.

In all honestly, making videos is not that hard-- so long as you don't try to do too much. Unfortunately, the ease with which you can cover a good interview with all kinds of crappy computer effects has turned lots of good video into crap. The key is to stick with some fundamentals: like using a good tripod, getting the sound right, and treating your audience with respect.

For instance, there is one thing and one thing only that determines the quality of your video image. It's not your camera or your resume: it's the light!

And beyond that, your personality coming through your video, and the story you tell, matter far far more than any gadget you can buy online.

If we were to work together, I'd likely have a half-dozen ideas that would work for your business. Barring that, let me suggest a few ways you can experiment with online video:

• Set up a video landing page and split-test it with a pure text landing page
  
• Make a video series on YouTube that shows your product or service on a road trip
  
• Use video testimonials to increase conversions
  
• Create a behind-the-scenes documentary to show what it's like inside your business
  
• Go for the ever-elusive "viral" video success enjoyed by Mentos & Diet Coke, among dozens of others
  
• Cement your place at the front of your market with a stream of self-produced content
  

The key to any video, though, is that video marketing creates a relationship with your prospects. That's its key power.