Continuing my “web video focus” on the seven types of online video marketing…

1. Introductions

2. Presentations

3. Invitations: Recently I received an invitation in the mail to attend a charitable event. The invite was simple enough — date, time, location, brief mention of the reason for the event… but after reading it I was left feeling a bit puzzled regarding what the particular event was about, let alone why I should attend.

As business folks (and especially non-profits) we all periodically send out invitations to events, open houses, dinners, speaking engagements, etc. My question is, does the recipient really know why they should attend, or what to expect when they do? Do these invitations do much to inspire or excite people about the event?

In my view, it’s not really a problem of the message so much as it is the fact that the invitations are limited to one medium — print. Don’t get me wrong, I like printed invites. They’re handy. You can hang them on the fridge, or pin them on the bulletin board. Print is limited, however, to a very finite amount of space, so the message has to be very concise.

This is where I believe video can augment printed invitations, and in many cases can replace them altogether. Video invitations can do the same things paper can (who, what, when, where, why) but also improves the message in several ways:

1. Personal - Video invitations can include a very personal message from key people within the organization. Whether it be lighthearted or serious (depending on the spirit of the event) video helps the recipient make an emotional connection to the event.
2. Inspirational - Especially in regards to charity events, people want to be inspired to attend and inspired to open their checkbooks. So much more can be done to inspire attendance by using video.
3. Excitement - It’s difficult to get excited about an event by reading about it… but to visualize it — that can generate some excitement. I think you probably see my point by now… but you can show much more visually with video than with print.

Sound like it makes some sense? I’d be interested to know what you think, and would be thrilled to hear from someone who has tried it!

Next time: Testimonials

This week’s “web video focus” is on the seven types of online video marketing. I’m dishing them out, one per post, over the next week or so. Hopefully this will help you see the potential of video as an online marketing conversation tool.

1. Introductions: Online video introductions are a powerful tool to help you introduce yourself to your customers. People like to do business with people they know and trust… what better way to kick start a new relationship than to tell people who you are and show them what makes you special!

A video introduction should be short. I would recommend keeping it around one minute — two minutes max! People won’t commit to viewing too much at once, so keep it as short as you can while still being effective. (See snack-sized messages).

Some planning up front would be very beneficial! Think about what your customers want to know about you — what they need to know to be able to trust you, how do you do things differently that makes you better than your competition, where they can learn more… etc. It’s going to be a challenge to keep it short, so if it looks like it’s going to get too long than you should cut out the things that you can talk about later in follow-up videos. You may want to include some shots of your product, your services, the people you work with, or the activities in the “back room” that people don’t usually get to see.

Also, I cannot stress enough, your introduction video should represent you well. It’s bound to be the first video people see when they arrive at your site, so you need to make sure it’s polished. You may want to consider hiring a professional to help you. (I’ll avoid any shameless plugs. *wink*wink*) Seriously, you want your introduction to reflect very well on you and your business. If your image is professional, make sure your video reflects that. If your business is fun or edgy, you should try to capture that in your video as well

So, introduce yourself, show what makes you special, keep it short, and make sure it represents you well!!

Next time: presentations