Why Every Professional & You Will Need to Master Video

 

On Monday March 25, 2019 the world changed.  3.02 million viewers watched as the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon made history when the entire show was filmed on a smartphone then broadcast for all to see.  The smartphone you hold in your hand today has the video camera capabilities that Hollywood and the major networks have had for the past two decades. 

The world is hooked on video.  Consider these selected current and emerging video trends compiled in 2020 as cited from more than 300 sources compiled by Samuel Fletcher for SupplyGem:

• Video will have an 83.1% penetration rate in the US in 2021.
• Mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year.
• 96% of people say they have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
• One-third of all global internet traffic is video and 17,000 hours of video travel through global IP networks every minute.
• Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text.
• 92% of users watching video on mobile will share it with others.
• The most watchable business videos are 1 to 2 minutes in length (IdeaRocket)

The old model was too complicated and too expensive. Let’s suppose that just three years ago you wanted to have a high quality short video created that could help your business or organization sell a new product or service. You’d have reached out to a marketing agency that specialized in video and they would have recommended a course of action that included these steps:

• Writing a script
• Selecting the on-air talent
• Revising and rehearsing the script
• Creating a set
• A video crew consisting of one to three videographers, a producer, a lighting specialist, and an assistant or two
• Setting up video equipment and lighting
• Day of videotaping “greenroom” preparation
• The actual videotaping
• Post-production
• Video editing and processing
• And finally, a video proof to review and approve.

The new smartphone model going forward.

Today’s smartphones possess cameras that rival anything found in broadcast TV, at least as far as the naked eye can see in videos posted on social media, websites, email marketing, and other likely places you’d want to have your organization’s videos appear. Consider these facts about business videos:

• 59% of executives say they would rather watch a video than read text. (Wordstream)
• 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool — up from 63% over the last year. (Hubspot)
• 6 out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television. (Google)
• 78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% view online videos every day. (HubSpot)
• A Facebook executive predicted that their platform will be all video and no text by 2021. (Quartz)
• YouTube is the second most popular website after Google. (Alexa)
• Users view more than 1 billion hours of video each day on YouTube. (YouTube)
• 59% of executives say they would rather watch a video than read text. (Wordstream)
• 75% of all video plays are on mobile devices. (eMarketer)
• 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. (HubSpot)
• People are 1.5 times more likely to watch video on their mobile phones. (Facebook)
• 92% of users watching video on mobile will share it with others. (Wordstream)

Top 10 business applications for video (seven help businesses sell more and recruit better):

Here’s what my research turned up (in no particular order):

• What we do videos (introducing company, organization, or institution)
• Problem/solution videos (how our products and services solve problems)
• Recruiting/job posting (the hiring manager explaining the job and how great it is to work there)
• Testimonials from happy customers (highly effective authentic stories)
• Limited time offer video with a call to action
• How something works video (tutorial)
• Engage with us videos (great for non-profits to tell their story, expand awareness, and fundraise)
• Marketing videos
• Customer service videos (answers to FAQs)
• Event videos (great for internal and external PR)

What are your biggest challenges to DIY videos?

It’s relatively simple to create your point-and-shoot smartphone video, especially with video tutorials available on YouTube and from expert video companies like Executive Leaders Video. Invest 30 minutes and you’ll be able to shoot a terrific video.

Here are the three areas you’re most likely to need help:

• Planning your video. Who is the audience for your video, business or personal? This is a key factor in your planning. What do you want your video to accomplish as a result of people viewing it? In other words, what is its purpose or call to action? What are the key points you want to make in your video? How little footage do you need? How few people do you need to video? Creating the right plan for your video will make your video shooting and production efficient and effective. Selecting the right video partner to help you plan your video can help you assure your video accomplishes all your purposes while resonating with its intended audiences.
• Editing your video. Editing will depend on both your audience and video purpose. For business purposes, almost all videos will need to be edited to enable each to accomplish its purposes and complement your branding. Professional editing will enable you to add or overlay secondary footage, captions, logos, animate images, and other techniques to tell a more compelling story. For personal videos, capturing footage on your bike trek through your local park can likely remain largely un-edited, while a professionally edited keepsake video of your 8-day vacation in the Grand Canyon can be something friends and family can enjoy for decades.
• Posting your video. Videos need to be posted where they will be found and easily accessed by your intended audience. Business videos may require a bit of assistance to post them to a website, set up a private business YouTube channel, use them in conjunction with marketing campaigns, and post on the right social media channels. Personal videos are relatively easy to post on social media such as Facebook or YouTube.

As part of my research for this article, I teamed up with Executive Leaders Video to produce my first business video which you can watch right here. After helping me plan my 2-minute video to tell the story of what I do, the video was shot on a smartphone and then edited by ELV. I was amazed at how inexpensive it was and how easy the ELV team made the entire process. I was able to post it myself on my LinkedIn and Facebook profiles and set up the YouTube channel where you’re viewing it. My webmaster posted it to the company website.

 

 

Bottom Line. Have you discovered and harnessed the power of a smartphone video for your business, organization, or institution? The smartphone is now perhaps the most effective business tools ever, and it is changing the way people create and view their videos.

I love working with people and organizations who want to improve their effectiveness! Here are several outstanding resources that can help you and your organization to go to the next level:

• Improving your (or your team’s) management and leadership skills: Leading Through People™
• Raising your (or your team’s) selling effectiveness: B2B Sales Essentials™
• Conducting a more effective job search: Get a Better Job Faster™