Tag Archives: slide shows

Three Deadly Mistakes Videos Make When Selling A Service

I’m in marketing and advertising. I’ve been doing it for the past thirty years. And I’m a sucker for a good headline.

Yeah, I’ll click on your blog post and skim it to see if there’s any new information. I’ve kept track, and actually only 8% of the time will I find something new, compelling or share-worthy. And when there’s a great headline that announces “More To Come – just click on the video”… my itchy trigger finger goes to work on my mouse. Unfortunately, I usually soon run into a roadblock or two.

It’s always a video for someone selling a service. They’re usually so passionate about what they do (and for the most part, that’s a good thing) but in reaching for that compelling factor and trying to build suspense for the point where they turn you from a viewer into a customer, you’re going to find one or all of the following deadly mistakes:

1. Poor Audio – What part of **Don’t stand across the room and think your camera’s microphone is sufficient** do they not understand? It’s hard to listen to someone trying to convince me of something when they’re talking from the bottom of an echo-y barrel.

2. Too Long – After I click on a video, I watch the timeline to see how long the thing is. THIRTY MINUTES?? Nope, I won’t be staying around. Why not break it up into manageable chunks? With three or four videos, you can break them into chapters and provide a description of each chapter. That will help not only your viewers decide what to watch, but also your search engine optimization for those videos.

3. Death By Powerpoint – I’m watching a video. I don’t necessarily want to read. Honestly – is there really anything THAT compelling on those slides? Why not strip the audio out of it, make it downloadable to someone’s iPod, and offer to send them a link to the slides. Hey! And now you’ve harvested email addresses for future marketing!

Marketers and business coaches are especially guilty of these. Watch for these deadly mistakes next time you click on a How To or an explainer video. And if you find anything like that on your own site, give me a shout and I’ll show you hot to fix it.

–that’s a wrap.

Making Memories – Preserving Memories

There are no treasured possessions greater than memories. Holidays always underscore that fact. When I was growing up, or when I was going home for the holidays, I had the most fun digging thru the family pictures. There was always a point during the holidays when Dad would set up the slide projector and focus it on a nearby wall.

We had a deep, wide cardboard box filled with other boxes – narrow plastic ones holding the 35mm slides, and each one labeled with its contents. There was a box for my 10th birthday. One for my sister’s wedding, Two or three containing the remnants of a Mexican vacation. One that attempted to document our family’s move cross country.

The lamp on the projector was hot, and bits of dust bunny flotsam hung in the stream of light emanating from the lens. For awhile we laughed and shared stories about what was going on in each of the pictures.

Then, the trips home became fewer. I never knew time to move so fast in my life. Mom passed first, in 1996. Dad in 2005. My sister had the big box buried in the back of a closet.

This year, I had her send me the box so I could start making digital copies of all those old slides. I was surprised at which slides were now fading and which ones still looked pretty good. But with this great software, I was able to make many of them brighter and sharper than ever.

Now, my sister and I don’t have to wait for those too few times when we get together to look at those old photos. There’s no more hot, musty slide projector – we can view them on our computer, or laptop, even our TV if we choose.

Do you have a big box of slides like that somewhere? Go take a look. Many of them may be starting to fade. If you’d like to preserve and pass on those memories, I can scan them to DVD for you. Each member of your family can have their own copy. Let me know if you’d like more information.

–That’s a wrap.

4 Times When Video Is A Bad Idea

Videos for SEO, Videos for product demonstrations, and for customer testimonials. Videos to show your expertise to prospects or build credibility. They’re all great ideas. They’re ideas that can help and grow your business.

Unfortunately, there are times when using videos can be a bad idea. This all falls under the heading of “read your contract”. Here are some real world examples. I can’t believe there are companies who actually do this, but there are.

1. The video is not created specifically for your business. Just like there are templates for websites, a producer can create a video template. This usually has a minimum amount of your information. It’s built around pretty graphics, or generic pictures.
2. You don’t own your video. Can you imagine that? Anything you planned, pictures you took, ideas you might have had – they can all vanish, because you signed a leasing agreement rather than a sales agreement. Yes, it actually happens. And if you don’t pay for another round, they’ll pull your video.
3. You do all the work, and they get paid. I know of companies who want their clients to shoot the video footage, and then send them the files so they can edit. Or they want you to write the script. I mean, if you’re paying for professionals, shouldn’t you get professionals who can give you their expertise?
4. You have no control over the final product. “Double check your work carefully”, one video contract says, “If we have to make any changes after you sign off, we will charge you.” Really?? Even in a restaurant, if you don’t like the meal, they’ll make it for you again. What’s wrong with this picture?

There are things about technology and marketing that scare some folks. But if you’re making an investment in a professional looking website, ask questions, and make sure that it’s going to be more than an online brochure. Engage your customers and prospects with compelling content. You’ll find that it starts paying for itself quickly. And it pays over and over.

— That’s a wrap.

Bad Video ; Empty Promises

I’ve probably blogged about this before, but everytime I see one of these sites, I just want to erect a barricade around it.  Crime Scene Tape if you will.

It’s those sites who tell you how important video is to your website (it is) and then proceed to tell you that they can put one together for you using stock photos and a voiceover. (they can, but it won’t do you any good)

To make matters worse, THEIR websites usually have the well-placed red text that screams “SIGN UP NOW!!” or “LIMITED TIME OFFER!!”  They do this for the same reason Cosmopolitan writes the kinds of headlines it does for its magazine: It’s An Impulse Item.

If you own a small business, since when is your marketing plan an impulse item?

Yes, you can find some very nice looking stock photos, then add text overlays and pretty music, and you have a nice BORING video.

Where does it connect with your customers, your prospects? Where does it engage that audience of people who are looking for exactly what you do?

There are companies that will promise you thousands of hits on your website if you will just buy their e-book or sign up for their monthly program.  Some of these same companies promise you thousands of Twitter followers if you will just pay them “x” number of dollars.

But listen to me: You don’t want thousands of hits to your website. The only ones you want are the ones that will BUY from you. Those are the ones who are already searching for you. They may know that they want the product that you sell, but maybe there are different features. Help them decide. Do THAT in a video that stars you.

Ask people to watch a video with only words spinning and scrolling, and to me, that’s tantamount to the web pages of old with their blinking text and spinning animated gifs.

And it doesn’t tell me who you are.

I want to buy from you. I want to do business with you. I want to feel like I already know you.  That’s what your prospects are saying.  How will you answer them?

A slide show doesn’t cut it.

–That’s a wrap.