Online Video Editing | 12 Stars Media You Do Video

March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Have you ever used video content like the one below in your online marketing?

If you have, congratulations! That doesn’t mean you can stop reading though.

If you have not, well WHY HAVEN’T YOU?
 

 
I bet its one of these three; time, money or expertise. Sure anyone can take a flip cam, shoot footage and upload it to YouTube. Imagine though if you had time, money and expertise on how to make good, quality online videos? You would either get a raise or your organization would reap the benefits right?  Now you can stop worrying about online video editing basics and leave the dirty work to 12 Stars.

TIME

If you are just starting editing videos you understand how much time is involved. First you have to research what program you are going to use. If you have a Mac then something like iMovie or Final Cut Pro will probably be your program of choice. If you use a PC the choices are endless. Now that you have decided on which program to use you have to actually spend the time editing your video. Want to have cool BRoll footage included in your video? That takes lots of time to edit in. Want to have an audio track over your footage? Tick tock tick tock. It all starts adding up pretty quickly. Then you have to upload all of the content to YouTube. Say goodbye to at the very least an hour of your day if you really want to turn your video into something worth watching.

MONEY

Editing software can be pricey depending on your needs. You can expect to spend $100 at the low end and much much more depending on the level of sophistication you choose. Even after you purchase the software the soft costs still pile in. There is a learning curve with any new software. How long is it going to take you to learn the system? Once you learn the system how long is it going to take you until you are good enough to make the end product fit you or your organization’s expectations. Just like any content online people judge you based on its quality. A poorly done video does as much harm to a brand or organization as a poor website does. Figure out how much your time is worth, then figure out how long it takes you to edit a video to the standards you or your organization strive to attain in regards to online marketing. I can hear the dollar signs dinging in your head as I write this.

EXPERTISE

Even if you have the time and the money what kind of expertise do you have? Sure some programs can help you create lead ins and titles but they are most likely going to look like a bad Powerpoint slide. Even if you or your organization have digital properties such as a logo and custom branding do you know how to add those things to your video? Can you create transitions in your video? Once again I dont mean the old Powerpoint transitions, I mean good professional looking transitions? Add in learning how to cut in BRoll footage, audio etc and you can see how daunting producing good, quality online video can be.

THE YOU DO VIDEO SOLUTION

Obviously the intent of this blog wasn’t to deter you from using online video in your marketing. Far from it. My intent was to open your eyes as to how much time, money and expertise it takes to create online video content. There is an easier way. The 12 Stars Media You Do Video program. All you do is shoot the footage and upload it via an easy online form. The 12 Stars team does the rest. You save time which in turn saves you money. Their expertise makes your online video content shine and helps attract new customers, inform current customers, create good PR or whatever else it is that you hope to attain by using online video marketing.

I have gone the route of do it yourself videos. I dont plan on going back. I started a new position as the Digital Communication and Marketing Manager at Flex-Pac in February. One of the first things I did was sign up for the You Do Video program. Here is the first video 12 Stars created from footage I shot
 

 
Wouldn’t your time be better spent doing your job instead of editing video? Check out the You Do Video link under Services above to find out how you can get started with You Do Video today.

Filed Under: Blog, Great Ways to Use Online Video, You Do Video Clients Tagged With: , ,

How to add personality into your business and close sales using web video

November 9, 2010 By 2 Comments

Internet marketing and social media is all the rage these days, and rightfully so. One of the big to do’s you always hear about is to add you or your companies personality into your online marketing and communications. Don’t be a robot. Don’t just push a product or service. In short, use common sense and interact with your clients and prospects.

At Hare Chevrolet we have always been a big fan of this approach in regards to our online presence. It breaks down barriers and allows prospects to see who we are and our culture, something that was previously only seen and experienced by customers on site. In trying to stay ahead of the pack, and pull away from the car dealership stereotypes, we have been using real simple video.

Since you are at this blog and website you probably already know the easiest way to do what I described above is by using video marketing. If you didnt know that, now you do.

Online video marketing allows your personality to shine through. Have a fun, loose atmosphere within your business that you want to promote? Make your videos show it. Have a serious product or business that demands a serious tone? Portray that in your videos. Website copy and pictures can only tell so much of your story.

You are probably saying to yourself, “I get it but how do I get my staff to use web video?”

Force them to.

At Hare we had been using Flip cameras to shoot video walk arounds of a vehicle that someone showed interest in. We also used Flip cameras to film more generic informational videos about our vehicles. The staff members who used this practice saw increased gains and sales directly from the videos. In trying to get more of the staff on board with this practice we finally decided to make it mandatory. Every time someone searches for used cars for sale online and they find us the sales person assigned to the lead takes one of our Flip cameras, does a quick video walk around and emails it to the prospect. Its mandatory.

Here is an example from our sales person Chris Parker;

Its personalized. It shows off Chris and his personality to his prospect. It shows that he cares about providing insight and consultation, not just selling a product. It isnt scripted, a practice Rocky lamented about so wonderfully in this recent video marketing blog. It also sets Hare apart. While we take numerous pictures of each vehicle and create a YouTube video from them, these personalized flips really set us apart and provide a service to the customer.

Make your staff use this technique.

If you arent a boss or dont run your own business you can still use this. What’s stopping you from hiring a video marketing firm like 12 Stars Media and getting on their Flip video program? They will show you how to use a Flip camera, custom design your own Flip and edit what you shoot all for a very affordable price (trust me, we have hired them before) If you are an individual in sales I promise you web video done in this fashion will make you stand out from the pack and create more sales.

Get Flipping and start integrating your personality into real simple video online, I’m making it mandatory!

Filed Under: Blog, Great Ways to Use Online Video, Hare Chevrolet, Indianapolis Video Production

How to Attract New Business & Patriots Fans with YouTube

July 30, 2010 By 2 Comments

2010 Indianapolis 500 Military Parade LapYou hear it all the time these days. Use this or that online tool and you will generate new business. Who doesnt want new business? Who doesn’t want new business that costs relatively nothing to obtain.

YouTube, and video in general, is the new next frontier online. Its kind of funny that YouTube is the new hot topic of online marketers seeing as its considered the second largest search engine nowadays. While many consumers regularly use YouTube to search for anything and everything, not many businesses leverage the service. And by leverage I mean properly tagging and describing your videos to help generate leads and business. Sure you can have a bunch of videos on a YouTube channel but do your videos get viewed and generate conversions? Here is a great story on one such conversion.

I had the pleasure and honor of driving military personnel around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to the 2010 running of the Indianapolis 500. Hare Chevrolet had 3 new Chevy Silverado Indianapolis 500 edition trucks participating in the military parade lap and I got to drive one of the vehicles. It wasnt by accident that I was chosen. It wasnt even due to some sales contest that most companies run to award spots at events like this. I was chosen so I could chronicle the event on video. Here is the video I shot and the link if video won’t play.

Notice a few things about the video? It was shot with a Flip video camera. No big production. No fancy camera. Just a video camera the size of a cell phone. This helps your video feel real, not like some staged shoot with scripts and fancy lighting. Notice the title of the video. It isnt titled “My drive around the Speedway” “I drove on the yard of bricks!” or my favorite “vid032.mpg” The title has wording that allowed the video to show up easier when people typed in certain search phrases. You may be saying to yourself, Chris Ive heard all of this before what about the cool conversion story.

A few weeks back Hare Chevrolet salesman Mike Tallman stopped me and asked if I still had pictures from the military parade lap before the 500. I had taken pictures before the actual lap and posted them to our Facebook page. He stated he had a guy online who was interested in purchasing the vehicle and wanted all of the pictures we had chronicling the trucks trip around the speedway so he could make a display with them. I put the pictures on a thumb drive and set them on Mike’s desk in anticipation of his customers arrival.

I saw Mike later in the day and told him I had also uploaded the YouTube video of theNew Chevrolet Silverado Indiana parade lap to the thumb drive for his customer to keep. Mike told me thanks but the video wasnt needed as his customer already saw the video on YouTube. Mike told me his customer was from New Hampshire, had seen my video on YouTube and decided he had to have one of the trucks that were driven during the parade lap. Re-read that last sentence. A man from New Hampshire saw a 5 minute video online and made up his mind to purchase a new Chevrolet Silverado from us because of it. A Ford truck driving, New England Patriots loving, YouTube searching man from New Hampshire drove 15 hours and around 1,000 miles to Indianapolis to buy the truck. You can read his review on the Hare Chevrolet blog.

Here are a few reminders on why and how in regards to online video.

—Keep it short! This 5 minute video was the longest I have ever posted. The scene was too inspiring to not keep the camera rolling. Keep your videos under 2 minutes.

—Keep it real! No not like those old Dave Chappelle skits. Use a Flip video camera. Rocky Walls with 12 Stars Media can set you up with a great custom branded Flip camera that comes with a monthly editing package for a nominal fee. You need to check them out for your online video needs.

—Tag your video properly! Do (or pay someone) to do some keyword research, then tag and describe your videos with them. YouTube is the second biggest search engine on the internet, treat it as such and you will be rewarded. SEO is practiced by numerous people on their sites but not their videos.

—Leverage your opportunities! This isnt about video as much as online marketing in general. Use your unique opportunities or experiences to tell a story, not just to brag to friends. Stories sell widgets and selling widgets makes you money. Sell your widgets with the best medium to tell stories, video.

Filed Under: Blog