Friday, September 30, 2011
Webcam for Seniors! Learn a new video skill today.
Monday, August 29, 2011
What's in a startup brand?
I recently attended the GROW conference in Vancouver, Canada. It was a terrific full day session jam packed full of startup entrepreneurs and expert speakers sharing great ideas on how to grow your business, raise financing, build brand and succeed.
It was very inspiring to be in a room full of like-minded people. Founders like myself who were at the same stage of business, challenged with the same things.
One of the panel sessions was on brand. While some of the panel conversation was relevant, I was surprised that so much time was spent on the conventional ‘what is a brand and how do you build one?’ and less on how a brand is valued.
There are still some burning questions that I have as it relates to brand, and I have spent my career building brands. Yet, in this new world of tech startups, many of the conventional brand principles do not apply.
So here it is-- brand valuation— in first and second stage financing, how does brand factor into valuation and how does the Founders brand play into this?
When I asked the question to the panel, the concentrated on the current state of brand awareness. In my view there are really three factors to look at in early stage brands; 1) The Founder brand, 2) Early stage brand awareness (within category) and 3) Brand potential (the quality, current and future value of the brand assets and trademarks).
The brand is ultimately in the eye of the beholder and, therefore, its value is subjective. Steve Jobs is an interesting case in point with his personal brand value pegged at 15% of Apple’s market value. And this is not purely because of his legacy and accrued brilliance but is very much related to his operational focus in how we actively micromanaged every aspect of his business.
Where do you think the value lives in a startup brand?
Monday, July 11, 2011
Small Business, Big voice
Monday, July 4, 2011
Top 10 Scripting Tips
Most people know why they’re getting a video made, but many people freeze up because they don’t know what to say with their video.
Here are 10 tips on scripting your video.
1. Start with a paragraph that says who you are, and explains why you’re making your video: “My name is John Kingman. I’m a producer and studio manager for videoBIO. I believe script writing can be demystified, but it takes a top ten list to do it.”
2. Keep your script short: You’ll be tempted to include everything you can think of relating to your video topic, but what you really want to do is make it short and sweet. Write your script once, and then go through and mercilessly cut things out.
3. Write the way you talk: People often make the mistake of writing their script very formally, as if it were a presentation document. Then they start reading from it and stumbling around the words. It’s your voice, so use it when you write. Read what you write out loud to see how it actually sounds coming out.
4. Make broad points, but use detail to back them up: for example, if you’re talking about your past job experience you don’t want to give a chronologic synopsis of your entire life. Hit the big points, and go in for smaller details only when it really helps back up your broader point.
5. Imagine your audience: You’re going to be talking to a camera, but you need to picture who the people watching the final video are, and how they’d like to be talked to. You know your business well enough to figure out who your target audience is. Make sure you’re writing your script for them.
6. Spice it up: You’re not writing a text book here, so make sure to use some imagery and colorful language. You want to engage your audience with information, and to do that you need to make the information delivery interesting.
7. Include an appropriate quote, if possible. A great quote is always a nice way to drive a point home in language better written than we can pull off. Quotes also tell your audience the type of people you admire and look up to. But make sure that you’re quote fits the theme and mood of your script. As Gini Graham Scott said “… you can't fit a square peg in a round hole.”
8. Back up statements you make with statistics and facts: There’s nothing worse than making broad statements with no proof, especially when you’re trying to convince your audience to do business with you. Usually the easiest way to make a statement is through the statement of the statistic in the first place. The audience can piece together the rest.
9. Add a little humor: Adding a joke, or just being a little playful, let’s your audience know that you’re approachable. Certainly there are situations where that’s inappropriate (I’m looking at you, doctors) but for the most part it’s a good rule.
10. Your conclusion should summarize your beginning, and the points you made after: Whatever your opening statement was, this is the point where you justify it. “Script writing is hard, but it really doesn’t have to be. With a few simple tips, say 10 of them, you can be writing effective and compelling scripts in no time."
~ John Kingman
Monday, June 27, 2011
Top 5 Reasons to Add video to your B2B communication
How many people out there work for a company that is on the cusp of adding video, but cannot commit to taking the plunge? Often this hesitancy stems from a lack of consensus from the key decision makers, lack of awareness of what tools exist, or simply that they don’t see the need to bother amongst many other possibilities.
1. Enables you to conduct business with a personal touch
Whether you are working with a local small business or a multinational corporation there is one inescapable commonality with all business: you are doing business with people. Taking the time to create a video and send it as a follow-up rather than a regular email helps to keep you and your company top of mind. This is especially true if you are bidding on a contract or looking to make that initial sale with a business.
2. Shows that your business is innovative & on the cutting edge
3. Increase your visibility on the Web
4. Great Way to Demonstrate your Product/Services
If your business cannot meet with potential clients but you need to show them your latest widget or ground breaking doo-dad, video is a simple solution! It would be a good idea to hire a team of seasoned professionals to do this for you (ah-hem, videoBIO provides said services at an amazing price point!).
5. 7/10 People prefer watching video over reading text
To help your company take its first steps or adopt new methods to keep doing great things be sure to contact videoBIO at info@videobio.com or 416-840-7600
We look forward to helping you add video to your B2B communication strategy!
- Jermaine P.V. Bagnll
Jermaine is an Account Manager at videoBIO and heads up the social media. Don’t forget to follow videoBIO on twitter @videoBIO
Monday, June 20, 2011
How To: Make your videoBIO work HARDER
If you’re thinking of promoting your personal brand with video, you’re already steps ahead of the rest! You’ve recognized the value that video can offer in communicating your vision and increasing your reach. But there are a few additional considerations you can take to make your video work even harder for you!
· Make sure your message is clear and concise. Don’t bog down your audience with heavy details or confusing messages.
· Open your video with a strong statement or question that piques viewers’ interest. You only have 20 seconds or less to grab someone’s attention!
· Ask questions. Posing a question to the audience immediately engages them and heightens their connection to the content.
· Be yourself, and be natural. Viewers will be more apt to pay attention and relate if you are genuine and approachable.
· Leave the viewers wanting more, and then let them know how they can find out more. It is important to maintain a sense of intrigue, giving just enough information to whet the appetite and spark interest. Ensure that you offer an alternative means to continue the conversation by providing a website address, a social media page, or contact information.
Monday, June 13, 2011
How To Make the Best First Impression
Within the first few moments of meeting you, people have already begun to form their opinions about you. They’re analyzing your appearance, your demeanor, your body language, and any other cues you might be transmitting. This is equally true of your online presence. You need to send the right signals from the get-go in order to make a positive and lasting impression!
Whether you’re presenting communicating through video or in person, here are 5 things you can do today to ensure that you put your best foot forward:
1) Make eye contact
Maintaining eye contact tells others that you are interested in them, and shows that you have nothing to hide.
2) Be genuine and true to yourself
People can sense when you’re trying to be something you’re not. Rather than put on a mask, let the real you shine! After all, you’ve gotten yourself this far, why stop now?
3) Be confident
Having and expressing confidence in yourself tells the world that what you have to contribute is valid and worthwhile. You’ll see others drawn to you, really wanting to hear what you have to say. Just don’t let it go to your head! Over-confidence can turn people away just as fast!
4) Be present
Be fully engaged in whatever it is you are doing at this moment. Try not to think about the pile of “To-Do’s” you have waiting for your attention, or what your next move will be. Whether you’re meeting someone new or addressing your audience with video, being present will allow you to perform at your very best.
5) Smile!
The importance of a smile cannot be understated! When you smile, the world smiles back at you. It shows others that you are happy, and you want them to be happy also. This is one of the most powerful things you can do in your communications.
Stephanie Kittell, videoBIO Producer
Monday, June 6, 2011
Why Video, Why Now? 3 Tips to Make Video Work for You
In this day and age of flashy gizmos, amazing doodads, and countless apps it is becoming increasingly difficult to figure out what a business owner should use to market themselves and their business. Do you jump on twitter, signup for Facebook, or do you start up a blog? Marshall McLuhan once said that the medium is the message. Now that we have so many mediums at our disposal the question remains; what is your message? Although the world is becoming filled with photo and text based blogs and sites, a tried and true way of effectively getting your message across is through the video.
Once your business has committed to adopting video as a communication tool the next question to ask yourself is: “How do I get it seen?”
- Email: a very simple way of driving traffic to you video is posting it in your email signature. The most effective use of video in your email signature is a video that talks about you, your business, and why people should work with you.
- Vlog: Don’t be afraid to step up your blogging game by adding video. Take a few minutes to give your thoughts on your topic du jour then toss your embed code onto your blog, and voila! You have created a post that is engaging, shows off your knowledge, and gives the world of potential and existing clients a look into your personality.
- Social Media Tools: Harness your tools as a method of pushing out your videos. Once you have completed a new vlog entry let the world know that you have a new tidbit of knowledge to share. On twitter you have 140 characters to create a witty caption to drive traffic, on Facebook make sure your friends and “like”ers know what your up to, link it to your LinkedIn, etc… Although this seems like a tedious task it will prove highly rewarding when you look at your analytics and see that you have a growing legion of unique hits!
With all of these helpful hints in mind one question remains: how will you produce the videos to push out to the world? At videoBIO we have several types of video packages available ensuring that you will find the package that best suites your needs.
If you want a video that highlights you, your business, and why you’re amazing to work with, we can create a video that will co-exist well on your main website and in your email signature. Were you thinking of creating a series of short videos for your vlog? Excellent! videoBIO has recently launched a new product called LiveRecord that allows you to record short video messages that can be emailed, posted via embed code, or linked to videoBIO’s brand new videoPAGE; a stand alone mini biography page where you can provide links to your social media tools, have a video message to highlight yourself, and create a small write up about anything you wish.
In short, videoBIO is your one-stop shop to fulfilling your online video needs. Contact us today, let us know what you envision, and we'll connect you with best video products to fit your needs.
Jermaine
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Your Performance Isn't Bad
We’ve done a lot of videoBIOs over the last two years. The comment we get most often during a shoot with a client is “I’m doing terrible”. It’s funny because that’s rarely the case.
Most people come into the studio thinking that they know their business so well, their performance is going to come out smoothly and naturally the first time. That’s never the case. As much as you know your business, and for as often as you talk about it in person, once the camera is on it’s a different game.
But it doesn't have to be.
When the client gets settled into their position for the video we talk to them about what’s going to happen. Once we start recording their performance is usually what it should be, but without the visual cues a participant in a conversation would give them (nodding, eye contact, etc.), the client starts to worry that they’re not doing it right.
When you’re doing your videoBIO, even though you’re talking directly to the camera, try to keep in mind that the tone you’re looking for is conversational, like you’re talking to a peer or a prospective client. Try to imagine your end viewer instead of the camera. Let the producer or videographer’s voice stand in for this person, and keep focused on the idea that you’re talking to a person, not a camera.
If you can keep yourself from worrying too much about your performance, that lack of stress will help create the easy delivery you want in your videoBIO.
John
Monday, May 30, 2011
Twitter - more than a soapbox!
If you use Twitter more like a ONE-TO-ONE communication platform, you'll have more success with it. Think of it as telling your close friend something important to improve their life in some small way or to connect them with someone who can help them accomplish something. Every time you use Twitter to tell your followers that you "like the colour blue", you risk using them.
Ask yourself these important questions before you tweet:
1. Am I sharing useful information that can make a difference in some or all of my followers lives?
2. Is it what I want to say or what THEY want to hear... focusing on the latter builds a richer brand and more respect for you and your advice.
3. Does it have longevity? The answer doesn't always have to be yes... but it lives online and when it's archival information, it has more value for longer.
4. Is it relevant to your company or personal brand... is it what people signed up for?
5. When was the last time I tweeted? This one is tricky. If you tweet too much, people tend to ignore the majority of tweets due to their busy lives. If you tweet too little, you aren't top of mind. It's important that you find the right mix for your followers and only YOU can determine that.
Twitter is a great tool but if you abuse it or over use it, it can work against you. Only you can know what strategy works best for your brand and your followers so do take the time to think seriously about the Value Proposition for them. You'll be glad you did.
by Laura James, Producer at VideoBIO
Friday, May 27, 2011
Video keeps getting easier
Try it out at http://www.videobio.co/liverecord3 today.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
5 WAYS TO STRENGTHEN YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
In today’s ever-changing virtual landscape of social networking, information sharing, and communication, it is important to have a firm grasp on who you are and what you can offer to the world. You already have a personal brand, whether you are conscious of it or not. It is how people perceive you. The stronger your brand, the more you will stand out against the clutter of the web.
Here are 5 simple things that you can do today to strengthen your personal brand:
1. 1. State your value in one sentence.
It is important to create a one-liner that encapsulates who you are and offers a glimpse into the value you provide. Use this on business cards, in email signatures, on your social media profiles, and on your website if you have one. A well-written and concise one-liner will capture your audience’s attention.
2. 2. Create a personal pitch.
Your personal pitch expands on your one-liner value statement, and should convince people of your unique value in one minute or less. This is effective in face-to-face communication, and being prepared with a pitch will help you to network in any situation.
3. 3. Maintain your online profiles.
Make sure your online profiles on various social media sites represent you in the best light and be sure your online profiles are representative of how you want others to perceive you.
4. 4. Utilize social media to associate with the right people.
Be active with your social media sites and engaging regularly. Not only will you boost your online presence, you’ll also ensure that you are accessible to all the right people.
5. 5. Showcase your brand with video.
Text on a screen can only go so far, and photographs only tell half the story. Online video is an excellent way to manage your first impression, give your personal brand wings, engage your audience, and extend the reach and impact of your brand in a full communication.
-By Stephanie Kittell, videoBIO Producer
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The coveted online profile- build online visibility
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Social Video- where does it live in the marketing mix?
…and who is making the decisions? In a recent article published by the Business Insider-- The Top 20 Social CMO's Of The Fortune 100 http://t.co/vAKMYD3 we hear that Chief Marketing Offers (CMO’s) are doing more ‘do as I say, not as I do’, and need to get into the drivers seat when it comes to personally experimenting with social media and video if they are going to be credible in leading the charge as the shift to social media in the marketing plan gives new definition to the communication strategy. Often the purveyors of social media are the ones in the trenches experimenting and doing the work, not leading. This poses a new challenge to vendors selling strategic solutions and innovative applications into the c-suite.
2. Do you consider yourself an innovator and experimenter of new technology and do you want to stay ahead of the curve in the video revolution
3. Have you experimented with video (outside of your agency)
4. Do you want to create video content for a variety of uses? If so, how much (a progressive video content creator would be creating and sharing video daily as part of regular communications)
5. Do you envision empowering end users in your company with video tools allowing them to video message, create social video, self produce video content?
6. Is compliance with your brand and messages an important factor in managing and moderating video messages generated by your sales reps, employees etc.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
What does your package look like?
My eight year old daughter came down for breakfast this morning in an incredibly sophisticated layering and accessorized look that told a story about her eye for fashion. I told her she looked terrific and commented on all of the specific details—the layering of her two shirts, the cute belt, the leggings. She said to me “it is important to think about what you look like mommy!”. This is her 8 (just turned) year old view. Perhaps informed by people around her or from watching her parents head of to work in suits every day.
I recently interviewed someone who came into my office for the interview but left her A game at home. The way she presented herself distracted me from her otherwise stellar resume, chock full of experience. I wondered, if this was the way she showed up for an interview, where would things go from here? Could I put her in front of a client? Could she convincingly lead a team of people? Her presentation said something about her confidence in herself and ultimately my confidence (or lack thereof) in her. Oh, and I would have loved to have seen a video bio of her in advance of the interview-- perhaps she may have given more thought to her presentation in that then in person? Hmmmm.
Monday, March 28, 2011
The game changing tool for job seekers
Monday, March 21, 2011
5 Tips for Giving Your Best Performance on Video
For those of us who aren’t trained actors, or public speaking professionals, putting ourselves in front of the lens can seem like a somewhat daunting task. However, as video is quickly becoming the most effective communication tool out there, it is important to put those fears aside and allow yourself to shine!
Here are some tips to help put your mind at ease, and allow you to give your very best on-camera performance.
1) Know Who You’re Talking To.
Make sure you know your audience, who you’re trying to reach with your video. Imagine you’re speaking to them directly, rather than staring into the unresponsive lens of a camera. Have a natural conversation with your viewers in a way that’s appropriate to them.
2) Just Breathe.
Before you speak, take a deep breath, collect your thoughts and relax. Any time you start to feel frustrated or tongue-tied, just remember to breathe. A long, slow exhale will erase all negative tension.
3) Slow Down. Take Pause.
When most people are nervous, they have a tendency to speak too quickly. Try to slow down your pace and allow for natural pauses in between sentences or points. This gives your viewers time to reflect on and properly absorb everything you’ve said. This also gives you a moment to frame your next thought. And remember, when you finish your thought, maintain your eye contact (the camera, or the interviewer) and hold a moment’s pause before moving on.
4) Take the Pressure Off.
Remember, you are not speaking to a live audience. If you don’t say it right the first time, you can easily go back and do it over again. The beauty of video is that in the end viewers will have no idea how many takes it took you to get it right.
5) Dress For Success.
It is important to present yourself in a polished way that best represents your personal brand and your viewers’ expectations. It is also important to avoid wearing any clothing with busy patterns or reflective fabrics, as they can be very distracting. We want YOU to be the star, not your pinstripe jacket! Bright, solid colors are always a great choice. And when wearing jewelry, make sure it behaves. No noisy bangles, or jingly earrings.
If you are looking your best, you will feel that much more confident on camera! And the results will show!
Stephanie Kittell
videoBIO Producer