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Convincing Your Customers to Give Video Testimonials

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No doubt, video testimonials are powerful, but how do you convince your customers to give them? After all,shooting a video is more intimidating and time consuming than writing a few sentences of praise. Below are a few ideas that can help.

  1. Understand the objections your customers may have. Spend time identifying common objections customers may have to giving a video testimonial. There are many ways to do this including surveys and polls, brainstorming, and informal focus groups.
  2. Come up with solutions to those objections. Once you’ve identified the most likely objections, come up with solutions. For example, a customer may not mind giving saying a few words on camera, but may worry about taking a day off work to travel to a studio. A solution to this is to shoot the video testimonial at the customer’s office or home. Another customer may be worried about stuttering or not knowing what to say once the camera is rolling. A solution could involve multiple takes and preparing a script in advance.
  3. Make video testimonials easy. Depending on your business and clientele, you may want to keep a small video camera with you at all times and offer to record the testimonial on the spot. For example, if you own a mobile dog grooming operation, you could record the video after the dog is groomed. Imagine how lovely it would be to have the customer holding a freshly clipped poodle as she raves about your service. Another easy option is to allow customers to upload their own video testimonials via your website. The downside to this is that you have less control over the production values of the finished video. If you conduct seminars, workshops, or classes, set up a video testimonial shooting booth in a quiet area and let participants know about it. At the end of the session, hold a video testimonial shoot.
  4. Ask at the right time. The best time to ask is when customers are grateful for your product or service. At this point, they want to help you because you have helped them. Ideally, you’ll ask before the novelty has worn off. Sure, they’re still happy, but they may not be as motivated to give a video testimonial.
  5. Offer an incentive. Most satisfied customers are happy to spread the word on their own. However, because video can intimidate some, a small incentive could nudge those who are nervous about the process. Be careful though because you’ll want to avoid any situation where you might have to label the testimonial as a “paid endorsement.” Think of small items that serve as gestures of appreciation such as a logo coffee mug or keychain. Regardless of whether or not you offer an incentive, make sure to thank your customer for helping you or considering your request.

By understanding common objections, offering solutions, making it easy, asking at the right time, and thanking the customer, you’ll be on the right track for convincing your customers to give video testimonials.

Web Video Scriptwriting Tips

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You’ve been tasked with writing the script for your company’s Web video – now what? As you stare at the blank page in front of you, you may feel intimidated especially if you’ve never written a script before. At this point, don’t worry about the finished product; take small steps instead. As with any project that requires extensive writing,scriptwriting requires brainstorming, outlining, writing, and refining.

Brainstorming Ideas for the Web Video Script

Whether you’re creating a marketing video, product tutorial, or training video, nothing happens until you have an idea or theme. Plan a brainstorming session and generate as many ideas as possible. Let your creative energy guide you and don’t be afraid to get a little silly. Use a white board or a large piece of paper and write down all ideas. Your ideas will likely evolve as you go. Ultimately, one idea will emerge as the clear choice.

Outlining the Web Video Script

Once you’ve found the perfect idea for your Web video, it’s time to start formulating it. Like any story, your online video will need a beginning, middle, and end. Use an outline to plot your plan. You don’t need to go into great detail here; simply organize the key points you want to address and estimate each section’s approximate running time.

Web Video Scriptwriting

Using your outline as a guide, it’s now time to start writing the script. Use a simple two column format with the left column designated for video and the right column for audio. For example:

Video Audio
Wide shot of company headquarters Opening music
The CEO inspects assembly line NARRATOR: At XYZ Corporation, everyone from the factory worker to the CEO is involved in customer service.

This script format is useful throughout the production. Not only does it serve as a guide during shooting, it helps the editor during editing. You can also use storyboards as a visual aid. As you write, keep the Web video’s total running time in mind. For example, if your final Web video is to be no longer than three minutes, you’ll need to pace the script as you write.

Refining the Script

Few writing projects are complete after the first draft. Go through the script and edit it. While you’ll want to correct any spelling and grammar errors, you’ll also want to go through the script with an eye on organization. Does the order of your key points make sense? Do you need any transitions? Does the script have any redundant areas? Is the script too long or too short? Does the script have a strong call to action? Does it address everything it promised to cover in its introduction?

It may take a few rounds of revisions before your Web video script is ready. By taking the time to brainstorm and outline the project before writing the script, you should have a workable first draft requiring only minor revisions.

Behind the Scenes of Video Production: The Three Stages of Production

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Like most business processes, video production is made up of several distinct stages. The three stages of video production are: pre-production, production, and post-production. Breaking video production down into these stages allows the production team to plan, produce, and polish the video. As with any project, skimping on one area can adversely affect the final product. Here’s a quick look at each of these important video production stages.

Pre-Production

Consider pre-production the planning phase. This is the time where the producers and directors create their video production plan, draft a budget, obtain funding, commission a script, cast actors and actresses, scout and line up locations, acquire costumes and props, design, set up and light the set, and create the shooting schedule. Essentially, anything that needs to be coordinated before shooting begins occurs during pre-production. In fact, even some post-production tasks may be handled during pre-production such as hiring an editor or booking editing time in advance.

If you’re a business owner planning a Web video, your input will be needed throughout the pre-production phase. The director will likely consult with you extensively about your target audience, goals and objectives, message, and more.

Video Production

After extensive planning, the video production will ultimately move out of pre-production into production. Think of this phase of the project as the “execution” stage. This is the time where it all comes together: The actors deliver their lines in front of cameras. Having carefully planned every little detail, the production should go smoothly though a few minor setbacks (such as a microphone not working) aren’t unusual. Professional video production companies expect these mishaps and plan for them. For example, during production, a sound engineer will constantly monitor sound levels from each microphone and be prepared to promptly replace any malfunctioning audio equipment.

Production involves an entire crew complete with makeup artists, camera operators, sound engineers, lighting technicians, control room personnel, the floor director, the director, and various assistants. These professionals are dedicated to helping the talent perform to their best abilities and capturing those performances to the highest standards.

Post-Production

At the end of shooting, you’ll likely hear the director tell the crew, “That’s a wrap.” From there, the crew will begin breaking down the set and putting their equipment away. While the performance has been captured in video form, the work isn’t done yet. It’s time for post-production to begin. For the most part, post-production involves editing the raw footage into a polished video ready to be shown to the masses. Graphics, special effects, music, and voiceovers typically take place during post-production editing though some effects may be generated during production in the control room. After the video has been edited and approved, copies will be made and distributed and the video production process finalized.

The next time you consider making a business or marketing video, pay attention to each of these important stages of video production and commit to doing your part in making each stage go as smoothly as possible. You’ll be glad you did!

What Video Quality Says About Your Product, Service, and Brand

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You’ve spent years carefully developing your product and your image. Your product is perfect, the marketing materials are brilliant, the website is gorgeous, but your marketing video looks like you handed your forklift driver a Flip camera and set him loose. While your forklift driver may be handy with a video camera and have a creative streak, communicating a quality image with your potential customers requires as much care as your product’s development.

Video production values speak volumes about your product, service, and brand. Shaky camera work, boring segments, inaudible audio, and other undesirable factors relay a not-so-subtle message to your viewers. It’s a message about quality and since the quality is poor, it’s a message that says that you don’t care about quality.

Is that the message you want to send to your customers?

Unfortunately, in the digital age of YouTube and viral online videos, production values have taken a back seat to the immediate gratification of a few laughs. This doesn’t mean that poor quality videos have become a viable replacement for marketing videos. Video production values matter as much now as they ever did. Consumers are willing to watch amateur videos if the payoff is good enough. However, today’s television viewers are used to Hollywood effects, high definition video, crisp soundtracks, and realistic, fast-paced dialogue. If you’re going to develop a marketing video lacking a well-framed, crystal clear image and audible, easy-to-understand dialogue, your marketing message will be drowned out by the message the video screams out about quality.

Video Production Values – What are they?

Just as your company newsletter conforms to a set of predefined guidelines, so too do marketing videos. With your newsletter, you expect an attractive layout, a nice use of white space, well written and error-free text, and interesting content. You wouldn’t tolerate blank columns or pages, blurry photos, smudged ink, or ripped pages. With a video production, you expect a properly framed shot, clear focus, clear audio, attractive talent, and interesting content. You wouldn’t tolerate blurry images, a lack of audio, shaky cameras, unlit subjects, or “dead air.”

There’s more involved to video production values than these examples. For example, the quality of the camera, lighting, stage direction, set, editing, and other factors all work together to create a video with strong production values.

A marketing video with strong production values actually downplays those values because they’re expected while one with weak production values draws attention to itself. If you find yourself struggling to see a product or image, straining to hear, or simply bored out of your mind while the onscreen talent babbles nonsense, you can bet that video needs work. If you find yourself questioning the quality or credibility of a product, service, brand, or company, the marketing video likely lacks one or more production values.

Excellent video quality is a must; it shows you value quality. A lack of it shows the opposite. What do you think? Share your thoughts below.

The Benefits of Using Actors and Actresses in Web Videos

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Does the thought of appearing in your website’s online video give you stage fright? While you may have decided to launch a Web video, you may not have come to terms with the thought of appearing onscreen. Fortunately, you may not need to! Instead of appearing in your own online video, consider usingactors and actresses.

Online Actors and Actresses Give You Greater Control over Your Image

One of the most immediate benefits of hiring an actor or actress is that doing so gives you greater control over the image you project. For example, if you’re a middle aged man running a company that caters to teenage girls, hiring a young actress to appear in your Web video could make much more sense than appearing yourself. Similarly, if you’re a twenty-something entrepreneur selling geriatric products to an older demographic, hiring a more mature actor or actress could be the right move. When considering who should appear in your Web video, think about your audience and the type of spokesperson that would lend the most credibility to your brand.

Online Actors and Actresses are Comfortable in Front of Cameras

Because actors and actresses are professionals, they tend to be extremely comfortable in front of cameras. This comfort level leads to several benefits: a more polished production, fewer mistakes, and faster production and post-production processes. Not only will your finished Web video look better with professional actors and actresses involved, the actual shooting and editing could go much smoother as well. For example, a well prepared actress requires fewer “takes” to deliver the message. Fewer takes translates into more efficient use of studio time and less time in the editing room piecing the final video together.

Online Actors and Actresses Allow You to Take Your Ideas Virtually Anywhere

Actors and actresses play roles – it’s what they do. Because of this, you can fill your Web video with virtually anyone from doctors and lawyers to cheerleaders and fairy godmothers. No matter what you’re imagining for your Web video, hiring professional actors and actresses to play the roles can bring your ideas to life.

If you’re suffering from stage fright at the thought of appearing in your company’s Web video, take a deep breath and consider the possibilities. Appearing in your own online video may not be the best choice. Many actors and actresses specialize in Web video and can deliver several important benefits. Not only can you avoid the stress, you can project the image you want to project, produce a polished Web video with fewer takes, and bring your ideas to life!

Behind the Scenes of Video Production: The Green Screen

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If you’re planning on having a video production company produce a short Web video for your website, be prepared for a flurry of behind-the-scenes activity. After all, there’s much more involved than lights, camera, and action. When you arrive at the studio, you may be surprised at the lack of a set. In its place, you may see a gaudy green screen.

What Video Green Screens Do

The green screen may be bright and unattractive, but it serves an important function. This green color can effectively be removed from the video and replaced with other images. For example, when you watch a television weather reporter standing in front of weather maps and radar images, the weather reporter is actually standing in front of a green screen. In the television control room, a technician uses a switcher equipped with what’s known as “chroma key” technology to replace the green with a computer generated image. If you’ve ever watched the Suze Orman Show on television, her entire set is chroma key green and computer generated.

Why Chromo Key Green?

Theoretically, you could use chroma key technology with other colors. However chroma key green and chroma key blue are the most popular. These garish colors aren’t commonly used in clothing and props, making them a good choice. Remember, the technology finds all instances of the selected color whether the color is painted on the set or worn as clothing. If the onscreen talent were to wear a chroma key green necktie, that necktie would be replaced with the video intended to appear on the screen behind the talent.

The Green Screen and Online Video

While green screens are commonly used in broadcasting, they’re also used for Web video. If you want a unique background or a polished “broadcast-like” look, shooting your Web video in front of a green screen and replacing the green background with a computer generated or b-roll video background can accomplish that.

Another use for chromo key in the Web video realm involves virtual spokespeople who are superimposed over the actual website. In this case, the chroma key technology doesn’t replace the green background with a new image; it removes the background completely. With a transparent background, only the actor or actress appears. This allows for frameless video overlays and creates the illusion of the actor being a part of the website itself.

When you head to the studio for your next video shoot, don’t be surprised if you’re placed in front of an ugly green screen. If you’re curious, ask the director to show you the composite picture before or after the shoot and enjoy your time behind the scenes!

Overcoming Short Attention Spans with Web Video

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Though Web video has become extremely popular, there are still many potential viewers who choose not to watch your videos. Not only do you have people hesitant to commit to watching a video online, those that do may have short attention spans. So, how do you convince viewers to watch your video and how to you keep them watching?

The reason many people hesitate to click a Web video’s play button is because they simply lack the time. Web surfers are accustomed to being able to quickly skim text to see if an article is relevant to them before committing to reading the article in depth. With Web videos, it’s harder to skim. If viewers perceive a large time commitment just to see if the video is worth watching, they may opt not to watch in the first place.

To overcome this initial objection, it’s important to make the following crystal clear:

  • What’s covered in the video
  • How the viewer will benefit from watching it
  • The Web video’s length

These three key points let viewers know if the video is relevant to them. Outlining the video’s content is a substitute for the skimming that many visitors need. By listing at least one benefit, you’re giving your viewers a compelling reason to click the play button. Telling viewers the time commitment lets them know just how long it will take to receive the information – and the benefits.

However, while these steps will help attract hesitant viewers, they won’t completely solve the problem of short attention spans. You can have viewers that want the information you’re delivering and completely willing to invest the time to watch the video, but if you don’t quickly capture their attention and then keep it, you could quickly lose them. People are simply too busy and pulled in too many different directions to put up with Web videos that do not engage them.

Remember when television shows and movies used to have long, creative title sequences? Think of the opening sequence of M*A*S*H as an example. The same opening song played each week while the same montage of helicopters and characters filled the screen. Each week, this opening sequence set the stage, introduced the characters, and got viewers in the mood for the story to come. Today, few television shows and movies have long opening sequences. Now, it’s not uncommon for the show to begin immediately with a brief, 10-second title sequence. Why the change? Attention spans.

What does this mean for your Web video? It means to forget the long introductions. It means get to the meat of the material quickly. It means you have to get the viewer’s attention in the first few seconds. So, forget the long fade up from black to a series of dissolving titles. Forget the “In this video we will tell you about. . .” monologue. If you can set expectations before viewers press the play button and then get your video off to an engaging start immediately after, you will have overcome the first two of many short attention span obstacles.

Improving Video Search Results

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In earlier blog posts, we talked about how your site’s videos can enhance your search engine efforts. For example, a page embedded with optimized video could be listed in the results pages twice – once for text and once for video. As more sites integrate video, ranking well in the video search results isn’t as easy as it used to be. After all, more competition means there’s less room at the top. To combat this, you’ll need to adopt some stronger strategies to help your video rank well in the search engine results pages.

Continue Using Standard Video Optimization Techniques

Continue using video optimization techniques such as using keywords in the video’s title and meta tags. This is standard practice and easy to do. By incorporating your keywords into your embedded video files, you are also telling the search engines what the video is about.

Start Using Traditional SEO Techniques to Promote Your Video

You’re likely familiar with the power of anchor text and incoming links. In fact, you may already be optimizing your website by linking to it from other sites. Link building using keyword-rich anchor text is one of the best ways to get a page ranked for the given keyword phrase. If you want your video to rank well in the video search results, start building links to it.

For example, if you’re already writing and submitting articles to article directories, consider launching an article marketing campaign around your video. Some article directories allow you to include two different links in the resource box. Use one of those links to link to your video, making sure to use keyword rich anchor text so that the search engines are crystal clear on what your Web video is all about.

Continue Developing Professional Web Videos

Online video is popular for a reason – it’s far more visual than text. As the mobile Web grows and 3G and 4G technologies become more widely adopted, Web video is going to become even more important to your site than it already is. What if you could add just two short videos to your site a month? This time next year, you would have 24 Web videos working their way into the video search results pages. You’d also have 24 Web videos engaging, converting, and nurturing your prospects.

Developing and optimizing Web video is becoming more important than ever. Investing in professional video production and creating an online video marketing strategy should be on your radar if it’s not already.

Have we missed any tips for boosting video search results? Share your tips in the comments section below.

Short and Sweet: The Power of Short Web Videos

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Web videos can be as long or as short as you need them to be. However, before you take on a two hour documentary detailing your product or service in depth, consider the advantages of shorter Web videos.

Web Video Usability

First, consider your audience: Web surfers. People watch Web videos differently than they watch DVDs and television programming. For some, download speed remains a real issue. For others, watching videos on a tiny screen is hard on the eyes. For many, time is in short supply and plenty of diversions compete for their attention. Even with broadband connections, HD videos, and larger computer screens, few Web surfers are ready to settle in for a long video viewing session. With short attention spans, short Web videos are a must. In fact, if a viewer perceives that your Web video requires a large time investment, that viewer may never click the play button.

Web Video Discovery

Web videos can provide websites with an immediate benefit: improved visibility. Search engines often list videos in their results pages. Not only that, some users specifically search for videos, not text. Where your website may have a difficult time ranking for a given keyword phrase, the addition of a Web video could vastly improve your site’s visibility.

By optimizing your videos with relevant keywords, your Web pages could attract a much wider audience than text alone. By splitting a larger video into a series of shorter Web videos, you can get much more exposure and optimize far more pages than sticking with the longer, uncut video. This strategy also overcomes the attention span problem.

The Power of Web Video Series

In addition to overcoming the problem of short attention spans and boosting SEO, having a series of short Web videos provides you with an opportunity to engage, convert, and nurture prospects and leads. You could also use a video series in multiple ways. For example, you could offer a series of Web videos via email as an incentive for users to subscribe to your newsletter. Doing so ensures that Web visitors return to your website instead of becoming one-time visitors never to be heard from again. Each Web video could be posted strategically in your website, taking viewers step-by-step through a process that culminates in a strong call to action.

From reaching viewers with short attention spans and enhancing your SEO efforts to creating a video-to-lead funnel strategy that allows you to engage, convert, and nurture prospects and leads, short Web videos deliver a powerful punch.

Do you have a longer Web video that could be made into a series of shorter ones? How have you used short Web videos to your advantage? Share your thoughts, experiences, and ideas with

us in the comments section below.

Building Credibility With Web Videos

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While thousands of Web videos have made the world laugh with funny antics and viral concepts, many of today’s business owners are looking at video with fresh eyes. After all, Web video is a powerful platform that can help establish you or your company as an expert or industry leader. In short, Web videos are a terrific way to build credibility with new and existing customers.

Strong Production Values Build Credibility

In order to build credibility with viewers, Web videos must have strong production values. Today’s viewers may tolerate a guy with a webcam; however, the value of a well produced video with professional lighting, crystal clear sound, and excellent image quality cannot be stressed enough. Do this part well and your first impression will be a good one. Not only that, you won’t be giving your viewers any reason to doubt your professionalism because it will be readily apparent throughout the video.

Credible Content Builds Credibility

Next, a credible Web video should be filled with credible content, not opinion or sensational topics. Make sure that your script is well written with facts, supporting information, and useful information. Avoid “fluff” and give your audience relevant, useful information. Your viewers have limited time, so keep your Web video relatively short and tightly focused.

Credible People Build Credibility

In addition to strong production values and a well written script, the people featured throughout your video build credibility with online video audiences. This doesn’t mean you need to hire actors or pay big bucks for a celebrity endorsement. For example, a weight loss video could feature interviews with doctors and personal trainers while a do-it-yourself plumbing video could employ a plumber as the spokesperson. The presence of these professionals builds credibility.

Product Demonstrations Build Credibility

If you’re marketing a product, Web videos that show the product in action can build credibility. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words. . . In addition to demonstrating the product, consider “behind the scenes” videos that show the product in various stages of development. Your own research and development team brings its own layer of credibility to the process, so take advantage of it. As viewers see the behind-the-scenes commitment to quality, your product will become more credible to them.

Your Expertise Builds Credibility

Don’t overlook your own expertise and the events your company may be participating in, either. For example, have you recently participated in a seminar or conference as a speaker? Posting a Web video of your speech, or highlights from it, can immediately build credibility you’re your site’s visitors. You’re the expert, so show it with your online videos.

Well written, professionally produced videos that position you as an expert are an important part of the overall “video to lead funnel” strategy. Engage, convert, and nurture prospects and leads with credibility built into each video that you produce.