YOUTUBE VIDEOS FOR BUSINESS: DO IT RIGHT!

GEEK TALK: GOING YOUTUBE FOR MARKETING 

(PART 1)

by: Lieber Kunstler (1/2014)

It is no surprise that just a few years have gone by and YouTube has become the world's #2 search engine in the world, second only to Google (the parent company).  The market capture and the impact of a YouTube video and its advertising response outranks that of any banner ad, a highway billboard and even a broadcast commercial exponentially.  YouTube ranks viewership of over 1 billion users per month and over 100 hours of video are uploaded each minute- all speaking to the modern audience whose daily lives are (now) commonly connected to their tablets, smart phones and laptops over a desktop or television.

Where HOW TO videos have become the new trend of learning anything and HOME-MADE productions have created today's rock stars like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga- there's no end in sight for video podcasting.  If you miss the president's state of the union address or how to tune up a lawnmower, you can watch it online anywhere and anytime- at your convenience.  It's free to publish, it's accessible globally and it's easy. YouTube is today's way of communication.

QUALITY VIDEO PRODUCTION VS. DYI

Let's face it, we all know that it takes next to no effort at all to publish a video online.  It's the most popular presentation platform on the internet and EVERYONE's doing it.  You can shoot it from a camera that costs several hundred dollars- or you can even your cell phone!

For the average YouTube publisher looking to post something funny or personal, amateur footage will do just fine. But for those who are using video for business presentations, the point-and-shoot do-it-yourself method becomes a major liability when it comes to capturing your audience or earning credibility.  

FIRST IMPRESSION FROM QUALITY PRODUCTION

It's difficult to take you seriously when they can't hear you OR see you all that well.   Engaging the public online has enough obstacles like the size of one's LCD screen or the speakers they use etc. which is why you want to produce your video with the best possible image and sound quality for publishing.

Ok- with that said, am I asking you to hire a major Hollywood crew? Absolutely not.  But if you are planning on putting your video on your business website- or if you intend on having your site passed around by your clients, you have to give your video the respect YOU deserve and a professional.

So: HERE ARE THE POINTS we need to cover today.

1) PROPER CAMERA EQUIPMENT

2) LIGHTING

3) SOUND AND AUDIO

4) EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION

5) THE SHOOT

6) DIRECTING THE TALENT OR INTERVIEW

 PROPER CAMERA EQUIPMENT

When it comes to equipment, there's no short-cuts to quality.  Where cameras are concerned, the market ranges from consumer to professional grades.   The great news is that within the past 25 years, the evolution of digital video has advanced camera quality to resounding proportions while prices have dropped to a small fraction of what they used to be.

These days, most if not all cameras are labeled HD (High Definition) - but be aware that HD alone does not guarantee top quality imagery (only speed options).  There's ULTRA-HD (720), true HDTV and 1080p.  On the consumer HD level, you'll usually find the 720p as standard HD but in low light or indoor situations, image quality is mediocre at best usually due to a small lens and a weak image sensor. 

If you are not satisfied with the image quality of your low end consumer HD' camera, all is not completely lost. There's a lot you can do during production to enhance your image such as LIGHTING and COMPOSING YOUR SET. (tbc)

THE BIG LENS THEORY

One major factor in image-making is the size and quality of the lens.  The larger the lens, the wider the range of possibilities you are able to work with as far as aperture, sharpness, chromatic quality, speed and image output.  A large lens usually works with better low-light SENSORS (tbc).

THE TRIPOD

Having a steady camera makes a big difference to the viewer.  Most indoor situations require little head movement where an inexpensive photo tripod will do ($35-$50).  However if you intend on having more use out of your tripod (event coverage, outdoor shoots), you may explore a larger issue with a fluid head (usually around $100-200)

LIGHTING

Rule #1: without light, there is no image.

Use proper lighting equipment to film an interview. 

End of Part 1

Time Management

ADVANCING THE BUSINESS MODE

For those in their late 30′s or 40′s, you have (by now) realized that TIME is not actually your friend but a very limited commodity that trickles away faster and faster by the day. With stress markers defined by the never-ending onslaught of monthly bills, quarterly taxes and annoying holidays– most breadwinners (now) see the wall calendar to be the road map to obscurity where time is the ultimate employer that cannot be negotiated with.

Figures of speech say that time can be stolen, spent, borrowed, bought, shared, given or saved.  But in the eyes of a seasoned business owner, time has only one meaning: the platform by which your expenses, earnings and profits are rated.  This approach may take all the romance out of any dream career but regarding time in any other way will be a surefire liability to your business.

1) CONSTANT SELF AUDIT + STREAMLINING: Take our current modes of communication:  MEETINGS vs VIDEO CONFERENCING vs TELEPHONE vs EMAIL vs SNAIL MAIL vs TEXT.  You will clearly see which medium eats up more of your work day. What can be said in 20 (or less) electronic words can easily become a half-day ordeal in driving to a meeting.  Especially those who are self-employed with home based businesses, the lack of an interactive system lends itself to time ‘leakage’.  If you take a little time to regularly audit your work methods, you’ll gain the discipline to find the faults of your company and (soon) be on your way to making better decisions and even better use of your time.  This mind set also adds to other leadership strengths such as selecting your type of client, assessing your vendors, managing your staff and upgrading your production.

2) PRIORITIZING: Every morning, take 15 minutes to map out your day.  Make to-do lists and use them like a checklist. Make other notes for yourself such as rating what project is crucial and which ones can be deferred. By having an overview of your play field, you are allowing yourself to take a stronger leadership role of the entire map.

3) THE BUSINESS MIND: For all the reasons why the principals of a company are often called decision-makers, they are the final say to all matters pertaining to the bottom line. The same bottom line is where hard choices are mandated by minimizing risks and the TIME=MONEY formula.

Streamlining Your Business

Streamlining Your Business by: L. Gettzo

If we can apply one of life’s major lessons into our business, it’s the fact that tightening our belts is as much an act of survival as it is an optimizing ritual. By recognizing and eliminating wasteful habits, we heighten our focus, improve our spending structure (of time and money) and steer toward a newer and better business direction. It is no secret that our personal disciplines greatly affect the way our business performs. So if the ‘reduction of oxygen supply from a tighter belt’ compels us to let go of counter-productive behaviors or wasteful spending, then streamlining helps us reinvent ourselves from a firmer set of disciplines.

First, ask yourself these basic questions:

• CAN I AFFORD TO KEEP MY BUSINESS (OR PRACTICE) GOING?
• WHERE DO I STAND WITH MY MISSION STATEMENT?
• WHAT CAN I CHANGE TO MAKE MY BUSINESS PERFORM BETTER?

Call it “spring cleaning”, but preparing for this year’s busy season means “tuning up the engine for higher performance”. By this, get ready to make some drastic adjustments in YOU and YOUR WORK HABITS to attract better results.

• Prioritize where to target your budget
• Review your expenses: eliminate what gets you no return
• Advance yourself with new skills & new technology
• Explore new professional talent
• Enhance your service set to offer more to your clients
• Audit your employees’ overall performance
• Dump bad clients (nickel & dimers, time eaters, welchers, screamers and the source of bad work CHI)
• Review and adjust your pricing structure
• Update your marketing material
• Make better alliances and network partnerships
• Attend better events that attract YOUR type of clients
• Surround yourself with positive, successful professionals
• Improve your networking and sales strategies
• Make realistic to-do lists
• Be aware of time MISmanagement habits (like oversleeping, over-checking your emails, staying on the phone too long, taking too many breaks and over-tweeting)
• Audit your database: eliminate those that get you no return
• Study your industry’s potential: seek positions that show proven growth
• Account for safety measures (ie. savings, plan B)

As this list is assembled by the many business professionals who generously submit to our “words that work” page, we welcome all comments and additions for part 2 of this article.

PHONE TIPS FOR MARKETING PROS

THE RIGHT HELLO: Crafting Your Business Voice 

Experience dictates the golden rule of business impression building is to “make every dialogue count”.  Old school tradition dictates that speaking to prospects or clients must always be done with confidence and emit presence that commands respect.  From appointment setting, telemarketing to closings, the energy behind your VOICE is everything that reflects the business you represent.  Moreover, in today’s un-social world of non-auditory communication (text, emails etc), call receivers are that much more defensive and quick to dismiss undesired calls that waste precious time and valuable resources.  It is for this reason that you need to be that much sharper with your phone presence to win results and to avoid being dismissed.

THE PHONE VOICE: by Grace Dellavalle

A phone voice is everything from the tone that you chose, to the vocabulary level you wish to apply- right down to the level of appeal and magnetism you exude. In the average business call, you have only these tools to steer the conversation.  You are blind of visual cues like body language to capture their attention nor any way of knowing if this is even the right time to call.  It is for this reason that you need to empower yourself with advanced phone skills to win the chance to make things happen.

TIPS FOR PHONE CONFERENCES:

• Have a professional quality phone system (sound quality is everything)
• NEVER use cell phones for presentations, introductions or closings
• Never interrupt them mid-sentence (it’s rude)
• Maintain a tone of professional strength and integrity
• Suggestion: self audit by recording your conversations- be your worst critic
• Believe in your product 100% if you want others to believe in your business
• Be yourself- just POLISHED! Remove the “ums” and all the imperfections that can be misread as a sign of weakness
• Be concise: use less words that mean more!
• Use proper grammar: this will command respect
• Candor: use a very small and controlled amount of personal chatter to warm the dialogue, but stay on point with business.

Stay away from the terrible TOO’s-

• Avoid sounding too eager, chummy or charming (people are sick of that)
• Know when you’re talking too fast (a sign of nervousness)
• Don’t sound too desperate (sure way of losing a sale)

Text book theory tip #1:

• Always end in a question. This ensures that its their turn to speak- while steering them toward a certain direction.

IMPROVE YOUR SALES

BIZTIPS: IMPROVE YOUR SALES
By: Laguna El Guapo (2013)

Turn more leads into deals with these simple tips to help you plan, organize and execute your campaigns better.

1) ORGANIZE YOUR LEADS: Manage your contacts well. A good CRM tool (Customer Relationship Management) that includes a calendar, trackers and notes are a plus. CRM's (Act, Sales Force, Outlook, Google Calendar) dictate the organization and structure of your sales generation. Other tools include, Excel tracking spreadsheets, OCR business card scanners and a smart-phone access to your online database.

2) YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR WITH SALES TOOLS:
Unless you are a dedicated marketing company (or have one in-house), please " do not go on the CHEAP" by doing it yourself! DO not underestimate (or insult) your prospects with amateur work.  You can convince yourself all you want, but a home-made content is most noticeable especially to prospects who receive them all the time.  There's a drastic difference between Kinkos color copies and professional offset printing. The same goes for any electronic media such as websites and powerpoint presentations. It's your sales...do it right! You have once chance to win them over! 

3) DEVELOP A REALISTIC SALES STRATEGY:
 Before you hit the ground running, take time to map out how you will use your time and budget wisely.  Your plan might include a percentage of the day/week doing face-to-face sales vs. phone follow-ups.  Lastly, a realtistic strategy must also comes with a timeline when you need to audit your progress. Where success means keep going, enough flops may call for a revision of the plan- or scrapping it altogether.

4) SELECT YOUR LEADS CAREFULLY
To prevent a waste of time, vendors and service providers must be careful as to the type of appointments they take on.  Whether you buy lead lists or gather them from a networking event, pre-qualifying your leads with a little research or a preliminary phone conference saves you time and aggravation later.  Spot for telltale signs on how to "sniff out" a real prospect from one that can prove to be a sore disappointment. 

5) SELECT YOUR CLIENTS:
In today's economy, a large stack of unpaid receivables are a good reason why companies may go under. You can produce the best product, have great customer services and bill efficiently and you may have that one DEADBEAT who will challenge a freebie or chew off a major discount out of your bottom line.  Know that practically every single business has been (at one time or another) "stiffed" by a client. With today's research capabilities, you can check on any company online before you enter into contract. Websites like BBB.org, KNOWX.com and other business background checking sites can prevent that heartbreaking nightmare later.

6) OPTIMIZE YOUR SALES MACHINE:
Arm yourself with better presence. Today's sales industry has reinvented itself to KNOW more and to BE more. The “aggressive pitch-and-close quota chasers” of yesterday are replaced by the more highly-informed and refined spokesperson to communicate at much higher quality levels. Today’s sales rep works much harder to earn the client's confidence with more thorough presentations, immediate and more complete answers and accountability from the front end.  They know where to go, how to network and are highly trained to use all their tools to the max. To compete, you need to do the same.

7) ALWAYS LISTEN FOR TRENDS: Your sales arena is constantly changing.  Everything from holidays to the weather to a major news event can easily sway widespread market activity in either direction.  Being 'in the know' means paying attention to business news and talking with your local business circles about current economic trends. Be on top of today's technologies, methods, web resources, top industries and where to go for better answers.  Any info that can help steer your sales efforts can save valuable time and resources-- and even your business.

NETWORKING IS NOT FOR SOLICITATION

NETWORKING 101
Originally published in IMworx.com

HOW TO TURN PEOPLE OFF IN BUSINESS EVENTS
By: Leonard Gettz
In a room where everyone is a sales person, it's a very popular habit to go PROSPECTING or SOLICITING in a networking event. Yes it's true, business IS about sales but please remember that NOBODY likes being sold to.  Think about it... when you go to a mixer, do you bring your checkbook with you expecting to meet someone to sell you a gym membership or a nice watch or a mortgage?  Fact is-  everything around us is a sales pitch or a commercial.  People are so tired of being PITCHED to that it's a complete TURN-OFF. And when you're in a room with people who are committed to seeking out true business friendships, your real objective should be GETTING TO KNOW PEOPLE and letting them know about you as a PERSON, THEN A PROFESSIONAL.    


NETWORKING IS NOT FOR SOLICITATION
Bridging Healthy Alliances is the Key to Success

If you feel you are not getting ANY SALES ACTION out of business networking, it's probably because  YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SOLICIT people when you network.  A business event or a trade show is the opportunity stay connected with the business world by meeting new people from every industry- and it's also an opportunity to let them to know all about you. Everyone in the room is there looking for something special out of a new connection.  One thing is for sure, they're certainly not looking to get railed by a self-promoting salesman hunting around for a new client.
 
So WHAT IS a network?
When you're out there meeting and greeting people, you're looking to form  your own BOND with a trusted circle of allies; your preferred list of connections that you have a special regard for or people that you've spent some time to learn about.  Few and far between, each member of your network is someone you found and said- "hey, I really like this person".  Some grow to become business partners, hired contractors or a conduit to other people.  You can also form personal friendships  - in other words, a network is your INNER CIRCLE. 

TRUE NETWORKING is about building GENUINE BRIDGES and ALLIANCES based on solid common grounds.  Business is exactly like life where TRUE FRIENDSHIPS are about respect and trust and a genuine care for exchanging support and mutual growth.  IN other words, you cannot fake friendships in life... or in business.

GIVING
Someone once said that in networking, you HAVE TO GIVE TO GET.  That's a great line to remember- especially for those who think about business connecting to be only about GETTING. Making friends is not about seeing what you can take from someone... it's about seeking out like-minded camaraderie to grow with and to share your strengths.

The second half of business relationships is THE GIFT OF GIVING -- not about presents but earning the chance to be recognized for providing a helping hand or sharing good advice - where giving of yourself brings some of the most amazing rewards for you and your credibility. When you give or share something to someone- especially in business, it actually increases your VALUE to that person and those around them;  it helps people get a true sense of who you are and what you are about.  Giving your time, your energy or information to someone in your alliance builds your reputation as a knowledgeable leader and someone who is always there to respond.  THOSE are positive qualities that everyone will respect and remember about you when a referral opportunity arises.