Creative ways to use video in your business

Want to use video? Here are just a few (45) examples of ways that you can use video in your business to market, promote, sell, inform and train. These 45 ways are just a start. There are countless more ways to maximize the impact of your video by using video. Fill in your info below and you’ll be able to download out free PDF report.

 

 

44 Ways to Use Video to Market, Promote, Sell, Inform and Train.

 
 

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Newly Released Video Stats

Comscore just release their report on how video is continuing to revolutionize the online video community, television and buying habits of us all.  Below are a few of their findings…beware, this will inspire you to utilize video in your business (only if you want to maximize your marketing, product sales, training, promoting and informing!)

  • 84.4% of of the US internet audience watched online video
  • Youtube viewers watched 18.6 billion videos in the month of January 2012…that’s just in one month!
  • Comscored estimates that an average of 105 million Americans consume some form of online video EVERY DAY!  This is roughly 1/3 of the entire US population
  • This is up 43% from this time last year
  • Consumers find online advertising to be 38% more memorable than traditional tv advertising

Since video is THE way to market, inform, promote, train and teach, then give us a call to see how we can best help you with your video needs.  9370.673.08450

36% of people watched 5 or more product videos online

A recent study was done by the e-tailing group and found that video is driving research of online products.  In fact, many companies like Amazon, Zappos and onlineshoes.com are employing video companies to create hundreds of products videos. You can read more about it here.

This study found that

US consumers who encountered product videos on websites watched them 60% of the time. And 36% of respondents said they had watched five or more product videos on brand or retail websites over the preceding three months.

This study even found that viewers were willing to watch a longer video, if the video contained information about the product.  The respondents also demonstrated that they will keep coming back to watch the videos before deciding to purchase.

Do you have product videos?  Are they informative and engaging?  We all know that video heavily increasing the purchasing of products, so why not give Exit Row Productions a call to see how we can help you get your product videos up…so you can start selling more.

Retailers’ use of online video is increasing

Over the past few months, research has shown that consumers are watching and even expecting to watch online product videos to better help them make their purchasing decisions.  This study found that

eMarketer estimates that nearly 170 million Americans will watch videos online this year—more than half the total population.

Let Exit Row Productions help you get your product videos online.  We specialize in helping you produce and market your videos.

Video Stats for April 2012

The online growth for video is booming.  Click this link to download the history and future of videos powerful growth.

Exit Row Productions speaking at New Media Dayton about video trends

We love speaking.  We love sharing.  And we love sharing about the impact of the video.  In fact, it’s gets us really excited to share about where video is going and how to maximize it’s impact.

We’ve been asked to be a part of the New Media Dayton panel discussion about “Expanding Your Brand & Reach Through Video”.   This panel discussion will talk about video trends and techniques about how to best use video in your business.  We strive to have our website be a tool to showcase stats about the growth of video and what it means for your business.  Many businesses have seen the power of video through their own experiences, and we’ve been able to help a lot of businesses utilize video, social media and web design.  You can sign up for the New Media Dayton meetup by clicking here.

By the way…did you know that Google loves fresh and relevant content on your website?  We recommend having a video strategy that goes beyond traditional models like tv commercials.  Video is becoming more reasonably priced for most businesses and we know that website visitors would much rather WATCH something than READING what you do.  So why not have several videos on your website that showcase your products, services, building, FAQs, etc.  In fact, you can sign up for our free report (found on the right-hand side of this website) which will give you 45 Ways To Use Video.

Filming at the 2012 NCAA Final Four

Exit Row Productions filming at the Final Four

Working in the video, media and marketing industry has let us travel to some amazing places.  We’ve been all over the United States, and to almost 10 countries doing what we love…video!

We again were asked to come to Final Four Weekend, which was in New Orleans this year, to film for an organization called, Nations of Coaches.  This organization works closely with NCAA athletic programs to develop leaders and encourage coaches.

Some of our responsibilities included interviewing several coaches about their relationship with Nations of Coaches.  One coach was Murray Goodman, who is the coach of Lehigh University.  You might not have known his name a few months ago, but his team pulled off an incredible upset in the tournament and beat the Duke Bluedevils.   After doing this, Coach Goodman became a celebrity and was quite the popular coach at the Final Four Weekend.

Exit Row Productions filming at the Final Four

There was also a large event where coaches like, Shaka Smart, addressed about 200 other coaches to go over their playbook and offer advice.  We were able to get footage of this as well as the interactions between the coaches.  It was amazing seeing so many famous coaches.   On Saturday we were asked to get some footage of a radio interview, which took place in “Radio Row”.  This was a large room that had about 20-30 radio stations that were set up in their own little area.  You could hear the dull rumble of all the radio announcers talking passionately about their sports teams.  There were several other video production companies on hand ranging from large studios to smaller one man crews…but we were all their to capture the excitement of Radio Row.

Not only did we get to film several events, interviews and speeches, we also were able to go to the Final Four and Championship games, which were amazing!  We love using our video abilities that combine travel, sports and organizations doing great things, so this trip was a great opportunity.  We’ve been to the Final Four several other times to get video footage and they each have their own personalities, stories and memories.

 

Jeff Long Speaking at Tech Tuesday

This coming Tuesday, Jeff Long was asked to present at Tech Tuesday on November 8th.  ”Get Selling with Corporate Video”. 2-hour workshop on some of the intermediate level tips to jumpstart your sales.  This session of Tech Tuesday will be a two hour triple play of topical talks on why you should use video, along with the workflow, production values, and a panel discussion on what constitutes good video.   Jeff Long of Exit Row Productions and Jim Sutter from DVP will conduct the talks at the Clermont Chamber of Commerce, 11:30-1:30 on Tuesday November 8th…4355 Ferguson Drive, Cincinnati, 45245

Send me a message if you’d like to come.

3 ways video can help you save money in your business

We keep hearing that the economy is bad and may take some time to recover.  It’s easy to get down on news like this.  But, it’s always nice hearing about ways to save money and become more efficient.  Here are 3 ways video can help you save money in your business.

 1.  Product training videos save countless hours of telephone support:

Last year Jeff Long (one of our stunningly talented video producers) was hired to travel to Texas for a week to film a series of training videos for Bowie Industries.  They had 7 main pieces of machinery that were complicated to operate and maintain.  Bowie Industries was constantly getting phone calls on servicing and operating the machinery.  The videos cut down on the amount of time on the telephone.  Instead, Bowie sent a link to the caller which had short videos that walked through each aspect of service and operation.  It was a huge time saver for Bowie and meant they didn’t have to be on the phone all day and could devote their day to other needs, which saved the company a lot of money.

How could you create training videos, product demonstrations, or video FAQs that would help save a lot of time for your personnel?

2.  Recording live presentations saves money and builds a training catalog:

We’ve seen a huge increase in companies asking Exit Row Productions to come to their presentations to film them.  We’ve live streamed them over the internet, as well as put them onto DVD and created web formats.  We can even create a special website or web page that is password protected.  This enables each company to be able to send the videos to those that couldn’t attend the live presentation or training.  It also means that you don’t have to fly everyone from across the country in, just so they can be a part of a presentation.  We’ve found that video taping these presentations is a huge money saver for these companies and allows them to have a catalog of training videos, presentations and information that can be used for years to come.

Do you have any upcoming live presentations, seminars, or training that needs to be recorded?  We’d love to help.

 3.  Product Promotions shows your target audience:

Do you have a product or service that needs to get the attention of potential buyers?  Do you spend a lot of time explaining, making phone calls and sending out literature?  Why not put all the benefits and features into a short video?  Video shows off your products in ways that explaining just can’t accomplish.  In fact, Dr. Fames McQuivey of Forrester Research said that, “A minute of video is worth 1.8 million words” .  When you take into account, the adage that, “an image is worth a thousand words” and most videos have several thousand still images moving at 30 frames per second.  It makes you wonder why you’ve been wasting your time on brochures, text only website and other outdated tactics.  Video will take the pressure off of you and put the spotlight back on your great products and services.

How can you utilize video in your product promotions or as a way to showcase your services?

As you can see in the above examples, video can actually save you money, rather than being inefficient by wasting time with unneeded customer service calls, live presentations, and product promotions.  Plus, video is becoming more affordable as equipment prices gradually drop.

So how can you use video to save money?  Let Exit Row Productions help you determine the best ways to utilize video in your business.

Website of the week: Snopes.com

Does a wealthy sultan from another country want to send you free money?  Do you get e-mails, messages or questionable information online, and you want to check the validaty?  The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation. Use Snopes.com to see what’s true, and what isn’t. 

Video of the week: Google Wallet and Seinfeld

Get ready for your smart phone and your wallet to collide with several new services being announced in the coming months.  In this video, George Castanza shows why he needs Google Wallet.

[youtube width="580" height="325"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKGptWtzeaU&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Exit+Row+Productions+Newsletter+List&utm_campaign=8ad5df7207-Through_The_Lens+Sept+2011&utm_medium=email[/youtube]

Our videos have been seen on…

Exit Row Clients 600x200

Our clients include the following organizations above and our videos have been seen on nationally broadcast television and internet channels.  We have done videos locally and nationally and can handle projects of any size.

Why Use Video

We know the value of video to your company but we’d rather not “toot our own horn”.  Take a look at what another industry leader has to say about video.  Bruce Clay shares how important video is to your rankings on Google.com.

How to buy a domain name for your new company

Buying a domain name may sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.  Below are some simple steps to find the right domain name, secure your online presence, and purchase hosting for your website.

Finding the right domain extension

This is very important and sadly, many “good” domain names are taken.  So you need to use your creativity to find a good domain name.  We recommend using a “.com” name if at all possible.  If you are an organization or non-profit, you could also use the “.org” domain.  The last option would be to find a .net domain name.  I would rarely recommend using a “.biz”, “.info”, “.tv”, or any other options that might be offered.  Generally people use “.com”, “.org” and possibly “.net” when searching online.

Finding the right domain name

  1. I wouldn’t recommend using numbers, hyphens or dashes in your domain name.  That can be too hard to explain to people.  You want people to be able to remember your domain name and easily spell it.  You don’t want to get so creative with your domain name that no one can remember it.
  2. Use a tool like, BustaName.com to use keywords to see if your ideal domain name is available

Purchasing your domain name

  1. There are a lot of places on line where you can buy your domain name.  Most of them charge around $10 per year, which is an easy investment since you are building a business around this domain name.  It’s also good to buy a domain name if you think you might start a business with the same name.  Purchasing a domain for $10 to secure that domain is a simple decision to guarantee that it’s around when you want to use it.
  2. We use Dreamhost for our domains and hosting and even have an affiliate relationship with them.  But you can buy your domain name from other sites such as GoDaddy.com.  However, I’ve heard a lot of complaints about GoDaddy’s customer service and don’t recommend them.
  3. You can also use Dreamhost for your hosting.  However, you might want to wait a bit until you hire a website developer to create your website.  Even though we use and recommend Dreamhost, they might have their own set up which might benefit you.  Plus, there’s not sense in spending money on hosting right away when you don’t have to.

Sit back and congratulate yourself on finding, purchasing and securing your domain name.  You’re a step closer and ready to build your online presence.

We’d love to help you with any website needs you may have.  If  you’d like to know more about our web design service and for a free quote, fill out the form below and tell us how we can help you.  We’ll give you a call to see how we can help with your web, marketing or media needs.

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Let Exit Row Productions help you stand out since 10% of YouTube videos are in HD.

Exit Row Productions has always created high quality videos.  But we were a bit surprised at the low amount of Hi-Def videos on YouTube.  YouTube recently announced their website stats (see more here).  There are some staggering stats on the growth of video on their mobile and website.  They announced that,

10% of YouTube’s videos are available in HD

Only 10%?  Think how easy it will be to stand out from your competition?  If they have an old standard definition video and you have several Hi-Definition videos, which video do you think people will watch?  Exit Row Productions can create a video strategy that includes high quality HD videos.  That way your videos don’t look outdated on your website and YouTube.  Since most people across the country have broadband internet, they expect to have high quality videos.  And why not show your products, services, staff, testimonials, training or anything else in HD?

Give Exit Row Productions a call and see how we can help you.  We love talking with people to create a video strategy that incorporates HD, YouTube and web friendly formats.  It’s what we’re passionate about doing.  Let us do it for you.

During 2010, there were over 700 billion video playbacks YouTube alone

Everyone knows YouTube is the place for funny videos, the latest music video and political mishaps, but it’s also one of the best places to put your company’s videos.  What better place to put your marketing, training, promotional, or informational videos, than Youtube.  In fact, YouTube recently announced some stats of their site and found that,

YouTube reached over 700 billion playbacks in 2010

That’s a LOT of video being watched in one year alone.  Were your videos watched?  How many times were they viewed?  If you don’t know the answer, or if you don’t have any videos, than give Exit Row Productions a call.  We work with local companies in the Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio area, but we also have traveled across the country to create high quality videos for our clients.  We’d love to work with you on a video strategy that will utilize the Google friendly nature of videos found on your website and YouTube.  Having video on your site will greatly increase traffic and keep the visitor on your site.  Would they rather read about your product, or watch an engaging video?  I think we both know the answer to that!

YouTube’s Mobile site gets over 100 million views per day!

How many views per day does your mobile site get?  YouTube recently announced some stats from their hugely popular video sharing website.  Not only do they have a huge following on their website, but they also get over 100 million views per day on their mobile site!  That’s a lot of smartphones watching a lot of videos.

We all know that video is the most powerful way to share your message.  What videos do you have on your website?  How many videos do you have on Youtube?  Do you know how many people are watching your video on YouTube’s mobile platform?  Exit Row Productions can work with you on all these aspects and create a video strategy for your website, YouTube and mobile websites.  So no matter where people are looking for you, they can easily find your videos.

The base age demographic for YouTube is 18-54

Most people think that the average video on YouTube is put up by a 15 year old and contains skate boarding, someone getting hurt or pulling a prank.  However, YouTube recently released stats on their service and how, “base age demographic for YouTube is 18-54“.  Notice how the range goes to 54.  That’s not the crazy teenager that most people think are using YouTube.  In the past few years we’ve seen The President use YouTube as a broadcast medium.  We’ve noticed a dramatic increase in businesses using video for their website as well as putting it on YouTube.  Since Youtube is so poplar, we recommend any available platforms that can best help promote your business.

Let Exit Row Productions help you create a video strategy of how to best utilize YouTube, social media, website, and the other platforms available.

Over 2 billion videos are viewed every day

Videos are everywhere.  You can’t go throughout your day without seeing a video online, on tv (isn’t that obvious?!?), in the waiting room at the doctor, the car dealership and just about everywhere else you go.  But did you know that on YouTube alone, “Over 2 billion videos are viewed every day“?  That’s EVERY DAY…2 Billion.  Think about it.  That’s a LOT of videos…and that’s just on YouTube alone.

If 2 BILLION videos are viewed every day, are people viewing your video?  Do you have a video?  If you don’t have a video, why not?  You’re missing out on a huge opportunity to share your story of your product or service.  Chances are that your competitors have videos of their products and services.  You could share video testimonials, live events, training, marketing, promotional pieces and so much more.  Let Exit Row Productions help create a video strategy to help your company be a part of those 2 billion videos watched on YouTube.   We work with companies and organizations locally in Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati but also work with companies around the country and beyond.  We’d love to help and won’t push anything on you…we promise.

YouTube is localized in 25 countries across 43 languages

We all use Google, and Google purchased YouTube a few years ago.  Since that time YouTube has grown internationally.  In some recent stats that were posted, Youtube shared this statistic.

YouTube is localized in 25 countries across 43 languages

Do you sell internationally?  Would you benefit if people in other countries know about you and your services?  This stat is hugely important if you have an international client base.   Knowing that YouTube has a broad international reach can help you market, promote and sell your products.  Let Exit Row Productions help you create a video strategy which can include your international reach.  We have access to translation services, actors and voice over talent and can create a video in any language you need.  And YouTube is probably located in that area.

35 hours of video footage is uploaded to YouTube every minute

YouTube recently announced some stats and details of their growth and popularity of their video sharing site.  We love YouTube as one of the places to put your video but with, “35 hours of video footage is uploaded to the site every minute”, you can see the powerful importance of video both now and in the future.  35 hours being uploaded every minute is a LOT of video, and it’s not getting any less as we move forward in the future.  We’re seeing a lot of companies put their marketing, training, safety and promotional videos on not only their websites but also on Youtube.

Let Exit Row Productions help you create a video strategy that can include and take advantage of YouTube’s importance on the web.


More video is uploaded every 60 days than the three major US television networks produced in 60 years

We all know YouTube has a LOT of videos.  But, YouTube recently released some stats on how dominate this site is.

More video is uploaded every 60 days than the three major US television networks produced in 60 years

With the ever growing amount of videos, we’re seeing a dramatic increase in business related videos.  Businesses are hiring Exit Row Productions to create videos for: marketing, FAQ, testimonials, live events, trade shows, mobile phones, promotional pieces and much more.  And once those videos are done, we always recommend putting them on YouTube where people can find them easily.  YouTube is no longer for silly videos but has a huge business application.

What is your company doing to jump into this huge opportunity of online video?  Let Exit Row Productions help create a strategy for your video needs.

48% of Smartphone Users Watch Video on their Phone

In a recent study by Google and Ipsos OTX, they found how important our smartphones are to use in daily life, and in business.  The report mentioned more than just video but we think it’s telling of the times that the report said that 48% of users watched videos on their mobile phones.  We’re not really surprised, and have seen this trend with our client, colleagues, friends and family members.  Who doesn’t pull up a video on their phone, whether it’s funny, serious or for business.  Our phone is by our side or in our hands and a great way to consume video.

How are you capitalizing on the the increasing amount of people watching videos on their Smartphones?  Let Exit Row Productions help create a strategy to boost the viewership of your video on Smartphones, your website, social media outlets and much more.

3 ways to use video in your e-mail signiture, training and employee orientation

Over the past 10 years we’ve seen a lot of changes in the video industry. We’ve also seen some amazing ways to utilize video to market, promote, inform, train and distribute in your business. Here are just 3 great ways to use video in your business.

Email Signature Videos:

This is something we have been personally testing over the past 9 months. How many e-mails do you send every day? Why not put a video in your e-mail signature? That way everyone can see it. We put clickable icons, such as Twitter and Youtube, in our e-mail signature. We also put a link to a video. In the few months that we tested, in one of our e-mail signatures saw that around 250 people clicked on our social media links, but just over 2,000 people clicked on our link to the video. That’s about 8x the click throughs on the video link over the social media links! You can see how much more people want to see a video. Imagine if your company has 5-10 employees with the same clickable videos in their e-mail signatures! Multiply that times the amount of e-mails they send every day. It would maximize not only your video’s effectiveness, but it would also drive traffic to your website with every e-mail sent from your company. How many e-mails do you and everyone in your company send every day? Are they also a marketing tool for your business? They could be. Ask us how we can help you incorporate this into your next video with us.

Training Videos:

We’ve had a lot companies call us to film their training sessions. In fact, last month we were asked to film an all day training series which was broadcast live through online streaming. We also edited the videos together and delivered them in DVD and web formats so the company could put the training on their website as well as send out DVDs to all those that couldn’t attend the event. The cost for this was vastly more affordable since the attendees were from all over the world. There were several people watching online in other countries! Can you imagine paying for them to fly into town to attend the one day event? It was much cheaper to have us record the event.

We have also been asked to record live speaking engagements where we edit the videos and break them into 5-10 minute videos. They then perform what is called, “Drip Marketing”, where they release one video every week. It keeps people coming back to the website for more content and is a great way to build traffic to your website.

These are just two ways you can use training videos in your business to save money and generate traffic to your website. How can you use training videos in your business?

Employee Orientation Videos:

How many companies hire someone new, but then have a long and painful training process? Training manuals are boring and long orientation sessions can give a lack of results. Their can even be a lack of consistency in what is presented during the training. But video is the best way to have a consistent message for your new employees. Why not mix up the orientation by having some videos that introduce your company, message and key staff through engaging video segments? You can then use these videos for years and years to come. Are you looking at revamping your employee orientation with videos? We can help.

Video Pick of the Month: Harvard Business Channel

If you like videos that teach new ideas and practical ways to grow your business, than you’ll like this YouTube channel.

“Harvard Business School’s YouTube channel showcases “ideacasts” that focus on “practical insights, tools and resources.” The web-show offers interviews with prominent Harvard professors, authors, and business leaders who speak to issues in markets large and small.”

Web Pick of the Month: PDF converter

How many times have you wanted to convert your Word document to a PDF.  Or, do you need to convert a PDF to a Word document to edit?  I need this functionality every week.  Check out this service that converts these formats.

Will your business be a part of the 500 billion hours of online video by 2015?

Intel recently estimated that there will be 500 billion hours of online video by 2015.  That’s a lot of video!  Will your business be a part of that internet video boom?  In the past few years we’ve seen an increase in businesses needing video for their website, marketing, training, presentations, e-mail signatures, social media, and much more.  In fact, we’ve started to not only offer video (our primary business), but companies also ask us to create their new website and assist or manage their social media integration since they are combining into a power way to communicate.  Gone are the days where you can only have a business card and cheap website.  You need to communicate and interact with those around you…and video is one of the best ways to do that!

For video in the Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati Ohio area and beyond, let Exit Row Productions handle your video, web and media needs.

See what Scott Puopolo, Cisco VP for Internet Business, says about internet video and where it’s going.

Exit Row Productions interviews key personel for annual review video

In early February, we were hired to film 3 interviews for a client of ours.  They are preparing an annual review banquet, where a video will be a part of their festivities.  What better way to show what happened the previous year than through a video that explains all the exciting things that happened.  We’re glad this Dayton based company doesn’t listen to all the bad talk about the economy or the area…they’re doing just fine, thank you.

Boring slide shows are a thing of the past with the interactive elements of a review video.  Think of everything you can put into a video!  We can add some interactivity and motion graphics to a boring Powerpoint presentation or photo slideshow.

The reason it’s good to get interviews through video, is that they can be edited down to a reasonable length.  This banquet has a schedule and it’s better to have concise video pieces rather than having each board member get up and talk at length.  Those in attendance only hear the important aspects, and not all the details that come to mind when each person is speaking live.

Do you have an annual review meeting or banquet?  Let Exit Row Productions put together a high quality video that recaps everything that happened.  We can work with you on scripting, concepting, interviews, production and post-production.  We can do it all, or work with you on each aspect.

Let us know how we can help you with your next annual review meeting or banquet.  973-673-8450

Exit Row Productions hired to film training video series

We love it when strangers find our site through a Google search. It shows us that our site is optimized well (and something we can do for our clients when we build their website). At the beginning of January, I picked up the phone and someone was asking about an all day training series that was going on in the Dayton/Greater Miami Valley area. They were going to have people fly in from all over the country to attend this important training. Not only were people going to be there in person, but their would also be a live internet video stream. This company wanted us to film the sessions for the live stream but also edit them together for both DVD versions and web versions for their website.

In the past, they had used one camera, but quickly found that two cameras would add another way to keep the otherwise, dry training a bit more easy to view. We love it when people have the vision to use video in this capacity. First, Think about how much money they saved by doing a live internet video stream! They had people in other countries, who obviously couldn’t make the meeting, as well as those that were in far away States. These people didn’t have to fly into town, but could watch online. Secondly, this company had enough vision to have us edit down the footage into manageable videos that will be on their website in the coming weeks.  That way, if people couldn’t watch the live video stream, they could always watch it on demand.  This means that everyone could get updated on the news, no matter where they were, or when they could view it.

How could you use video to save money, inform, update, market, and promote?  The ideas are endless.  We love hearing from our clients on how our videos helped them.  And we love working with new companies to create a video solution.  Perhaps it’s a marketing campaign, training videos, web video series, product videos, video FAQs, or customer interviews.  The ideas are endless.

Give us a call to see how we can help you.  937-673-8450