1)  Customer Testimonials
We’ve all heard for years that it’s important to get customer testimonials for our website and literature.  But have you thought about getting those same happy customers on video?  Many people overlook this key way for other people to brag about you and your company.  No one likes to hear you go on and on about your company, but it will do wonders if someone that has used your product or services can say those great things on a short video.  You can put this on your website, Youtube, business card DVDs, and more.  Make it once and reuse it throughout your marketing campaigns.

A)  Here is a television commercial we shot that highlighted happy customers of the Dayton YMCA.  Your video could be 2 minutes per person so they can each tell their story…or it could look something like this.

B)  This is more traditional customer testimonial:

2)  Presentations
We have found great success in giving presentations at various networking and industry meetings.  It’s a great way to inform others on the trends in media (let us know if you need someone to speak at your meeting). Over the last few presentations we’ve recorded and combined it with our Powerpoint slides.  Now we can put it on our website, Youtube and countless other websites.  Go ahead, go to our website and see what we’ve done.  It has been a great way to send people back to our site. I’ve told people who were interested in video, Twitter, web SEO, etc to, “go to our website and watch the presentations we’ve done to learn more”.  Another great reason to put your presentations into video format is to help with your SEO (Search Engine Optimization. aka getting ranked higher in Google).  Since Google loves fresh, new, relevant content and puts a huge priority on video, then having your presentations put to video will greatly help others find your company website…which means they now know who you are, what you provide and how you can help them.  This has been incredibly valuable for us.
See some examples here:  Click here to see some presentations we’ve recently done.

3)  Video Case Studies
I’m sure that you have success stories about how you and your company saved the day with your product, service or customer service.  Why not create a video case study that walks someone through your processes?  We’ve all seen this done on paper and it is an effective way to help a potential customer see what you provide, but having it on video will only enhance who you are and what you do.  It will allow you to shine through and stand out from your competition.
This is a GREAT video that not only shows you a simple case study but it also shows the power of the combination of video and YouTube. 

You may haven’t thought of using video in these 3 ways.  There are countless other ways you can use video in your business.  Exit Row Productions strives to be creative by staying on the forefront of video and how you can utilize it in your business.  Let us know how we can help.

Website of the month: Zoho.com

Zoho is all you need as a small business owner. It is email, hosting, reports, invoicing, planning, sharing all done on a cloud. So it is all hosted online, and can be streamlined for your business. You can use many of the services for free with less than 3 people.

To see what happens, watch the video below.

Is there a competitor that your customers are going to because it’s easier or cheaper? Maybe your competitor is the easy choice for people but your product is better in the long run (isn’t exercise on the stairs better in the long run, then a short term convenience of an escalator?). What can you do to make people aware of your products or services? Can you make the process interesting, fun, or memorable? Yes, this will take some thought, but isn’t it worth it? Imagine getting more customers just because you provide something different (think of what they did to the stairs in the video).

In an interview Siskel & Ebert said that since they watched about 5-10 movies per week, they could always tell when a good movie came around. But, in order for that to happen, it had to really stand out. All the bad and average movies mushed together in an unmemorable glump (is that a word?). But, when a really good movie came out, it was different than all the average movies. Seth Godin, calls this a Purple Cow. Wouldn’t you tell everyone you know if you saw a purple cow? It stands out and is very different from all the other cows you’ve ever seen. Is your business, product or service a purple cow? Aren’t you impressed when a company shows some personality, or they make things fun and interesting instead of being mushed together in an unmemorable glump. Which is your company, product or service?

So what are you doing that’s superior to the status quo? What stands out? What are you doing to make your product or service fun, interesting or a “purple cow”? Perhaps spicing up your website that separates it from your competitors will make you stand out. Would new creative business cards that look different and stand out from everyone else? Or maybe creating a video that isn’t a typical boring sleeper, but something people will be sharing with everyone on YouTube? I bet we know a company that can help you out!