Wednesday, March 3, 2010
3 Tips for Improving In-house YouTube Videos
Many organizations are jumping on the You Tube scene and creating their own videos. To improve the believability of your on-camera spokesperson, focus in three areas: comfortable, real dialogue in a relaxed atmosphere.
1. Comfortable video spokesperson
Find someone comfortable with the camera. This may not be your CEO, executive team member or your typical spokesperson. It could be anyone from your organization who can appear friendly, sincere and professional. Viewers want to watch someone that they can relate to.
2. Real dialogue
It’s very painful to watch someone in a video who is clearly reciting copy. And it’s worse when the copy sounds like a brochure full of corporate speak. This week, I watched two videos that sounded something like this: “At X company, we care about you and your needs. From our state of the art technologies to our excellent customer service you’ll receive the best service possible. Visit X company and tour our offices at…” To avoid this, include your video spokesperson in script development. He or she may have excellent suggestions for making it sound conversational. Practice it together until it flows smoothly and naturally.
3. Relaxed and professional atmosphere
These attributes can be accomplished at the same time. People who are stiff and formal on camera can appear fearful, cold or aloof. Conversely, people who are physically comfortable and relaxed appear confident and inviting. Ask your spokesperson to wear clothing that is professional but not restrictive. Make sure that your shooting area is as inviting as possible. Is the room attractive and are the props appropriate? Is the chair the right height for your spokesperson? Check other items like room temperature, lighting and background noise to eliminate as many detractors as possible. A comfortable and undistracted spokesperson will give you a better delivery.
Are you doing anything else to improve the videos you create in-house? I’d love to hear your successes and lessons learned!
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Hi Liz,
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts to consider here with taking the plunge into online videos for marketing purposes, lots more to consider as you have pointed out with tone and body language that you don't have to worry about so much in writing. Also just a side note for future blog posts when you say things like "this week I saw two videos" include a link to them or embed them in your post, I was curious to see what you were talking about.
Keep up the good work!
@NelsonDesignStudios: Thanks for the note. Since readers may know the people or companies in the videos, I didn't want to create hurt feelings. But a good suggestion for the future!
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to @NelsonDesignStudios blog today that was also on videos. You would have thought we planned this together - I guess great minds think alike!
ReplyDeleteExample of what makes a great viral video: http://bit.ly/bPwQlW
I found it also helps to have someone in the room (off camera) who the "talent" can interact with about the topic. Some of the most authentic content came from on-the-fly script changes.
ReplyDeleteSharon - great point! And very true. I experienced that last week in a brochure photoshoot. The more I chatted with the subject from off-camera, the more relaxed she was and the photos look real and not staged. Thanks for bringing this up.
ReplyDelete