A simple and cost effective way for every business to use video

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My advice to every business, large or small is have at least one video on a dedicated business YouTube channel - if you don't you could be missing out on views and visits via the worlds 2nd largest search engine. Use the same key words as you use to optimise your website and your video WILL appear in searches.
It's a no-brainer!!

There is one fantastic way to produce a video that promotes your product or service without going to the expense of commissioning an all-singing, all-dancing promotional video; a video case study or testimonial video by your client saying how good you are. It's a brilliant soft sell - so your best clients do the selling for you.

They are simple to produce - with a small amount of time and skill you could create your own on an ipad or iphone 4/5. In it's most simplest form interview your best client/s and ask them to share the why, the what and the how they use your services. Ask them to say why they would recommend you to other people in their sector.

Don't appear in the video yourself - film interview style like you see on TV news then edit out the questions so all the best bits are on the film.

If you want to go a stage further you might be better off employing the services of a video professional who will film the interview more professionally for you and take some video footage of your product in use at the company - associating you with their brand - so you can bring the case study to life with images

Here is an example we produced for our own video production services:

Presenting to Camera - video tutorials

To many people the idea of presenting to a camera is extremely daunting.  It doesn't have to be. I believe that you should appear on camera as you do in reality - the real, natural you.  The first mistake most people make is to assume that because there is a camera looking at them, they need to act like a television presenter or broadcaster - Wrong!

Others who are familiar with public speaking usually believe that the process of delivering to a camera will be easy.  How many times have I heard people tell to me that talking to a camera won't be a problem for them as they regularly speak to groups of 100s of people at a time - then spent a couiple of hours working with them to deliver a short presentation to a camera.

To attempt to help people who would like to present to a camera in a more natural and comfortable style I have created a series of short video tutorials.  The first one investigates the difference between presenting styles on screen and to a live audience:

Here is the first video in the series:

If you would like access to the complete series please get in touch

Business video is changing ... let your clients speak for you

Don't get caught in the trap of creating a video so that you and your colleagues can pat each other on the back and say 'don't we look good, aren't we great'
Instead you should be thinking about your customers issues and needs that will be solved or improved by using your product or service. How can you help to make their lives easier or better. It sounds dramatic I know, but think about it - what is the end result of a customer coming to you instead of one of your competitors?
For me the answer is easy - now I've taken the time to talk to my customers and find out. Our clients say that they appreciate working with New Edge because of the added value that our expertise in video communication brings to a project. Have a look at the Video Testimonials from the home page introduction on the New Edge website to see what our clients have to say:

People buy from people, and a set of video testimonials like this lets your clients do the selling for you. Viewers can tell that the video is genuine and not set up in any way. Contrast the natural style of this film to the ‘Daz’ washing powder adverts we all know and love to hate:

Do you really believe that the lady in the advert did not know Danny Baker was about to knock on the door?

Compare this style with the video testimonials and interview with the MD in the general overview film we recorded for Blue Chip.

For most of you the key messages of this film are very specific to IBM server maintenance, but imagine that the film was your clients talking about your business.
Here is another example from the optical sector for No7 Contact Lenses  Imagine that you own an independent optical practice – what would you feel about using No.7 as a supplier after watching this film?

My only criticism with both these companies is that they have decided to hide the videos on a back page of their website only accessible through the menu. I believe that these messages should be ‘shouted it from the rooftops’ in a prominent position on the homepage - they are a great introduction to the company, it’s ethos and it’s values.

This type of film suits the British approach to business perfectly. You get all the information you need to make an initial judgment about the company, which is qualified by significant personnel from well known brands speaking on the company’s behalf.

In contrast here is a video demonstrating a new cheap video solution borrowed from the US. Do you believe that the presenter is from the company? Is she an expert in IT data recovery? Do you feel informed enough to make a judgment on working with the company?

If you are in any doubt she is clearly a busy lady – here she is again selling cleaning materials…. And again selling beds

What do you think, am I right?

I’d appreciate your views

Webcam Wizardry 2 - lights, camera, action

Number 2 from a series of 8 video tutorials called Webcam Wizardry. In this film business video expert Richard Flewitt speaks about setting up your equipment to look and sound good when using a webcam to create video messages.



See the rest of the series on my YouTube channel

Why Clear Communication equals Improved Staff Motivation

I hesitate to use the ‘R’ word, but it’s clear that the economic climate could be better.  When things are bleak economically we naturally look at costs we can reduce, and for many organisations internal communications are seen as a ‘nice to have’, so they are reduced or cut to a bare minimum.  I would argue that an engaged workforce is a happy workforce, so by failing to engage employees with honest communications companies are in fact making the problem worse.

If your company or organisation has difficult issues, an honest and up-front attitude is more likely to get staff onto your side.  If you tell them that everything is OK, or say nothing, they’ll see through it and think the worst.  According to the British Association of Communicators in Business (CiB) “When the situation starts to improve, organisations that have not given sufficient attention to this issue may find that recovery is slower because of the lasting negative impact on staff loyalty and engagement.”

So what is the best way to communicate?

Messages should be delivered directly from the originator to all members staff with as little dilution and distortion of message as possible.  The traditional tiered communications strategy where the CEO/MD talks to directors - who then talk to regional managers - who talk to line managers - who eventually talk to staff is generally a disaster.  Each person in the chain will put their own interpretation onto the message and deliver their own version to the next person. We all know how disastrous ‘Chinese whispers’ can be!

A communication delivered by video makes sure that everyone receives exactly the same message.  In addition to this a video has the benefit of being able to supplement the communication with strong images and other non-verbal attributes - adding power to the message.

A couple of years ago one of our clients had experienced a brilliant first three quarters of the year, and wanted to avoid the usual drop in sales in the final quarter. Their product is seen as an everyday item and wouldn’t normally be on anyone’s Christmas list.  New Edge produced a video for them congratulating staff on the brilliant year to date and reminding them that ‘It ain’t over ‘til it’s over!’  This theme was emphasised by comparing their situation with a recent ‘miraculous’ recovery by Liverpool FC in a European football match. They were 3-0 down at half time and came through to win 4-3.  I’m not a football fan, but couldn’t help being drawn in by the excitement of the story – and the goals.  Adding emotive and powerful music served to enhance the positivity and hope of the message even further, along with the introduction of a staff incentive with great prizes.

The results were fantastic – an engaged and motivated workforce achieved increased sales in the final quarter giving the company a record year.

DIY with regular video podcasts

This example involved quite a complicated production, but if you want to communicate regularly with staff using video this needn’t be the case.  Regular video podcasts to all staff from the CEO/MD, delivered in a friendly, conversational manner will have a similar effect.  Keep it short and to the point, and involve your viewers by ensuring there is a way for them to reply, comment and ask questions.  As well as making staff feel involved in the process, this will also give you ideas for future issues to address.  A video consultant would help you to set up an area in the corner of an office where you can produce this type of message without having to bring in a production company every time.  Make sure that the person who delivers the message is completely comfortable with talking to a camera.  They will need training, and must have a process in place to construct their messages effectively.  There are plenty examples where people believe they can do this and just turn on the camera and talk – a disaster!

So if you are faced with challenges in these uncertain times, you need to increase your emphasis on internal communications, get staff behind you and move forward as a cohesive team.

Online video marketing is growing exponentially – so what’s the appeal for business?

Business Video works as a vehicle to attract an audience for the very same reason that all good video communications work - because it moves and it talks. Video catches the eye on a static page. It grabs the attention – even if it’s inappropriate or a load of rubbish!   How many times have you sat in a bar where video screens are playing music videos or sport or whatever… and you can't stop yourself from looking accross to the flickering screen.  To make a video really effective it has to engage the viewer within seconds of that ‘attention grabbing moment’ then keep them hooked for the duration of the message. There are many styles and techniques that are effective in engaging audiences that I will deal with another time. The issue here is how to use video as a marketing or promotional tool.

The phenomenon that is YouTube has proved beyond doubt that people will happily pass on videos that appeal to them. Is there anyone out there who hasn't watched the Susan Boyle clip from Britain's Got Talent? (here -  http://bit.ly/11bSM if you're not one of the 69 million + viewers to date)

From a business and branding perspective this viral example of YouTube proves beyoing doubt that, with the right video, the opportunity is there for companies to get their brands and messages into places and in front of audiences that would be difficult to access otherwise - without a substantial advertising budget.  According to Ben Wayne, founder of Fliqz (fliqz.com) 50% of all visitors click on a home page video before taking any other action. If your video is engaging you’ve got them – they will stay – and watch. The trick is to make it easy for your visitors to pass the video on - “we consistently observe that sites that allow viral reposting will see up to 40% of their video viewership occurring via players that have been reposted outside of the publisher’s domain”.

YouTube is still the most effective way to do this at the moment. If you use Twitter you can add a ‘Twit this’ button for viewers to share your video, or you can post to a blog or Facebook account. Tubemogul is a great site where you can upload a video once and it is distibuted it to a large number of video sites for you - and it tracks the views.

The catch for business video is that any film that blatantly advertises or, heaven forbid sells, becomes pretty much exempt from viral activity. A few companies have succeeded -  the T-Mobile Paddington station dance ad was fresh, new and brilliant. The great thing about this campaign was that viral distribution began as the video was being filmed. Two days before it was seen on TV mobile phone versions from people who happened to be there were racking up multiple views on YouTube. I believe they made a mistake trying to repeat the concept with the singing version, and youtube views of the two videos back this up.

While that campaign succeeeded, many more have failed. I had a play at the concept myself a couple of years ago with New Edge (see it here: http://bit.ly/9Ad49) and discovered that it’s a lot harder than you might think to seed the video, and make the content funny or interesting enough to be viral. I now leave the seeding side to the experts , www.asabailey.com , and concentrate on creating engaging content.


So yes, the opportunity is there for viral video to work for business, but it's not without significant challenges.

• Video production values have to be good,


• your branding has to be very subtle, or the content has to be so brilliant that people will forward it anyway,


• and you need to work hard to make sure that people see it in the first place.

Book Channel TV launch - proof that networking works

Do you want to hear a story about networking - working?

I'm excited and proud to announce the launch of a new venture, The Book Channel TV show - The place to be for book lovers and writers.  I came up with the idea along with a networking colleague about a year ago and the first programme airs on Sky channel 166 and Freesat channel 402 next Monday, 20th April at 7.30pm.

Video preview can be seen at www.thebookchannel.tv

 so why blog about it?

Firstly I'm immensely proud of the programme, entirely produced by my production company New Edge - It's great to be back to our roots making television programmes.

Secondly, there is no way that I would be here announcing this today if it wasn't for networking and in  particular the Black Star community within Ecademy (now Sunzu), which I joined in 2007. Let me take you through the chain of events:   I join Black Star on the premise that you get out what you put in, and it really is a lifetime membership where relationships are nurtured before any real business takes place.   I attend Black Star meetings and start on a journey of many, many 121 meetings. 

Approximately 18 months later I am invited by a Black Star ,who I'd had a 121 with, to attend a VIP networking event on a boat on the Thames.   There, as promised, he introduced me to 'someone I need to know', I spent most of the evening talking to this guy over champagne and far too much red wine!! - realising the synergy of our appraoch to communications, and in particular video.   That relationship then developed with a couple of meetings, and more introductions. 

Meanwhile I discover that within Black Star there is a community of specialists who help people make the most of their expertise by writing books.   The problem at this smaller end of publishing is that the best sellers and big publishing houses eat up most of the national promotional opportunities, and it's a real struggle to get books noticed.   I have another meeting with the man from the boat, who also happens to have a past in publishing and we come up with an idea..... to make a specialist programme for all book lovers and writers, uncover the story behind the story in a book and hear some extracts read by the author.   Broadcast the programmes on Sky and Freesat, and make all the programmes available to watch online. Additionally allow the authors and publishers to stream the programmes on their own websites providing them with a promotional video for their book. The result is The Book Channel.

The guy on the boat was Fred Perkins, owner of Information TV and a number of Sky channels - now one of my business partners at the Book Channel.   Our three experts who guide viewers through the book writing world from inspiration to publication are Mindy Gibbins-Klein, Sue Richardson and Tom Evans - all Black Stars from Ecademy. 

Our presenter is Tina Bettison, another contact who found me through Ecademy.

We have filmed the first three programmes and the launch is on Monday 20th April, to coincide with the opening day of the London Book Fair.   Authors and publishers are invited to submit books for selection in future programmes through the website, www.thebookchannel.tv

So there you are. In a nutshell my networking contacts  have provided the inspiration, the application and a great deal of the content in the pilot shows

Who says networking isn't worth the investment?   Like all good thinhgs, it just takes time and energy

Video Testimonials are hugely effective as a marketing tool

Two recent projects completed by New Edge have demonstrated to me,once again, what a powerful tool the video testimonial is.

Continuing our close ties with the optical industry we were approached by No7 , the UK's largest independent contact lens producer. We had worked for the UK Commercial Director, Maxine Green when she was marketing director at Bausch & Lomb and she was so pleased with the results that she knew exactly who to turn to in her new role.

As well as wanting to produce some online accreditation videos for optometrists, they saw the opportunity to use video to enhance their marketing activity. I was invited down to Hastings to listen to their needs and come up with some suggestions as to how video might work for them.

It's my firm belief that people buy from people, and well produced video testimonials from happy clients are one of the best ways to promote your products or services. It's a soft sell - you let your clients do ithe selling for you, and it's presented as a TV style 'feature' on your company, noyt a sales film. Potential customers are more likely to believe a video testimonial than a written one, because they can see that it is genuine.

No 7 are also the major supplier of a really clever machine that measures eyes extremely accurately called the Topographer. They needed a marketing tool that would give optometrists an idea of how good a tool it is, and why they should have one. Again, the video testimonial is perfect for the job. Customers can explain how the Topographer is invaluable to them in their practice - the underlying message being that if you're serious about fitting contact lenses you MUST have a Topographer.

Of course, the testimonials wouldn't be effective on their own You can see the resulting promotional film here. They had to be presented professionally and accompanied by shots that prove to the viewer that No 7 know what they are talking about, and are a serious company to deal with.

You will also see how language is important. These films have been produced with a specific audience in mind - practicing opticians - so it's Ok for us to use industry jargon that probable means very little to most people. What it does highlight is that the video producer has to fully understand each industry that s/he produces material for. A lot of my time is spent getting to know a company and it's products/services before the script can be written, and before any filming can take place. It's crucial that I know what I'm talking about so that I can ask the right questions and get the right answers to use as a testimonial

I've not managed to accumulate any data proving that sales are increased, but the anecdotal evidence is clear.  A video testimonial will help to persuade people to make a decision, when considered alongside other marketing material - but then what does any advertising or promotion do?

It's a particularly useful technique for selling courses/conferences etc when people can see clips of what the day looks like along with testimonials from previous users, and as stated in the blog - products.

Andrew Clarke from the speakers academy runs speaking courses and has a number of video testimonials for the courses.  Out of 10 people on a course that I attended, 2 of them admitted to being swayed to making the decision to attend because of the power of the video.

My own clients who have come via the New Edge website have commented more on the strength of the video testimonials on the site than on the video demonstrations when quizzed about why they chose New Edge as a supplier

So ... video testimonials - filmed correctly, and presented professionally - really do work as an effective marketing tool for products, seminars and conferneces.

Richard Flewitt
Business Video Producer
New Edge
Projecting Added Value

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