34. Video
What it is:
Sites like YouTube and Vimeo have greatly simplified a once
difficult Web challenge: uploading and sharing videos. With these
tools at your disposal, you can embed or link video code easily.
And the video sites provide social media options for conversing and
sharing that can help your content go viral.
A cool tool for:
- Making your message entertaining and/or informative
- Encouraging others to share your content
- Leveraging the power of the moving picture to tell your
story
Not so hot for:
- Companies intimidated by the camera
- Pure product-driven messages
- One-time videos. The true power of online video is in
consistency
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Nothing's more boring than a blender, right? Wrong! Blendtec's
phenomenally successful "Will It Blend?" video series uses humor to
reveal a seriously powerful blender, with similarly serious
results: since the videos took off, sales have jumped 500%!
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3 key play points:
- Think beyond the "talking head" approach. Inexpensive editing
tools, like Apple' iMovie or Final Cut Express, make it easy to
assemble professional-looking video content
- Don't think in term of one video, but of a series that builds a
story over time
- Don't sweat "perfection": many of the most successful online
videos have production values that would scandalize traditional
media broadcasters
Bonus Links:
