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

WILLITBLEND.COM
	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%!

3 key play points:

1. 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
2. Don't think in term of one video, but of a series that builds a story over time
3. Don't sweat "perfection": many of the most successful online videos have production values that would scandalize traditional media broadcasters

Bonus Links:

• How to Create 11 Media Products in 3 Formats from 1 Video courtesy Dr. Tom
  
• What is Video Snacking? compliments of Interactive Angle
  
• How to Use Video to Grow Your Business in a YouTube World via WSJ
  

Chapter 33 - Microblogging

Chapter 35 - Virtual Trade Show