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Incorporating Video in your Messaging
By Michael Hoffman
Video on the web is exploding and changing the way we communicate and do business. Due to the wide availability of broadband connections and easy to use and inexpensive video cameras, sites such as YouTube, Revver, and Metacafe are garnering an increasing share of attention – at the expense of television and print media. In our quickly digitizing world, integrating video into your organization’s website is a critical communications and education strategy. The ability for online video to be streamed from multiple sites, allows you to leverage your investment and reach out to new audiences.
While video has been available online for years, it is only recently that video can be seamlessly integrated into a site’s content. The wide availability of broadband access has made video the fastest growing and most compelling content online. For your organization, this means thinking about your needs and activities and choosing the areas where you will get the highest return from your investment.
Video is increasingly used by organizations to extend their education efforts beyond in-person conferences. Allowing members to access videos of conference sessions, and creating special educational materials between conferences acts to extend the association brand and keep the organization top of mind.
In addition to educational material, video is an effective communications tool for recruitment and fund-raising. A 5-7 minute introductory video has become a basic staple of an organization’s communications toolkit. If well produced, this video can be used for events and sent on CD-ROM as part of welcome and promotional materials. Shorter versions of the same material can be used online to make a website more compelling.
When producing the actual video, there are several key points to keep in mind. First, make sure the content will quickly engage the viewer and make them want to learn more about the organization. Second, be sure that the video has good sound – people will watch a poor-quality video with excellent sound but will not tolerate bad sound even with the best-produced video. Stumped by how to get the audio waves right? Try using an external microphone instead of an onboard microphone.
While jumping right into making video may sound like a lot of creative fun, hiring a professional is often the best option. Like all vendor relationships, the key to success is good collaboration and communication. Setting a budget, timeline, goals and overall expectations for the video at the beginning of the project will ensure a smooth process and timely completion.
When the video is polished and ready for its web debut, remember to think portable. Tools such VideoEgg and YouTube give you the option to embed the video in more than one place, and the more the video is seen the more successful it will be. Here at See3, our expert advice is to make sure your branding is prominent in the video and to get it in as many online venues as makes sense to reach your market. Remember, only those that already know about you will make it to your website.
Online video is here to stay and the best advice is to simply get started. One thing we preach here at See3 is to think as much about documenting your work as you do about video products. In other words, use video to document those events and speakers and activities you have. Once they are gone, they are gone forever and if you have photographs, audio and video you can come back later and reuse and repurpose material, making your video products much more effective. Focusing on creating a media archive of all of your organization’s fantastic projects, important dinner banquets, keynote speakers and successful benefits will give you a path to generate more videos that can be shared via the web, all at an increasingly lower marginal cost. Good luck and happy shooting!
About See3
See3 is a media firm that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations. We specialize in video production, Internet design, development and marketing - helping our clients conduct their business effectively on the web. For additional information about our company visit our website: www.see3.net |
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"See3's level of experience shows through in the quality of the work they produce."
Barbara West Stone
Vice President for Development
Uhlich Children's Advantage Network (UCAN) |
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