Hi Guys

I'm trying to articulate this for a presentation on Wednesday. Any quick thoughts would be appreciated.

Why should a business owner invest in professional video from a corporate video producer instead of, say, a video shot by themselves on an iPhone 4s and edited by them on iMovie?

So far as an answer I'm thinking along the lines that 'editing is all about timing and pacing and comes from experience and instinctive talent. If a business owner doesn't possess these assets then their attempt at editing could well turn out to look below-par. If they attempt to film something themselves, what will their sound recording be like? Can they sound-edit and enhance the sound? Will their choice of shots and lighting be flattering towards those in front of camera, and will they be able to make their products and services look as impressive as possible?'

Any thoughts at all would be totally welcome and appreciated.

Warm regards


Peter

Just found a decent link to an article regarding video quality:

What Video Quality Says About Your Product, Service and Brand | Host Earth (http://www.shlady.com/2011/06/28/what-video-quality-says-about-your-product-service-and-brand.html)

My 2 cents.

A video showing the difference might be really effective. You could do a straight forward comparison A vs. B or you could have fun with a narrative where for some reason the equipment & personnel keep changing, and it's reflected in the constantly shifting quality of the video. If done right, people would just kinda "get it". I'm imagining a reporter making a passionate plea to up the video production value properly, and each time somebody chooses to go low budget, it's immediately reflected in the production quality of the video.

Additionally, you could use it to really highlight your video production skills.

Maybe try to use an example from their own industry.

So if they are a Law firm, for example, you could use the example of a client hiring them to be represented in court (bringing in all of their combined training, expertise, and experience to bear on the matter in a coordinated and well rehearsed strategy) vs the client deciding to represent themselves, with a sense of misguided enthusiasm and a copy of 'The idiots guide to the law' under their arm.

That kind of thing. Use an analogy that they can connect with from their own experience.

Thanks Michael and Simon - great advice! I appreciate it!

Some more useful info. here under the 'Quality Counts' section:

How to Maximize Your Video Marketing - The Next Web (http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/11/15/how-to-maximize-your-video-marketing/)

Why? Same as applies to print advertising and brochures:

"Because there's nothing worse than spending money (advertising space, replication etc) to advertise how cheap and amateur you are. Especially when placed up against your competition."

Or in other words ...

"You can save money by purchasing cheap make-up. But long after you forget how much money you saved, you'll be detesting and regretting every time you wear it." (women understand this one immediately)

Good professional collateral has far reaching benefits, including staff who are proud to be associated with the business.

Andrew

Always a good quote in these situations:People DO judge a book by its cover.
We may have the best product, the highest quality, the most useful software, etc. If we present them in a slipshod manner, they will be perceived as slipshod; if we present them in a creative, professional manner, we will impute the desired qualities.

from the Apple Marketing Philosophy by Mike Markkula in 1977

WOW great stuff Andrew and Michael!!!!! Thanks so much!

Show examples from competitor's media. If it's awful, tell them why and what the investment is for. If it's great, ask them how they're going to compete. Or do both and challenge them which type do they want representing their brand.

That's great, thanks Les

Do you know of any examples of business websites which have bad quality 'homemade' videos on them which I could use to contrast with?

Found this 'spoof' one so far Example of Crappy Video - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIeg3x318RA) but any real examples would be even better.

For the same reason you hire good carpenters to build/renovate your facilities. You are building your image.

I'm also a copywriter and my observations are that many, I'd argue most, business owners:

Fail at business
Have no idea how to market
Have little to no idea who their customers are and what motivates them to buy
Have little to no marketing budget
Have no way to contact their customers much less potential customers
Can't see past this months bills
Want more profit, not necessarily more customers
Wear too many hats
Thought owning a business would give them freedom but find they work twice as much. Essentially traded one job for another with twice the hours and 1/2 the pay.
Would do things differently knowing what they know now

So that's what we're facing when talking to a business owner about using video or any other services. Whatever pitch we use it has to have a money proposition/promise. If we can't show how the service makes them more money with no effort or risk, it's going to be a frustrating climb up "they don't get it" hill. GL

Thanks so much Cole and Kawika, and Les for your excellent PM.

I guess it’s time for a small business owner to weigh-in. Remember, your question asks why should a business “invest” in professional video.

When business people hear the term investment, this would infer that there will be some sort of ROI. (Return on Investment) If you want to see a small business owner’s eyes glaze over, start using terms such as “branding” or “name recognition” as leaders in your presentation.

The first thing you HAVE to grasp fully is until you convince him or her that this is an idea that will put more money into their pocket than what they pay you, you will forever be “uphill frustrated”.

This is an aspect that every business school seems to be missing when dealing with a small business. You need to start looking at it this way. If I don’t pay you the $3000 (insert figure here) I get to keep it, it’s mine. You’re talking real money that means food, clothing, housing or maybe even a vacation. Realize these are the things that you are putting at risk with your proposal.

Yes, over half the business start-ups are finished after two years and many can be attributed to leaving the marketing to a “professional” company. I can’t tell you the number of businesses I know personally that were marketed right into bankruptcy.

Depending on the business they may be much better off shooting and editing content for their web site because NOBODY knows your business better than the business owner. It’s what I do. I don’t know what kind of business they are in but if it’s anything like mine that requires same-day-edits and posting to the web then maybe they can only afford to do it in-house.

I have been self employed since 1989 and I have never come up with a “marketing budget”. When I find something that works I spend as much money as possible, knowing that it is paying off versus some made up amount that I have allocated just because. This is where if I can see a good ROI I am willing to risk my “vacation”.

Don’t underestimate our knowledge of our customers. My customers are growing about 3% a year and as of today, I have 7,893 from 43 states and three foreign countries. I know everyone’s name, home address, phone number and email address. I know what areas of the country the majority reside in and how far they will travel to attend one of my events.

Yes, I do wear many hats. I publish, write and secure advertising for my twice a year newspaper and web-site, which I also built and maintain. Shoot and edit all my footage, answer the phone and run to Staples when the toner is low. Not to mention the 40,000 miles a year I put on my vehicle and five trade shows I do to get this done. And yes, it is a lot of work but it has been a very good business, I truly feel blessed.

Maybe instead of a bullet list of preconceived customer shortfalls, knowing what truly motivates a small business owner to act and why will help immensely and keep all parties from being placed on the “they don’t get it” hill.

Wow great post Dave thanks so much. Very insightful and useful. Love your points about "if I can see a good ROI I am willing to risk my “vacation” and "knowing what truly motivates a small business owner to act". Excellent.

I looked at this from the perspective of a decision was made to spend money on making some corporate videos. How do you make the case for hiring a professional vs the teenager down the street who makes skateboard videos with his GoPro? Do you want it to be like:
1) Insight from Kathy Veldboom - YouTube (http://youtu.be/HZWpE4XJ2jc)
2) Insight from Chris Heim - YouTube (http://youtu.be/X3kdYUx1Tso)
or like this:
3) Mollie Burrows, Emory University - YouTube (http://youtu.be/ja7fr3lEZrY)

No I do not want them looking like that. As a business owner, these examples would make me want to do it myself. The first clip makes me fall asleep, only to be rudely awakened by the rustling leaves that starts later in the clip. The background is nice for about 10 seconds but then just becomes very distracting. About 30 seconds in I quit listening because when she talked about different aspects of the company and they were not shown, it loses the viewer. Your eyes start wandering around the screen, mine became transfixed on her necklace. Yawn.

Any of them could have been shot on a myriad of cameras and $50 tripod. But yes, they are good examples of what someone could do on their own with a T3i & kit lens, rode video mic, a key light and basic editing software. I'm now wondering what that kid with the Go-Pro and skateboard is up to.....

That way when we strapped the camera to his butt and he did a grind down the front door railing we would have a great shot of the actual company. As he sped through the workplace we could have shown the different areas that women was dronning on and on about and when he crashed going out the back door we can tie that into what will happen to you if you don't work with our company. I would go with the skateboarder, but that's just me.

My only point was that the important aspect of the "investment" is in skill and experience.... not equipment. I used the GoPro toting skateboarding in an attempt to exploit a stereotype. That's all. Of course there are Skateboarders that could deliver nicely lit, proper audio, well directed, adequately coached talent and correct POV corporate video. So let's not let my ill-fated attempt at using a stereotype to make a point to miss the point. Skill and experience is my point. The videos were intentional examples to illustrate the value of skill and experience. And while it could be spoken or text on a powerpoint, showing communicates it better. In my experience, it works well with executives. YMMV

sional video.

The first thing you HAVE to grasp fully is until you convince him or her that this is an idea that will put more money into their pocket than what they pay you, you will forever be “uphill frustrated”.

Depending on the business they may be much better off shooting and editing content for their web site because NOBODY knows your business better than the business owner. It’s what I do. I don’t know what kind of business they are in but if it’s anything like mine that requires same-day-edits and posting to the web then maybe they can only afford to do it in-house.

Maybe instead of a bullet list of preconceived customer shortfalls, knowing what truly motivates a small business owner to act and why will help immensely and keep all parties from being placed on the “they don’t get it” hill.

Thanks Dave for such a well thought out post. It's difficult to offer video services to a small business owner at what they consider a good price and we consider a reasonable profit. Actually, it's difficult for any service business to offer any service to a small business profitably. Those of us that find a way fairly consistently, succeed, those of us who don't, fail.

I've made it past the first two years. The business is growing well, but it's extremely challenging. Being a business owner myself helps me to see things from the client's perspective. Sometimes they help me see things better as well. Building trust and delivering a good value are a couple of the keys to success.

Just to give you more examples this was one of my first jobs. This is a real estate company that was doing videos for their blog highlighting some of their clients and their office spaces. They did a few themselves with a flip and imovie, then hired me to increase the quality and bring more to the table. These videos are both on the same company.

Their video:
Travis Wilber Video - T3_SM_Blog1 (http://traviswilber.wistia.com/m/vl2zrO)

My video:
Travis Wilber Video - T3 Real Estate Client Blog: Performable (http://traviswilber.wistia.com/m/4s1fcX)


Above quality I think you also bring a creative mindset too. Plus the more videos I edit the more experience I get on what a good video is and how to make it perform better. Most people wouldn't think twice about putting 10 seconds of titles on their video, however I've seen videos with that much deadspace in the beginning lose 25% of their viewers in that first 10 seconds. Same with simply not having the dialogue come in soon enough, ironically which is the deal with this video I did and how learned that mistake.

I've said it before and I'll say it again ....

"The role of the amateur is to make the professional look good."

Andrew

I believe that the most often overlooked aspect directly relating to skill and experience is content or message. Professionals always take responsibility for it. If you are an “Army of One” you have to. No matter what I am trying to shoot it’s my responsibility to make sure it connects with the customer or potential customer in a clear, concise and exciting way and above all prompts them to act.

I’ve also found it’s a great way to establish value and is a very convincing way to show results orientated business people how sound their “investment” is, they can see it with their own eyes and count the hits on their web site. Remember, establishing value is up to you, not the customer. Don’t get angry when they don’t see it. The truth in the matter is you haven’t really done your job.

The downfall we all have to avoid is TGBSC footage. Not to be confused with BBC footage. TGBSC is “technically great but still crap” footage. Since we all should operate with the mantra “Content is king” we also need to remember that “crap kills”. Make sure you are honest enough with yourself to know it when you see it and get rid of it. Bury it then bury the shovel.

Truth be told bad content filmed perfectly will always be beat by great content filmed poorly. It’s the reason that some video will get three million hits on Youtube, shot on a shaky cell phone with unintelligible audio. But hey, who wouldn’t want to see a Schnauzer making love to a squirrel?

I hope everyone has a great Holiday Season and 2012 is filled with great content captured very well. And maybe even a new camera or two…

I really like this thread and thank you all for the thoughtful replies... it's helped me codify my approach to ... well... approaching business owners. I knew most of this stuff from experience... but seeing it typed out loud was really nice.

Should be of interest (and good for a chuckle!):

The Absolute Worst Business Videos Of 2011 - The Sucky Video Award Winners (http://www.reelseo.com/worst-business-videos-2011-sucky-awards/)