Today I’m handing over my blog to Karen Pawlowska of Take One TV who, as an ex BBC trained video production specialist, has over 25 years’ experience in producing videos to help businesses promote themselves. Karen is going to share her tips on how to create effective web video.
But first, have a look at my first video which Karen made for me on ‘What is PR?’ 
Over to you Karen.
“Video on websites is a hugely powerful marketing tool which is easily within the reach of almost any business. With your video hosted on You Tube and linked back to your website, you are 53 times more likely to be found when someone knows they want your service or product, but doesn’t yet know you!
Now, of course getting people to your website with the advantage that video gives you with improved SEO isn’t all you need to think about. Afterall, what’s the point of getting people to your site, if the site itself doesn’t reflect your business or brand in the right way, or indeed the video isn’t well-produced with perhaps poor sound or ill constructed images? It would be a bit like getting people along to a High Street shop and then having an untidy and uninteresting window display – a big turn off.
However, don’t think that you need to be a multimillion pound business to have quality video on your site. These days, and especially for small businesses that are people to people lead, such as delis, estate agents, cafés, professional services and so on, a 60 second web shot, or to use the technical lingo ‘piece to camera’ – from the business owner can be very cost effective. It’s at least equivalent to the cost of an advertisement in a local paper, or production of a flyer for door drops, but it lasts for much longer and has greater impact.
To create an effective webshot you’ll need to focus on three key points that you want people to remember from your video. The attention span of viewers is short, particularly when it’s just one person speaking to them, so remember to cover no more than three points and include a strong call to action.
Then with your three key points in mind, you need to write the script, we often help our clients with this but usually it’s best for them to write the initial words and we can help tweak them for the filming.
After you’ve written the first set of words, read them out loud, and perhaps record them onto your mobile phone or PC, then listen back to see how it flows and feels. Remember, there are no are no full stops, commas or paragraphs in the spoken word! Also, when writing, we rarely use contractions, or shortened forms for words, but when writing to be read aloud, it’s essential to use short forms.
For instance, instead of ‘And we will be talking about how you will find us’ becomes, ‘And we’ll be talking about how you’ll find us.’
Now read your script aloud again, and again, and again – however, don’t learn the words verbatim – it takes a very skilled person to deliver direct to camera in a way that doesn’t sound false after they’ve got the words stuck in their brain. The best thing to do there is have a good feel for what you want to say, and then choose a video production company that will provide you with teleprompting facilities. That way you don’t have to strain over the words themselves, but can concentrate on the delivery and performance areas.
To give you an idea of some different businesses that have successfully used webshots, have a look at these examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS3UmTvi-9k&list=UUgyDGz1IFijVHw64SNXuDtQ&index=16
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUWOcMDtF0w&list=UUgyDGz1IFijVHw64SNXuDtQ
Or visit our website: www.takeonetv.com
Or our You Tube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TakeOneTVUK
The next thing to think about is what to wear for your webshot – but that’s for another blog!
