by Ydraw | Nov 6, 2013 | video
Why Video Is Not For You
Videos are everywhere and YouTube is launching stars like Justin Bieber and songs like What the Fox Says almost every day, or so it seems, … but they’re probably not for you. Sorry.
Ok, ok, before you begin a rant of why you, your business, or your product deserves a video… let me explain.
I’ve been involved in marketing in one way or another for most of my professional career, 17 years now (yikes), and this has all brought me to this conclusion…. video isn’t for you!
You see, video isn’t for you at all… it’s for your viewer, your customer, your lead, your contact, your fan, etc. It’s not meant for you, so stop being so selfish!!
I had a client the other day who said he wanted a video that would compel the viewer to contact him and buy. Sounds good. Then the client went on to say here’s the script I’ve written, here’s the visuals, here’s the music, and here are all the supporting documents. After I read what was provided I was confused. I didn’t know what the product truly was, what was being offered and more importantly, why I would care in the first place.
So… I asked the client, who’s your customer, your viewer? How familiar are they with you, your product, and what you do? His answer… “They aren’t. This is to attract new customers.” My response was, “I don’t know you, so could I be one of your customers?” His answer, “Yes, of course!”
I hated to shoot down his enthusiasm, because he was very passionate about his business, but I had no idea what he was trying to say in his script. None. There were so many details, so much business jargon, I was lost in a matter of moments… long before his conclusion and call to action. I never got that far. Why? Because the video was all about him, what he knew, what made sense to him, what he wanted, and really had nothing to do with me (the viewer). Which was why I didn’t “get it.”
Trust me. I understand your passion. I understand you have a lot riding on this video. I understand no one knows this stuff or can do it better than you… but that’s why it’s so important that the video isn’t about you. It has to provide value to the viewer, a laugh, something to remember, a reason to contact YOU.
And that’s why video isn’t for you, it HAS to be for them. So before you spend the time, money and resources to create your perfect video, make sure you are not building something that only you will find interesting to watch. Unless that’s what you had planned on all along. And if that’s the case… good luck.
+Chris Salisbury
Ydraw Creative Director
by Ydraw | Nov 6, 2013 | video
How to tag your video to Maximize Results
Now that you’ve received your Ydraw video, the most important thing you can do is drive as much traffic to it as possible. Tagging your video the correct way is a must if you want to achieve the results you’re looking for.
Here’s how to tag your video on YouTube (we do this all the time and this is what works for us).
1. Make sure your FILE name of the video includes your keywords. Use 3-4 keywords, separated by commas. (yes, you can use commas in a file name). DON’T make your file name something like intro1.mpg4. Try something like this instead, whiteboardanimationvideo,whiteboardanimation,explainervideo.mp4 (except use keywords that will drive traffic to YOUR site) Why? It’s another way for YouTube, Google and other search engines to find your video.
2. Your video title needs to use keywords too, but it also needs to hook the viewer. This title is what will be shown on YouTube, in the thumbnail, in the search results, etc. In many ways this is like the headline for a great email or story – you need to give the viewer a reason to click on your video instead of all the other choices.
3. Your video description is really important. First, be sure to include your video title in the description. Next (and something we do at Ydraw), include the entire script of your video in the description. This gives the reader an idea of what your video’s about, but more importantly, provides YouTube and Google more information to find your video and showcase it in results. If you do not want to add the script, google will pick it up in the Closed Caption feature. (Closed Captioning is important too!) Last, but still VERY important, be sure to use the same keywords you used in your title and file name in your description.
4. Tags. This is another area to use your keywords, but you can also look to expand on ideas or topics closely related to your keywords. Again, this will help the searcher find your video, but be careful, if you’re tags and keywords are not in any way related to your video content, in can actually hurt your video. Complaints or bad reviews by viewers because of poor search results is a quick way to get your video pushed to the bottom of any results list.
5. Choose the best video thumbnail. Remember, pick the one that will be most interesting to the viewer. What will make them click?
6. Make sure the privacy setting is set to PUBLIC. (sounds simple, but a lot of people overlook this step).
That’s all there is to it. For more ideas and ways to drive traffic to your videos let us know. Feel free to email or give us a call!
We’re here to help!
by Ydraw | Nov 5, 2013 | Interactive Video
New Interactive Video Created By VW
For those of you who have not seen the new interactive video created by VW can I just say WOW! What a great idea. Not only is the video interactive. It also has great music, great images, and a great message.
“Basically, it’s built as one long video and each annotation button is coded to bring you to the coinciding point of another video for a completely seamless playback,” says Yu. If you let the video play without skipping to different genres, three versions of the song will play back-to-back.
“We were all very interested in using the car to make music. It was a very creative and hands-on approach to discovering the various parts of the car that made the right sounds to contribute to the songs,” says Yu. “We felt this was a great opportunity to harness technology and do something creative with it.” -Christina Yu
Why You Should Do An Interactive Video
Interactive videos are just scratching the surface. I can’t wait to see what people come up with in the future. It is not that hard to create an interactive video using YouTube and the impact is amazing. VW interactive video has found a way for people to watch 3 different versions of the same video. If the rest of the population is like me, they will spend about 2 or 3 minutes clicking back and forth just to see the different versions.
How to Create an Interactive Video On YouTube
Basically you get a YouTube video and use the annotations. Obviously you will need to plan ahead and put in the buttons before hand so you can put an annotation around the image. Here is a simple screen shot to show you what I am talking about.
You will need to use the same link to the same video and you set the time to where you want the video to start. That is the simple part. Now if you are wanting the video to go to a certain spot you will need to create an annotation for every second. If you watch the VW video just hover your mouse over one of the links and you will see the seconds changing. These guys built 2 annotations for every 1 to 3 second of their video. Pretty simple right? I think it is well worth the effort and I just want to say that this is amazing. So enjoy your simple guide on how to make an interactive video.
Have a nice Day
+Jace Vernon
by Ydraw | Oct 30, 2013 | video
5 Traits of Viral Videos
What TV commercials do you remember? It’s probably a different answer for each person, but I’m guessing there are some similarities. The eTrade commercials with the talking baby, the Chick-Fil-A spots featuring cows with signs that say “Eat Mor Chikin”.
What about YouTube videos? Which ones stand out?
We often have clients who tell us, “I want a viral video.” Easier said than done–and while there’s no sure fire way to make a video go viral, here are common traits we’ve noticed in viral videos:
- The videos are different
- Something unexpected happens in the videos
- They are funny
- They often tell a story
- They focus on just a couple of key points
Here’s a great article about how telling a story can help promote a company’s brand and enhance business communication [http://www.fastcompany.com/3020314/bottom-line/how-screenwriting-guru-robert-mckee-teaches-brands-to-tell-stories ]
It sounds very simple but it’s true – people like stories, read stories, and respond to stories. They work.
There’s a book titled Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath and we reference it here at Ydraw all the time. It really helps (it’s a must-read for any business owner or marketer). The authors give a number of great examples of how a story can deliver your message better than most any other approach. They even start the book with a story!
When we’re creating a video we try to answer these 3 key questions:
Will the viewer understand it?
Will the viewer remember it?
Will the viewer enjoy it?
If we can get a “Yes” for all three, then we’re on our way (we get those positive responses by using the elements from the bullet list included above). If not, we rework it until we do. It’s a different approach for sure, but by including a narrative in videos and business communication we’ve seen better responses, higher retention rates, and more interested customers.
Give it a try! We’d love to hear your comments and your success “stories” using narratives in your efforts. Don’t be shy, you can do it!
Once again, we encourage you to Tell a Story to Make a Viral Video!
by Ydraw | Oct 24, 2013 | Animated Whiteboard Videos
Animated Corporate Videos Created By Ydraw
How many of you have seen an animated corporate video? Most of you have seen all different styles of corporate videos. Did you know that one of the highest converting video for large corporations is a nice clean animation video done in a corporate style. This might be a shocker to you because we continue to see the lousy boring live videos all over the TV. They work on occasion, but most of the time they do not. When we see their million dollar commercials the dead switch come on and we start doing something else.
The art of the corporate animation video
Every video needs to stand out a be a little bit different. I am always talking about this and pushing the concept that things need to be new and original. I know it is not rocket science, but most corporations have a huge issue with adopting new and exciting things. They think they have tested and tested what works and anything other than what was proven to work 15 years ago is wrong. Like Nielsen ratings. Nothing is ever new or different, just the same basic story lines regurgitated. Trust me, new and different…will work.
Here is another great animation corporate video:
As always, we would love to hear from you. Do you have any questions? Maybe a few comments? Several different ideas that we could steal for our next corporate video that will make us buko bucks? Or maybe you just wanna tell us a story about your great-aunt Blanche. That’s cool. Feel free to email us or leave us a comment below, or give us a call.
Let us know if you have any questions or comments about corporate videos, or call to see about getting your own corporate video by Ydraw.
