These are QR (Quick Response) codes. Popular in Japan, they are quickly making an impression in the United States. With your smartphone (iPhone, Blackberry etc.) you can download an application and scan the box and receive more information about a topic or article. Each box brings you to either a website URL, phone number or text. QR codes are not only ‘way super cool’ but they are a neat way to integrate more of your marketing efforts.

How do you scan or read them?

You will need a smartphone with a camera or scanner or a webcam, internet access and a QR code reading software or program. I am currently using the i-nigma app for my iPhone but there are plenty of others like ScanLife, Kaywa and many more. Once you have the reader installed you can just scan the QR code by taking a picture with your camera or scanning app on your smartphone. Once you have scanned it you will be brought right to the text or website included in the code.

What people are using them for

People are using QR codes for lots of marketing efforts. They are easy to create with sites like QR – Generator, Create QR code, QReate and Track and many more.

Here is a list of a few things businesses are using QR codes for:

• Integrating Marketing Efforts – To get a measurable return from print advertising, companies are including QR codes in their print ad to go to specific landing pages on their website to get more information about the products and offers in that particular ad.
• As Business Cards – At a recent conference I attended each attendee had a unique QR code on their conference badge. Instead of swapping business cards you could scan attendees badges and have all of their information at your fingertips.
• Private links to more information – Print magazines, blogs and websites are using QR codes as private links to very targeted entries with more information. If you are reading an article about eating healthy there could be a QR code for 100 items to add to your shopping list for better eating. QR codes are making print more interactive.
• “Secret Messages” – Like in a Christmas Story when Ralphie uses his Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring, businesses can use their QR codes for secret planted messages and teasers. In the Lost Finale (in select markets) during a commercial for True Blood, a QR code flashed across the screen. It happened so quickly that only those who had DVRed the show would be able to scan it. The QR code brought you to a secret preview of the next season. This was perfect targeting for these two unique audiences who love solving puzzles.
• To send traffic to their Google Local Listing – As you may or may not know, every business that registers with Google has the option to have a free Google Places listing. In that listing you can add photos of your business, more information and even select online coupons. Google and business are using QR codes to direct traffic to those free listings. Google is sending businesses QR codes to put in their windows and promote the Google Places listing.
• Discounts and Coupons – Businesses can easily add links to coupons and discounts in a QR code.
• Real Estate Listings – See a house or office space you want more information on? Scan the QR code on the For Lease sign or handout and be brought right to the online listing for that piece of property.
• Payment and Event Entry – Companies like Starbucks have been using QR codes as payment, an alternative to swiping customers Starbucks cards. Live Nation has experimented with using QR codes instead of paper tickets to various shows and events.

That is a list of just a few things I have seen QR codes used for. As you can imagine, more ways to incorporate them are being created each day. They are interesting and I enjoy seeing how people are finding a use for them. If you have any interesting examples you would like to share, please do!

Steve, your book Get Seen is a bit of a playbook on all things web video related. You discuss everything from types of cameras to get to content to shoot. What was your favorite part about putting all your thoughts together in a book?

My favorite part of putting the book together was just sitting down to keyboard and telling stories…well really typing in stories. These are great stories and examples that people can learn from and be inspired by to create their own videos

What was one thing you surprised you when putting the book together?

What most surprised me about writing the book was not the writing of the book, that I totally enjoyed, it was when I was finished. David Meerman Scott, editor of the series, told me now the hard work starts, all the work that has to go into marketing and promoting and getting the word out on the book.

We here at Hall work with a lot of small to medium sized B2B business. Is there a place for B2B companies to produce online video? What kind of content can they put together?

When I hear the question, “should a business put video on the web to talk to other businesses?” I can’t believe it’s a question. When you come down to what businesses are, it’s people, and people do businesses with other people. Video is the best method that businesses can use to show the people who work in your business, show how you’re authentic, and really gives examples of product demonstrations. Video lets people who visit your website learn what the people who work there are like. There’s so many ways and creative ways you can use video in your business.

I think a lot of businesses are scared to try video content because it seems very expensive (camera, editing software, microphones et el) . Does video content have to be expensive?

Have you read my book? The whole thing it says is that video does not have to be expensive and you can just get started with a WebCam that’s on your computer like the MacBook Pro or a flip camera or a Kodak Zi8. Video does not have to be expensive. There is a great example at http://Chevrolet.posterous.com of how they use what I’ve been calling casual video to share people’s thoughts and impressions of their new cars. It’s an amazing example of using casual video, something that’s not expensive, by a major company.

Since this is a Spring Inspiration blog series…who is inspiring you these days? Who’s blog do you have to read every day or who’s videos do you think are ‘doing it right’?

Like I said in the answer above. Chevrolet is doing it right. They are doing casual video and putting it on a blog that isn’t their main site. That’s so site visitors have the right expectations when viewing the video. They know what they are getting won’t look like corporate car commercials, but it’ll be authentic and real. Timely too!

Other than pick up your new book, is there something we should keep an eye out on from you in the future? Any fun projects coming up?

I love teaching and I’ve got a super secret project coming out that I can’t talk about. Stay tuned for that.

Want to know more about Steve Garfield and Video?

Read: Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business
Check out: SteveGarfield.com
Watch our archived webinar:

Show, Don’t Tell! Using Video to Tell Your Story If a picture’s worth a thousand words, how good is video? Video is more accessible than ever and no form of marketing has a more dramatic effect on the user. Learn about the types of typical videos and how to market them effectively to capture the interest of leads and drive sales.

“Why don’t you post some videos of yourself on YouTube?” “You really should set up a Facebook fan page to promote your skills.” These are some of the things that I said in a conversation with my drummer friend this week. As you might have read in my last post, he is a social media skeptic. The same might be said for a band called Simple Minds. They are a highly successful live act, but only in Europe. The band hasn’t toured the U.S. or been offered record distribution in North America in almost nine years. They have minimal social media presence, so perhaps a Facebook page or YouTube channel would help in these matters. With a solid following, they could tap in to the eighties nostalgia market.

I digress.

A lot can change for the subjects above if they took the time and made the effort to market themselves with online video. Online video can be the quickest, cheapest and simplest way to generate traffic to your website and create exposure for your brand.

Whatever your vision is for introducing web video into your marketing plan, one thing is clear – it must capture the viewer’s attention in a matter of seconds. Here are some technical and marketing items to consider when using online video for your small business:

Editing

Because hiring a film crew can sometimes be costly, you might want someone in your organization to learn the basic tools involved in film editing. Editing takes care, time and patience, but with a well thought-out strategy, the video concepts you come up with will become easier to produce.

1. Final Cut Pro/Final Cut Express: The best of the best. Final Cut gives you the most options in terms of effects, editing capabilities, titles and much more. The Express edition is more consumer driven and user-friendly when it comes to converting videos for web optimization.
2. iMovie: Apple’s proprietary software. The iMovie editions up through “HD 6″ acted very much like a less feature-enriched and less professional version of Final Cut, but worked seamlessly with all of Apple’s iLife applications. Since the introduction of iMovie ‘08, the software is geared more towards web uploading capabilities – perfect for the short web video marketing pieces you might want to create. iMovie is bundled with new Macs.
3. Adobe Premier Elements: A direct competitor with Final Cut and iMovie and one of the most popular programs for those using Windows machines.
4. Windows Movie Maker: I hesitate in recommending this software, but it’s a) most likely included on your PC (if you’re a PC) and b) it’s free! Movie Maker will undoubtedly provide the basic tools you need to edit and promote your work, but won’t offer nearly the same amount of features as the programs above.

It’s important to point out that online video doesn’t need to have human interaction to be an effective marketing tool, but it does need to tell a story. Graphics, images, animation and even a PowerPoint presentation, with the right amount of music and voice over, can be just as exciting. If you think you’re a boring person or no one in the company is eager enough to jump in front of the camera, then the latter might be the way to go.

The Importance of Audio

Chances are, if you’re using low-cost digital video equipment like Flip Video, your audio will be spastic and produce sound in a variety of levels and qualities – especially if you jump from scene to scene or location to location (and if your subjects use highly different methods in projecting their speaking voice). Your video editing software can also take care of audio, so you’ll want to focus on maintaining proper levels throughout the video clips and make sure your subjects are speaking clearly and succinctly. Many viewers will be listening with headphones, so any burst of loudness will create an undesirable jolt in their experience and soft-spoken dialogue will be a turn-off to the viewer almost immediately.

If you’re using a camcorder, a good way to avoid volume fluctuations and overall audio weirdness is to attach a shotgun microphone. Shotgun mics work with a “narrow acceptance angle,” which in loose terms means that there’s lower risk for interference (air conditioning vents, people walking and so on). Hopefully, the videos you shoot will be in 1080p HD, so you’ll want professional-sounding audio to go with that crisp, professional-looking video.

Branding & Messaging

Branding in online video is almost an oxymoron, because users now have complete control over what they watch (see: DVRs). Distractions on the website in which the video resides and placement of the video on the web page also come into play in the overall viewer experience. The first question you must ask when molding the messages in your video is “What kind of response do I want to elicit from the viewer?” This can be a very hard question to answer, but perhaps better approached with these other questions:

• Do you want the viewer to take immediate action? Such as visiting your website, downloading media, or commenting on a blog?
• Do you want to retain the viewer in the long run? For instance, will your video be the first step in the purchase cycle?
• Do you want the viewer to provide you with their contact information (a qualified lead!)?

Another important part of the branding process is the health of the video’s hosting location. The best place for housing videos on your website is a dedicated media section, devoid of any distractions (such as irrelevant links or ads). Then there’s YouTube, of course, where you can create a company channel with its own avatar and background consistent with your website’s graphic design elements.

Don’t discourage viewers from watching all the way through. You only have a few seconds to capture their attention, so be imaginative.

Future

The emergence of new technologies and capabilities for online video for small businesses is a weekly occurrence. More and more, web users are looking for the quick fix – and in many cases, prefer video over reading text. Our computers will eventually become our televisions, so businesses not in the business of producing TV shows will have to take it upon themselves to market themselves with video.

More advanced blog posts about the future of online video will include hiring a media production firm, video search engine optimization (VSEO) and online video editing. Look out for them.

Photo Credit: Nick J Webb

All of the above can very well be said for many small business owners. Some would offer that they don’t have the time, resources, or manpower to introduce online video into their marketing efforts. Much like my musician friend above, small businesses must be wary of their marketing spend. Fortunately, a lot of the tools used in marketing with online video are free (or very affordable) and a 5-10 minute piece can pack in a lot of information, while also being entertaining, informative, educational, and engaging. Below are some tips you can use when incorporating video as part of your marketing strategy:

Equipment

Sound. Lighting. Vision. In this order of importance. These are the three essentials when making sure your video project is not lacking the quality people expect from online streaming media. The video devices you use rarely have decent on-board microphones, so acquiring a viable sound solution is a must. If viewers immediately notice the sound is not up to par, they will tune out… immediately.

It’s also wise to follow the general rule of thumb for lighting, which is to provide your filmed subject or space with 2-3 times the normal lighting in a room or environment.

Finally, be sure to check out the affordable HD video camera options currently available on the market. As I mentioned above, the Flip Video and Kodak Zi8 cameras produce very nice results for web-ready content. You can also check out the new Zoom Q3, which adds higher quality audio to the equation. Of course, there are a plethora of higher-end digital video cameras out there that would produce more professional looking images, but it all depends on your scope and budget.

What to Film

1) Yourself!: Are you an industry expert? Do you want to take a break from writing blog posts? Do you have a message or knowledge that you think would be better communicated through visuals and the spoken word?

2) Your employees: What better way to personalize the B2C or B2B relationship than to profile the people who do the actual work. This could also open up opportunities to start regular video blogging amongst your team of experts – providing a constant flow of fresh content to the web user.

3) Product demonstrations: Companies have innovative products that are made in ultra-cool ways. Wouldn’t it be nice to demonstrate how these products work and how they’re made, in addition to the drag-and-zoom options of a photo slideshow? It’s also a good way to boost sales (wink-wink).

4) Celebrations: I’m not talking about company birthday parties. I’m referring to customers celebrating your business. Get customers to film testimonials and post them on your website or Facebook page. Capture your products and services in action – a dog enjoying a new line of chew toys, a solar panel instillation team preparing a house for green energy, or your dry cleaning business accepting an award at an event for excellence in social responsibility.

Prepare

Before your organization dives into online video, make sure you don’t become a deer caught in headlights. First, you’ll want to outline and script each shot of your film – even if there’s only one shot and one subject. There’s also the task of storyboarding. This involves the rendering of the action taking place in each shot. Storyboards can be done on a napkin or made to look beautiful by your graphic designer. Whatever you do – have a plan! These processes of preparation are all part of that plan.

Finally, discover why you are making these videos. What do you think visitors to your website or social media sites will want to see? The two main purposes of online video in your marketing plan are to engage and to tell a story. Will these videos achieve these things? Know your audience before they get to know you.

Promote

There are numerous ways in which you can promote your videos once it goes live. Since YouTube is the fourth most visited website in the world, it would be wise to create a company-branded YouTube channel. If your company has a Facebook page (the second most visited site – now with 400 million users!), you can also post them there and announce their existence on Twitter, the company blog, newsletters, and your website. Online videos can also be optimized for search engines.

Speaking of search engines, I will discuss SEO as it relates to online video in the next blog post about video for your small business. I’ll also get into editing software and techniques, audio issues, and the importance of branding and messaging in your video content. Stay tuned…

I have seen my fair share of cute, funny, gross, odd videos and shared them with my friends. I have also seen lots of great business content – how to videos, video blogs, product demos, presentations and more. Video is a great way to really put a face to your company, appeal to visual learners, build trust with your customers and reach out to your audience in a new way.

B2B Video marketing

B2B companies often drool over the shiny new toys that their hip B2C siblings get to play with but video translates into both B2B and B2C. In the B2B buying process, often the most time consuming piece of the process is the research phase. B2B purchases are large and usually take more then one person to make the purchasing decision. What better way to build trust with potential customers than with video?

A picture is worth a thousand words.. and video is worth like a zillion words.

Here are a few ideas for your B2B company when creating an online video:

• A message from your president
• Demo of your products
• Training, how to, or a presentation
• Highlights from tradeshows
• Client testimonials

As with any marketing effort, developing a plan and measuring results may be the most important part! You and your marketing team need to decide what content your audience wants to hear from you, how you are going to shoot your video, what you want to achieve etc. before you turn on your video camera.

Kyle and I did a short presentation this week at the Social Media FTW conference here in Portland on using YouTube for business. Below are our slides from the event. We are also hosting a roundtable next Tuesday on YouTube Marketing for Business if you would like to attend and bring your burning questions.

How you market your video is a unique representing of the type of video you choose to create. For example, there’s not much point in Christopher Penn marketing his welcome to my website video. Certain kinds of videos are meant to be shared and spread, others are intended to be more utilitarian.

So what are some of the types of videos you can make, and what’s the appropriate way to market them?

• Success Stories – Success story videos are excellent. They tell about your company in the words of your customer, helping prospects relate and building a trust relationship that is hard to tell in words alone. But are they going to get 1,000,000 hits in YouTube? Probably not. Put a success story video on your website, absolutely, and get the word out to people who will care about it. Put it in your company newsletter or highlight it on your blog. Make links to it prominent so that your website visitors will get to it. Maybe even burn a DVD to send to prospects who aren’t as web-savvy… it’s worth it!
• President’s Message – This kind of message should be prominently featured on your website, easy to find and concise. Sure, you can put it on YouTube, but without being on your site and being interested in your story, who is likely to care? Again, this kind of video is best suited to permission-based communications with people who are already interested in you.
• Viral Videos – What makes a viral video a hit is a combination of art, science, and good old-fashioned luck (okay, maybe timing has more to do with it). Unlike videos that are intended to go out to customers who are pre-qualified to enjoy your message, the very intent of a viral video means it has broad appeal. Instead of trying to influence the opinions of a chosen few, a viral video is meant to amuse the masses. NOW you can post it on YouTube, tell all your friends, tweet it, StumbleIt, Digg it… Start with the network of people who care about what you say, and then try to get that network to share it with their network, and soon you’ll truly have a viral hit. If your viral video doesn’t resonate well enough with people to get shared — well, take a coffee break, shrug, and get back to the drawing board.

As is the nature of online media, the way you get the word out about your video is a unique outcropping of what you have to say. Measuring success by hundreds of thousands of views doesn’t make sense for a product demonstration. More important is engagement. Whether people care.

We’ll revisit this topic soon and discuss some of the hard stuff — how you actually measure engagement and interest, and how you use that to modify your strategy. In the meantime, don’t miss Show Don’t Tell, Using Video to Tell Your Story!

photo credit: vancouverfilmschool

As I discussed last week, web video doesn’t require the same kind of equipment you need to shoot an amazing indie short. However, that doesn’t mean you get to skimp on the creativity!

The blessing and curse of web video is that you have only 2-5 minutes to say what you’ve got to say. You don’t need to try and make a two hour long story make sense, like a filmmaker does, but instead you have to compete with a dazzling world of distraction — email, Twitter, other websites, etc. Your video needs to come on strong and stay strong.

So how do you do this? There are many tried and true forms, and when it comes to business-to-business, you have the added advantage that viewers are not as entertainment hungry as the typical YouTube crowd. You can focus on more informative resources such as a message from the President, a testimonial from a customer, or just a description of what you do in a slightly more entertaining way. One particularly nice touch I like is Christopher Penn’s opening to FinancialAidPodcast.com.

Of course, an idea does not a video make. You need to turn the idea into words and images, and this is where even the simplest web video requires a touch of art. Turning on the camera and letting it run just isn’t going to work. You need to plan out what the video will be in as much detail as possible before you even think about trying to record it.

This is the process in filmmaking called pre-production, and as many a seasoned videographer will tell you, the more time you spend in this process the easier the recording will go, and the finer the finished product will be.

So what do you need in pre-production? These specifics will get you going:

• A script – Fancy software that uses the Hollywood screenplay standard is probably not needed. Instead, a simple two column format works. I tend to write it like play dialogue — SOANDSO says something, then paragraphs describe the visuals. A storyboard consisting of doodles of the frames that accompany the audio can help.
• The actors – Who’s going to be in the video? Are they willing to do it? Do they need to memorize their lines? What outfits does your script call for?
• A place to shoot – It all depends on your script, and there are trade-offs no matter where you choose to shoot. Interiors can be quieter, but are hard to light adequately. Shooting outside can get a very crisp shot with little effort, but you’ll be forced to deal with wind and possibly traffic noise fuzzing with your audio.
• Props – Flying monkeys? Check.
• A date and time – Once you’ve figure out what you want to shoot, who will be in it, and where you’ll do it, now you just need to get all of those elements into the same place at the same time. It’s not as easy as it sounds!

Even with the best of planning, a video shoot can be tedious and frustrating (Why DOES that plane keep flying by?!?!), but the more effort you put into the front-end, the smoother the process will go in the end. In reality, a good professional video team is more than just a bunch of guys who can wield a camera — it’s an organized, artistic company that can manage the logistics of a complex project, show endless patience as they do and re-do their work, master all of this technical gobbledeegook and use all this technology to convey a cohesive marketing message.

Next week we’ll talk a little about how to get your video out there once it’s done. Until then, have fun! And don’t miss my upcoming webinar on using web video to tell your story.