Be Brave

There are a lot of tools we use as photographers and filmmakers, but the most common one-- regardless of whether you're a Canon, Nikon, Sony, or Pentax shooter-- is definitely the web.  So if this feels a little off-topic to you, consider what you're staring at right now.

That's right.  A browser.  Unfortunately, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer all track and sell your user data.  And to add insult to the injury, this process slows down your browsing experience.  So I switched to Brave, the browser with the motto: "You Are Not a Product."

Amen, brother. 

They do not track your usage.  They do not allow other companies to track your usage.  And they block ads that slow you down. They even keep a tally of how many ads and trackers they've blocked, as well as how much time you've saved by not loading ads. Find them at: https://brave.com.

This has been one of the most painless switches I could have imagined.  If you use a lot of add ons and plugins, Brave may not be for you.  In order to keep your browser secure, they don't have any.  I also still use one of those other crappy browsers for YouTube and Google searches, just to make sure they can't someone infiltrate the system.  But since we're on the topic, stop Googling stuff.  Use DuckDuckGo.  They don't track your searches.

Yes, your email company is still tracking you, as are Facebook, Instagram and others, but at least this cuts down on the sheer volume of data you're handing over to marketers.

Still don't believe that this is a topic for a photography blog? Look at the photo credit (lower left hand corner) for the top image.  If you don't know Serge Ramelli, you should.

Making Powerful, Credible Testimonial Videos

Testimonials are one of the most powerful marketing tools available to businesses, but they're often lacking in the "trust" department.  Rather than appearing as an honest review, viewers too often see them as paid advertisements.  So how do you create video testimonials that are compelling and believable?  Over at Hurricane Images we've created three vital guidelines for creating your video.  Rule One?  Make the client real.  Give them time to tell their story-- for the audience to understand the obstacles they faced.  Then take it deeper.

Going Pro: Website Part Deux

For the past dozen posts I've been chronicling my 40-week journey toward starting my own production company.  The first trimester of the journey has really been about setting up the "back end" of the business.  Today I launched my video production web pages. This is a big milestone for me; even though it’s not “finished” or complete, I now have someplace to refer people to see my work. 

Day 30:

For the time being my video pages are a section of my photography website.  This may change in the future, but while I have limited examples of my video work I am showing my photography as supporting imagery.  You might notice that I’m immediately contradicting myself:  my advice is to super niche, and only list what is important to my videography clients (photography is obviously not it).  Obviously, it’s difficult to follow any advice to the letter—real life gets in the way.  In this case, I’m hoping to create a media production company that combines still and motion.  But I’ll be watching to see if my “muddied” message gets in the way of any clients.
     

The video section has three pages: an introductory page with my portfolio, a process page that explains how I work with clients, and a contact page.  I have just six videos in my portfolio.   In other words, the bare minimum all around.  But it’s enough to say, hey, I am a videographer.  Until my portfolio includes really top-notch work, I can only expect companies with limited budgets to hire me.  People who can’t afford top-notch.  As a photographer I learned that the way to grow my business was to always deliver higher quality content than what I was being paid to produce.  This not only made for happy customers, it allowed me to pitch my services to bigger companies each time.  Yet again, I’m contradicting myself with the choice of videos.  I don’t have six videos in one niche, so I’m making do with what’s available.

The goal for today was to launch an introductory “website” (in my case, web pages) that would convey competence, accessibility, and creativity.  Most filmmakers aren’t great writers.  Luckily, I am.  I don’t say that lightly-- I’m an award-winning playwright and I write copy for my company.  One of the first things you learn as a copy writer is not to rely on your own creativity.  Being good with words doesn’t mean you know what to say.  My advice is to look at other websites to understand what you should communicate; if you’re good with words, you can decide how you communicate that message.

Keeping my niche clients in mind, I reviewed several websites from other video companies.  I chose companies that were not in my geographic area.  I looked for content categories (like testimonials, process, etc.); and I looked for language I thought was powerful.   I copied content I liked into a Word document-- several pages of content, actually-- and then edited and wordsmithed it until the language was specific to my clients and my strengths.    

My client database has doubled since Day 13.  But I’m not ready to contact any of them.  First impressions are important, even when you expect to make several pitches over several months to close the deal.  If I came to my website I wouldn’t hire me just yet, not if I had the resources to hire someone else.  From working in photography I know these pages aren’t competitive, and neither is my pitch.  One tenth of the way into my 180 day challenge, I still have a long road ahead.     

Just joining us?  You can read about the beginning of the journey here.

  

  

Going Pro: Website Ju Jitsu

Location, location, location. That used to be the motto of every new business (and the reason I said 2017 is going to be a Why 2017 is going to be a great year for videographers). You want foot traffic, accessibility, and to be surrounded by complementary businesses. Nowadays, though, your most important location is in the virtual world.  Your storefront is your website.

Today is all about maximizing and honing your website.  It’s not about SEO; search engine optimization is about getting people to your website—this is about moving customers who visit your website to hire you.

We’ve already talked about the three main concepts:  sharpening your target consumer population to a fine point (super niching), identifying the unique qualities that make up your competitive edge, and translating those qualities into customer-centric language.  Now we need to apply that to your web page.  Two things to remember: first, your should revise and update your website is something at least every six months.  It’s not a one-time deal.  You need to be continually sharpening your website language, and it will change as your sample videos change and as your company grows.  Second, whatever it is you want to say about your company is probably the ball and chain that will drag you down into the murky, trash-filled depths of the lagoon of bankruptcy and leave your family destitute.  Cuz it’s not about you.  It’s about your customer.

Reverse the lens: we’ve talked about this before. What does your customer want?  That’s the only thing that matters.  Your experience is only as relevant as your customer’s desire to know.  Most people explain way too much.  Be brief and let your samples talk for you.  The equipment you use is meaningless.  As is your schooling.  Everything that appears on your web page has to meet three criteria:

1. Speaks to your niche.  Wedding clients aren’t interested in your corporate clients, your branding experience, or crowdfunding success.
2. Highlights how it will fulfill their needs.  The lens has to be pointed at them, not you.
3. Positions your competitive advantages in terms of how it meets their needs and desires.

This is what marketers mean when they say the customer comes first.

It’s often easier to understand a concept by studying “bad examples” rather than good ones. Let’s look at some examples of video production websites that don’t follow these rules.  All of the companies and websites are real, but since they haven’t asked for my critique I’m going to make them as anonymous as possible.

Example 1

Bad example 1 - D Productions (the names have been changed to protect the guilty):   the home page is a “splash page” with their logo, a quote about overcoming difficulties, and an enter button.  None of that is important to their customers.  Their real homepage has a featured video (good), two sample videos (skimpy), a “Now in Production” statement (who cares unless it’s for a major company like BMW?), “We Specialize In…” such and such videos (good), and “Now Seeking Angel Investors” (are you kidding me?). So little of this page tells the customer that they will fill their needs.  What’s do they shoot?  Who is their client population? It’s almost impossible to tell, except their History page lists a lot of sports games.  So maybe the clients are sports teams and the need is to “capture the excitement of the game.”  But that’s not what is on their page.

Example 2:

Bad example 2 - W Productions:  the Homepage is all text—no images or video.  Their tag line is “Illuminating life through video.”  What need does that fill?  No one wants a video to “illuminate life?”  Unless, maybe, if they specialized in video retrospectives for senior citizens.  But they don’t.  The next block of text declares:

“All THAT YOU NEED CAN BE FOUND HERE.  W Productions has been providing high-quality video production since we opened our doors in 2008.  Every day, we strive to provide you with friendly service and the best experience in Blank City.”  Again, how does this relate to their customer’s needs and concerns?

Example 3:

Okay, you’re saying you’d never create a website as bad as that.  Let’s examine a good website with more minor flaws:  N Productions:  They describe themselves as “A full-service media company located in the heart of Blank City, N Productions is a team of passionate individuals who believe in the power of storytelling to entertain, inspire, and inform. Please feel free to contact us with inquiries, budget requests, or just to connect.” Friendly. Then they describe each of their services with a short blurb for Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production.  This is followed by logos of big name clients they’ve worked for.  The website is elegant, lively, and clean.  But the only thing that separates them from their competition is the list of previous clients.  I know more about who they are from their client list than anything else.  Consider their company description:  “A full service media company….” That’s the only relevant bit of info in the sentence.  Passionate individuals, storytelling, inspiring, entertaining, these adjectives are a dime a dozen, and entirely predictable.  If they said, “N Productions is a scrappy team who tell stories that tickle the imagination and inspire engagement” you’d have a better sense of who they are.  Not because the sentence means something vastly different, but because the description surprises.

You’ll notice in none of the examples have I talked about the quality of their videos.  While that may be the single biggest factor in getting hired, that’s not the focus here.  Nor am I discussing whether their page is "attractive" or not-- I'm focused simply on the content.

Example 4:

Now a good example from the folks at Empire Video.  The name of their company is missing from their Homepage (which is inexplicably weird), but look: we know they service young companies, giving them a “boost,” helping with fund raising and branding.  And since the companies are new, they’ve outlined the process—a completely info-free 3-step description—for what will happen.  And they’ve got 9 samples to view.  We can identify their niche (young businesses), the need (raise money and/or awareness), and their competitive edge is… (simplicity, ease of use).  Is it perfect?  You tell me.

Just joining us?  You can read about the beginning of the "Going Pro" journey here.

Branded Content Videos

Branded content is a bit of an umbrella terms for the merger of brand marketing with other content-- either educational or entertainment.  Imagine a tutorial on a subjected related to your product, or short film that features your product, and you've found an example of content marketing.  It works because it either fulfills an immediate need (tutorial) or touches the viewer emotionally (film).

Branded content has taken off in the video world as digital media has become richer and technology has allowed viewers to circumnavigate traditional ads. In today's environment your audience has to want to watch your ad.  Gone our the days when ads are forced on them every 12 minutes.  If your business isn't doing content marketing-- or your video company producing it-- you are waay behind the curve.  Delve deeper, see examples, and learn more on Hurricane Images' company blog.