Ichthus Video

At the beginning of this year I was determined to do more Video Blogging, It was something I have been suggesting my clients do and have even been promoting a new tool to help them in that quest.

Well there comes a time where you have to demonstrate what you are asking your clients to do.  So I took a good chunk of yesterday out and got myself sorted for starting to video blog.

It is easy to forget that actually standing in front of a camera and talking to an inanimate object is not the easiest thing to do.  Equally managing a coherent conversation without deviation, repitition…. I think you know what I mean is not the easiest thing to do.

I managed it – with a little help from my youngest.  It was a very useful experience though and gave me insights into the process that our clients have to go through and thus a level of empathy for what they go through.

From it I learned to allow time when you are wanting to video blog, don’t be hard on yourself when you don’t get it right first time and have some fun with it!

So often when it comes to making video, if your not used to it you can easily forget that your body is constantly filtering – if we were to take in every noise every thing we see then that would make life very difficult to cope with.

It is important however when you are filming to remember that the microphone and the lens is unable to do the same amount of filtering that you are.  If for example a plane keeps flying over head, it won’t be long before you don’t notice it.  After all having lived under the flight path in Hong Kong I should know that it’s possible to filter that kind of thing out.  However had we done any filming in that building you would have picked up every single plane going overhead on the film that came out of it.

Always take a moment to listen, I mean reallly listen to the environment and have a look at what is behind you – are you happy for everything you have in the shot to be in the shot.

If you need any further help or you want to find a way to make your video’s look better by having us polish them after you have filmed them – do let me know.  Call me on 07967 681989 and have a chat.

If you have ever watched the end of a soap opera you will know the fish hooks will be out anywhere from the last 10 mins onwards,   Yes they will be wanting to pull you back to the programme for the next episode,

Ok so I am not asking for you to include cliff hangers in your video’s but you might want to take some time before you start your latest video blog, thinking about what you are going to say on the next one.

If your content is interesting and engaging you will get people wanting to engage with you more.  If on top of that they know some other things which you are going to be talking about, or for that matter if you refer to things you have spoken about in other video’s which they might like to go and watch, now your getting people coming to you for more of what you have to offer and they are likely to come back to you again when they want to know more about your specialist area.

If you have started using video to Vlog and would like some ideas – pick up the phone 07967 681989 or 0800 335 7388

Tripods are much under-rated in the world of self filmed video, Yes I know we have all watched professional video which has beautiful hand held material, and when it’s appropriate then it can work really well.  The challenge is ensuring it’s appropriate and that even under those circumstances it is giving the right impression.  It’s soo easy to get it wrong!

So moral of the story, get yourself a tripod.  If you are not going to be moving it around, then don’t worry about spending a fortune on it.  If howevcr you do want to move the tripod mid shot, think about getting something which is up to the job of creating a smooth pan (move from left to right, or the other way around – sorry for those who now have a mouthfull of egg)

So you have set your camera up and got yourself started with capturing video.  Now many of us (yes me included) use our laptops to speak to people when we are using video conference software like Skype.  The only challenge with that is that so often a number of things are true…

Please note if I was advising me in this picture these are just a few of the things I would say to me..

Your not looking at me in the eye.  If your video is to be a one to one conversation between you and your viewer then you need to be having that conversation with them, look them in the eye.  OK, I grant you it’s not the easiest thing to do, but if it was everyone would be doing it well…..

Your looking down on your viewer, whether they see it and know that’s what your doing, or whether they are simply coming to the end of the film and thinking that something was not quite right….

There are easy ways of getting round this, look at where you have the camera situated, create shorter video’s and know the content you want to deliver so that you can do it in one take,  take the time to get these things right.

Feel free to comment some of the other things you think I might reccommend.  Lets see how many you notice

If you want more help with it or further suggestions then please get in touch on 0800 335 7388.

I had a wonderful chat with a lovely lady Jayne yesterday and during it we got talking about some of my approaches to life.  I mentioned that there are always times in life where we will get hurt by others.  It is how we choose to respond to those hurts which will determine the type of life we have.

There are those people who when they get burned always stay away from the fire!  Now you might argue that in fact it makes a lot of sence,  However if you take a moment and say that you might learn to be more careful around fire but what opportunities are missed for sitting around a camp fire, or in front of a roaring log fire (did I mention that it’s cold today?)

So as you go through life you have a decision to make, are you going to get burned and stay away from whatever burned you or are you going to accept that knocks and scrapes are a part of this thing called life and it is through these experiences that you are able to grow and become the person you were created to be.

This all brings me back to my subject line which is that we were not designed to be tied close to the moorings and never venture out to sea.  At times it will be a scary place but it is only when you get out into the deeper water that you will discover how much you can do, you can achieve and how much you can then offer others as a result of your experiences.

Do share some of your experiences and how you have grown as a result, my thanks to Jayne (@jaynemcox) for her input, friendship and encouragement!

How many times have you heard it said that people buy from people? I know its a well worn perhaps even a worn out saying but it is so true. Now before you go out and get a walk on presenter, sorry colleagues that’s not what I am talking about here. I personally feel they are gimmicky and not necessarily going to add to your brand.

There are lots of applications for video and depending on what your company does there will be better places to have video on your website. Whether you are using video for product testimonials, for meeting members of your team, understanding what you have to offer… the list goes on. Tell you what – if you comment on this blog I will come back to you with some suggestions on ways it might work for your business.

Testimonials are a powerful tool for any business, the truth of the matter is though that often written testimonials can be seen as made up by the owner of the website. Video testimonials provide a powerful insight into what difference your clients interaction with you has made to their business or personal life. There is a wide variety of opinion about how professional these need to be – in some senses it’s dependant on what your business is and who your target audience is but generally the more professional an impression you can give the better.

Video walkthroughs are always a good thing. Gone are the days when lots of time was available for people to travel around to potential suppliers to see what they were like and whether they were the right people for them. Now with the advent of video walkthroughs, from the comfort of your clients own desk they are able to see what working with you would be like – how big / impressive / agile – whatever the appropriate impression you are needing to give…. is.

Meet the team – these are always a powerful way of getting information about what’s important to your business, how the different members of the business feel about the clients and what they enjoy about working for the company. This is always more powerful than a single message from one person in the company.

So in simple terms – YES you need to get a video on your website, have video’s available as part of your sales approach. Ipad’s Iphones, laptops all work well for showing video. It all helps you to stand one step ahead of the rest and that’s always the goal.

Let me know your thoughts – ask me your questions I would love to see what I can do to help.

This post was written in the summer of 2011 but I wanted to bring it across to the new site

Sitting here on a windy morning in the depths of wales got me thinking about twitter. Mainly I guess because I am having an enforced break away from it. Funny isn’t it that there is so little mobile connectivity here and yet I am sure were I to be on a beech in Majorca or some other holiday destination wifi would be all over the place. Maybe that is one of the attractions the locals are trying to hold onto. I also wondered whether providing local wireless access from phone boxes whereby you paid for 30 mins access for which you were given a new code and password or some such would be another useful income stream for BT…

The thoughts about twitter in itself got me thinking about scheduled tweets. Now I have to confess to not being a fan of the scheduled tweet. If someone wants me to engage with them I really want to do that now rather than come to realise that I am communicating with something which may well have been written some weeks or even months ago. I am still to get my head around that. Please do give me your thoughts on the subject by commenting below.

I think what I love about twitter is the diverse uses that you can have of it. Now thats not to say that every use of it will be equally successful. Those who just broadcast will almost certainly find little success, it all depends, like so much in the world on what the audience are wanting to hear. Thankfully it is very easy for them to engage or disengage which also presents an interesting challenge – finding out what they are wanting to hear.

If you are yet to join the fun that is twitter, go on jump in and have a go. If you want help there are a number of people I would love to introduce you to who would be glad to guide you through the journey and set you on your way.