Mind Your Manners

Because NICE matters…

Our mothers taught us to be polite.  Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ were the norm.  A sad casualty of our speedy worldwide communication system is that common courtesy, especially in business communications, has withered.

Clients often call us to schedule meetings about video projects, live events, and other communications initiatives.  We give them input, creative approaches, estimates and our time…whatever they need.  And with some of these clients, a week later they are nowhere to be found.  Despite a cadre of communications tools at their fingertips, they won’t use a single one of them to get back to us when we follow up.  Kinda disrespectful, don’t ya think?

It only takes 10 seconds to reply to an e-mail and say:

• still working on it
• waiting on client input
• project is dead
• we went with someone else (we really hate that one, but it’s better than nothing) 

So be nice!  Be respectful!  You are NOT so busy that you can’t spare 10 seconds to get back to someone that you contacted in the first place. 

David and Kathryn Seay are video producers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

www.davidseayproductions.com

Make Your Live Event Look 

Like a Rock Concert

Even in the age of world-wide instant hyper-connectedness, we still have good old-fashioned meetings every once in a while.  These may be something small with only a few people, or something really big with hundreds or thousands of people.  Most every meeting does have a stated purpose:  win new customers, convince the sales force to work harder, get employees on board with new programs, introduction of new company policies…the list is endless.

When you get all these important people in the room at once, take a little time and think about how best to win them to your way of thinking.  Here are a couple of thoughts:

• What is the value of getting as many people as possible won over?
• How much does their “buy in: mean in real dollars?
• How much would you invest to win them over?
• Is their adoption of your ideas important?  If so, how far would you go to sell them?

After you answer these questions, you can get an idea of how much effort you need to put forth.

Videos are always a good motivator in that setting as well a myriad of new technologies to really drive up the “wow” factor.  Here is a video on some new technology that allows 3D mapping on to surfaces – like buildings, people, objects, set pieces in an arena, trade show booth, etc. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=XVTga6GmbGw&vq=medium#t=74

There is no limit to how much you can do in a live event.  From big name rock bands, to flying saucers, to pyro technics, and broadway caliber theatrical staging.  There are companies who specialize in corporate live events.  These guys keep up with the new technology and can explain the value of it…or call us.  We can help bridge the gap between you and these uber-techno presentation elements and help you make sense of it all.

David and Kathryn Seay are video producers in the Dallas Fort Worth area

http://www.davidseayproductions.com

LED- the new age of video lighting

For many years we used incandescent lighting fixtures to light video shoots.  They used lots of power, blew circuits, generated lots of heat, and made extra work for the make up artist who had to constantly mop sweaty brows.

Once again, technology helps make life a little easier with the advent of LED lighting. They draw such little power that you can battery power them and there is no heat.  Best of all, they create a soft nice lighting for interviews, something we do ALOT of.

We use a FloLite 1 x 1 panel which is perfect for an interview setting  http://www.flolight.com/led-lighting/microbeam-1024-high-powered-led-video-light.html  we put a chimera on ours and use a low-power back light and bada bing…you have a beautiful soft natural lighting source.

David and Kathryn Seay are video producers in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

www.davidseayproductions.com

SOCIAL MEDIA- at least do this

Social media is here in a BIG way, and it’s here to stay. 

What does this mean to you and your business?  Social media is simply another tool to help sell your brand, and it’s a good one. 

It’s estimated that for a small company to run a social media strategy it will take about 30 hours of work per month.  But if you don’t have a dedicated person to handle your social media, who has that kind of extra time in their schedule?  Here’s something you can do with social media, that will get you in the game without a huge investment of time:

Produce a good video and put it on your company home page, YouTube, and Vimeo.  That, in and of itself will increase your SEO score by 50x, and establish a good visual branding presence. 

Since video is such a powerful branding tool, produce a good one.  Hire an experienced producer with a proven track record.   However, if you are considering doing the video yourself, you’ll likely do more harm than good by branding yourself with an unpolished “home-made” image.

David and Kathryn Seay are video producers in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

www.davidseayproductions.com

Marketing Schmarketing – Just get sumptin’ out there.

Ok, no one really says that … with considerable evidence to the contrary.  In our video production practice, we see how some companies have very low standards in terms of public perception.  It’s as if they don’t know how important managing their image and branding is, or else they just don’t care.  All too often we sense an “it’ll do” kind of mindset from corporate marketers.  No Bueno.

Last week, my friend George Lacy and I got together for lunch (www.lacydesign.com) and we had the most interesting conversation about marketing.  The gist of it is that Apple is perceived worldwide as the most cutting edge, highly creative hardware and software designer ever.  The reason we think this is because Apple told us this - through skillful marketing.  Why, George asks, don’t more companies try to copy that?  It was his opinion that companies say they want to be innovative and creative, but when it comes right down to it, the majority are too apprehensive to initiate that kind of change.  Companies who overcome this fear however, are rewarded with huge market shares and greater acceptance. I agree with George’s theory.

What is your perception of these companies who invested heavily in marketing?

Starbucks

Harley Davidson

Home Depot

Facebook

Google

So it comes down to this:  Whoever steps out of their comfort zone and pairs a great product with an equally innovative campaign – wins.

Video of course, plays a significant role in defining image. It is a wonderfully powerful, image creating tool that can be used in multiple marketing channels (broadcast ads, YouTube videos, company website videos, and social media)  IF created by people who know what they are doing.  If not, it can do terrible damage.  Hire a professional video production company to help market your image!!!!

David and Kathryn Seay are professional video producers in the Dallas Fort Worth area

www.davidseayproductions.com

3 Surefire Ways to Make Video Work for Your Business

Video will help your business do better.  Period.  

Here are three ways our clients use video that consistently works.

1. CORPORATE IMAGE:  

Video can show who you are better than any other medium, so use it to your advantage.  If you want to be known as the low-price leader in your industry, create a video that touts your ability to deliver your products at consistently low prices.  If you want to be known as an upscale provider, create an upscale video that shows your ability to deliver the absolute best, even though it’s at a higher price.  Perception is reality, and it’s up to you to control your image. 

2. SOCIAL MEDIA: 

This has become vital in today’s world.  People are finding out about goods and services via Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Angie’s List by searching with their smart phones.  And it’s a proven fact that people stay on a site longer when there is a video to watch.

3. TRAINING: 

You have a clear idea of what you want your employees to do, how you want them to act, and the way you want them to handle their jobs.  Somehow you have to clearly communicate this to your work force.  Videos, along with computer-based training courses, make sure the right information gets out to all of your employees.  People tend to learn more by watching rather than reading, their retention rates are better, and your employees will master their jobs faster and more effectively.

Video works.  Use it.

• Note:  Unless you are an experienced video producer, DO NOT try to create your own video.  You’ll most likely do more harm than good.

David and Kathryn Seay are video producers in the Dallas Fort Worth area

www.davidseayproductions.com

The Single BEST Way to Build Your Image

            Video

It’s simple - with a video people see who you are, watch your products being used, being built, being purchased, etc  They hear from satisfied  customers who benefit from using your services.  People love to watch videos so make the most of it!  It’s a golden opportunity to sell them on your company,

Videos will also improve your search engine scores too.  A website with a video scores 50 times better than a website without.  And with so many people searching for content with smart phones, you will get more hits on your site and more converted customers.

Using a video will also define your brand better than any thing else.  Video is a dynamic medium that leverages movement, music, color, lights, the written word, the spoken word, moving visual effects etc. that will that can be customized to “sell” you.

A good video is an investment that will work on your behalf for many years.

Note: video is a tremendous force in helping shape your image, but it can also work to your disadvantage.  In the wrong hands, these powerful production tools do serious harm to your image and to your company.  Use a professional producer!

David and Kathryn Seay are video producers in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

www.davidseayproductions.com