In 2007, I wrote a column that described how to use inexpensive camcorders to put video on the Web for business purposes. Since that time, my screen-printing and embroidery videos have been viewed over 7,000 times on YouTube and a lot has changed. High-def has gone mainstream and Web users are now looking for better video. So, this month, I’ll revisit the topic with updates on how you can leverage video to connect with customers, close sales and earn money.

There are three basic approaches: High-end video that requires expensive cameras that cost about $2,000-plus. It looks great and is TV-studio quality. Second, there is mid-range video. You can produce this with Roxio VideoWave ($150), a high-end camcorder ($1,000) and basic audio. Finally, there is low-end video. Here again you need Roxio or a similar program and a basic camcorder like the RCA Small Wonder ($125). You could conceivably shoot low-end video with a cell phone or digital camera (Sony Mavica) as well. We will focus on low-end and mid-range video.

Is Image Everything?
A word about image: Sure you can do broadcast video, but I think that is impersonal and defeats the purpose of Web video, which is about engaging the user and bringing them closer to your company and beginning a dialog. I use it to explain how screen printing and embroidery work. Many of my customers are remote and can’t come and visit my shop. Web video helps me make the company real and show them our equipment.

One reason I dislike high-end video is that the files are very large. DVD-quality content is 1 MB per second. That’s too big for most Web users. There are essentially two routes you can use to host video on your Web site. The simplest is to use YouTube and embed the content on a Web page.

The next option is to buy Quicktime Pro ($29) and encode your video as a Quicktime movie. I prefer to host my videos with Quicktime, which is a bit more technically challenging and requires bandwidth. I do also post them to YouTube because it will draw people to my site when they see the video. I recommend that you use YouTube when you are starting out. Videos can be up to 1GB in size and 10 minutes in length. That’s plenty of time.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
People have come to expect better video quality, but I still think it’s unnecessary to have studio-quality video. Plus, it may come off as too polished and I want video to have the casual-meeting feel where we discuss something and I explain a product to you. Most of my customers also realize that I’m not CNN and that I’m not speaking to millions of people. I think it’s important to be honest and build trust with viewers by accepting the reality of a small company.

That being said, camcorders have really come a long way. My RCA Small Wonder is a neat gadget. I use it for all sorts of things ranging from video of a product to a quick video of a piece of equipment that is misbehaving. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I wonder what they would say about 30 pictures a second, which is the rate at which video is captured.

I recommend that you have a camcorder with a hard drive. This simplifies the conversion process and uploading the video to your computer. I also suggest getting a high-def camcorder if you can. I’m using a Canon Vixia HG10 which does HD video to hard drive and also has a still camera built into it. It’s quick, simple, and plugs right into my PC.

And … Cut!
Editing is where you spend most of your time. I typically spend about 15 minutes taking video and about four hours editing it to get two minutes of video. It takes some practice. Be sure to review your video before sharing it. You need a good editing package that includes a storyline-based view. It also helps if you think of how you want to tell your story. The most important reason to edit is to get your video down to a smaller size and eliminate bad or unnecessary content. With YouTube, you have 10 minutes of time.

It’s also a good idea to plan your videos. I dislike still video, which is where you point the camera at an object and then talk about it. It’s far better to point the camera at an object and then touch the object as you discuss its features.

YouTube now offers more control for you as a video producer. You can now mark a video “private” and send it to up to 25 people. This is perfect for making presentations to clients.

Another nice change has been the introduction of insight, which is data about how your video is being watched. In addition, you can preemptively stop problem areas such as comments, video responses and other headaches. I had a disgruntled former employee try to make a nasty comment about one of my videos. Fortunately, I had selected “approve before publishing” on comments and was able to stop it. You can also decide what usage your video should have, such as embedding in Web sites or sharing on TV.

I recommend that you title your videos and include your company name. I also like to say my company name in the video. This makes it unlikely that one of your competitors would leverage your videos on their Web site.

Brian Greul is the president of Texas Shirt Company (asi/343253).