Get Hooked On Video
Tuesday April 18, 2017 | Filed under:
These days, I see a ton of videos in my social feeds (and yes, I admit I sometimes watch a few of them). To showcase the ones created by companies in the promotional products industry, ASI’s Advantages magazine created a bracket-style tournament during March Madness that allowed anyone to watch and vote, advancing the best videos along until we had a winner.
And that winner is…SnugZ USA. What I loved most about “Germ Warfare” was the way germs were portrayed as colorful characters. In addition to the cutesy factor, the video included interesting stats, all of which added up to make SnugZ hand sanitizer relevant to viewers.
To see the SnugZ video, along with other entries, click here.
In addition, you can check out a Q&A Advantages Editor-In-Chief C.J. Mittica did with SnugZ on the “secret sauce” behind their creative videos. Click here for behind-the-scene pics from their “Germ Warfare” shoot.
Our contest got me thinking about how easy it is for any company to make a great video. These days, you can either spend a lot of money and produce one that resembles something you’d see on network TV, or you can forgo fancy production altogether and use the new Facebook Live feature, which allows you to shoot and show a video live, warts and all.
For proof, check out ASI’s recent livestream of a green-beer faceoff, which was simple and silly – and earned over 1,000 views.
Last year, an estimated two-thirds of the U.S. population watched online videos and 96% of B2B organizations used video for their company in some way. Expect the numbers to go way up for 2017, because video isn’t going away anytime soon.
For our industry, product videos from suppliers and distributors are crucial for getting the word out, and for making all-important connections with viewers through humor, strong visuals, a compelling story or a combination of all three. What’s key is getting viewers to relate in some way to your product.
Getting into video doesn’t have to be hard, or expensive. Below are some quick tips for success from C.J. and ASI’s Multimedia Coordinator Kaleigh Medici:
• Accessorize. Own a smartphone that shoots in HD (high definition)? Great! You can skip pricey cameras. If you plan on making video a staple for your brand, you might want to consider investing in additional accessories for your smartphone, like lenses, microphones and tripods. HD video cameras have become very inexpensive and easy to use, offering a polished, professional look to your videos. However, even basic cellphones can deliver decent results these days.
• Edit. Whether you opt for Apple or Microsoft, both offer free video editors. Apple’s iMovie and Microsoft’s Windows Movie Maker are both solid options for video. YouTube also has its own video editor tool, free of purchase.
• Tailor. Create a template that can be used for all your videos and customize it with titles, music, special effects and more. Above all, don’t forget your logo. If you’re looking for more than a title and simple transitions between video clips, consider buying software like Adobe Premiere Pro (which you might already have if you’ve purchased Adobe Photoshop) for either Apple or Microsoft. There are also plenty of sites with tutorials like Lynda.com if you’re willing to take it up a notch.
Check out the March issue of Advantages for additional video tips and advice from ASI’s product video guru, Joe Haley. If you haven’t already, join ASI’s Facebook page to see more of our videos and livestreams, or click here for our complete video archive.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a cute cat video to watch.
