Friday, May 08, 2009

Not Every Company Knows Video

Take a look on YouTube. Do a search for just about any combination of business description you can think of and you will likely discover a bounty of examples to study. If you are an independent professional video services provider, and interested in trying something other than weddings for a change, a little research on the business uploads at YouTube, and other video sites as well, will encourage you to offer your services. Why? Because not every company knows video, or has employees who produce video as well as you.

The sound is often "boomy" or full of hollow, tinny output that makes listening to these messages a pain. Very few put much effort into sound isolation or control, opting for on-camera microphones in a room full of audio bouncing surfaces - no dampening. No close, direct, wireless or quality miking.

Lighting is all over the place. Colorization is all over the place. Visuals range from washed out to bloomed out, to darker than the backside of a lens cap.

Few get beyond the concept of center shots for that deer-in-the-headlights effect, paying little, if any, attention to the rule of thirds. Virtually none vary their shots, opting for one position.

The presenters often read, or do some seriously amateur extemporaneous speaking, with cutesy jokes, casting of the eyes and false-sounding inadequate attempts at sincerity.

It is difficult enough to take using sites like YouTube seriously as a vehicle for serious professional business promotion, what with all the amateur wannabe entertainers doing their thing. The baby, pet or odd creature flicks. Gads.

The irony is that YouTube, provided you know what to do to drive traffic to your videos there, provided you have a reasonable professional quality presentation with quality information that proves of interest to the market and demographic you want to reach, can be highly effective.

This is where hiring an independent professional video services provider to do the work comes in. This is where you come in. You know how to mic for quality audio. You know how to light to create a nice set. You know about trying to maintain a static background, minimize movement, use a tripod. And, you know how to create product that professional business clients can appreciate and will pay for.

If you are a dedicated video production professional, and you want to expand your business base, and you are not pursuing video services offering clean, quality audio and visual content to this market at a reasonable price - dear reader you are missing one heck of an opportunity to establish yourself as the "go to" video producer in your service area for a vastly under-served market.

Why? Because the "big guys" in video production are targeting the "big companies" while the people keeping America above water in these economic times - the small business owners - are in desperate need of your services at prices they can afford, so they can invest in areas of marketing they otherwise cannot reach. Or, they are so desperate to get into the YouTube arena they settle for poor video production and presentation that makes them come off anything BUT professional in their chosen field.

Coming soon - a complete business guide to marketing, producing and making a profit selling your services to small businesses. That and more, my friends. That and more.

If You Market, You Will Make It! © Earl Chessher

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