If your business has tried conventional marketing (print, TV, radio, direct mail) with less than stellar results, now may be the time for you to embrace SMS video text messaging as a marketing tool.  Here are some compelling statistics.

Studies show that 83% of all US adults use a cell phone and 73% of them regularly send and receive text messages.  Over 9.6 trillion text messages were sent in 2012.  30% of consumers interact with brands via text message and of those consumers nearly 50% would like to receive text ads.  Text message users in the US send or receive an average of 35 messages daily.  Among smartphone users 22% say texting is the top function they cannot do without, followed by the Internet (17%) and Email (16%).

While these statistics alone get my attention, I want to really make the case by offering 7 real-world advantages of using video text message marketing to promote your brand and sell products.

Advantages of Video Text Message Marketing:

1. Your contacts almost always have their cell phones on (and with them), so you know your message is being delivered.
2. SMS is delivered quickly; no printing, scheduling or postal delays to contend with.
3. Over 95% of text messages are read within 15 minutes of being received.  This is great news for anyone sending time-sensitive videos for things like 1-day sales events, contract negotiations, appointment  reminders and more.  That means your videos will be viewed while the information is hot.
4. Only people who have requested information from you, or people already your customers will receive these messages, allowing you to send targeted information for better results.
5. Coupons and special offers made through SMS messaging average a 20% redemption rate compared to 2% for print, TV, radio or direct mail offers.  Additionally, 31% of smartphone users prefer offers received via text message over offers received via: Mobile Web (21%), Apps (11%), and Voicemail (8%).
6. It’s cost effective.  Compared to traditional forms of advertising, text messages are a bargain.  The less you spend converting a prospect or re-engaging a customer, means a higher ROI for you.
7. Video text messaging sets you apart from your competitors.  Businesses can move slowly when it comes to change.  Being among the first to adopt new technology gives you special recognition in the eyes of consumers eager to try the next big thing.

The essential ingredient here is the inclusion of video in the text message.  Consumers are rapidly moving to video as their information source of choice, due in part to its visually pleasing and entertaining aspects.  But more than that, it allows them to connect on a personal level to the message they are receiving.  That sense of connection drives engagement and motivates action, and that’s a huge marketing advantage.

As you can see the reasons for using video text message marketing are pretty clear and that’s why we’ve added it to our mobile apps for iPhone and Android devices.  If you are a Covideo customer and your account package includes the mobile app feature, select the SMS option the next time you send a video.  If your current Covideo account doesn’t include the mobile app, contact us at support@covideo.com to find out how you can add it.

Not a Covideo user yet?  Stay a step ahead of your competitors!  Start a Free Trial today and make video email and video text messaging the secret ingredients of your marketing success!
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Jamie Bidwell is a team member at www.covideo.com. Covideo provides video email software that helps companies build relationships quickly and reinforce their brands more effectively with easy-to-make video emails that truly communicate. jamie@covideo.com.

What does this have to do with video marketing?  A lot, actually.  While I enjoy discovering new blogs, I find that certain sites draw me back, time after time. Content is a major factor, but I also recognize it’s more than that.  It’s consistency.  Articles are consistently and thoughtfully written.  Images are consistently well crafted.  Branding is consistently and creatively threaded throughout.  These sites are more than someone’s ideas haphazardly splashed across a webpage.  They are themed environments designed to spark interaction (comments, shares, Likes, Pins) and sales.

Blogs aren’t the only ones using consistent themes as marketing tools. Themed TV commercials have been used for years to build brands and influence consumer spending.  The Priceline ‘Negotiator’ and Capital One ‘Vikings’ are just two examples.  Insurance giants Allstate and Geico have done an outstanding job of developing not one, but two concurrent advertising themes.  Since 2003, Dennis Haysbert has been the Allstate spokesperson asking, ‘Are you in good hands?’  In 2010, ‘Mayhem’ ads were introduced to target younger consumers.  Both campaigns continue to be successful.  The long running ‘Caveman’ and ‘Gecko’ ads by Geico, present two very unique and humorous themes that target different demographics without diluting their brand.  No easy task to pull off.

Video marketing can work the same way, though I don’t suggest tackling two themed campaigns right off the bat.  First, decide how to convey the desired image of your company, its products and/or services.  Think long-term.  Establish a basic theme and develop a story line around a spokesperson or character(s) using animation, humor, drama, or sensational situation as the focal point.  Let the story evolve over time to build anticipation for upcoming videos, but remain true to the premise and maintain a consistent feel.  Be entertaining and informative but above all, directly associate your brand with the message.  Viewers may fail to remember brand names just minutes after watching videos that don’t effectively make the brand association.

Finally, know when it’s time to change themes.  Consistency is important, but staying relevant is just as crucial.  When a theme has run its course, make way for a fresh idea.

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Jamie Bidwell is a team member at www.covideo.com. Covideo provides video email software that helps companies build relationships quickly and reinforce their brands more effectively with easy-to-make video emails that truly communicate. jamie@covideo.com.

Click Here to Watch Video

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Jamie Bidwell is a team member at www.covideo.com. Covideo provides video email software that helps companies build relationships quickly and reinforce their brands more effectively with easy-to-make video emails that truly communicate. jamie@covideo.com.

In much the same way, we’re looking at better ways to ‘attach’ PDFs, Word Documents and Excel Spreadsheets to a video email.  The regular method of attaching a document requires the viewer to go back to the email after viewing the video to access the file.  It’s a bit awkward and relies on the viewer’s willingness to take extra steps.  Why not make the documents available right on the video email template using our customizable exit links?

The only issue; you need a URL to create the link, and regular file documents don’t have that.  But, no worries.  We found an easy way to create a URL for your documents using a free service called Dropbox. Ryan put together a quick video on how create a URL and add the link to your video email template.

WATCH VIDEO

With this new method, you can include up to 7 file links with any video you send.  So, forget about using old-fashioned attachments.  It’s a new day.  Add file links to your templates instead.

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Jamie Bidwell is a team member at www.covideo.com. Covideo provides video email software that helps companies build relationships quickly and reinforce their brands more effectively with easy-to-make video emails that truly communicate. jamie@covideo.com.

Ryan put together a video on how to subscribe and even gives you two free RSS Reader options for managing your feeds.

Watch video

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Jamie Bidwell is a team member at www.covideo.com. Covideo provides video email software that helps companies build relationships quickly and reinforce their brands more effectively with easy-to-make video emails that truly communicate. jamie@covideo.com.

If you are wondering how to improve video quality, start with lighting.  Good video lighting will produce a more professional result, regardless of the video camera you are using.  How you approach lighting your subject will depend on whether you are shooting indoors or out.

Types of Lighting
Natural Light:  The sun is the best source of natural light for outdoor videos, but it comes with challenges. Avoid making videos when the sun is directly overhead as it will create harsh shadows across your subject’s face.  The best time of day for outdoor videos is mid-morning or mid-afternoon when the sun isn’t as bright.  Cloudy or hazy days will provide a softer, more even light source than the sun but often require additional lighting to keep the subject from appearing too flat against the background.

Artificial Light:  There are four commonly used bulb types: Incandescent, Halogen, LED and Fluorescent.  Each has advantages and disadvantages (I’ve listed them below) so use the one(s) that best fit your situation and budget.

Incandescent –
PROS:  Warm light, low cost, dimmable.
CONS:  Short life span, generates heat, not energy efficient.

Halogen -
PROS:  Compact, dimmable, great for spot lighting.
CONS:  More costly, generates substantial heat, touching the bulb lowers the life span

LED -
PROS:  Long lasting, super efficient, low cost operation, emits little heat. 
CONS:  Expensive to purchase, not all are dimmable, some bulb types do not emit light evenly.

Fluorescent -
PROS:  Efficient, bright, generate little heat, newer bulbs give off warm light.
CONS:  Brightness fades over time, expensive purchase price, some are not dimmable, contain mercury.

Three Point Lighting
One of the best ways to light a subject is the Three Point Lighting method.  This involves placing 3 lights at specific locations around your subject with varying degrees of intensity to create a well-lit and natural look.

Key Light:  

This is your main light source and is usually set at a 45 degree angle from the camera to light about  2/3 of your subject’s face.
The reason this light is not placed directly in front of the subject is to create some definition to the edges of the subject’s face and shoulders.
Lighting placed straight on to the subject will flatten out their features, giving the video an over-exposed look.

Fill Light:

Once in place, the key light will create dark shadows on the portion of the face not fully lit.  The fill light ‘fills’ in the shadows but doesn’t completely erase them for a more natural appearance.  You can accomplish this by placing the light source at a similar 45 degree angle on the opposite side of the camera and diminishing the intensity of the light. This can be accomplished by using a lower wattage bulb or by moving the light farther away from the subject.  A neutral intensity gel can be placed in front of the bulb as another way to soften light intensity.

Back Light:

Key and fill lights give an overall even light to your subject but fail to differentiate them from the background, resulting in a smooth, uninteresting look.  To make your subject pop a bit, you’ll want to add a back light.  Place your light behind the subject, raised and off to a slight angle, so that the light flows over the subject but not into the camera lens.  The object is to create a soft glow around the head and shoulders and a bit of dimension on one side of the face, so use a lower intensity light here to avoid a harsh look.

White Balancing Your Camera
After placing your lights, the next step is to adjust your camera’s white balance to make the colors in your video as accurate as possible.  If you are using a DSLR camera, check the manual to see what predefined settings are available.  The most common include: Auto, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Daylight, Cloudy, Flash and Shade.  In most cases, these presets deliver fairly accurate colors and are easy to use.  Some DSLR cameras allow for manual white balancing, giving you the ability to tell the camera what white looks like, forming a reference point for all other colors.  Manual (or custom) white balance is generally considered your best option when color accuracy is critical.  Basically, all you need is a calibration target held in front of the camera to set a neutral point of reference.  Using a calibration target is also valuable for back-up color correction during post-production editing.  (If you’re on a shoestring budget or don’t have time to shop, I’ve heard of people using everything from a sheet of paper to coffee filters as targets, with surprisingly good results.)  Once you take a still shot of the target, follow your camera’s instructions for setting manual white balance based on that still shot.  The process is usually quick and easy.  Once you have established white balance for the light conditions in which your video is being shot you won’t have to make any further adjustments.  If you go from indoor to outdoor lighting, resetting the white balance is advised.

Here is the same subject after white balancing.  The yellow cast seen in the previous shots is gone for more accurate color rendering.

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Jamie Bidwell is a team member at www.covideo.com. Covideo provides video email software that helps companies build relationships quickly and reinforce their brands more effectively with easy-to-make video emails that truly communicate. jamie@covideo.com.

Templates
When an account is first opened our system assigns the Black Link Template as your default template.  This means that unless you assign a new template as your default, or manually select a different template when sending a video email, the Black Link Template will appear with every video email you send.

To assign a new template as your default:     Default Template Video
1) Login to your account and click on Graphics.
2) The page that comes up has a scrollable menu on the left with all your template names. (You can also use the search feature.)
3) Hover over each name and a thumbnail image of the template will appear to the right.
4) Once you find the template you want, click on the corresponding radio button in the column under the word Default.
5) A message will appear confirming the new template has been set as your default.

When sending a video email the default template name will display on the email form.  To manually select a different template, click on the drop down menu or Select button, depending on which recorder you are using.  Select Template Video.  Selecting the template manually only effects that specific video email deployment.  The next video email you send will again display the default template name on the email form.  Since individual videos are not tied to any one template, you can send the same video five different times to five different contacts and assign a different template to each one reflecting a special occasion, time of year or other event.

Exit Links
Your account doesn’t come with pre-loaded Exit Links, you create them as needed.  For instance, if you reply to an internet request you might set up informational links about your company, products, service, etc.  A video promoting a sales event could include links to clearance items, and a ‘Thank You’ video might have links to your social media site(s) to keep customers engaged after a purchase.  Exit Links can even direct viewers to additional videos.  With so many application options, it makes sense that you can create as many sets of Exit Links as you want and send them with any video, on any of your templates.

The first set of Exit Links you create is automatically designated as your default html link set and will appear on every video email you send, unless you create additional Exit Links or select ‘None’ when sending a video email.  Exit Link Set Up Video.

Once you have two or more sets of Exit Links you can change the default set at any time:
1) Click on Graphics
2) Click on Exit Links
3) View the list of Exit Link Sets and click the radio button for the set you wish to assign as default.
4) A message confirming the new default assignment will appear.

As with templates, the default Exit Links will display on the email form when sending a video email.  (If you are using the Desktop Recorder click on ‘More Options’ to display Exit Link and Template information.)  To manually select a different set of Exit Links, click on the drop down menu.  Your selection will only effect that specific video email deployment.  The next video email you send will again display the default Exit Links on the email form.

The autonomous nature of Exit Links and templates gives you the ultimate in flexibility when sending video emails.  Not only can you customize the video message, your graphics can be tailor made as well.  Enjoy!

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Jamie Bidwell is a team member at www.covideo.com. Covideo provides video email software that helps companies build relationships quickly and reinforce their brands more effectively with easy-to-make video emails that truly communicate. jamie@covideo.com.

The Pinterest statistic that stands out to me is a 42% higher click-thru rate for DIY and tutorial pins.  After looking at dozens of these pins I am struck by how many rely on still images and text to walk viewers through projects ranging from furniture refinishing to recipes.  Most posts include 3-4 pictures that only tell part of the story, and written directions that can be confusing or incomplete.  Video pins on the other hand, not only offer more detail and clarity, they bring the subject to life and make the process more interesting.  Beyond DIY and tutorials, video pins are great for product demos, virtual home tours, sales events, brand enhancement, contests and much more.

So, how do you pin a video to Pinterest from your Covideo account?  It’s actually pretty easy.   In fact, it only takes a couple of clicks.  Watch This Video to see how it’s done.  Once pinned, a first-frame image from your video will be added to the designated board.  When a Pinterest user clicks on the image, your template appears (complete with any links you have set up) and the video begins playing.  Users can repin, like or comment on videos as they do with any other pin.

If your business has a Pinterest page, now is a great time to include video pins in your marketing repertoire.  If you haven’t established a Pinterest presence, decide how best the platform can be used for your business and then let Covideo help you bring it to life, with video.

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Jamie Bidwell is a team member at www.covideo.com. Covideo provides video email software that helps companies build relationships quickly and reinforce their brands more effectively with easy-to-make video emails that truly communicate. jamie@covideo.com.

Every part of your company is a cog in the wheel of that business’s success, and a thoughtful and thankful video provides a great opportunity for executives to distribute accolades and recognition. A liberal dose of humor is also effective in raising spirits. In the first company I was employed, the otherwise serious CEO would dress up like Santa Claus for his annual Christmas communication, drawing widespread laughter from the sheer absurdity of his antics.

Covideo offers a wide variety of themed solutions for your holiday well-wishing. After recording your video, choose your holiday video skin from eight options available in the Templates section under the Graphics tab. This video is supposed to be fun, so include holiday links that help to set the mood (elfyourself.com is my personal favorite).
What are you waiting for? Spread the holiday cheer throughout your business by signing up for a free Covideo trial today.

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Curran Corrigan is a team member at www.covideo.com. Covideo provides video email software that helps companies build relationships quickly and reinforce their brands more effectively with easy-to-make video emails that truly communicate. curran@covideo.com.