Attract. Convert. Retain. 3 Videos You Need In Your Portfolio

Attract. Convert. Retain.

3 Videos You Need In Your Portfolio

1. High-Impact Attention Grabber – 30-60 seconds

2. Company Overview – 3-5 minutes

3. Customer Welcome Video – 1-3 minutes

Many of our clients come to us with a specific need in mind, but there are still plenty of customers that know they need video, but aren’t sure of exactly what their need is.  We have consulted numerous clients through the years on the best videos for their business, and while each company’s specific needs may vary, we have found three videos that are successful across the board. The individual content varies by industry & specific client needs, but this list can give you an idea of where you as a company should begin your Video Marketing journey.

The first video we recommend is a 30 to 60 second Attention Grabber. There are many terms for this “High-Impact” “Sizzle Reel” “Promo” “Demo” – whichever term you choose, this is a short, fast-paced overview video consisting primarily of high-energy music and dynamic graphics. Take your elevator pitch, add some rockin’ music and voila – your first marketing video. Of course, there are many keys to making a successful attention grabbing video that will depend on the intended usage, expected viewer response and target audience, but those can all be determined in your pre-production meeting. For now, just deciding to do one of these videos is your first step. Jot down some bullet points that you feel are necessary to get across in this quick introductory video.

The second video we recommend is a 3-5 minute CompanyOverview. This video is one of our favorites – it’s where we get to meet you & your team & watch you in action! Typically, we love to interview the owner or key personnel on your staff and shoot b-roll around your facility. If you don’t have an exciting facility or office, that’s OK! We can always use stock footage or graphics to fill the screen. There is also an awesome opportunity here for customer testimonials. The first thing you need to ask yourself when selecting this type of video is “what sets us apart from the competition?”

The final video that is important in an emerging video marketing portfolio is a Customer Welcome Video. Now that you’ve attracted attention, converted that lead into a sale, how do you ensure they have the best experience with your company possible? A Welcome Video can let them know what to expect in the early stages of working with you and can introduce them to the key people or processes that they need to know. While this video is not aimed at attracting new business, RETAINING customers is key to marketing success! When approaching a Customer Welcome Video, consider the main questions a new customer may have and aim at answering them quickly and concisely.

You don’t have to stick to these three videos when you begin building your portfolio. What other ideas do you think are important to have to Attract, Convert & Retain customers?

Darcie King

Executive Producer

E Video Productions, LLC

Video Marketing, Pregnancy, and Grace Initiatives… Helping to make a difference.

 Pregnant teenagers, a dedicated woman and video marketing...a local non-profit organization is using a popular internet marketing trend in a unique way to educate & inform her audiences.

E Video Productions makes it happen to get their point across in a touching video. 

How am I going to provide for my child? Am I going to be a good mom? These questions come to mind for anyone having a child or wants to have one. But they become more real for a young teen pregnant. Who do they go to when they need help, encouragement or even just a little hope? Well, if you live in or near Ocean County there is hope for these young women. Grace Initiatives provides this to women ages 11-21.

What they offer is:

·      Confidential Counseling

·      Life-skills Education

·      Job-skills Classes

·      Housing options

Everyone needs help now and again especially when you are young, scared and do not know where to go or what to do. Most young girls do not have a support system and Grace Initiatives provides this. They empower these women and give them hope. Whether it is providing knowledge of nurturing a child or learning life-skills to help them out in the future. Just by reading their website, it gives you the feeling of them really taking a deep appreciation in helping young women.

Their founding mission contained three objectives:

     1) To recruit and train qualified families that will volunteer to provide shelter and care for unwed, pregnant women while they prepare for the birth of their baby.

     2) To establish a group home for up to 6 unwed, pregnant women that would provide shelter, meals, care, counseling and life skills for residents to prepare their future.

     3) To conduct training seminars for individuals and nonprofit organization that wish to provide maternity housing similar to ours through families in their communities.

With these objectives they have grown to do what they set out for. There will always be questions and doubts, but having a great support system will help with this. With providing a video, Grace Initiatives have giving an insight into some of their client’s minds. (Below is a link to see the video and more information about Grace Initiatives.) http://www.graceinitiatives.org        

Rhonda Tomko, one of the founders of Grace Initiatives, uses this video for many purposes. I recently had a brief discussion with her. She discussed why and where she uses the video. One of the most important ways they use the video is they use it on their donor website, at the bottom of every email (in her signature) and whenever she gives speaking engagements. Whether the engagements are at churches, community groups, etc. She goes on to say that the video works for them because, “ It shows our clients speaking in short engaging statements, expresses emotions, and tells a story of each of our clients.”

What Grace Initiatives does for these young women can give hope to anyone out there wanting to help out in their communities. E Video Productions helped them find a way to get their views a crossed.  And this is how using video to market your company or non-profit organization can let any audiences know who you are and what you are trying to do in the community or just in your businesses.

Patty Hilton

Intern: E Video Productions

patricia.a.hilton@gmail.com

Video Spotlight: Video Marketing Solutions

We were tired of using the ol' "shoemakes' kids" excuse. (You know...the shoemaker's kids are the only ones in town without shoes.) So we finally did it - we produced our OWN marketing video! It's not easy being your own client. First of all, you know what you are capable of, so you hold yourself to a higher standard. :) Second of all, it's very easy to push your project back when a client has a tight deadline. So finally, after months (ok, years!) of working on this, it's done! Kris and I may look a little younger, but heck, look at the politician's publicity photos and we're alot closer than they are! :) This video features a combination of techniques. It incorporates graphic animations, kinetic type and interview driven voice-over by both key employees and client testimonials. It also includes screen captures to show our work in action. It primarily features on-location interview shots utilizing our mobile studio set-up. There is a shot from our studio showcasing our more dramatic black background. At just under 3 minutes in length, it's long enough to provide you with all the information you need, but short enough that it remains watchable. We'd love your feedback! Please share your comments after you view our video!

A Messed Up Family Vacation

Day 6

Today was a travel day. We started out with a very early breakfast at 6 am. After going to sleep around 2, the ladies who cooked our meal began cooking at 4! God bless them!

After breakfast, we began to load the trucks in the first light of the morning. We loaded to the beautiful music sung by the early morning worshipers.

Once we finished, we piled into the church with the pastor, his wife and the important people of the church. We all formed the "goodbye circle", which was actually more like an amoeba. The pastor gave us all blessings and wished us Bon Voyage and we all said good bye.

We didn't sleep much this week and it finally caught up with us today. Several of us, including myself, got pretty car sick. The terrible condition of the roads was the main culprit.

If you read yesterday, you know that we had to leave early so as to pass a section of the road where they would be doing blasting after their lunch break. We made it.

We stopped for lunch on top of the mountain to eat tuna fish sandwiches made for us by the ladies of the church. I have never had tuna fish sandwiches made with mayo AND ketchup! That was interesting especially because Haitian ketchup is spicier than its American cousin.

After lunch, the ride was much smoother. We arrived at Zongalay, the RMI retreat center, at around 3. It's a beautiful place that overlooks the Caribbean Sea. We unloaded our bags and found rooms. I am in the "motel" section where you get your own room. Pretty sweat!

As some of the team went for a dip in the Caribbean, I promptly feel asleep for 2.5 hours until Jeremy woke me for dinner. We had beef, mashed potatoes and green beans. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the goat, but this was heaven. Oh, by the way, half of Don Gone came back with Emanuel Paul, a Haitian born American citizen.

After diner, we convened in the gazebo to "debrief". We talked about the low and high points for each of us and what to expect when we get back home. My low was the first night when I just couldn't sleep even though I was dead tired. My other low was my first bucket shower. (I quickly got over that.) My high point was the grand welcome we received when we got to Dame Marie.

After that, a few of the guys, including myself, and Alissa sat and played poker right up until I started to write this, which is technically day 7 already!

Tomorrow, we leave here around 1 and head back to Les Cayes to the RMI guest house where we can visit local vendors. I can't wait to see what I can pick up.

Until then, I leave you with the quote of the night:

"I feel like I am on a messed up family vacation."
- Alissa

My view at the retreat center:

Haitian Coastline:

Kris King
www.evideoproductions.net
kris@evideoproductions.net
www.twitter.com/evp_kris
www.facebook.com/evideoproductions

Bondje Beni Ou! (God Bless You)

Day 5

Today was the hottest day of the trip by far! And the longest shooting day of the trip. I think it was around 98. The day began as a group of people were sing the most beautiful song at 5:00. I just laid there in bed listening. I knew I should have tried to at least jump up and get audio of it, but it was a little early for my taste. So I just enjoyed the song.

The first thing we did today was visit one of the other churches in the district. It was a short ride so we sat in the back of the pickups. That was a bad idea. Very rocky roads without cushions does not a comfy ride make.

The name of the church was Malaya. It's a very small church but it has a lot of heart. From a video perspective, it was a beautiful church. They are about to begin to build a new building, though, because the one they have is very close to breaking apart.

The people in the church greeted us with open arms and wide smiles. We all did our greetings again. This time I remembered my daughter!! (See honey, told you I'd make it up to you!) After the service, we handed out candy and toys to the kids. Never under estimate the power of a pixy stick.

Do you remember the goats I talked about yesterday? Well, there was another goat that was already at the church. All the goats we donated were female. But this one was a man and he was out of his mind. The poor guy was tied up, and there were 20 female goats just out of his reach. He seemed a bit frustrated.  With the look in his eyes, he was dubbed "Don Juan de Haiti".

Later on, a group of us went out to another district church to install one of the water filters. Now, I thought that in Dame Marie, we were in the middle of nowhere. Turns out that I was wrong. We were actually 40 minutes east of nowhere.

At the pastors house, we installed the brand new filter. These filters can supply the water needs of a family of 10 for 10 years! That's efficiency!

While we were waiting for the first bucket of water to filter through, we were standing outside under a papaya tree. I looked up and saw a ripe papaya. I casually mention how yellow and ready it was. Next thing I know, a guy comes over with a pole and knocks it down for us!

That was the single most incredible papaya I have ever had. Jeremy took a picture of me with papaya all over my face! Thanks pal!

One of the other members of our team had been saying he wanted a fresh coconut all week. Pastor Glass mentioned it after seeing ripe coconuts around. Then we hear a few thuds. So I grabbed the camera and ran towards the sound.

Up at the top of a 75 foot coconut tree was a 70 year old man knocking down fresh coconut! They sliced them open with their machete creating a small hole, trough which we drank the coconut water. (A side note....Kris has ALSO always wanted to go on Survivor. He wanted to audition for the first season. I (Darcie) talked him out of it!)  All I can say is "ridiculous"! Once the water was gone, he fully opened them and we ate the meat. Best coconut ever!

By the time we got back, we did not have enough time to go and visit some of the widows who live in town. That was very unfortunate because Pastor Glass has a huge place in his heart for them.

Around 5, some one noticed that Don Juan was missing. Then dinner rolled around and we found him again. Don Juan is now Don Gone!

Later that evening we started our farewell service. It was a bitter sweet service. They were very happy to have had us for the week. But we were all sad to be saying goodbye. We each got up and gave our thank you's and goodbyes. Plus we, as a group, sang a few songs for the people of Dame Marie.  We all discovered throughout the week that we all love to sing. So we thought that it would be nice to share God's gifts to us, with them.

Pastor Glass' message was fantastic. I felt bad, though, because it was late and most of the kids conked out. One of them fell asleep on Jeremy.

After the service, we were greeted by most of the congregation. They all gave us there goodbye and "Bondje beni ou" (God bless you!)

It's sad, it's our last night in Dame Marie. Tomorrow we shove off at 7 so we can try to get over the mountains before they close the roads for blasting from 12-6. We are headed for the retreat center in Zongalay. We will be there for one night, then a night in Les Cayes, then we jet on home.

I will miss everyone here and all the things we did together. But I am, however looking forward to seeing my family, a hot shower an my own bed. Until tomorrow, Bondje beni ou!

Lunchtime!

Jaka, or stinky fruit - tastes like fruity gum!

Last morning in Dame Marie.

Kris King
www.EVideoProductions.net
kris@evideoproductions.net
www.twitter.com/evp_Kris
www.facebook.com/evideoproductions

Rule #1: Always Carry a Flashlight

Day 3

I woke up today at around 5 am to the bleating of sheep, crowing of rosters, clucking of chickens and the banter of the Haitian women who prepare our meals, in the dark, outside, with just charcoal. They are a cheerful bunch who are full of the Holy Spirit and a zest for life unmatched in my 36 years.

It was dark as I went outside. It's amazing just how many stars you can see when there is no light pollution.

Breakfast consisted of a pumpkin based hot soup. Not what I would normally have ordered out, but man it was good!! There is also fresh squeezed lemonade at every meal. Kinda like boardwalk lemonade only WAY better.

Then it was off to Sunday morning church service. This was something I wasn't prepared for. I knew it was coming, but it knocked me over like a strong gust of wind. At the start of service there had to be 400 people in the church. Then more came, and more, oh, and more! They kept bringing in chairs to keep up with the arrivals. They filled the aisles and people even sat in the window sills.

The Haitian people like their service loud!!! Rocking band and loud singing. Just imagine what 500+ people singing in a language you barely understand is like. Hands waiving, people feeling the Spirit and general love and happiness. Just amazing... and the footage is incredible.

Then we were asked to give our personal greetings. This is something that is a tradition in Haiti. Each one of us stood up in front of all those people and introduced ourselves and gave greetings from our church and families. I have got to give Krissy props though, she did hers completely in Creole! She got a standing ovation for her efforts.

Note to self: learn Creole.

When I did mine, I gave my greetings from my church, my wife Darcie and then I played the message from my 7-year-old son Ryan that I recorded on my iPhone. The congregation loved it! I got so caught up in listening the the translator repeating what I was saying, I forgot to mention my daughter!!! Sorry honey! I'll make it up to you at the other district churches we will visit.

The service lasted three hours. But it was so engaging and emotional, I didn't even notice the length. I only realized it was going that long when my battery on my camera began to get really low on power. Somehow my arm never got tired holding the camera for that long.

After a tremendous lunch where we exacted our revenge on the chickens, roosters and goat, we took a couple of footballs and frisbees out onto the street. Within seconds kids were coming out of the woodwork! They were everywhere! One of the group members, Joe, seized the opportunity to talk to the kids about Jesus. Then we chucked the footballs and threw the frisbees with the kids for a while. It's actually easier to teach a kid how to throw a football without speaking the same language than you'd think it would be. When you speak the same language, you tend to over complicate your direction. When all you can do is pantomime, there is a lot less garbage in the message.

The one thing I have noticed is that Haitian people's eyes are so expressive. When I zoom in tight to these children's faces, you can almost see what they are thinking. Then when I turn the LCD panel around, their faces light up and they giggle.

Then we took a stroll down to the beach where I was able to get some great footage of the shoreline and some of the tin houses that are typical of Haitian architecture. The shore is littered with conch shells. Conch is a staple food here and it's really quite good! It's kinda like shrimp and scallops got together and had a tasty delicious kid.

Sunday afternoon we were on a break and we were sitting in the shade relaxing when we heard drumming off in the distance. It was getting closer so we ran out to the front of the church to see what the ruckus was (can you describe the ruckus sir?). And that, my friends, is why I always have the camera in my hands.

Turns out their Carnival (car knee val) is coming up soon. It's actually a voodoo carnival. Voodoo is the biggest religion in Haiti.

Sunday evening brought us our second service of the day. This time there were more people if you can believe it! Best part of the service was when the generator that supplies the church and parsonage's power, took it's ball and went home. Everyone just kept on singing a cappella.  It was really cool. Little cell phone flashlights started popping up all over the church plus I had my flashlight in my pocket. (Thanks honey!!) You tend to start carrying it around when the power comes and goes as it pleases. Just ask me about seeing the footage when I get back.

This place just blows my mind every time I turn around. I could live here. It's that awesome. Although I can't wait to take a shower that doesn't consist of a bucket of cold water and a cup.

Kris King
www.EVideoProductions.net
kris@evideoproductions.net
www.Twitter.com/evp_Kris
www.facebook.com/evideoproductions

If you have a message you'd like to get to Kris, please email darcie@evideoproductions.net and I will get it to him! 

A View from Up Above

Kris sent this video to me from the air on the way to Haiti! I forgot to post it yesterday in my rush to get his other blog post up.

He texted me last night that he sent his Day 2 update, but I haven't received it yet. He said he would have connection and power issues after he left Les Cayes, and I guess that is proving true! The one update I did get briefly was that the truck carrying their luggage on their 6 hour ride to Dame Marie had 2 flat tires on the side of the mountain! They were stuck there for over an hour in the 90+ degree heat. When I talked to him, he was at a stop along the way, about an hour from Dame Marie.

I can't wait to see his footage! The stuff he's sending is just what he shot on his iPhone. The good stuff is on a hard drive. :) We'll all have to wait to see that!

Darcie King
www.evideoproductions.net
darcie@evideoproductions.net
www.facebook.com/evideoproductions
www.facebook.com/12monthsofvideo
www.twitter.com/evpDarcie

A Different View

Haiti Trip Day 1.

We left Newark Airport at 6 am today.  After two very uneventful flights - Newark to Miami then Miami to Haiti we landed in the 93 degree 90 percent humidity.  We left the jet way to go collect our bags.  We were greeted with a Haitian band singing songs to us as we walked in the customs area. Customs was normal and baggage claim was routine.  Then we left the airport and that's where my view on my life changed forever.

There were people everywhere going in every direction.  It was like rush hour in NYC except the chaos was magnified 100 times.  One of the people in our group was almost run over by, or he backed into a car.  I am not sure which.  The fact is, the airport parking lot was only the beginning. We all piled onto our, thankfully, air conditioned bus for the 6 hour ride to Les Cayes where were going to spend our first night.  I knew that Haiti had massive devastation from the earthquake and the hurricane that followed.  But I was not as prepared as I thought I would be, to see it up close.  Thousands of people are still living in tent cities throughout Port au Prince.  And most of the island still has intermittent power. I am just glad that I wasn't driving.  The traffic was unbelievable.  Think of the traffic you see from clips from India - it was like that - only less motor bikes and more trucks with smashed windshields and wobbly tires that are about to fall off.  There were pickup trucks with 15 people in the back, a bus with a guy on a kitchen chair on top of it, another bus with a guy texting from the roof and another bus with three goats on top. The Trip to Les Cayes was 6 hours through the mountains.  It was sad to see the landscape because after decades of corruption and environmental devastation from over harvesting, there is nothing left for people to find naturally.  They have stripped the land of almost everything usable. We had a bathroom stop about halfway to our destination at a little bar/restaurant/store/gas station.  The men's room had no door and there was a woman in there.  That was weird.

A few hours later, we arrived at the missionary guest house.  Thankfully we have AC tonight - last for the week.  We leave for Dame Marie Saturday morning at 8:30 am and then the real work begins.  Over all the people here are very nice, very kind and really just want to know - Comment allez-vous - or How are you doing?

Kris King
www.EVideoProductions.net
kris@evideoproductions.net

For more details on this mission trip to Haiti, read Jeremy Stephen's blog!

Video with a Mission

E Video Productions is making our first international trek.  From February 3rd through February 10th, I (Kris) will be in the country of Haiti.  I know, I know, you're saying to yourself "Haiti, who in their right mind would want to go there?"  It's a missions trip with my local church.  I have been asked to go along and document the entire trip.  We have also been asked by the overall ministry that is supporting our church, RMI (Reciprocal Ministries International), to cover some of the other things that they do in Haiti for promotional and fund raising purposes. 

This will be, by far, the most exciting and nerve racking shoot I have ever been on.  But the funny thing is, I was more worried about how I was going to charge my camera batteries than the fact that I have to look for tarantulas when I go to shower in the morning.  The spiders don't bother me, but the lack of power does.  Is that weird?

I won't just be shooting video while I am there, though.  First and foremost, I am there on a missions trip with a purpose.  We are bringing along water filtration systems to the people of Dame Marie, Haiti.  Each system, which runs about $95, will fill the water needs of a family of 10 for 10 years!  That's impressive.  We are also, with the help of many generous individuals and corporations, providing 16 goats to the families there, not sure how they are gonna fit in the overhead compartments! Thank you to everyone who donated.

Well anyway, keep checking in on this blog through out the week for more updates on all the things that we see and so while we are in Haiti.

Kristopher King
http://www.evideoproductions.net
Facebook: evideoproductions
Twitter: @evp_kris
Youtube: evideopr

Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose!

Money is the number one issue why companies don't do enough advertising. It is important to know what you will not grow if no one knows you exist! The question should not be whether or not to advertise, but rather how to best maximize your advertising dollar.

One great way is to repurpose your existing marketing video. If you have a promo video that your made for your website, trade show or sales DVDs, it typically doesn't take a large chunk of money to re-edit it into a 30-second TV commercial! And when you do this, you are also better able to continue a consistent message through various mediums.

We recently did a promotional video for NJ Best Lawn & Irrigation, which you can see on their home page when you click on that link. When they decided to advertise on local television, we were able to repurpose that video for a 30-second spot.



Another option is to create a new campaign, but using the same production company. There is a higher cost to this, but it still allows you to keep a consistent message with similar graphics, shooting styles, etc. If you had videos done for your website by one company, and then go with the cable company to produce your TV commercial, they will look very different and might not be complimentary to each other.

But wait, there's more!

I know you've all been to a trade show somewhere where there's a large both at the end of an aisle with a man or woman talking through what sounds like a McDonald's drive through microphone. "Wah, wah, wah, wah, when you use it this way you can, wah, wah, and then the benefits are wah, wah." It's over modulated, too close to their mouth and too loud for your sensitive ears already bombarded with tons of trade show noise. If you can get close enough, you can see how that amazing rag really does soak up a soda bottle full of water! But often times, you are stuck behind a really tall guy and can't see a thing. There must be a better way to demonstrate a product.

Yes, you finally figured it out! You can do an infomercial on TV! You get quality microphones so people can actually hear what you're saying. You get a live studio audience to "ooh and ahh" at the end of every sentence. The production studio edits together a beautiful package that is high quality and ready for TV. You sit back and wait for your return. Uh oh. You spent so much money on producing your infomercial that the only people able to see the amazing stain fighting power of your product are those suffering from insomnia at 3am. Their eyes are glazed over and they're feverishly looking for reruns of Three's Company. You think there's nothing else you can do to demonstrate your amazing product.

But wait, there's more!

There's another way to demonstrate your product directly to your target audience. A promotional video. This video can be shown at a trade show (with high quality production value shown on a top of the line HDTV), displayed on your website (fully optimized to appear on the first page of Google) or used in social media (for a truly viral experience that is as beneficial as word of mouth advertising). A product demo video can be cost effective if produced correctly and free to display. You can show the benefits, the product in use in a real situation, testimonials, and much more. For an example of a product demo, check this out:



Darcie King
E Video Productions
12 Months of Video

Video Focus: 1 Day MBA

People often tell us they're planning a big event and want to use video, but don't know how. What is the best way to use video to generate a buzz when it comes to events, seminars, fundraisers, etc.? We feel the post-event recap/promo video is the way to go. It is the most cost effective use of video in the event industry.

We have combined a recap of the event and a promotional video for future events into one piece. It serves both purposes very well and the event planner doesn't have to pay double the price.

What should a good recap/promo video include? While we typically encourage at least two-camera coverage of any major event, we find that one-camera coverage is sufficient in this case. The camera can be mobile and capture snippets of each presenter, crowd interactions, exhibition booths if needed and even testimonials from sponsors, exhibitors and attendees. All of these elements can be woven into a brief video featuring the story (how the event came together and the plans for the future), the "what's-in-it-for-me" factor (benefits, highlights, memorable moments) and can even include details on when the next event will be or where people can go to find out about future events.