Monday, March 22, 2010

Day 47 - Hot Videos You Can Create On Your Own (Part 2)

In Part 1, I introduced you to the great online tool, Animoto. A few of you even tried it out and sent me a link to the cool little videos you put together. GREAT job for taking action!


Now I'm going to take it a step further and share with you how you can use this powerful online tool to produce videos that have a truly professional look and feel.


Here's an example of one that I produced on Friday ...





As you can see, even though I used Animoto to do the actual production work on this video, it doesn't have a "me too" feel that a lot of these types of videos have. Here's the process:


1) Planning - No matter what technology you're using, putting together a video without planning is like picking up a Stratavarius violin without music and expecting to play a great concerto.


You need to determine, in advance, the Message you're trying to convey, the Sequence of your thoughts and images and the Call to Action you are going to leave your viewers with.


2) Content Gathering - Now that you know what and how you're communicating, it's time to get your content ready. And, this is where 95% of everyone who produces videos using Animoto or similar types of online programs fall flat ... because they use only the stock content available on those sites versus finding sources with fresh content.


I start with finding the soundtrack because the length of the song determines how many  images and slides I will be able to use in my presentation. I've found Pond5 to be an EXCELLENT source for royalty free music, images and even video clips. I paid $19.95 for the music clip that I used in the Extreme Business Makeovers video ad above. I believe the unique and energetic feel that it provided were well worth the investment.


After I select the music, I decide how I'm going to present the words in the presentation. For most, I will use the built in text input of Animoto. For others, however - like the slides in the Extreme Business Makeovers presentation that include pictures of the speakers - I create Powerpoint or Keynote slides and convert them to jpeg images to upload.


Finally, I source and select images. Hint here - incorporating an actual video clip somewhere in the presentation can really kick up the look of the video and make it feel less like an automated slide show.


I use Pond5 to find video clips. Rather than pay, per image, for actual photos, however, I use ClipArt.com which has thousands upon thousands of clip art images and photos that you can use - royalty free - for a weekly, monthly or annual fee. Their search function makes it easy for me to find the images I am looking for.


3) Production - If you've done your job right on the first two steps, this one will be a breeze. THIS is where Animoto will save you hours over using standard video editing software. You simply upload the music, images, text slides and video clips. Then, type in any additional text and select which, if any, slides you want to highlight (meaning pause on longer).  Finally, select from 3 speeds for your clips to be displayed and click to render the video. 


Remember, if you aren't happy with how Animoto rendered your video, you can always click to remix it and it will create another version with different transitions - automatically!


I still use my iMovie or Final Edit for any videos I produce where I'm mixing in several pieces at once - like text, video and voiceovers, but for music and image driven videos for inspiration or advertising, Animoto literally saves me hours upon hours of final production time (and frankly does such a great job at analyzing the music and selecting the appropriate slide tempo and transitions, that it's better than I could likely do on my own).


Note: While the FREE Animoto service is great. I upgraded mine to the PRO status in order to have the ability to produce videos longer than one minute, create them in High Definition AND have them without Animoto's logo on them.


Free or Pro, the important thing is to give it a try ... put together a few videos that inspire or help others understand what you're all about. And remember, when communicating in person or in video, people will often forget what you say, but they seldom forget how you make them feel! 

Share/Bookmark

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Day 43 - Hot Videos You Can Create On Your Own (Part 1)

Everyone knows that video is really hot online. People LOVE checking out videos for entertainment, learn how to do something and even to be inspired.

So, it makes sense for your business or personal brand to harness the interest in video and produce some of your own. I recommend that you definitely do some personal videos, with you explaining your business, your heart, some of what you teach, etc... It's great for making personal connection.

This can really be as simple as setting up a YouTube account and recording directly through your web cam. Of course, you can always buy a Flip Cam and use some basic editing software to add some bells and whistles. But, don't wait till you have it "all together" to get started. Just do it!

In addition to the personal style videos, it's also great to create videos that create a good feeling about your product or service. Here's one I did to help spread the word about the Go-Giver Award ...


Believe it or not, with today's tools, it's easy for you to do something just as dynamic. Here's an online tool that empowers even the least creative and computer savvy among us to create very respectable MTV style videos from images and multimedia files.


Animoto can effectively be used to produce ads, inspirational videos, announce an event, raise awareness for a cause, give a special greeting or message for clients and even to produce book trailers, like the one I did here for Your Time Your Life.
Of course, there are still many times I want more personalized controls or the ability to easily mix in music and voiceovers, so I use my iMovie or Final Cut software. But for projects that I want to have this type of feel, Animoto is hard to beat. It saves me hours and even at the professional price (which I gladly pay for the ability to do full length videos in high definition without Animoto branding) it's a bargain!

I highly recommend you get started testing the waters by signing up for their FREE account HERE. Then, try putting together a short video using their stock images and music - just to get a feel for it.

Tomorrow, I'll show you an Animoto project I'm working on today and I'll give you some tips on how to easily make your videos look truly professional and stand out from others.

_________________________________

This Chart: For those who haven't been following, I created this daily chart for the purpose of communicating and tracking some of my more important goals - publicly. You can read about it in THIS EARLIER POST.

Share/Bookmark

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Day 36 - The Hidden Benefits of Branding

Have you ever struggled with making a decision about a business direction or opportunity for your company? It can seem like there's no end to the options and there's not always a clear right or wrong answer.




Often, the calls I get from my newest clients revolve around helping them sort out the possibilities and make the best decision they can. I'll lead them through a simple decision tree process to come to a solution that they think AND feel is right for them.

While having a good system for making decisions is helpful, I tell them that they'll never have to make 90% of those tough decisions if they have a well-developed corporate brand! Huh? What's that Thom? What does a brand have to do with business decisions.

Well, if by "brand" you are simply thinking about a mark or logo, then not too much. But, if you understand the full scope of what a brand can and should be, then it has everything to do with your direction as a company. While there are many different definitions and understandings of what a brand is, here is how I break it down...

A Brand is the overall perception of your product or service in the marketplace. It is not merely the ideal communication of a logo or tagline externally. A mature brand actually encompasses feedback from the marketplace about the reality of their experience with your product or service.

There can be many facets to a well-developed brand. But, there are 3 primary ingredients:

1) The Look - The logo, packaging, vehicle, decor, ambience, uniforms or any other ingredient used to make an initial impression upon or connection with your target audience.

2) The Promise - What exactly your company promises to deliver to your clients. The most powerful ones focus on avoiding/alleviating a pain or delivering a pleasure.

3) The Experience - The style and competence of delivery and feeling that clients experience in doing business with you.

If you have thoroughly thought these through and decided what your intention is in all three of these areas, then you'll have a much better chance of consistently delivering on the expectations that you build in the marketplace.

As an added benefit, most of those nagging questions you have concerning new directions or opportunities won't even have to be made. Viewed through the prism of your "look," "promise" and "experience" you will find many options are legitimately "good," but not the BEST for you or your clients long-term. And, as you know ... in business, what you DON'T do is often as important as what you do!
















About This Chart: For those who haven't been following, I created this daily chart for the purpose of communicating and tracking some of my more important goals - publicly. You can read about it in THIS EARLIER POST.

Share/Bookmark

Friday, March 05, 2010

Day 30 - The Power of Presence

With our Extreme Business Makeovers Experience beginning 7 weeks from today, my venture partner and co-host, Bob Burg and I find myself in a good number of conversations about it every day.


One question I know that I repeatedly get is often a variation of this ... "It sounds incredible, but can't I get as much just from buying the DVDs?" Fair question, so I'll do my best to answer it briefly.


In a word ... Yes - IF all you're looking for is information about a specific strategy, tool or tactic. Hey, I market speakers, authors, coaches and consultants for a living, so it goes without saying that I LOVE information products and find them very helpful.


However, the true power of attending a seminar or conference goes way beyond just the information you'll receive.


The 3 "Super-Powers" of Attending Events


1) The Power of Focus -
Yes, the information is vital to a great event. And, you can get all the information in DVDs after the event. But, there is something magical that happens to that information when you attend live. Rather than having a volume of information and no idea where to begin - like walking into a library and getting inundated with wisdom and experience from all directions - when you're there in person, one or two things a speaker says will just 'hit' you. It's something that immediately jumps out at you begging to be applied and you'll have that feeling inside like, "Aha .. THIS is why I was here."





2) The Power of Momentum -
Lets face it, information isn't power, it's just potential power. Applied information is power.  And, corporations and organizations have reams of research to show that those who attend events are more likely to apply new information. That's why they often have annual events and perhaps even smaller training times throughout the year.


Have you ever tried to take a vacation in your own home? There's just too many distractions and the momentum is with the status quo of your normal daily routine.


When you attend an event, you are able to detach from your daily routine and focus on something new ... and then take that focus and leave with a momentum for change.


NOTE: One thing I'm particularly proud of with Extreme Business Makeovers is the emphasis on using our Event Action Planner throughout the weekend to help our awesome participants develop a focused plan from all the incredible information. So, we all leave knowing what we're doing to begin applying what we've learned beginning on Monday (and with a hit list for implementation for 6 months to follow).


3) The Power of Connection -
Of course, in my opinion, the most vital ingredient of a live event is the people. Even though I'm considered a social media expert (whatever that means), there is simply no substitute for the connection you can make with someone in person. Relationships begin and grow very rapidly. And, because everyone is there with similar motives and expectations, powerful joint venture plans and referral relationships often happen literally overnight.


I've always said that the participants we get at Extreme Business Makeovers are as dynamic and powerful as the speakers. Some are speakers and authors themselves, who choose to attend because they want to continually learn and build their network. Others have one or more successful businesses, but choose to participate because they believe in "constant and never ending improvement." Others still have had various successes in their lives, but they find themselves in a time of transition and they are looking for some new ideas and direction for the next stage of their personal and professional growth.


It's amazing - having people at different stages and with different gifts and experiences, but the same spirit of teamwork and selflessness creates an incredible environment for connection. 


With this being our 4th annual Extreme Business Makeovers Experience, we have a huge number that choose to participate every year. One even told me that it was kind of like the summer camp that they went to every year and couldn't wait to go back, but these days it was even better because they could use the internet to stay in touch and work together throughout the year.


So, do I think information DVDs are great? Of course, but there's nothing like attending a live event to make new and exciting things happen in your business and personal life!


What do you think? Have you ever had a seminar experience that helped you grow or change in a significant way?

Share/Bookmark

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Day 29 - Too Much Control In Marketing?

I just trashed another email from someone offering a product that sounded like an interesting and perhaps very helpful resource. Though it sounded really great, I trashed it because of the video sales page. No, it wasn't lewd or offensive in any way (at least that I know of - I only watched 10 seconds of it). So why did I trash it? In a word - CONTROL.


You see, it was one of those sales videos that I've been getting like crazy over the past few months. You may have seen them. They let you click on them and that's it. They don't tell you how long the video is going to take or let you scroll ahead. I find it intensely frustrating.

I understand why they do it. In many cases, it is a replacement for pages that made you optin to find out what everything was about, without even giving something for doing so. They've just wound up replacing one controlling and annoying tactic with another.

Seriously ... to me, this is like having a salesperson in my office who insists on going through his script, refusing to let me interrupt to ask anything or skip to the question of price. As a former VP of sales and marketing for a public company, I understand that it is ideal to control the presentation. But, I also know that if the prospect felt controlled, the salesperson would lose the sale before they even got started.

Of course, it may just be my 'control issues,' but frankly, in today's open architecture, on-demand environment, I think we ALL have control issues to some degree. It's not a mass character flaw thing, it's just that we're now used to getting information we're seeking on-demand and I don't think I'm the only one who has resentments when that is taken from me. Am I?

I'm not advocating that we give up any control whatsoever. However, the same person whose video and product I'm now ignoring, could have accomplished what they needed to in many other ways - including an optin for a free report and video - with the next page being the same video I was watching with the ability to scroll forward. Or, perhaps even just a button below the existing video saying "If you're in a hurry, click here and download a free report with all the details."

The bottom line for me - I want to always be marketing to others as I want to be marketed to ... or even more important, as I want others marketing to my wife or children. I don't just think it's the right thing, I think it's the SMART thing for an entrepreneur who understands the value of brand and relationship building versus short term transactional success.

The savvy entrepreneur understands that they can build relationships and positive PR even with those who don't become clients immediately. And this good 'experience' or feeling that you leave even non-clients with can pay off handsomely as they share your message, products or services with others in their sphere of influence.

Oh ... and as a side note. This video tactic isn't even fool-proof. You see, die hard control freaks like myself figure out workarounds. If it's something I really want to hop to the bottom line on - I simply use my screencasting software to capture the video in the background while I keep working and then later, I can open the file and scroll ahead to the features and price that I'm looking for ;-)

So, am I the only one here that get's put off by this tactic? Are there other marketing tactics that you find annoying or off-putting? 
____________________________















About This Chart: For those who haven't been following, I created this daily chart for the purpose of communicating and tracking some of my more important goals - publicly. You can read about it in THIS EARLIER POST.

Share/Bookmark

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Day 28 - A Cool Time-Saver

Not to go totally "techno geek" on you, but I absolutely love my Evernote.
If you don't know what it is, here's the CEO giving a super brief explanation:



In short, it's my online clip file of everything from web pages and articles to meeting notes and thanks to my iPhone - even offline magazine articles.

I've been using it for a while and literally have over 1,000 different easily searchable notes on my Evernote.

But, the reason why I brought it up today is that I'm all excited because I just found out that since Evernote can search by text that's IN A GRAPHIC, I can quickly take an iPhone snapshot of business cards that I receive and easily find the one I'm looking for later. Here's a demo of how it works:



Clearly, some cool online tools add to your time on the computer. Evernote has saved me tons of hours and helped me easily organize my information.
It's worth checking out (and, NO, I'm not an affiliate or anything). They have a free level and premium level for a whopping $5/month.
______________________













About This Chart: For those who haven't been following, I created this daily chart for the purpose of communicating and tracking some of my more important goals - publicly. You can read about it in THIS EARLIER POST.

Share/Bookmark

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Day 27 - What's On Your Soundtrack?

It amazes me how thoughts, words, music and even smells can immediately trigger deep emotional responses. For instance, if I were to tell you to think of the theme music from the movie, Rocky, I can almost guarantee you that as it plays in your mind, you begin to feel powerful - like an underdog that's destined to overcome their greatest obstacle. You'll likely picture yourself running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum and your heart rate may even begin to elevate.

Some of these emotional triggers are universally programmed in many of us through our exposure to movies and other mass media. Others, are more personal, like the smell of cinnamon that, for some, may trigger feelings of love and acceptance that came from a dear mother or grandmother who loved to bake.

The point is that we all have these emotional triggers that conjure up feelings and beliefs that were programmed into us when we were first exposed to them. The more intense the emotional experience or frequent the exposure dictates how powerful the triggers - and their effect on us - actually are. As much as we may like to think we are always conscious and fully in control, too often, we are not. To some extent, we all fall into patterns of feeling and behavior based on our response to these triggers.

So, what can we do about it?

1 - Begin To Get Rid Of Your Negative Programming
Slow down your mind and try to be more aware of how you are feeling and thinking throughout the day. If you are experiencing a negative feeling - especially one that seems disproportionate to the what you're actually going through at the moment - try to think if there is anything there that has triggered that. 

I know for myself, I found that there was a particular phrase that a client of mine used that triggered the same emotional response I had as a child when a well-meaning, yet emotionally abusive loved one would shout it at me. Until then, I had no idea why a client that I otherwise loved would irk me so much with that.

By raising your level of awareness as you go through your life, you may be able to root out some destructive triggers and weed out some root causes of self-defeating or self-destructive behaviors. But, even when you don't find out what the root trigger is, you'll be far more in control as you are able to choose how you feel about an experience versus playing an 'old record' simply because someone pushed a button.

2 - Create Your Own Positive Soundtrack
The cool thing is that we can create quick and massive positive changes in our level of performance by filling our minds with positive input. Am I suggesting that you can JUST think positive things and make all the negative experiences go away. NO WAY! At the same time, an upbeat, positive mindset helps us take positive actions and perform at our best. It helps us to look beyond the challenges so that they have less effect on us.

Don't believe me? Then tell me how well you think you'd perform in your work, day by day, if you were playing the theme song of "Take This Job And Shove It" over and over in your mind, versus the theme song of "Rocky." Yeah... that's what I thought ;-)

In the Bible, Philippians 4:8 tells us --
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
As with  so much of scripture, I believe this passage is not given as a restriction to limit us, but as a guide to experiencing more and greater joy. It is telling us by creating a positive soundtrack in our mind, we will have greater success in life!

So, how do we create a positive soundtrack? The key is in what we feed our mind:

The people we surround ourselves with - Are we making sure to spend most of our time with those who are positive, who build others up and genuinely want what's best for others?

The things we read - Are we reading biographies of people who we truly wish to emulate? Are we reading the Bible and other non-fiction books that help us grow and improve ourselves? Even in our choices of fiction, are the messages and lessons of the book worthy of our time or are the "good guys" not so good and the "bad guys" not so bad and the moral of the story somewhat 'dark?' Proactively pick titles that will help you develop a mindset that will bring increase to your life.

The things we watch - Just like books - garbage in, garbage out! And, if you choose to watch something that you know in your heart is more of a 'sinful indulgence' you're going to have to be extra careful to not let the negative programming take hold.




The music we listen to - this is a GREAT way of quickly changing our emotional state and empowering us to deal effectively with negative situations. I have a series of songs I listen to every morning to get me in the right frame of mind for the day. Though I'm not a country music fan at all, the song above is one of those songs. It's my FIGHT SONG for when things go wrong or I fail at something.


By consciously filling our minds with 'good stuff' we are taking responsibility for our own programming. We create our own soundtrack so that no matter what we experience, our mind and heart will immediately recall that song, that quote, that friend's words that will help us make the most of whatever situation we are in.


So what's on your soundtrack? Do you have any tips that could help the rest of us create a positive soundtrack in our own minds?
_____________














About This Chart: For those who haven't been following, I created this daily chart for the purpose of communicating and tracking some of my more important goals - publicly. You can read about it in THIS EARLIER POST.



Share/Bookmark

Monday, March 01, 2010

Day 26 - Close The Door for Social Media Success


"The key is in not spending time, but in investing it." 
~ Stephen R. Covey

Many of my friends, clients and online audience talk with me regularly about their integration into this ever evolving, fast changing and often mind-numbing new media world.

Perhaps, 'talk' isn't even the right word. It's more like exasperated, overwhelmed cries for help. And, it always seems to be roughly the same conversation. They love social media and all the new opportunities to connect and expand their social and business network online. They see huge opportunities that social media provides for their businesses. But, they have also begun to realize that with all the time they have put into developing relationships and learning the use of new electronic tools, social media is FAR from free!

So, they call me, at wit's end, pleading for me to help them get the maximum benefit from these powerful resources without losing their sanity and family lives in the process. They're frustrated that most of the social media experts they listen to are trying to get them to conduct their business as if they, too, were social media experts and were paid to be online, accessible and interactive almost 24/7.  Can you relate?

Well, being a "fellow-pilgrim" on this journey, I don't claim to have the definitive answer for ensuring productivity and profitability in social media, but I have dealt with enough different types of businesses and personalities and I have found these 4 tips to be universally helpful to all who've applied them:


Thom's 4 Tips For Maximizing Time On Social Media:

  1. Decide On Your Outcome - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.. are communications tools. Just as you wouldn't pick up a phone and dial a random number and not know what you were going to say, you shouldn't do that on social media either. Have an expected outcome, even if it's just to take X amount of time to see what's happening with some people in your Tweet stream or what's being talked about on Social Media.
  2. Plan Your Time - Decide exactly how much time you'll be spending at each session and set a timer and stick to it. Then, "close the door" on your electronic office and focus on your core business. To do otherwise would be like having a full day of open office door time at work. It may make others feel good to be able to connect with you constantly, but it sure doesn't help you get things done.
  3. Be Consistent - Do more blog posts and a greater volume of time on social media help you build a loyal audience quicker? Sure - if done correctly. But, just as important as the amount of time is the consistency of that time. Simply put, whether you put in a half hour a day on social media or 1 hour, 3 times a day, if you do so consistently (including roughly the same times and days) you will attract a following much quicker than if you were sporadic in your approach.
  4. Get a 'Rhythm' - Just like having a 'rhythm' (or routine) for how often we maintain our cars, care for our lawn or change our air conditioning filters helps us proactively maintain our things, having a 'rhythm' for our social media activities helps us build and maintain a vibrant network. So determine, what are the things you do daily (like birthday wishes, FB and Twitter posts), weekly (like blog posts and proactive list building) and monthly (like friend/follower list review and 'scrubbing'). 

There you have it ... not a definitive guide by any stretch of the imagination. But, if you got really good at incorporating these mindsets/actions into your daily social media time, you will find yourself far more productive and less frustrated.

Do you have some tips that would help others with their social media time management? I'd love to hear about them.














About This Chart: For those who haven't been following, I created this daily chart for the purpose of communicating and tracking some of my more important goals - publicly. You can read about it in THIS EARLIER POST.

Share/Bookmark