Video / Film Production in Springfield-Branson-Ozarks» Sell With Video

BBQ Guys Grew Their Revenue 48% – Thanks to Video!

Steve Ole Olson — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:03:02 +0000

From the Youtube Blog comes this growth story – If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million

We sell everything from home furniture and fireplaces to kitchen cookware, but our true passion is barbecuing and grills. We’re in BBQ country, where people are fanatical about barbecuing and smoking. We’ve found that the best way to connect with customers is to provide them with great videos – grill reviews, how-tos, and recipes – presented on our branded YouTube channel, YouTube.com/BBQGuys.

We started with instructional videos to address customer service. Then our attitude toward video morphed when our CEO was on a business trip 1,000 miles away from home and was recognized as the “Barbecue Guy.” We saw how great YouTube could be for reaching many people at once and conveying our company image. Our important performance indicator is our relationship with viewers. It excites us when we see comments such as, ‘Great recipe! I tried it a few days back, loved it.’

That’s pretty cool. What’s the bottom line?

Online video advertising is central to our business. For this past August, our revenue was up 48%. Our videos were viewed 94,000 times during that month alone. Overall traffic to BBQGuys.com is up 20% from last year.

If you’d like to learn more about using video for your firm, contact us and we’ll put you in touch with a qualified professional. Look for Action: A Small Business Guide to Using Video coming in November that will feature white papers on the basics of utilizing Video along with a complete listing of firms in the region. Use our Contact Form to learn more or sign up for our weekly email newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on film events and business news.

How Are You Using Video To Market Your Business? What, You Aren’t?

Steve Ole Olson — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:42:21 +0000

Askinosie Chocolate - See How They Use Video

Are you a small business considering how to increase your business? Have you been evaluating where you have been spending your marketing dollars? I’m here to suggest that video should be an ever increasing portion of your focus and your dollars. How about some background.

Report – One quarter of all online video is viewed in Prime Time!

For years, online video has been viewed primarily as a time-wasting activity that happens during work hours or when people aren’t near a TV or other forms of entertainment. But that could be changing, as new data from Scanscout suggests that online video is sneaking into the living room during primetime hours.

According to ScanScout‘s Online Video Insights report, 24 percent of all videos streamed in March were watched in the primetime hours between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., when most TV networks show their top programming. The hour between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. — the time slot for broadcast TV hits like ABC’s Lost and Fox’s 24 — was the most active for both streams and unique viewers across most types of video content.

So users are moving to web video in greater numbers, even during prime time. How are advertising agencies responding to that?

Adweek – Web Video Budgets Continue To Grow

Most marketers plan to up their online video ad spending in 2010 — though they’ll do so despite maintaining serious qualms about the medium.

According to a survey of ad agencies commissioned by the video network BrightRoll, a whopping 94 percent plan on increasing their Web video budgets this year. That’s despite the fact that nearly half say they’ve had a video campaign executed in a way other than they expected (17 percent), or they are unsure whether their campaigns have run as planned (31 percent).

Why is this happening and how can a small business person respond to this change? A recent report points to the reasons why video usage is increasing and the three types of video a small business should consider:

* Grab people’s attention instantly
* Tell your story in less time
* Bring your ideas to life
* Make your site stickier
* Create a buzz with viral video
* Bring your website into the 21st century

As the report notes, there are benefits and downsides to each but the bottom line is that video is becoming more important. If you’d like to learn more and be referred to a qualified business or independent video producer, feel free to contact Steve Olson at 417-597-4314 or by email at solson@missourifilm.org and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Meghan Chambers, Staxx Apparel on Video For Marketing

Steve Ole Olson — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:23:29 +0000

The Film Alliance sat down with Staxx Apparel owner Meghan Chambers and Marketing Director Nicholas Cloyd to chat about their use of video in marketing and sales for the downtown boutique earlier this week. Staxx Apparel, in addition to their website and Facebook Page, have also implemented a Youtube Channel. The primary purpose, as Meghan outlines in our conversation, is to offer their customers more information on the quality and value of the products available at the store.

Key take away for me was Meghan’s suggestion that small businesses should look to their suppliers for support in this area. Video is now a significant component in the apparel trade, with Meghan receiving DVD’s as often as printed material when attending industry events. These video’s are now available from Staxx Apparel in support of their sales and marketing effort. Catch all of the details in this interview with Meghan.

What are you doing to take advantage of video in your sales and marketing effort? Contact me if you have questions or would like to share your story with the community as well.

Pew Survey Shows Online Video Usage Soaring

Steve Ole Olson — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:09:05 +0000

Your Other Tube: Audience for Video-Sharing Sites Soars

62% of Online Adults Watch Video Online

The share of online adults who watch videos on video-sharing sites has nearly doubled since 2006. Audiences for Web sites like YouTube and Google Video continue to grow swiftly across all demographic groups, far outpacing the adoption rates of many other internet activities. Fully 62% of adult internet users have watched a video on these sites, up from just 33% who reported this in December 2006. Online video watching among young adults is near-universal; nine-in-ten (89%) internet users ages 18-29 now say they watch content on video-sharing sites, and 36% do so on a typical day.

Over time, online video has become more deeply integrated into daily life and has started to move into the spaces that are typically reserved for traditional television viewing. Overall, 19% of internet users say they use video-sharing sites on a typical day. In comparison, just 8% of internet users reported use of the sites on a typical day in 2006.

Get all the details on the Pew website. Are you anticipating this change in internet usage in your sales and marketing effort?

Lights Camera Help Announces 2009 Festival Selections

Steve Ole Olson — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:05:34 +0000

Lights. Camera. Help. is the premiere film festival for non-profit and cause-driven organizations. Through their annual event, films and videos with a cause directly related to a non-profit or cause-given organization will be subject to a rigorous criteria by a panel of judges. The films and videos will gain recognition by being considered the best in one of several distinct categories.

The Festival begins July 31st and the selections for this year were recently announced. Check out how the non-profits in this Festival are using video to get their message across.

Want To Go Viral?

Steve Ole Olson — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:42:16 +0000

A couple takes on the latest viral hit to reach the internet, this time as Evian Water uses babies and bizarre circumstances to stand out. Mashable offers this take

The anatomy of a successful YouTube marketing campaign seems hard to fathom: while ad agencies long to find that secret sauce to take an online video to the top of the charts, few succeed. This week’s YouTube marketing champion uses a tried and tested formula: cute babies, and a bizarre situation.

The video, which ranks 3rd overall on YouTube this week (after two Michael Jackson videos), has racked up nearly 3 million total YouTube views at the time of writing.

Mashable also does a good job of looking at the linking opportunities available now on YouTube which enhances the value of going viral. The Wall Street Journal took a different approach, asking the question is it cute, or creepy. When you’re trying to go viral, I’m guessing you need both.

Rhett And Link On Making Money On The Internet As Filmmakers

Steve Ole Olson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:48:34 +0000

A growing number of filmmakers are finding ways to profit from the Internet by creating content that is professional, poignant or just plain funny. Two that have made a name for themselves are Rhett and Link, who were interviewed on NPR Monday.

They and their families lived month to month for a while, until they hit on a plan to make sponsored videos that don’t look sponsored. One of them was the Taco Bell drive-through song, which Taco Bell paid for (pictured above). The video has more than 1 million views on YouTube.

You can find more on their website.

Selling With Video: Barcelona Defeats Manchester United

Steve Ole Olson — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:25:09 +0000

Since I have another life that is completely wrapped up in the promotion and development of soccer in Southwest Missouri, I couldn’t help myself. The European Club Championship game was last week and the Spanish team, FC Barcelona surprised a number of observers with their win over Manchester United, the dominant team in the toughest league in the world (English Premier League). Well, the BBC is pointing to a video that was shown to the winners just prior to their championship match as a possible ingredient in their dominating win. As a fan of the game, of Barca (as they are known) and the importance of video in getting your message across, here’s another great example:

Guardiola showed a specially made film to his players in their dressing room 10 minutes before the final in Rome, which Barcelona won 2-0 to dash United’s hopes of becoming the first team to defend a Champions League title.

The film highlighted action images of his players’ finest moments and featured every member of his squad, including those who were named on the bench, as well as youth team players.

Guardiola had clearly done his homework on the Eternal City and Italy.

Fittingly for the final in the Stadio Olimpico, the pictures were set to a soundtrack from the Russell Crowe film Gladiator and the opera Turandot performed by Italian legend Pavarotti.

The film had the desired effect as Barcelona went on to outclass United to become champions of Europe for the third time thanks to goals from Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi.

The film had the desired effect… yep, video gets the message across! I will add it to this post once it shows up on the internet.

Infomercial Market Continues To Grow

Steve Ole Olson — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:55:37 +0000

From the Wall Street Journal
As Seen (Often) on TV! – With the cost of air time falling, more small companies are discovering the benefits of infomercials

Amid widespread weakness in the retail sector, companies behind the Shamwow, PedEgg and other products are thriving, thanks to infomercials, also known as direct-response television, or DRTV. Sam Catanese, president and chief executive of Infomercial Monitoring Service Inc., estimates the number of businesses using infomercials has risen 10% in the past year.

Typically, DRTV comes in two forms: Two- to three-minute spots and 20- to 30-minute infomercials that explain how a product is used, and why the customer needs it, through demonstrations and testimonials. Typically, infomercials are deemed successful when their sales make a profit of at least one dollar for every dollar spent on advertising, Mr. Catanese says.

Read all of the details here

In the Springfield marketplace, there are at least two firms I am aware of working in this medium.

Opfer Communications, who call themselves “America’s Direct Response Marketing Company” is located on Enterprise next door to the bowling alley. They work with QVC and have complete production facilities. Many folks in this town probably remember owner Scott Opfer from his stint as a Sports Director at KOLR10

Paul and Maria Cimino offer the My Home Shopping Showcase which is shown on Mediacom’s local channel.

Online Retailers Adding Video To Increase Website Traffic

Steve Ole Olson — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:09:09 +0000

One of the simplest ways to get shoppers to spend more time on a site is to add streaming video. As the costs of producing video drop, some 43% of U.S. online retailers plan to add it to their site over the coming year, according to a January survey conducted by Knowledge Marketing. Web buyers increasingly expect it, too: Over the past holiday shopping season, the number of U.S. shoppers who watched retail videos increased by 40% over the year earlier, according to comScore Inc.

This information is from a Wall Street Journal article By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER – E-tailers Add Some Glam

For a direct example of the impact of video locally, check out our series “Selling With Video” which includes Shawn Askinosie of Askinosie Chocolate, who’s website homepage includes a dozen video options!