Skillman Video Group’s Video of the Week: Life in a Day

Welcome to Skillman Video Group’s Video of the Week Series. This week, the focus is not on a video but rather a video event. On July 24^th, YouTube is sponsoring a global event: Life in a Day. Various directors and producers are asking everyone and anyone, not just current YouTube users, to film their day and submit it online.

YouTube has already established itself as one of the most popular and interactive user generated websites. Many YouTube users most likely already record their lives and post it online. Nonetheless, this is an extremely clever marketing concept.

The key is that YouTube is focusing on one idea, self-documentation, and taking it as far as possible. They are blasting this simple campaign all over their website and other outlets. They are extending the campaign to every possible person. If you do not wish to film your day, no sweat—YouTube will take a recording of you clapping your hands or singing a note.

Another important element of this marketing campaign is that it is engaging and interactive. YouTube takes engaging the audience to a whole new level. Their concept only works with people’s participation. Furthermore, YouTube is offering a superb prize: the best footage will be used in a film which will premiere at Sundance Film Festival and the people who submitted it will be credited as co-director.

While your company may not be able to offer a spot in Sundance, you can still use some of YouTube’s techniques. They focused on one concept thus making the message more powerful and less forgettable. They involve the audience and demand their interaction and input. Requesting your audience to film their lives may not work for you, but reaching out to them and constructing a campaign around their interests could. If you are considering marketing your company or organization through video like YouTube, contact Skillman Video Group today!

Video Press Release on Social Video Marketing

Recently Skillman Video Group developed an exciting new service, Social Video Marketing, which SVG applied to their own website with much success. Skillman Video Group released a case study explaining and analyzing Social Video Marketing. This case study is available on SVG’s website by clicking HERE!

To properly announce their innovative service, Skillman Video Group produced a video press release showcasing SVM. This video press release is in itself social video marketing. A video press release is searchable through SEO and can be used on social media or business websites. Most importantly, it transforms a basic press release into exciting content that engages the viewer. A video press release takes full advantage of the power of media.

Skillman Video Group’s own video press release is currently also viewable on SVG’s homepage, YouTube channel and Facebook page For more information about SVM, please view the video press release, read the case study or contact Skillman Video group.

Demonstration Videos for ProWindows

Skillman Video Group completed two days of filming for ProWindows, a window and door replacement (as well as home renovation) company located in Waltham, Massachusetts, on Thursday and Friday July 8-9. Skillman Video Group has previously worked with ProWindows; SVG began filming a series of instructional videos on window maintenance and an online marketing video last week.

The goal of this shoot was to create demonstration videos to market ProWindows’ unique installation process to potential customers.  The majority of footage shot consisted of two window installations: one outside (for newer homes) and one outside (older homes). In addition, Skillman Video Group also filmed some additional b-roll to be used in a marketing video which recently has gone into post-production (editing).

Skillman Video Group and ProWindows will be working together again in the near future to complete more instructional videos. Like with all our videos, Skillman Video Group carefully planned and prepared for the day so as to make filming as smooth as possible. Scripts and shot lists were provided and as the camera rolled the talent was directed and coached. If you are interested in discovering the many way video can be used to market or sell your product or service, contact Skillman Video Group today.

Skillman Video Group’s Video of the Week

Welcome to Skillman Video Group’s Video of the Week. This week, we will be looking at a video from BP’s oil crisis response campaign. BP’s oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico may not be something your business should aspire to imitate. BP’s video response, on the other hand, shows some wise marketing techniques worth taking a look at.

What’s unusual about this video is that rather than introducing himself immediately, the speaker Keith Seilhan first describes his connection to the oil crisis. This is very important and is something that you can see in many of BP’s commercials. This technique of showing a personal connection is something that can work for your company or organization. Rather than just hawking a product or service, relate a little about what the product or service means to you. This helps create a relationship with the viewer by making you seem more human versus just a person wanting to sell something. It creates trust; if the seller actually believes in the product and appears invested in it than the product seems more credible and desirable.

This video also underscores the importance of audio. The majority of it consists of pictures from the clean-up effort. Without the audio, the video would be relatively uninteresting. If you add in the narration track, just looking at pictures would still not be too exciting. Thus, the music is key here. It makes you want to pay more attention. It helps the pictures flow together seamlessly. The type of music chosen in a video is always crucial. Here, the slow and methodical sound fits the mood BP wants to establish. Music should always work for you in creating a mood, not against you. Choosing appropriate music is extremely important and should be carefully considered. Music is a very important component to any video that helps keep viewers watching.

Here at Skillman Video Group, audio is always edited and chosen with care so as to best suit your video. Not only that, we continually work to produce and edit high-quality professional videos that are tailored to suit your needs. If you are considering a video for your company or organization, contact Skillman Video Group today.

Marketing and How To Videos for ProWindows

This week Skillman Video Group begin filming a series of videos for ProWindows, a replacement window and door company located in Waltham, Massachusetts. The first video Skillman Video Group filmed was an Internet marketing video featuring the owner of ProWindows.

Next, Skillman Video Group recorded three instructional videos. These videos focus on care and maintenance of ProWindow’s products and will be placed on their website for customers. In addition, ProWindows will also use their instructional videos on social media websites such as YouTube. Shortly, SVG will work again with ProWindows to film more instructional videos.

Skillman Video Group worked with the client to script every video prior to filming. SVG used high-end video technology and extensive lighting to produce an extremely sharp image. All filming was done at ProWindows’ Waltham location. If you are interested in having Skillman Video Group produce a video for your company, contact us today.

Internet & Video Marketing Internship at Skillman Video Group

This week concludes my time at Skillman Video Group. Three months ago, I signed on as a Internet & Video Marketing  Intern with the company. In the beginning I was not sure what to expect, however, I am happy to report that it could not have been better. Like all young people pursuing internships, I was looking to gain real-world experience and at Skillman Video Group I got experience, real experience. At no point was I relegated to busy work; I did not make one photocopy or get a single cup of coffee. Instead, I was given the chance to explore many different avenues, both creative and professional.

I worked as a production assistant on many video shoots, working with a crew,  setting up lights, moving equipment, and learning the intricacies of professional video production. I was able to produce a  “behind the scenes ” video press release and edit it myself for the company website.  At the same time, I was given the chance to write for this blog and learn SEO and online marketing techniques. Perhaps most noteworthy, was my opportunity to create my own original viral video from start to finish. The Producers at  Skillman Video Group gave me the leeway to be creative and funny and I wrote and produced our  first ever viral style video Gerry’s Waterbed Emporium. Making this video was a great experience and a lot of fun. I was given the chance to explore new styles of shooting & editing, like utilizing a green screen, in a safe and educational environment.  This internship was a wonderful opportunity. It gave me the chance to work on the professional level in video production, writing, and marketing. I would recommend working for or with Skillman Video Group to anyone.  I can’t believe my time is over already and would like to thank everyone at SVG for making this experience so positive.

Mike McGuinness

Online Marketing Videos

At Skillman Video Group we believe, when used correctly, online marketing videos are of the most successful and cost effective way to market your company on-line. We will soon be releasing a case study on our new service, Social Video Marketing. Social Video Marketing combines the use of high quality video marketing with Internet marketing technology to convert web visitors into new leads.  As we have mentioned before, Internet Marketing works in two ways.  1) getting people to first come to your site through SEO and social media and then 2) once on your site, the content must be engaging enough to compel the casual visitors into a valuable lead.  This is what we call at Skillman Video Group the “video conversion point” .  Combining the power of the video medium with the power of the Internet gets our clients the best return on investment possible!   We focus not just on producing the highest quality video, but also  on the importance of routing as many viewers as possible to that video thereby expanding your presence in the marketplace. By using the right keywords and tags, we make sure your videos can be found on the web. Also, by incorporating a  blog posts and web announcements on your site, you can keep your content fresh and Google relevant.

We started implementing these techniques ourselves in October 2009. Google ranks website traffic and searches on a scale of zero to ten, with nines and tens being the Facebooks of the world. When our new site launched in October 2009, our website was ranked a zero by Google. Our old html site was static and we weren’t generating leads from the web. In October 2009 we started an agressive Internet marketing plan using the services outlined in our soon to be published Case Study.  By the time our case study had concluded, we were coming up as #1 in 9 targeted key words.  Within 6 months of us launching our new program, our paged jumped to a number four ranking on Google, a very impressive feat for a company of our size. The results of this online marketing effort is that our traffic is up, our content is fresh, and it’s helping our business grow. For example, our recent blog post on Video Legal Depositions was the direct source for Duane Morris LLP locating our services (please read about that job below) though a Google search and booking us just a day later. Our Social Video Marketing program is the most efficient way to market on the web. Our online efficiency techniques direct maximum traffic to your site, and our quality videos tell your story in the most effective and dynamic way possible. Call us today about your Online Marketing Video!

Social Video Marketing and Sales Force Automation

Last week, Boston video producer and Principal of Skillman Video Group, Christina Skillman, along with our technology Partner Neil Saviano of CRM Boston, met with the management team of Capital Services and Supplies Inc (CSS) in Washington DC. Over the two-day meeting we discussed their current marketing and sales strategies along with new technologies available for increasing sales through Video, SEO and Internet Marketing.

For any marketing program, it is essential to have a consistent message. Deciding on what this central message should be will not only help in the production of a marketing video, but in every aspect of a marketing program from the outside sales staff to print ads, catalogues, and the web. It is what we call your “brand”.  We began our meeting at CSS by asking seemingly simple questions like “who are you?”, “what do you do”? and “what do you do that is different from your competitors?” Through this discovery process we can determine what their best strengths are and how to best use video and the Internet to market their services to potential customers.

We next discussed logistics for shooting the video (style, location, content etc). There are a lot of details that need to be taken into consideration when producing a professional marketing video, and we had to be sure every “t” was crossed and “i” dotted before we left! After we had a firm grasp on the marketing video, we next discussed the new marketing opportunities available to them through the Internet. Internet Marketing works in two ways. 1) Through SVG’s SEO services we can help bring people to your site and then 2) once they are on your site – how do we convert those visitors into viable leads? At SVG we call that the “video conversion point”. The content on your site HAS to be of sufficient quality to draw them in immediately and impel them to pick up the phone and call!

The two day meeting was concluded by Neil Saviano giving a presentation about their integrated call center and the ability to integrate video within their current sales processes and CRM software. By the end of the process Capital Services and Supplies Inc should have a complete and total integrated marketing solution that includes sales force automation, video and Internet Marketing. By utilizing all the technology that is available to them, Capital Services and Supplies will be differentiating themselves from their competitors and thus increasing their visibility in the marketplace. Call today to see what Skillman Video Group and our technology partners can do for you!

Legal Marketing Video Shoot at Duane Morris

Skillman Video Group recently went on a video shoot at the national law firm, Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris hired SVG to shoot a Legal Marketing Video of their Boston office for their web site. SVG shot a series of interviews with the firm’s partners discussing their practice areas and experience for both internal….and external marketing purposes. Duane Morris will be using the videos to market their attorneys to potential clients, as well as to use for recruitment of new hires.     The partners discussed both personal and professional topics and we concentrated on their areas of expertise, their goals for the firm, and even personal interests and hobbies.

Marketing for any law firm begins and ends with their attorneys.  If your lawyers are essentially your product, then video allows a law firm  to showcase those lawyers in a personal, intimate way.  By allowing potential clients to see and hear your attorneys speak about their experience and goals  – you are allowing them to build trust and repore with a client before they pick up a phone to call!  In the legal field, where personal relationships are crucial, video marketing is the only medium that can clearly and accurately represent your services.

It is also important that your legal marketing videos look and sound professional.  Lighting and audio are key components to any video shoot.  If your attorneys look or sound unprofessional, it will do a poor job marketing their skills and abilities to the public!  Producers at Skillman Video Group are adept and not just lighting and audio, but also directing the on-screen talent.  Speaking on camera is sometimes very difficult for those who are not used to doing so in their every-day job.  Our producers will work with the on-screen talent to make them feel comfortable and help them look and feel their best.  Call today to learn more our Legal Marketing Videography and Video Production services!

Corporate Viral Video Of The Week: SVG’s Gerry’s Waterbed Emporium

Welcome to Skillman Video Group’s Corporate Viral Video of the Week. This week’s video is…. us. Skillman Video Group recently produced it’s own viral style video, “Gerry’s Waterbed Emporium”. When producing this video we focused on two key attributes, i.e. relevance and mass appeal.  As a corporate video production company, it is important for us to set a standard for clean, professional video that can be taken seriously. Everyday, we see other video that does not meet our standards. If you own a television, chances are you’ve seen hundreds of cheap local furniture ads that are poorly produced and awkwardly scripted. It is something that everyone knows and universally mocks. Our video provides a familiar setting that has mass appeal, while clearly juxtaposing our services to the other guys. These are two of the most important tasks when making a viral video. You need to find a subject that is recognizable to a large number of people; if its not pertinent to them, they won’t watch it. It is also necessary for the video to relate back to you and your services. A video can be very funny, but if it’s not clear that you made it and why, you won’t see any of the benefits.

We had a lot of fun making the video. We shot in front of a green screen and super imposed the ridiculous backgrounds to give it that extra “cheesy” feel. We used goofy neon graphics to really sell the tacky style and even took a cheap shot at Ralph Macchio, but I think that’s fair game at this point.  We wrote the original script and found a devilishly handsome young actor to capture to true essence of Gerry (hey if you write the blog post – you get to toot your own horn!). Pass the video on to your friends to help us reach viral status! “Do you want a wicked awesome viral video for your company? Then come on down to Skillman Video Group today!!”

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