A lot of our clients are asking how they can use video to communicate quickly and effectively during this crisis.
Here are some video strategies for the COVID-19 crisis you can put to use right away. Many of them you can do yourself. If you need help, Allied Pixel is at your service.
Status Updates
Your employees, customers, students and constituents are anxious to hear from you. There is no better way to reassure them than by having a company representative speak to them on camera.
For internal audiences, frequency is more important than quality. Shoot with whatever you have — a smartphone is fine. You can boost the quality of the built-in camera with a $15 app called FiLMiC Pro. If possible, use a Bluetooth microphone for better sound quality. You can get one for $60 and it makes a big difference. Edit the video with a free app like iMovie. These videos do not need to be highly polished; it’s more important that they are timely and provide clarity.
For external audiences, a more professional presentation is in order. You want to reassure your customers that things are under control and that they can count on you in this difficult time. You will want to script the message. Google Docs is a good way to share and collaborate on the fly. You can get a TelePrompter that works with your iPhone or DSLR for as little as $99. You should consider a professional editing package such as Adobe Premiere or Apple Final Cut Pro.
Post the finished video to the platform of choice; YouTube is a good option because of its search benefits. Embed the YouTube video on your web page. If you’re doing an email blast, be sure to include a thumbnail of the video and link it to the playback page.
Post the video on your social channels as well. In most cases it’s best to upload the video directly to the channel rather than linking to the YouTube version. Remember to also caption the video because most social platforms play back video with the audio turned off unless you click.
Webinars & Webcasts
To make up for cancelled group events, consider a webinar or live webcast.
Zoom has become the webinar platform of choice, mainly due to its ease of use. A plan that accommodates up to 300 participants is $199.95 per month. Other plans can accommodate up to 1,000 participants. Webinars are a good way to conduct virtual meetings because every participant has the ability to interact and share their screen.
Live webcasts are one-directional in nature. They are geared more toward town hall meetings, sales kickoff meetings, symposiums and speaker events. They can be as simple as a live stream from a single camera, or a multi-camera, multi-source production that’s essentially a live TV show over the internet. Webcasts can be delivered to a web page or via social media channels like Facebook Live and YouTube Live.
Personalized Video
At a time when face-to-face interactions are limited because of COVID-19, Personalized Video can be very helpful.
These data-driven videos use information in your organization’s CRM to generate individualized videos that speak to each customers’ unique interests. Rather than sending the same video to everyone on your list, you send a unique video to each person on your list. Companies report a significant lift in open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates.
Recipients are often delighted at the personal attention.
I know that’s a lot to chew on. We’re happy to provide advice or help you with any of this. Feel free to contact us any time.
Want to know what’s going on at Allied Pixel during the COVID-19 crisis? Here’s a short video from me.
We’ll get through this. Wishing you the best in the days ahead.
P.S. Have a topic you’d like to see discussed? Let me know and I’ll try to get to it in a future post.