Janet Harris
AgentOwned Realty
Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Dear Janet,

Video can be a very powerful way to engage your site visitors and thus help turn them into serious prospects —if it is done right. Otherwise, it may be perceived as a poor attempt at a used car commercial, or worse! There are three things you need to consider before posting any kind of personal video message on your site:

1. Message - what you plan on saying

2. Staging - how it will be said

3. Delivery - how the video is hosted on the Web

Let's take a deeper look at each of these so that you video works for, instead of against you...

The Message Is King

"The medium is the message" according to Marshall Mcluhan, the high priest of pop-culture and famous commentator on the effects of TV and video on our society. However, on the Web the message is everything regardless of its format. Video is just another form of content that still needs to answer the question: "What's in it for me?" for your intended target market.

Keep your message relevant to the needs and wants of your typical visitor. One idea would be to give them a quick overview of your site and how they can get the most from it. Avoid the temptation of a long-winded "welcome" message that features you more than the value of your site. Otherwise, they will click it off so fast you will think that they were using a remote to change the channel!

Also, keep the message short, ideally no more than 45 - 60 seconds. If you examine news casts closely, they move from subject to subject very quickly otherwise they risk viewers becoming bored. The same holds true for the Web.

Finally, script out what you plan on saying and practice it many times before you do any takes in front of a camera —even if you plan on having a teleprompter. The key to a natural "off the cuff" look in video is to practice it so it appears natural and unrehearsed.

Now you are ready to start considering the details of how you are going to actually create your Oscar-winning footage...

Staging For Success

Many people assume it is expensive and time consuming to shoot good video. Fortunately it doesn't have to be if you have the right tools. Here is the bare minimum of what you will need if you plan on doing this without the help of a video professional:

1. Camcorder (digital is best)

2. Tripod

3. Condenser Mic (plugged into the camera)

4. Shoot Location (where it is quiet, has good lighting, and you won't be interrupted)

Keep in mind that your shoot location (i.e. the background within your video) can make a big difference to the impact of your video. Obviously, most people have a very limited choice as to where they can shoot their video. Fortunately however, there is a very inexpensive way to create almost any kind of background you want so that in some cases viewers will think that you used a million dollar set!

Visual Communicator Web from Serious Magic is a breakthrough software product that let's you create outstanding Web videos using virtual backgrounds and sets in just minutes. It is very easy to use because it was designed specifically for non-professionals. Here is a brief step-by-step on how you can start using it after installation on your computer:

1. Position your camcorder so the lens is just at the top of your monitor

2. Place the "green screen" included with the software in the background of your video image (this is a chroma key screen that will allow the software to substitute any background image of your choice within the video —similar to the TV weather person)

3. Load your script into the teleprompter

4. Shoot your video

5. Save your video file to your computer's hard drive

The software is quite versatile in that it lets you change different background images or sets even after you shot your video. It also lets you do professional-looking fades and transitions though incorporating these takes a bit of practice. CLICK HERE to see an example of how Peter Temple of Keller Williams Realty uses Visual Communicator to help standout from the competition.

Visual Communicator Web version retails for US $199.95 (as of this writing) and comes with a high-quality clip-on microphone. This version should work fine for most of your needs. However, they have too additional and more powerful versions you may want to consider if you plan on doing a lot of video.

Once you have your video masterpiece "in the can" it is then ready to be hosted on the Web so your visitors can access it...

It's All In The Delivery!

What good is having a brilliant video if most people can't view it? And this is precisely what will happen if you are not careful about how you host your video. There are professional video hosting services that will "encode" your Web video for different types of connection speeds and they typically have the necessary hardware and bandwidth to deliver many simultaneous streams when required.

For most of these services there is usually a setup fee and then a monthly hosting fee. One that I am currently exploring for my own use is StreamHoster. As of this writing they charge US $30.00 for set up / encoding per clip, however it is more if you want to have visitors with different bandwidths access your video over the Web (a video clip is any length video up to 30 minutes) and US $15.00 per month for their hosting fee.

By outsourcing this part of my video messaging I avoid having my own Web server from slowing down with video requests and I am reassured that the widest array of visitors possible will be able to see my message.

Having the right kind of video message on your site can make you look like a multi-million dollar organization. And being clever on how you create and host it can save you loads of time and keep you within a budget that will make any producer smile!

Article Resources:

Visual Communicator Web - a breakthrough software application that enables you to create jaw-dropping video messages for your Website in just minutes.

StreamHoster - an inexpensive video hosting service that will handle all the details of serving up video to your site visitors.