Creating & Using Video for Thought Leadership & Content Marketing

THE VERITÉ OF CINEMA
creating & using video content for thought leadership and
marketing - without breaking the budget!

reference slide deck prepared for the
THE ASSOCIATION OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING FIRMS
MARKETING AFFINITY GROUP
Boston - 3/27/13

by Seth Cargiuolo
Director of Digital Strategy
& Chief Knowledge Officer
The Saint Consulting Group
seth@tscg.biz / @carge77

PRESENTATION REFERENCE DECK FOR PRINT DISTRIBUTION

TOPICS TO BE COVERED:
• Who am I? What do I know About Video?
• Why Bother With Video at All?
• Caveats, Cautionary Tales & Crushing Defeats
• What Makes a “Good” Video?
• The 3 Ps / Your Low-Cost Video Program
• Parting Thoughts

WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT VIDEO?
Just who am I, and why should you trust me?

I have been shooting, editing, producing &
distributing video for our clients’ projects
and for our own B2B & Thought
Leadership efforts since 2006.

I am Seth Cargiuolo, CKO & Director of Digital Strategy
@ The Saint Consulting Group.

I create digital campaigns for grassroots advocacy
projects and for B2B & B2C marketing, featuring web
sites, microsites, blogs, social media channels, video
production and content marketing. I also co-lead
“Saint University,” the firm’s training & organizational
development program. My background is in
research, competitive intelligence, and
communications.
The Saint Consulting Group specializes
in the strategy & execution of complex
political and communications campaigns
on behalf of large corporations &
organizations involved in land use and
development.

WHY BOTHER WITH VIDEO?
(The Short Version)

Video can explain complex products & services
better than other mediums
Executives & buy/hire decision makers & influencers
watch videos
People want to watch video more than they want to
read text
Your competitors are doing it, or will be soon
Presence of video correlates with higher on-site
times &conversions

The Long Version: a battery of facts & statistics to sway any skeptic
(especially the ones to whom you’ll apply for funding)

• Visuals are processed by the brain 60,000 times faster than text (3M &Zabisco)
• The information contained in one minute of online video is roughly equivalent to 1.8 million written words
(Dr. James McQuivey, Forrester Research, 2009)
• Video appears in around 70% of the top Google listings (Marketingweek, 2011)
• Video can help you improve your search rankings – time on page is an important indicator of page
quality, especially after Panda (SEOMoz, March 2012)
• Blog Posts with video attract 3x as many inbound links as posts without (SEOMoz, Oct 2009)
• 70% of B2B marketers are using video content, up from 52% in 2011. (MarketingProfs, 2012)
• Viewers spend 100% more time on pages with videos on them. (Source: MarketingSherpa)
• Three-quarters (75%) of executives surveyed watch work-related videos on business-related websites at least
weekly; more than half (52%) watch work-related videos on YouTube at least weekly (Forbes/Google, 2010)
• 59% of respondents said that on a mixed media (text & video) page, they’d prefer to watch the video, and 22%
said they generally liked watching video more than browsing text for examining business information
(Forbes/Google, 2010).
• 65% of executives surveyed have visited a vendor’s website after watching a video. Younger
executives, however, may be more fully engaged with this type of media, and appear more likely to make a
purchase, call a vendor, or respond to an ad. (Forbes/Google, 2010)

The Long Version: a battery of facts & statistics to sway any
skeptic (especially the ones to whom you’ll apply for funding)
• When marketers used the word “video” in an email subject line, open rates rose 7% to 13% (Experian 2012
Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report)

• When marketers included a marketing or explainer video in an email, the click-through rate increased by
200% to 300% (study by Forrester, 2010)

• Including video in an introductory email can reduce opt-out by 75% (Eloqua, 2010)

• 60% of consumers will spend at least two minutes watching a video that educates them about a product they
plan to purchase, and 37% will watch three for more than three minutes. (MarketingCharts, 2012)

• 46% of online video viewers in the U.S. say that if they are watching a video online that mentions a new product
or brand, they would be at least somewhat likely to look that brand up afterwards (Digitas, 2012)

• Viewers 85% more likely to purchase a product after watching a product video (Internet Retailer , April 2010)

• 85% of the US internet audience watches videos online. The 25-34 age group watches the most online
videos, and adult males spend 40% more time watching videos on the internet than females. (Sources:
ComScore and Nielsen)

• Retail site visitors who view video stay two minutes longer on average and are 64% more likely to purchase
(Comscore , August 2010)

SEE OUR OWN STATS…
Source: www.tscg.biz site analytics, Sep 2012 – March 2013 (including blog visits)

Visited a page with video Site Average % Change
3.2 Pages Per Visit 2.13 Pages Per Visit 50%
02:44Avg Visit Duration 01:58Avg Visit Duration 39%
Organic Search: 2.92 PPV Organic Search: 2.28 PPV 28%
Visitors whose trip included a page with video on it had markedly better engagement
metrics than the overall site average – even if they didn’t even actually watch the video.

Watched A Video Didn’t Watch Video % Change
3.85 pages per visit 1.99 PPV 89%
13:36 avg visit duration 01:58avg visit duration 591%
Organic Search: 4.52 PPV Organic Search: 2.22 PPV 103%
Visitors who did watch a video, even if they didn’t watch the whole video, had dramatically
better engagement metrics. And that’s not all…

Video watchers were 3 to 4 times as likely to convert!
(for goals such as sign-ups, opt-ins, and downloads of sales/marketing materials)

CAVEATS & CAUTIONARY TALES
Despite all the good things I’ve told you about video so far, it is by no means perfect…

CAVEAT #1: PEOPLE WILL NOT STICK AROUND IF YOUR VIDEO IS BORING OR NOT
IMMEDIATELY ON TARGET TO THEIR NEEDS OR INTEREST.

This may be as much an indictment of our attention spans as anything else, but it is
the reality: the longer the video, the less people you’ll have at the end.

KEY TAKEAWAY: You have to “set the hook” early. Be compelling, be concise.
Remember, the viewer is watching the video to learn something, answer a
question, or to solve a problem. Leave the ego on the cutting room floor & focus on
the customer.


CAVEAT #2: Good video does not just happen. It requires planning and the
investment of time & (at least some) money.
CAVEAT #3: Unless you have people with tv/film/video experience, the learning
curve applies just as much to the “talent” as it does to the production team.
CAVEAT #4: For the typical content marketer such as ourselves, getting a video to
“go viral” is not particularly likely. Swinging for the fences is great, if you’re a real
heavy hitter – but small ball wins games, too. Be methodical and be willing to do
the hard work of content marketing.
CAVEAT #5: This is an ongoing process, not a one-time effort. Videos will get stale.
Some will be duds. Some will require lots of extra effort. To find the right
combinations of content, talent, story angle, placement will take some time –
likely as will seeing the ROI.
CAVEAT #6: Video is not a magic bullet. Video is one part (albeit a powerful one)
of a larger system – you still need to do SEO, you still need to write blog
articles, you still need to engage in all your other channels. Video is just one more
type of content.


The Cautionary Tale – Part 1, The Setup
We decided to have a video day – 6 senior execs from around
the country came to home office to shoot videos.
We flew in a media/video coach for group and one-on-one
training sessions. We helped develop scripts. We reminded
people to practice their scripts. We gave wardrobe guidelines.
We explained the whole process multiple times.
We scheduled the shoots meticulously. We had lights, a logo
wall, a good mic and a good camera. We had generous time
slots for the shooting schedules.

What could POSSIBLY go wrong?


The Cautionary Tale – Part 2, The Punchline
2 out of 6 ignored the wardrobe guidelines
4 out of 6 “re-wrote” their script at the last minute
Only 2 out of 6 bothered to practice their material
3 out of 6 skipped the group & 1-on-1 trainings
4 out 6 failed to complete on-time, blowing the shoot schedule
Of 10 planned videos from 6 execs, 7 required extensive editing and/or use of hastily-
collected B-Roll to cover bad continuity
At the end of process, only 5 videos were useable
Not a single one of these videos is still being used today.

KEY TAKEAWAY: FAILURES & SETBACKS HAPPEN. DON’T LET THEM STOP YOU.
This particular failure was a key motivator for everyone involved, and every
failure point led to an immediate and marked improvement in future shoots.

WHAT MAKES GOOD VIDEO?
“I may not know what art is, but I know it when I see it.”

GOOD VIDEO, WHETHER IT’S FOR A PRODUCT, A SERVICE, OR
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP:
ESTABLISHES A PERSONAL CONNECTION BETWEEN VIEWER AND BRAND
Anthony Bucci is co-founder of
RevZilla.com, an online store that sells
motorcycle gear. Many of the products
they sell are expensive and complicated.
Anthony explains the features and pros &
cons of the products in plain language.

Anthony personalizesRevZilla by appearing
in almost all their videos. He creates
aconnection through his frank manner and
personal stories about the products that
demonstrate his expertise. He builds trust
The Principle At Play: People buy from people. by telling me the good and the bad about
these products.
Watch at: http://youtu.be/GU5n_xRCcEY?t=11s


THOUGHT LEADERSHIP:
TEACHES THE VIEWER SOMETHING OR HELPS THEM SOLVE A PROBLEM
Rand Fishkin is co-founder of SEOMoz and
Inbound.com and is an expert in SEO and
inbound marketing.
“Whiteboard Friday” is a long running video
series where Rand and other experts from
the SEO and inbound marketing community
demonstrate their expertise on a particular
subject by making their readers smarter.
Every Friday, a new video is published which
helps professionals do their job better. No
fee, no subscription required.
The Principle At Play: The best way to The Whiteboard Friday archive is a rolodex
demonstrate expertise is to share it for free. of serious SEO/Inbound experts, who I
*know* are experts. Why hire someone I
Watch at: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/category/whiteboard-friday don’t know?


THOUGHT LEADERSHIP:
SUMMARIZES, SIMPLIFIES AND PROVIDES GUIDANCE ON A COMPLEX ISSUE
Scott Anthony of Innosight explains why
fostering, enabling and delivering successful
innovation in an organization is difficult, and
give four simple steps for how to address
that very complex issue.

This type of video takes a very similar
approach to the “demonstrate expertise”
example seen previously; but, rather than
getting very granular and giving a
tutorial, this type of video shows that the
The Principle At Play: The Reverse-Einstein – If people in this organization are capable of
you can explain it simply, you must really taking very big problems and making them
understand it. simple, and gives you insight on how to do
this as well. To do this, they must truly be
Watch at: http://youtu.be/wny1PKr_nOg experts – and worthy of consideration.


THOUGHT LEADERSHIP:
DEMONSTRATES YOUR NEED FOR [WHATEVER] - AND INVITES YOU TO GET IT.
PA Consulting Group is a global IT &
Management consulting firm that helps
companies and organizations solve a variety
of complex technological problems.
In this video, Alastair shows us how to do
something that seems impossible. Then we
realize that it’s actually quite easy – IF you
happen to be one of the technological
wizards at PA Consulting.
Could WE do what Alastair & company are
doing? If we tried, it would probably end up
The Principle At Play: “We can make your life as what the kids call a “hot mess.” Not only
better – so call now, operators are standing by!” can these guys solve this problem…they
invite us to see how they can help us solve
Watch at: http://youtu.be/GCcKgrzbix4 our toughest challenges.

LAUNCHING YOUR OWN LOW-COST
VIDEO PROGRAM
The Three Ps of Video
PLANNING
– Think before you shoot.

PRODUCTION
– Set. Lights. Camera. Microphones. Prompter. Shooting. Editing. Producing.

PLACEMENT
– Channels. Hosting & Delivery. Tracking. Synergy with other content.

We’ll be discussing these out of order, because it’s good to understand
where and how the video will be used before you plan and produce.

PLACEMENT
Let’s assume you have a great video, ready to go…

Issues to consider:
Where on your website will this video live?

What will you do to make it easy to find?

Will you associate it with a particular call-to-action?

Do you want public hosting (Youtube, etc) or do you
want to keep it within a CDN? (Or do both?)

What social channels will you push it on? Is it
appropriate for that audience?

PLACEMENT
Location, location, location…

On the page, your video
should be:

• Above the fold!
• Prominently placed!
• Given context!
• You should put it in #8
• Alternatively, if you
have no CTA, or if
your CTA lives in a
sidebar, you can slide
#8 to the right and
put contextual text to
the left

See the whole (extremely useful & helpful) graphic at:
http://www.formstack.com/the-anatomy-of-a-perfect-landing-page

PLACEMENT

Context!

Prominent!

PLACEMENT

CTAs!

Context is important for two reasons:
1) Visitor may not be able to watch now
2) Context allows for more content which
can be helpful for search, rankings, etc

LAUNCHING YOUR OWN LOW-COST
VIDEO PROGRAM
PLANNING
• What efforts/campaigns are we supporting?
• What strategy/principle are we going to leverage?
• What are we going to talk about?
• What story are we telling?
• How does this fit our content strategy & editorial calendar?
• What is the appropriate length of this video?
• Who is the voice / face of the brand for this effort?
• How much help/training/practice do we need to do this?

Make sure you have good answers to these
questions BEFORE you shoot.

AND NOW…THE GOOD PART!
PRODUCTION PART 1:
THE SET
Considerations:
• Should be at least 15-20’ deep
• White or near-white walls
• In a quiet part of your office
• Windows with good shades
• Stage it to look like an executive
space, but err on side of austerity –
no distracting art, etc.
• If you’re “on location” the most
important issues will be light &
ambient noise We typically park our subject right at crook of desk, by the
• Camera 8-12 feet from subject monitor, and shoot either from where this pic was taken, or from
positions about 3 feet to the right (camera is visible just at right of
• Subject 5-10 from background shot) or to the left. Our space is a little cramped, our camera is a
little closer to subject than optimal.

PRODUCTION PART 1: THE SET (Continued)

Panoramic shot (240 degrees) shot from where
subject usually stands. We use two lights plus
overheads and natural light when possible. In
center of frame is camera & tripod, with iPad for
teleprompting just to left.

This set-up is far from ideal – it’s somewhat
cramped, and the lighting needs to re-configured for
almost every shoot, and when we do different
angles, for each different shot. However, we’ve
been able to make some good-quality video in here.
If I could change anything, it be just to have a bigger
space, with less junk stored in it.

PRODUCTION PART 2:
CAMERAS LOVE LIGHT
The importance of having good
lighting cannot be overstated. If you
are going to skimp on cash, this is
NOT the place to do it.

Considerations:
• You want multi-point lighting
• How hot do you like it? Consider
CFL lighting if you want to keep it
cool in the room (and save money)
• Don’t wing the set-up: plenty of
reading material and Youtubes on Our lighting rig is similar to this, although older &
good lighting design
not quite as good. We still must rely on
overheads and natural, morning light as well. This
is a solid option for folks on a budget, though.

PRODUCTION PART 3:
PICKING A CAMERA Canon Vixia HF M52
$750
Considerations:
• You really want a shoe mount
(cold shoe is usually fine)
Sony Full HD
• You must have audio line-in
$699
• A 16GB on-board flash is
minimum; 32 or 48 is better
• There are plenty of choices out
there for under $1000: Panasonic HC-V720
Canon, Sony, Panasonic; some $550
examples shown to the right.
• You really should get a decent
tripod & video head; I use a I use a circa-2007 Canon HG10. I paid $899. I
Manfrotto 055XDB & 128LP love Canon, but that’s just me. Sony &
($260) Panasonic are also great.

PRODUCTION PART 4:
SOUND

Considerations:
• At least one lavalier
(lapel) microphone is
going to be necessary.
• Wireless is better.
• Set-up for camera mount Yes, the EW112-p costs $630. Yes, I agree that’s
is preferable. horrifying (even as a longtime Sennheiser fan &
advocate). You get what you pay for, though – I use
• You need your receiver to this model’s predecessor and have zero complaints.
have a 3.5mm (1/8”)
mini-stereo output. Azden, who I’ve never heard of, makes a kit that’s
$180 and would probably work fine…but...

PRODUCTION PART 5:
The Teleprompter
This is simple: if you don’t have a teleprompter (even if it’s simplistic or jury-rigged)
your video sessions are going to make root canals seem like a good time.

We call this iPad app “the
ghetto-prompter” but it
makes our shoots a
cakewalk.

It’s not particularly cheap
if you don’t already have
an iPad, but as they have
become seemingly
ubiquitous, I’m assuming
there’s probably one
available to you for use
during a shoot.
It’s the best deal in town!

PRODUCTION PART 6:
Shooting
The video shoot is a team sport. Everyone must prepare & do their part.
The Production Team Must: The Talent Must:
• Prepare the set & stage the lighting • Have a good understanding of and
before talent arrives familiarity with the script
• Ensure all batteries are fresh / charged • Have practiced the script & be comfortable
• TEST THE MICS and audio capture with pace & diction
• Have copy loaded onto the prompter • Wear video-appropriate clothing:
• Have a couple cold drinks on hand • Suits: navy, charcoal, earth tones; no
• Have spare batteries on hand tight patterns, checks or stripes
• Have the prompter staged right next to • Shirts: solid or subtle patterns
lens of camera • Shirts: avoid bright-white
• Be patient, soothing & encouraging: help • Ties: solid or subtle pattern
keep talent calm and on-track • Generally: avoid loud & geometric

The best video is one that is done with as few “cuts” as possible – the less editing &
splicing you have to do, the better the video will look.

PRODUCTION PART 7: EDITING

Adobe Premiere Final Cut Pro Screenflow
• $800 (or $50/month with • $300 • $100
Creative Cloud) • Top of “enthusaist” • Meant for
• Professional/Biz segment; segment; good for screencasting, but great
for serious productions intermediate projects for light-lifting video work.
• Lots of features; steep • Newer version not as • Mac only; Camtasia is a
learning curve powerful as older versions similar offering for
• Mac or Windows • Mac-Only Windows

If you’re a serious pro – or want multi-cam – use Avid Media Composer. These offerings are
aimed at prosumers& enthusiasts. I use both Premiere &ScreenFlow (mostly Screenflow!).

PRODUCTION PART 8: PRODUCING & DELIVERING
OPTION 1: YOUTUBE / VIMEO / ETC OPTION 2: CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK
Pros: Pros:
• Free! • Unbranded players
• Super easy! Just export edited timeline • Options for much better analytics
to whatever format, and upload; they • Tech support available
take care of the rest • Multiple ways/formats to deliver video
• You’re likely to eventually put them here • No brand dilution / pre-roll / ads
anyway; good for search purposes, too
Cons
Cons • You have to pay ($100+ per month, usually)
• You don’t have great analytics options • More complicated formatting / production
for embedded videos on your end to optimize video for delivery
• Hard to get un-branded players • You’ll probably end up wanting to put your
• If there’s a problem, Google is not going videos on Youtube as well, anyway
to take your call

IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS:
WE SPENT: WE PRODUCE AT THIS QUALITY:
CAMERA - $900
TRIPOD - $250
MICS - $600
LIGHTS - $400
SOFTWARE - $900
PROMPTER - $2

TOTAL CASH
OUTLAY: $3052 ±
(between 2007-2013)

Watch this and more:
http://www.youtube.com/user/saintconsulting?feature=watch

Granted, we’ve spent hours and hours
practicing, learning, & improving (and the cutting room
floor is hip-deep in rejected clips) to get to where we are
with video. But that’s still not too bad a price, overall!

PARTING THOUGHTS
Launching a video program can be difficult, but it is not impossible, nor
does it require tons of money. Also, it’s actually quite fun for producers
and the talent and gets easier once you get into it.

The benefits of a well-thought-out, methodical approach to using video
in a content marketing program far outweigh the costs.

Lots and lots of small and medium sized businesses are doing this, and
doing it well. You can too!

There are low-cost external options for videos, if you don’t want to
devote resources to developing an internal program

There are other applications for video beyond thought leadership &
lead generation that are worth getting involved in… For instance:
RECRUITING. TRAINING & ORG DEV. INTERNAL MARKETING &
COMMUNICATIONS. ETC.

QUESTIONS?
Please get in touch with me anytime – I love marketing, thought
leadership, video, strategy, and all things digital. I’m happy to talk,
share insight, and try to make all of our jobs a little bit easier and
more rewarding.

Seth Cargiuolo
seth@tscg.biz
@carge77
www.tscg.biz
www.carge77.com
www.linkedin.com/in/carge

THANKS FOR READING!

Creating & Using Video for Thought Leadership & Content Marketing

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