This is the first in a series of Webinar Tips -- Improving webinar audio quality.
(most of this information applies equally to plain audio conference calls)
In my experience recording many webinars and audio-only conference calls, too many are marred by avoidable audio quality problems. Pardon me if many of these seem obvious. Sometimes with all the details involved in preparing for a live event, presenters forget some telephone basics. Almost every item on this list can cause non-essential sound to be heard by all listeners.
1. Be sure you are using a reputable conferencing service known for high quality.
Check reviews if you are unsure. Services vary in quality due to backend equipment, fiber optic lines and other features.
2. Mute everything you can! Some conferencing software allows you to identify lines that are producing sounds so you can mute them. The best practice is to mute everyone who is not a presenter, and for presenters, to mute themselves when they are not speaking. Be aware that you should mute your line even if you are putting your telephone on hold. Many phone systems play reminders or music while on hold.
3. Equipment. Use a land line and a high quality telephone (preferably not one before the 1990’s) or a monaural (non-stereo) headset. Avoid using a speakerphone, cell phone, cordless phone, Skype or VOIP line. Old phones could add static to the line. A high quality wired headset (not wireless or Bluetooth) is preferable over a standard handset telephone because it maintains a consistent distance between your mouth and the microphone resulting in less audio fluctuation.
4. Testing. Before your call, check the volume and sound quality with other callers to make sure it is clear and similar in volume to others who will be speaking. Many headsets and some phones allow you to adjust the volume of your microphone. This volume control is sometimes called gain, level, sensitivity, mic or microphone. A more basic way to adjust your volume is to speak more loudly or softly and to adjust the distance from your mouth to the microphone. There should be a distance of 1/2" to 2" between you and the microphone.
5. One device per room. Two people in the same room should not be calling into the same conference because feedback can occur and sound delays can be disorienting for the presenter. Presenters on a land line should not be listening to the conference through their computers for the same reasons.
6. Reduce background noise. Find a quiet room, put up a "do not disturb" sign and close the door! Common background sounds heard on conference calls include: other people speaking, people and kids interrupting, paper rustling, pet noises, TVs, machinery (including kitchen appliances) and even toilets! Using cell phones adds to the possibility of wind noise, traffic and static.
7. Silence alerts. Disable call waiting, paging, other telephone ringers (including cell phones) and devices that provide audible reminders. Turn off computer speakers to avoid email and software update alerts. Deactivate any clocks that will buzz, chime, ring, play music or cuckoo during the call.
8. Avoid echo chambers. The smaller, less carpeted and less furnished a room is, the more likely it will cause the sound on the other end to seem hollow and full of echo. If the person speaking faces a large flat conference table or desk, the voice will bounce off the surface like a trampoline -- adding to the echo effect. If such a room is the best place available, you can resort to a trick regularly used by film and TV crews – hang a blanket between the presenter any large, hard flat surface. The blanket will help absorb the echo.
9. Preventable technical issues. Are you using any battery-powered equipment? Check that they are fully charged and/or the batteries are fresh. A dying headset battery can sound "fuzzy" for hours before it dies entirely. Cell phone data can sometimes cause interference with your telephone equipment. If you must leave your cell phone on, keep a distance between it and your phone equipment. Cell phones can cause feedback when placed near other electrical equipment as well.
10. Vocal quality. Keep in mind that conference calls and webinarsare more like a speech than a phone conversation, and some basic speaking rules still apply. Adequate preparation is the best way to avoid nervousness. Have drinking water handy to avoid dry mouth (but don't slurp into a live mic). Don't speak with your mouth full! Use your voice before the call to warm up your vocal chords. Remember to breathe! Take pauses when appropriate. Try not to rush. Smile, gesture and (if practical) stand up -- all things that can add positive voice qualities and avoid monotone.
These 10 webinar tips should go a long way to improving webinar audio. Please share these webinar tips with anyone who could use help improving their webinar audio.
Ludlow Media offers webinar recording and editing services that yield much higher quality than standard automated webinar recordings.
If you are looking for a blank reproducable video log sheet, you have found it!
Strange as it may seem today, the paper video log sheet still has a place in the video production process. There have been several times in recent years that raw video material needed to be logged and nothing but a paper video log sheet would do.
Years ago, I had made my own video log sheet that had the frames filled in with light gray zeros. I did this for clients who wanted to log their own material. I found that without the frames pre-filled, I would get logs back from clients with inconsistent alignment of the timecode numbers -- some items they logged including the frames, while other items would not be logged to the frame level, but they would have put seconds in the frames column and hours in the minutes column. The zeros in the frames column prevented this confusion and indicated that there was no need to log to frame accuracy.
As we switched over to chip cameras, my old video log sheet was no longer working for me. Reels became rarely relevant and I needed a place for the clip name. I have now been using this video log sheet for about two years and it has served me well.
It's a pretty simple matter to create a video log sheet but it does take some time to do it. So why not just download my updated version for free?
It’s a simple question asked by many a business, organization, or nonprofit. If you are considering investing in video for marketing, employee training, or organizational communications, keep reading because as it turns out, the answer is clear. Yes, video does work!
As you will see, there is now very strong evidence of the effectiveness of video in marketing, training, and internal communication. Of course there is a huge variance in production quality and strategic thinking across the broad scope of what is considered “a video”. This makes the following positive findings all the more compelling. The research below does not differentiate between high quality, strategically produced video and ill-conceived and shoddy video.
It would be reasonable to suggest that the statistics below are averages and that some video content fares better than other video content. That is indeed good news for those who are using video wisely to outperform even these amazing average results.
Does video work in marketing?
Due to the measurable nature of the internet, much data has been collected in an effort to calculate return on investment in “video”. The numbers are in and clearly — video does work! Here are some findings from reputable independent analysts:
- 16% of customers who watch online video ads will purchase. 1
- 21% of video viewers make a purchase.2
- 26% of retail web video viewers visit a store.2
- 21% of retail web video viewers request more information.2
- ShopNBC Customers who watched videos on product pages converted at twice the rate of customers who did not.3
- Video marketing increases sales of services and products by over 70% .4
- Well-optimized video is fifty-three times more likely than text to appear on the front page of Google .5
So reading between the lines, the first statistic is limited to “online video ads” and customers. While 16% conversion rate is great, the next stat (not specifically ads) is better (at 21%) and talks about converting a net new lead into a customer. The takeaway may be that “video ads” are less effective than other types of videos such as reviews, product information, product education, testimonials, etc. Does video work? Clearly. But your mileage may vary depending on your strategy and implementation.
Does video work in education and training?
Once again the independent research suggests that video does work:
- Video holds a learner’s interest, outclassing other training media and increasing information retention by 51% .4
- Children taught with video achieve test scores 54% better than a similar group who was taught by lecture alone .6
- Students engaged in learning that incorporates multimodal designs (including video), on average, outperform students who learn using traditional approaches with single modes.7
Some compelling evidence! Especially when you consider that there is no way to quantify the educational quality of the “video”. A talking head video of an instructor giving a lecture is no better (and arguably worse) than attending the lecture in person. We have all experienced educational videos that could replace sleeping pills for even the most incurable insomniac.
However a well-made video can offer multimodal learning including visual, sound, written, verbal and (to a degree) experiential attributes. Video can be used to reach people of all literacy levels, engage viewers emotionally, and video can be incorporated into interactive video-based e-learning programs.
Once again, as good as these average numbers are, think of how much more learners will retain from your video if they actually have their eyes open!
Does video work as an organizational communication tool?
Clearly many large corporations think video does work. Companies as diverse as Safeway, Nokia, and HP have entire in-house video departments dedicated to internal communication. Smaller companies have long been a substantial part of our San Francisco Bay Area video production business and increasingly we are helping them create high quality videos — mostly on their own.
A 2010 global survey of 1200 internal communications managers 8 found:
- 92.9% believe video is becoming a more important part of internal communication.
- 70% use video to support internal communication.
- 72% See their organization devoting more time and budget to video in the future.
The three most common uses for internal videos:
- 69.3% use video for leadership visibility
- 61.8% use video as part of branding
- 49% use video to communicate values or culture initiatives
Still, we have all seen examples of video used poorly; the “marketing video” with all the finesse of the quintessential old world used car salesman , the “training video” that the staff considers cruel and unusual punishment , the “motivational video” with all the subtlety of a WWII propaganda film. These failures are so abundant that they are nearly clichés.
With so many misguided videos in use, how does the research turn out so positive? I expect that well conceived, appropriately targeted videos work even better than these numbers suggest. Yes, video works, and GOOD video can give you great business results.
Subscribe to this blog. In future articles we’ll cover how to develop and produce a well conceived targeted video with huge ROI.
Sources:
- (Online Publisher’s Association)
- (BIA/Kelsey User View study data, February 2010)
- (Internet Retailer, August 2010)
- (Wharton School of Business)
- (Forrester Research, January 2010)
- (International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2007, Vol. 3, Issue 3, pp. 105-114.)
- (Multimodal Learning Through Media: What the Research Says By Metiri Group – Commissioned by Cisco)
- (Strategic Communication Research Forum)
Video-SEOSearch Engine Optimization Run Amok
Marketers are in the midst of a virtual stampede to use video SEO to get to the top of search engine results.
Who can blame them! A recent (2010) study by Forrester Research found that “Well-optimized video is fifty-three times more likely than text to appear on the front page of Google”. Video works like a magic bullet!
Ready… Fire… Aim!
The problem is that many are placing more focus on video SEO techniques than on the actual video content. The content is the key component that communicates the message and leads to conversion from a passive viewing to an actual sale (or at least a more qualified lead). I’ve even heard SEO experts go so far as to say, “Just put any video up there; a video of the outside of your business, or even a video created from your photos”.
But if you lure a lot of people to your site and then offer useless, pointless or merely disadvantageous video content, you will have succeeded in very clearly communicating a bad first impression to large numbers of your target audience. That is not a good way to start a business relationship.
While search rankings can greatly benefit from adding video to your website, marketers must consider carefully what the viewer will experience once they click on the link. Unfortunately in my experience, while many SEO experts give lip service to appropriate content, it is not really in their scope of work. After all, their job is search engine optimization and their goal is to get your website (whatever your message) to rank highly on Google. Nowhere is this more apparent than when it comes to optimizing online video content for search engines.
Video SEO dilemma
Part of the problem is classic chicken and egg. What comes first, your SEO or your video? Actually it is probably a bit of both. You want your video content to fit into your keyword strategy, but your video needs to deliver value to the person searching for your keywords if it is to do you any good.
For example a plumber client wanted us to produce a marketing video for the Bay Area that would rank well for “sewer line repair”. He had a special camera that clearly showed a tree root was obstructing a pipe five feet below ground. We edited the video from seven to two minutes (to get to the point) and added narration with him explaining that he had just cleared the drain with a snake and the water is flowing, but the drain will clog again because of the root. He talked about how his equipment makes it easy to diagnose the problem and urged viewers to call him if they have recurring clogs.
Not only did we establish that he is friendly, knowledgeable, and has the latest equipment, but we also delivered directly on the key phrase that he optimized for. And of course we had a call to action. We did not create the standard “deer in the headlights” video of him explaining his business. In a future post I will explain the finesse and planning it takes to make a business description video work and why it typically does more harm than good. For now, make sure the content of your video delivers powerfully for the search term you are targeting.
Once you have created a thoughtful and useful morsel of video, it must actually be optimized for search engines. Video SEO is technical and somewhat tedious but here are plenty of articles that give step-by-step instructions on video SEO.
Video SEO in perspective
As a video producer, I am most concerned with creating content that causes action in the viewer. Whether you want to sell a product, sway opinion, motivate a workforce or train employees, internet video production has incredible power as a communication tool. This power should not be squandered merely to be used as a pawn for search engine optimization.
I try to put myself in the user’s perspective. They have typed a certain phrase into the search engine because they’re looking for something specific. If the search engine optimization has worked, they find your video, and they click to watch it.
After the promise of video SEO has delivered a targeted user, then you have a golden opportunity to deliver your message to someone who’s highly receptive. A study by BIA/Kelsey showed that 21% of web video viewers make a purchase. Keep in mind that this is only achieved when the viewer actually watches your video! And the viewer will not watch your video if your search engine optimization has misled them to content that not extremely relevant. Content is king. Video SEO only helps match viewers to your content.
Please share your best and worst examples of video SEO Mistakes.
Use video
In this blog we will explore the best and most effective ways of using video for business. I decided to start this blog because it is a subject not often covered. There are plenty of blogs on how to use video cameras, how to use various video editing systems, video search engine optimization and all of the individual skills needed to create a video. However there are few blogs that cover the strategy that must be in place before you pull out a camera or even write a script, if you want your business to truly benefit from your video.
Video as a business tool (I like the term “killer app”)
For many years now I have thought of the videos I create for clients as tools. I see myself as a tool maker, creating tools that enable businesses to accomplish certain things. Like tools, they can be designed to accomplish a specific task (like a sparkplug puller) or they can be designed so that they are useful for a variety of purposes (like a pair of pliers). Often clients come to me looking for tools that do a variety of things (like a Swiss Army knife). Unfortunately, while one can use a Swiss Army knife to accomplish a variety of tasks, it is not especially good at any of them. I know of no hairstylists who use the scissors on a Swiss Army knife to achieve the latest look. A carpenter would not use the screwdriver on a Swiss Army knife to build a deck. And the only time a chef would use the knife for cooking would be as a challenge on Top Chef. Videos that are created to solve business challenges are no different — the more they are tailored to a specific task the more effective and useful they are.
Strategy for efficiency
of course creating very specific videos to achieve very specific tasks can get expensive. Expense has always been the biggest problem with video, and it still is. Even with the falling cost of production and editing equipment and the explosion of businesses and freelancers who provide video production services, good video takes time to create. “Bad” video should not be dismissed as an effective option in some situations, and we will discuss the effective use of “bad” video in this blog. In order to cut production costs and still get very specifically targeted videos, I like to employ a strategy that includes reuse and repurposing. We will discuss various ways that you can shoot several videos at once to achieve economy and specialization at the same time. There is nothing better than getting three specialized videos for the price of one unfocused, ineffective waste-of-time.
Uses of video
Having been in the video business since 1978 and owner of a video company since 1992, I have had plenty of time to think about the many ways to use video in business. I have actually created videos for about 80% of those uses. In this blog we will explore some of the more interesting, unique and most misunderstood uses of business video along with proof that video does work. And I’d like to define “business” very broadly. A demo video for a public speaker is a business video because it generates business for the speaker. Same goes for videos of actors, singers, poets and authors because it builds and documents their career. For our purposes, the term “business” certainly extends to nonprofits, schools and government agencies.
Transparency
I’m very bad at being duplicitous so I feel compelled to confess that I am writing this blog in part to build my business. While that’s obvious to most, it’s often the elephant in the room that many people ignore. I will offer as much practical and useful information as I can so those who find and read this get something valuable. Readers can apply this information to make their own videos better, to help build their own video production businesses, or to more effectively use the services of a video production company (such as Ludlow Media Solutions). I anticipate that many topics will simply flow out of me since they are the things that I find myself repeating to clients over and over again. Perhaps by posting them here, eventually I will have clients who come to me from this blog and are ready to create strategically planned, effective videos that make a huge difference in their business.