Last week’s Third Tuesday Meetup that drew a crowd of 200+ people was engaging and informative. I attended the event hoping to get insights around how large corporations make videos that are engaging enough for their customers to watch and share. I did not walk away with those exact insights but the ones I did walk away with were just as valuable.
Our speakers for the event were, Amber MacArthur, Chris Dick and Jeff MacArthur from MGI Media. Clearly they were experts when it came to the topic at hand and had great tips for individuals (not businesses) looking to create engaging videos that can be shared and eventually commercialize the content.
Top 5 Key Things to keep in mind when making online videos:
1. Content is King: Though I’ve heard this many times in the business environment, it had never occurred to me in a personal setting. Amber’s main point with this was, if you are going to blog or produce a video, make sure your content is as tight as possible and the more niche the topic, the better.
2. Follow your Passion: I guess this applies to everything in life, not just producing entertaining video. Make sure the topic is something you are passionate about, it makes total sense when you think about your audience. Most of the people watching your video is equally passionate about the topic.
3. Educate by Entertainment: Even though the topic at hand is very resourceful, it should be presented in a engaging way so there is a clear pay off for the audience.
4. Engage and interact with your audience: It is important that you solicit feedback on your video and it doesn’t hurt to be the first one to make a comment, even if it is your own video. Amber uses a great analogy, “No one wants to be the first person to the dance floor” and similar to posting comments, if you comment first, it takes the pressure off from other people and they will likely comment if someone has done so first.
5. Make nice and make friends: Make sure you truly embody and adopt the values of social media. Reach out to people who share your passion and link them to your videos and appear in their videos. It’s important to have friends and work with other online video producers to increase the reach of your videos, in the end, everyone benefits.
Overall, the event was a huge success and it was nice to see people socializing and learning at the same time. Jeff MacArthur did share some great tips on how to get your videos to the point where you can commercialize them, and the key take away there was know your numbers. Sponsors and Advertisers only care about the tangible value your content ads to their business objectives, have that information ready or work towards capturing that data.