…from Ragan’s PR daily
Mike McDougall, principal of McDougall Communications, and formerly vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for Bausch + Lomb, has some suggestions for making video a quick PR tool at your disposal:
1. Embrace the trend
McDougall says. “In the past you would need a studio, high-end gear, staff, and a lot of time to bring a story to life with video. Today, you can be more responsive with high quality in a very low-cost package, and it really opens doors to more possibilities for video in a business setting.”
2. Experiment
Bausch + Lomb once issued a major statement on the day of the announcement by videoing the chairman.”Let’s explain why we’re doing this in a way that’s a little more personal,” he says. The video was posted globally for 13,000 employees to watch that day. “We had a fantastic response from it, so much so that we started incorporating video across the business.”
(here is an example Little Orchard produced for VirgoHealthPR’s client)
3. Think Twitter, not ‘Gone with the Wind’
McDougall recommends shooting videos that run 90 seconds or less. Only rarely do they go much longer. Think of them as a visual Twitter, he says. The videos “should be a summary that makes people want to learn more.”
4. Break lengthier information into short snippets
“If you have lots of information to convey, it doesn’t need to be a 6 minute video,” McDougall says. “It could be a series of 30 or 45 second segments.” Have a web page where you link to the individual snippet and add a link where you can play the entire video.
5. Be prepared to supply footage to TV journalists
Television stations once turned up their noses at corporate-supplied video known as B-roll. Now they are so short-staffed, they gladly use it.
6. Not every piece needs high-quality production, but the bosses must buy in
If your executives are used to being the stars, McDougall says, a low-end web video may not be right for you. “I remember one of my CEOs saying, ‘Look, I know we’re cutting costs, but this is too far,’” He says. “Then I showed him the output; he shrugged and said, ‘Hey, fantastic. Let’s stick with this.’”
(Here is a recent example that Little Orchard produced for Journey 9′s client)
7. Don’t be that guy who says, “oops – forgot the audio.”
You’ll need good audio, or your video will be worthless, McDougall says. “It’s something [people with their own cameras] tend to overlook until they start editing,” he says. “Then they hit themselves on the head and say, ‘Oh. We can’t even use this.’”
8. Don’t overthink it
Use video as an everyday communication tool. “Cisco Systems has even used cameras to create employee bios,” McDougall says. “So as opposed to two pages of copy that you’re reading about an employee, they had a video blog series,” he says.
9. Use in-house productions to supplement, not replace, the pros
“If you want depth of field or great dynamic range—the deep blacks etc—you won’t find it with a handy cam”, McDougall says. And if you’re shooting for the big screen, go with the pros. Handy cams are ok for web but look like YouTube’s worst nightmares on TVs.
Little Orchard provides both professional film and video services to PR agencies AND ‘video for PR’ training should you want to try doing some basic video in-house. Call 0845 838 7396 for details now.
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