2nd Brain Collective Podcast: Melik Brown of Lansing Made
The Story of UnoDeuce
14 years ago something special happened. I created UnoDeuce Multimedia. It was a huge leap of faith for me as I really didn’t have entrepreneurial blood running through me. My grandmother ran a small brunch cafe, but that’s about it and she closed it up when I was about 5 or 6 years old. So, why did I decide to go out on my own? Why start a company? A few reasons actually.
First of all, the digital revolution was here. Cameras were coming down in price, editing systems were coming down in price, media, etc. There was starting to be this trend toward the one man bands, and it was time that I took my chance at this as well. Secondly, I built a pretty fair network before moving back to Michigan from Seattle. It was probably a tougher state to move on your own in, but I knew with my knowledge of the audience I was targeting, it would be a good fit. Thirdly, a video company, that a friend of mine worked out was selling off all of their equipment so I jumped at that opportunity to pick up a camera, tripod and microphones. Now was a good time to go on my own.
The creative side was easy, the business portion was the steepest learning curve. Even though I ran the day to day operations at my previous job in Seattle, I didn’t have to worry about a lot of the little things that I had to take of now. There was a lot of organizing and getting out there. It took awhile for me to really gain traction as I took some freelance jobs around the Detroit area covering high school sports that really helped me financially, but I feel I wasted a lot of chances to grow because I didn’t have time to do it all and I tried.
When I made the move to Lansing, MI, five years ago, it was my opportunity to start fresh as a business. I immersed myself in the business culture in this area, I no longer had those freelance gigs to take me away from the development of the business, so that would not be a distraction, and I grew up. I don’t look at the first 9 years of what I had established as a wash, it was just a learning experience. I wanted this business to be more of a business and so I attempted to create that atmosphere and be an employer as well as a creator and producer. We are now structured differently, marketing differently, talking about ourselves differently. We are a we, not just an I.
When I first started this business, I didn’t want it to be just an I. That’s why it’s always been a different name, not just myself. I didn’t know how to go about being that we at first, but I know now, and am looking forward to this expansion. So, never give up on your goals. Figure out where you want to be. You may not have the answers at first, but you will come to the right conclusions eventually. Make mistakes. Ask questions. You will never learn if you never get out of your box.
Running a business and a successful business is a marathon. Remember that. Keep your head up and your mind, heart and ears open. You never know where that may take you.
Guest Post: So You Have a Plan, Do You?
You’ve decided you’re going to launch a mini-campaign for a new service you’re offering. Congrats! The fact you’ve recognized you need to get the word out deserves kudos.
But wait! Do you have a plan for this launch? A marketing communications plan, I mean. You know, the document that outlines your ultimate goal(s), measurable objectives, strategies and implementation tactics? It’s also got target audiences, key messages and evaluation techniques? Yes? Awesome! No? Oh dear.
Construction site crane building a blue 3D text. Part of a series.
Don’t shoot from the hip. It doesn’t have to be a long, formal thesis on how to sell Happy Meals (remember to take out the fit-tracker watch incentive!). A plan illuminates the path to success. It should be revisited often to see if it needs adjusting. Throwing darts at the wall rarely leads to an organized effort or desired outcomes. What it usually does is lead to frustration and the question, “Why isn’t this working?”
So what are measurable objectives and strategies? How are they different from goals and tactics? How might I evaluate how it went? We PR folks call it the GOST formula:
- Goal: Think of this as the umbrella statement that sums up your desired outcome. “Successfully launch Fancy Fido Styling’s new deluxe pedicure service.” It’s broad and doesn’t get into the details of how you’re going to do it or who you’re targeting.
- Measurable Objective: Say what you’re going to accomplish, by how much, in what timeframe and among what audience. “Sell 25 deluxe pedicures in the first three months to existing customers.”
- Strategies: These are the categories of marketing communication tools you’re going to use to sell your service.
- Direct mail to existing customers
- Signage
- Tactics: Here’s where the rubber hits the road. Tactics are the things you need to do to enable your strategies, and ultimately get you to your measurable objectives and goal(s):
- Create direct mailer and mailing list
- Develop eye-catching signage for front windows and salon
- Evaluation: How do you know if it worked? What would you do differently next time? This all depends on your goal and your measurable objectives.
- Compare actual sales to measurable objective(s).
- Do a satisfaction survey with pedicure customers (since Fido can’t speak for him/herself!).
Taking time to put something together can really help you stay focused and sell those pedicures. Still not sure about all of this? Check with a communications professional for help. Most of us like pedicures too!
My Viewpoint of the Video Industry in 15 Years.
I’ve been in professional video production for almost 20 years. There have been a lot of changes in that time. In fact, in that span we have seen: DVD production set the standard and now start to wane, HD production evolve and HD distribution hit the web, YouTube become the dominant distribution platform for the web and so on…
Now let’s look at the future and where I see video heading, in my estimation:
A businessman is consulting a crystal ball to foretell the future.
Production: 4K will be mainstream and in fact we will probably be now looking at 8K as the new capture method, with cameras becoming more filmic in their look. However, I don’t see the pro cameras getting much smaller, maybe a little bigger with the ability to offer more for event videographers in the way of audio inputs and lens stability. I just don’t see the multipart camera rigs as playing as big a role for cameras. The smaller cameras such as GoPros will stay within the same form factor, but may have some stronger accessories to take them into more diverse arenas. The video technology within phones will be more advanced, and the phones themselves will have more space at a cheaper rate. I also think that cloud technology will be more advanced so that you can offload video right from the camera into the cloud space wherever.
Post-Production: Editing systems will be more advanced allowing more touch technology and integration with touch based tools to edit. In other words it will feel like you are painting your video or film, as you will be able to slide around whatever elements you need by hand. Also, they will be more robust by having either a better continuity with other programs in the bundle by either integrating programs into the system or having a situation where you open the program within the editor and not know you are outside the editor. The programs will work with each other within the same window. Plus to be able to edit from the cloud will be an important part of the workflow.
Distribution: This is what may change the most as we will see more aspects of live streaming from just about whereever. There will be greater instances of wi fi for that. The video codecs will be much more advanced so streaming live in 4K will not be an issue. Plus maybe even multiple streams 4K. YouTube may not be the dominant video player, but I dont see it’s dominance waning as it becomes more of a Netflix competitor. Video will be able to played more readily on what were static billboards and kiosks as the cloud and streaming technolgies become more stable. Plus more vehicles will have wifi hotspots and streaming video will play more a role in that as well.
Those are just some of the few ideas in the advancement of technology within our time in the next 15 years and I haven’t even touched Virtual Reality. I’m not sure if we will be more advanced because of the huge leaps in digital and web based technologies that happend in a short amount of time in the last 15 years. We shall see. Like I’ve said before, it’s a good time to be in our industry.
The UnoDeuce Video Process
I’ve been talking about how to use video and great practices to think about when it comes to video, but I’ve never really gone into talking about how my company, UnoDeuce Multimedia, produces video. What do we do?
First of all, we have a specific target market that we aim at. We like to work with small businesses and non-profit organizations. So, basically, working with organizations with tight budgets to believe they can have quality they can afford. This was something I learned from my time working for a video company in Seattle. There were ways, through planning, that you could create great work in a time frame that wouldn’t break the budget of organizations. I enjoyed that. The people we worked for did to, and repeat business and referrals happened because of it. I translated that philosophy into what we do with the company today.
The other thing we do is look for organizations who are web and social media savvy. These are the ones we like to work with because they are looking for content to help with their messaging and are usually ready to take that next stip into video.
This brings us to really how we do what we do. We, of course, like to plan in multiple videos, but we meet with the client, get a feel for their organization and goals and messaging. We look at their brand and give our two cents on what areas would be great to cover. Then we talk about who is going to be the spokesperson(people) and what they should be prepared to talk about. We also ask for logos, color palette and fonts. We want to be as close to the branding as possible so that we integrate what we are producing into the already developed brand image of the organization.
There really is no scripting or storyboarding. There is usually an interview or interviews and then shooting for coverage. We do not like to use narration if we can help it. We love to have the subjects of the video tell the story. Narration has its place, but not in most of our projects.
We also know what to bring in equipment so that we are not carrying too much or have too little. It’s all in the planning. However, not all videos will have the same criteria, so we just make sure we plan to have all the elements in place to create the final product.
The biggest thing we do is readily include the client in the whole process. We know we can’t produce something for someone completely on our own, so we invite the client for feedback and to be part of the team creatively as well.
This process has worked for us very well and we get to work with very creative business people who are great storytellers and they love the fact that their brand is front and center in all of their videos. In fact check out this video, which is one of our first forays into the brand incorporation and let us know what you think. Also, let us know what you think about our process.
Guest Post: Why video marketing? Why now?
There is no shortage of content in our lives. From piles of paperwork on our desks, to notes and newsletters from our children’s schools, to emails and digital data bombarding us online, the text can be overwhelming. It’s in this world of information overload that we find a breath of fresh air in video.
Not only is it easier for our brains to process the visuals, over the sea text in our lives, it’s also much easier to create an emotional impact through video. It allows us to humanize concepts and information that an audience might otherwise ignore online.
Don’t believe the hype? Here are some statistics to prove that people gravitate toward video. According to Twitter, videos and photos get the most retweets. The average internet user spends 88% more time on a website with video than on sites without it. Studies show that simply using the word “video” in the subject line of an email can increase open rates by 19-percent. Further, click-through rates increase by 65-percent, meaning people are actually clicking on the links provided within the email. And, get this, consumers are 64% more likely to buy a product after watching a video about it.
Because of its likability, video is not only easy on the eyes, it’s easier to market. In addition to social media platforms, whose search algorithms favor video, video has a direct impact on search results. Rich media is widely favored by search engine algorithms, which influence website rankings. Google, the most-used search engine in the world, owns YouTube, the second-most used search engine in the world. Connect the dots, and you can see why Google’s search results prominently feature video with its top results.
At Fraser Trebilcock, we chose to start our video production with a short piece on what it’s like to be a part of the Fraser family. With our career openings in mind, select attorneys describe what drew them to the law firm and to the communities where we live and work. With a professional, yet friendly and inclusive tone, we use the interviews to draw the audience in and connect on a more personal level.
So where do you start? The easiest way is to start small, by evaluating your current marketing strategy to see where video may help you hit a target audience with key messaging that’s already in place. As you begin to research technical aspects, keep in mind that quality is key. Poor video or audio will hurt more than it helps, so if it’s within your budget you may want to team up with professionals.
Julie Holton is the Marketing Director at Fraser Trebilcock, one of Michigan’s longest-established full-service law firms with offices in Lansing, Detroit, and Grand Rapids.