People need websites as much as companies do

In today's world, it's a given:  If you have any kind of a business, you need a website.  But what if you are an individual just looking for a job?

Whatever social or business networking sites you are currently using, if you don't have a web page for your company or for yourself, you are missing out on great opportunities - especially if you are currently looking for employment.

Lets look at the obvious first.  If you are an employer, then presented with two candidates with roughly the same credentials, wouldn't you want to hire the person who took the initiative to create a personal web site?  Anyone can create a LinkedIn or FaceBook page, but it takes some chutzpa to go the extra mile. 

And it's cheap!  You can get hosted for as little as $5 to $10 bucks a month, and most hosting sites will give you enough free software that you can easily design your own site.  Don't want to do it yourself?  There are many folks out there like myself who help companies and individuals get a nice, effective web site up and running for you, and for not a lot of money.

With your own web site, you can control what visitors see (and optionally hear).  Those distracting advertisements, bulletins and lists would be gone, as any potential pop-ups.   You can also format the page in any style you wish.

Having total control over your information can be the difference between effective self-marketing and just more noise on the internet.

Don't cause your company damage with bad web videos

Sometimes you wear jeans and sometimes you put on a
suit. Typically, you know when to choose one over the other. There are times
that require you to look your best and times that you just need to look a bit
hip and funky.

So it goes with video on the Internet in general, and video on your website, in
particular. Your return on investment (ROI), as well as your income, is going to be impacted
one way or another by how you present yourselves and your companies to your
clients.

We have all seen the quality of video slide downhill ever since the debut of
YouTube. YouTube helped establish the “viral video” generation and has
helped to disseminate information that, prior to its existence and other sites
like it, would be difficult to otherwise obtain.

But the typical YouTube video is shot with low- and medium-end camcorders and
edited in consumer video editing environments by folks with a minimal knowledge
of what would have the greatest impact on an audience. For all the money and
effort you have put into your business, is that the way you want to portray it?

Content is king. YouTube videos are poor quality but if the content is funny or
true or rich enough it doesn’t matter. They get their 5 minutes, or a million
hits, and they are forgotten. But quality means something for the long term. A
corporate, product or artistic video needs to have strength of content and
quality to have both an immediate and long lasting impact. Trends come and go
and are quickly forgotten. Don’t let the trend of mediocre video inform your
message.

As the legendary Marshall McLuhan noted, “The medium is the message”. As
an entrepreneur, you need to consider more than just the elements of your web
videos’ message. You need to consider the way the message is portrayed because
together, the medium and the message is a gestalt, comprising more than the sum
of its parts.

To make this blatantly obvious, consider a voice over attempting to convince
people that their tap water coming from a local reservoir is safe to drink, but
the video with that voice over is comprised of pictures of garbage lining the
shore of the reservoir along with dead fish. At the very least, you’ll be a bit
hesitant to fill up your glass from your kitchen tap.

So why are so many companies relying upon their own camcorders to produce video
for their web sites? Saving money is the obvious answer. Some will also add that
they “took some journalism courses” in college. Would you be satisfied with your
car mechanic if they told you that they “took some shop courses” in school?
Probably not.

Set, lighting, composition, sound quality, video quality and motivated edits.
Other than the actual script, these are the important ingredients in an
effective video presentation. Even the most boring CEOs (you know who you are)
can come off as exciting spokespersons if a professional is involved to create
the message. Conversely, a wonderful message from a talented on-camera person
can fail miserably if the other factors are not taken into consideration.

And, if you think reading a “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Video Production”
is going to help, think again. A video professional is like any other
professional; we have the experience, as well as the knowledge, to tailor your
message to your audience in a positive way, so next time you think about making
your own video, try having a professional do the work. You, and your bottom
line, will be so much happier with the results.

Flashback Media Productions produces cost-effective, professional videos
for web sites, DVDs and other purposes. See the difference. Capture your
audience with moving images and compelling stories. www.flashback.tv. Email:
videoman@flashback.tv