Best Video Specs for Facebook

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Video content tends to do so much better on Facebook than photos or written content. It is a more convenient content format for most people to consume and then there’s also Facebook’s algorithm which favors videos over other types of content.

So that’s already a good reason for everybody to put out more video content on Facebook. But how do you do that in a way that looks good on people’s devices and gets more reach? The one thing you need to keep in mind is that you want to design your videos for mobile.

Read on and let’s find out how you can do that. [Read more…]

5 Tips to Make a Whiteboard Animation Video Like a Pro

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What happens when you’ve got a lot of information – about products or business, whether yours or your client’s –  that you want your audience to understand effectively? 

You could try the written route and write long posts going over the details one by one. Maybe, you could jump on Instagram and make a 45-minute-long marketing live stream going into each point you wish to cover…

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Top New Media Tips for Entrepreneurs

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There has never been as much opportunity for entrepreneurs as there is today. Wherever you are in the world, with the right idea, proper execution, and the willingness to do what it takes, you have the chance to make it big.

Sure, the competition is tough, but that can be a driving force as well as a source of inspiration. For budding entrepreneurs and existing entrepreneurs alike, openness to learning from the best in the business is one of the essential characteristics to success. [Read more…]

5 No-Nos When Creating a Video For Your Blog

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Adding video to your blog can be a really fruitful investment. It can radically increase viewer engagement, boost your site rankings on Google, give your viewers a sense of relationship with you, and it’s a great way to get information across in an easy to understand way. There’s no doubt about it. When you use video on your blog, it can have a strong, positive impact.

creating a video for your blog

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According to Technology Innovations Management Review, a study was undertaken using MRIs to observe brain activity and its connection with consumer behavior. The result of this Neuromarketing study suggested that test subjects associate themselves with objects (including people) seen on video. They tend to think “the person on the screen is me”, and they behave, react, and feel accordingly. [Read more…]

Creating Killer Videos with Amy Schmittauer

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Creating Killer Videos with Amy Schmittauer

Creating great videos may not be easy, but Amy Schmittauer makes it look easy. President of Vlog Boss Studios, an agency specializing in video content marketing, Amy has also created a following on YouTube where she talks about social media, marketing and more.

What advice would you to give to someone starting video, and getting over the fear of being on camera?

It’s so much easier to talk to people directly right? Stop thinking about the lens, and start thinking about your audience. Picture one person that you would be sharing this information with, and speak to them. It’s a completely different feeling when you have the mindset that you’re helping someone with your content versus just being another recording on the Internet.

Your videos on Savvy Sexy Social are very entertaining. How do you keep people’s attention in an age when attention spans are spread so thin?

I inject a lot of personality in my videos. That’s the best way to start. If you think you can grow in this medium by being just another talking head, you have another thing coming. So people know exactly what I’m like in the real world because I’m not putting up a rouse for my videos. I also pay a lot of attention to my analytics, and my audience retention. Anything I can do to keep my video flowing quickly with non-stop information, and entertainment so they are only watching as long as they need to, increases my ability to build a relationship with them. You’ll rarely hear a pause or an “umm” because I do a lot of cutting, so we’re constantly going from point to point. There is no downtime in my videos. [Read more…]

Michael Pick Interviewed at BloggerTalks

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Video blogging guru Michael Pick of WordPress.tv fame was recently interviewed by our very own Franky Branckaute at BloggerTalks.

We had the opportunity to work with Michael when he produced videos for Tubetorial, and all I can say is this guy is top rate!

As for the interview, Michael shuns the blog rockstar title and discusses how the move from Tokyo to Sapporo has done much to improve productivity (more snow meant less trips to the pub). He also shares how he likes the visual medium more than writing text and how he thinks better of being a trailblazer at your own niche rather than copying ideas that have already been done before. [Read more…]

Shel Israel, SAP, and the end of Global Neighborhoods TV (For now?)

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Back in April, I wrote about how Shel Israel was being outsmarted by NYC Videographer Loren Feldman:

First, when deciding to embark on something new – like launching a new video show on FastCompany perhaps – it’s critical that you understand the workflow and equipment that you’re going to be using. Watching Shel try to interview someone while operating his equipment – and then the entertainment involved in watching him use the boom shotgun mike as a handheld mike nearly caused me to spit up my morning coffee.

Shel’s videos weren’t entertaining – they were boring (and badly so) and his video work was sorely lacking. This led Loren Feldman of 1938media to launch a parody video show of Shel Israel using a puppet – and the story flows from there.

Yesterday, Shel announced that SAP was dropping its sponsorship of his Global Survey and that Global Neighborhoods TV was leaving Fast Company:

SAP has been a great sponsor. They have given me a free hand in selecting topics. They have encouraged me along the way. They have paid me to do what I would have probably done on my own anyway. But after one year, they have elected not to continue and I wish them well.

Effective July 1, the SAP Global Survey will become the Global Survey. I will continue. Hopefully a new entity will step up to sponsor this ongoing exploration. Meanwhile, I will continue to seek out new stories about how social media is changing just about everything. In fact, I will be expanding topics to also cover issues of Green and Corporate Social Responsibility. If you have either a story or an interest in sponsoring, please contact me.

When GNTV launched, I was not quite ready for prime time. If I was an actor, I would say I was prepared for a summer stock script reading. When the curtain went up, I found myself instead at center stage of an opening night on Broadway with some determined hecklers in the audience who managed for a while to distract me.

Most people seem to agree that I got better. After 14 episodes, I think GNTV has proved its value and professionals hungry for insights into how they can use social media in their businesses have found GNTV to have more than a little value.

A few weeks back, however, FastCompany granted my request to take back GNTV, to remove it from their site and to eventually relaunched it o a smaller scale on this site.

Shel claims that he’ll relaunch GNTV – but that he’ll need sponsorship to do so. Interesting – because I don’t see sponsorship being needed in order to do an online video show. ZeFrank did quite well on his own.

Hopefully this brings to an end the long drama of Shel Israel and the videoblog/show. But given one of Shel’s comments, I doubt we’ve seen the last of him in front of a camera:

I’m also available for freelance video and text journalistic projects. Recently, Scoble & I collaborated on an eBook called, “The Conversational Corporation” for Dow Jones. It was an assignment I loved and welcome similar assignments. Several organizations have recently contracted video personalities to do interviews for enterprise projects and I would be happy to be considered for them in the future.

Please… no. Shel, you’re a great writer, but the video thing is simply not for you. Stick to what is working…

15 Great Sites for Legal, Free Content

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[Updated June 2018 by Laurel Devoto]

You don’t have to spend a bundle to get great free and legal content for your website. Photos, videos, sounds, and vectors are available for free online without breaking the bank or the law. Knowing where to find high-quality, relevant content is a great way to improve your website or blog and make it more interesting for visitors. Without spending a dime, you can still use high-quality images on your blog to improve reader engagement and help make your blog posts look more attractive. There are so many sites that offer a variety of licensing options to suit any project.

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Live coverage of NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander – Tonight at 6pm EST

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At around 6pm EST tonight, NASA will begin live coverage of the Phoenix Mars Lander as it begins is descent to land on Mars. It is expected that NASA will know of the success of the mission by around 8pm EST.

NASA expects to see nearly half a million people to tune in live via the web for the landing.

You can catch a live stream at USTREAM via the SpaceVidCast video chat room.