Tag Archive for: Video Marketing

Improve Your Video Connections with These 4 Recommended Video Software Tools

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Are you looking to up your video communication skills?

Whether you are using video for marketing, to share software tips with those you work with, or to share valuable information via social media, you have choices to make in order to find “the right (video) tool for the job.”

​I’ve got recommendations! The episode of Video Mojo (video below) will help you by offering a quick overview of four video software tools that I have used to create casual, but informative videos, especially for clients and colleagues.

Click above to watch this week’s Video Mojo video blog & podcast episode.

The first three apps are particularly useful if you need or want to share your screen, including if that screen is sharing a presentation. The fourth video software tool is particularly useful when you want to make a more powerful video connection via email. Links to all four video apps are below (FYI, none are affiliate links.)

​About Video Mojo

​Video Mojo is a weekly video blog and podcast hosted by award-winning media innovator, Jon Leland. It combines timeless marketing principles with a playful exploration on the “bleeding edge” of digital video & marketing.

Resource Link from this episode:

I’d love to hear what works for you and if you find this program useful. If you’ve got questions, feedback or suggestions, please comment below, or let’s connect (and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever):

* Video Launch Pad: https://go.combridges.com/video-launch-pad​
* YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/jonleland​
* Video Blog Home: https://www.combridges.com/blog​/
* Podcast Home: https://anchor.fm/video-mojo​/
* On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/video-mojo-jon-leland-tips-strategies-for-better-world/id1489867374?uo=4​
* On Spotify Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/1ORM2qja8iMWM9ykwvhaXk​
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joncombridges/
* Twitter: https://twitter.com/joncombridges​/
* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/combridges.fb​/
* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonleland/

Thanks!

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Improve Your Video Connections with These 4 Recommended Video Software Tools

Hi and welcome! 

My name is Jon Leland and I’m a digital marketing strategist and the host of Video Mojo, a weekly video blog, and podcast that connects timeless marketing principles with the bleeding edge of video communications, technology, and marketing. 

So today we are going to talk about four applications that can really help you get more fluent in the language of video and increase the power of the connections that you make via video. As you may have heard from other episodes of this video blog and podcast I’m a big advocate of the practice of video. I am passionate about learning by doing and experimenting, but most of all getting yourself out there so you develop the video muscle. These are four applications that can help you do just that in order to make better connections with the people that you are working with or that you want to influence. 

I will include all of the links for the applications that I’m talking about and some other resources throughout the description.

Loom

The first application is called Loom. Loom is very popular because of its simplicity and also because of its free level robust application. It operates both as a Chrome plug-in and as a desktop application. I’ve only used it as the Chrome plug-in because I find it really convenient. When you use Loom the limitation is that you do not have many customization options. Your talking head video will be a small circle in the lower-left corner. You then will be able to share your screen and show people what it is that you want to communicate about. We use it frequently and I’ve seen it used to explain things that are going on within software or websites. It’s very powerful and relatively easy to use. 

Snagit

A step up from that is Snagit, which is a kind of a Swiss Army knife of video tools. It has both the ability to do still frame captures as well as various forms of video interaction. It introduces the sophistication of being able to switch back and forth between a screen share and the full live-action video talking head. I got turned on to Snagit by Steve Dotto of Dottotech. He is a resource that I recommend and I’ll also include a link to his video review of Snagit for a lot more detail. Snagit is a paid application. It is a one-time fee of about $50 unless you get some kind of discount. It will give you a more sophisticated ability to produce videos where you’re switching back and forth while recording but NOT in post-production. 

Wistia’s Soapbox

I really like the third tool, Wistia’s Soapbox. Wistia is a video hosting application that I do recommend to get away from the YouTube noise that happens when you host videos on YouTube. For example, on my landing pages for the video launchpad, I have embedded videos that will not recommend other YouTube videos by using the Wistia platform. Soapbox is an application that Wistia has developed and is also accessible by a Chrome plug-in. It has a really clever post-production editing interface. You record once and then in this editing interface you have the ability to switch between the live talking head and the screen share as well as a  third view which is one-third talking head in two-thirds screen share. So if you’re doing “mini-tutorials” soapbox is a pretty cool application that will enable you to produce a kind of presentation that looks like you’ve used much more fancy editing software that has a nice combination of the live talking head human presence and the screen sharing. 

BombBomb

Then if you want to move up to the next level BombBomb is a really cool application, particularly if you’re doing a lot of email outreach and you want to move to a more sophisticated level. For example, if you are a real estate marketer that wants to stand out above the crowd in how they communicate with their prospective customers, BombBomb integrates with email like nothing else that I’ve seen. The way that they do that is when you record a BombBomb video for somebody the first two seconds is an animated GIF that can be embedded into an email. In fact, they have a whole email integration for outbound marketing. That means the learning curve is higher and the cost is definitely higher as it’s a professional application. But it will give you the ability to communicate via email and really make personal messages that can attract and engage in a very powerful way. 

So there’s a quick overview of four tools that you can use to increase your video muscle. You know, it’s a practice. It takes determination and perseverance to stay with it. Each one has a learning curve starting with something like Loom (it’s simpler), and walking up the ladder to something like BombBomb (it’s much more complex). Whatever you do I really encourage you to get out there, make yourself more visible, and do the kind of engagement that these kinds of video tools enable. 

Thanks again for your kind attention. I really do appreciate you being here and I’ll see you next week!

How to Achieve Your 2020 Content Marketing Goals + Recommended Resources Help You Get There

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Blessings on your Holidays and wishing you vibrant good health, chuckles of happiness and easeful prosperity in the New Year.

Setting yourself up to achieve your 2020 goals sounds simple… and it is!

But, doing what you want to do does require taking some simple action steps. And, you have to take them! ???? Some essential elements of embracing your goals are illuminated in this week’s Video Mojo:

This Weeks Power Briefing, How to Achieve Your 2020 Content Marketing Goals + Recommended Resources

In the world of content marketing, there are also strategic steps that you can take to get where you want to go. One of those steps, finding my “content tilt,” is at the top of my list of 2020 goals. I’m learning a lot from the book, “Content Inc.” as you will see.

The resources that are offered in this video (links below) can also help point you and your online presence in a more productive direction as well.

I am wishing you all the Happiest and Healthiest New Year Ever!

Here are the RESOURCE LINKS mentioned in this week’s video:
​
​Content Marketing Institute
​https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/​

Joe Pullizzi’s book, “Content Inc.”
​https://www.joepulizzi.com/books/content-inc/

Bullet Journaling
​https://bulletjournal.com/​

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

How to Achieve Your 2020 Content Marketing Goals + Recommended Resources Help You Get There

Hi and welcome to another episode of Video Mojo. My name is Jon Leland and I’m your guide on this exploration of both timeless marketing communication principles and up-to-the-minute resources, tools, tips, and that kind of thing. 

Today we are taking on goal setting and how to achieve your goals for 2020 and the year to come.

Recommended Resource: Joe Pullizzi’s book, “Content Inc.”

I want to start with a couple of resources. One is Joe Pullizzi and the Content Marketing Institute and, in particular, his book Content Inc. It’s a classic. It’s been around for a couple of years. I’ve been following Joe and his “partner-in-crime,” Robert Rose, on their podcast called This Old Marketing. And that is also a recommended resource. They are two of the most intelligent, resourceful, strategic people in the whole world of content marketing. Joe’s book, Content Inc. is particularly powerful because of its model and its model has inspired one of my goals for 2020. I’ll get into that in a minute. 

A Fundamental Action Step: Write Down Your Goals on Paper

The first tip, in his book which is about content marketing and a strategy… he has a whole methodology for it. Pulizzi starts out talking about goals. I really appreciated the down-to-earth practicality of it and he says two things that I think are crucial for anyone to achieve their goals next year or whenever.  

The first one is very basic but very few people do it: Write Your Goals Down. It’s really important to write them down. I will also share another resource which is called Bullet Journaling. Not everybody knows about Bullet Journaling. This is my bullet journal and pen right here. It’s something that I’ve used extensively. 

The tactile experience of writing to-do lists, of writing a goal, of writing a plan has really had a profound effect. It’s been really good for me to get away from the screen, and to be present to that. 

And that is one of the, everybody agrees, main thing with goals. I know a lot of people are afraid to set goals. I’ve personally experienced the vulnerability of “God, if I write this down and I set this goal, what happens if I don’t achieve it?” The worst thing that can happen is you had a vision and a goal and you didn’t achieve it. It’s not the end of the world and we could do a whole podcast about failures and how everybody, including the most successful people in the world, has had their share of failures. So it’s really not a horrible outcome but we all have our fears. 

Some people resist goals, they’re afraid to write goals. Don’t be afraid and write them down. 

Fundamental Action Step #2: Look at Your Goals Daily 

The second thing that Joe points out, which I think is even more challenging, is to look at those goals every day. So I’m reinforcing that and also offering the resource. 

Then in my own spirit of vulnerability, in the adventure, I want to share that the second part of Joe’s strategy about content marketing really hooked me in. He talks about how important it is to have a “sweet spot” that overlaps your passion and your skill set. Then, the second phase of the content in Content Marketing Model is called “Content Tilt” and that is where you get your unique voice. 

You’ve picked a niche, you’ve found where the overlap is between your passion and your skill set. But then, what’s unique about you and your voice? And that’s something that I’ve really been exploring for myself and that’s one of my goals for 2020. I’ve made progress on this. 

A friend of mine helped me see just this morning that a lot of what I do is Timeless Marketing Communications Wisdom. For decades I’ve been doing marketing communications, in video before digital media. And the principles that apply in terms of relationship building, authenticity, having a real message, that’s the kind of thing that I’m very committed to. 

I also am – a friend of mine calls me – the “Google of Marketing Technology.” I test out, experiment with, play with, all kinds of marketing tools from software, to digital strategies, to social media, to, as I hope you know by now, online video in particular. 

So next week I’ll get into some online marketing technologies but that’s my second goal—to really do more. This year has been a big breakthrough for me because I’ve started this video blog. Next year I want to really bring these tools to bear with more consistent video communications for all of my friends, relationships and in particular clients and prospective clients. 

Bonus Fundamental Tip #3: Share Your Goals

So what are your goals for 2020? A third technique that I can recommend, call this the “bonus,” but this is where some real juice can come into it, is to share your goals. You can share it with another person. I certainly recommend you choose one of the people who you find really supportive in your life because your goals can get trampled upon by somebody who’s a “Doubting Thomas,” as they say. 

So another way to do that would be to share it with us. You can put it in the comments on the podcast, the comments on the YouTube video, or the comments on any social media where I post these video blog posts and podcasts. I’d love to hear from you; but there’s something in it for you, if you share your goals publicly and with other people. Again, be careful and if you don’t feel that’s appropriate no problem. 

But if you’d like to share your goals for 2020 I would love to hear them and see what I could do to support them. I’m always so grateful for your time and attention and I really look forward to your comments suggestions and feedback.

Thanks again for being here. Happy Holidays! And I’ll see you next week!