We all receive numerous direct messages (DMs) from businesses on our phones, tablets, and laptops every day to the point where most people ignore them rather than click through. But what if rather than text messages we received professionally produced videos that offered real value? Direct Videos (DVs) are the newest and most exciting ways for businesses to make genuine connections with their customers. Typically, they are brief yet packed full of useful content that entertains, educates,...

If you have a great idea for a movie or TV show but aren't sure what to do with it, here's a suggestion: Create a professionally produced video of yourself pitching the idea to a Hollywood studio. Then send it around "The Town". You never know. Stranger things have happened. It might just get picked up. And you could be a creator of tomorrow's next breakout entertainment property. Pitching Your Idea So, in order to give your idea the best possible chance of getting "green-lit", it needs...

About a decade ago, only a handful of realtors offered video tours of the properties they represented. Today, nearly all of them do. The rise of the use of video in real estate marketing was born out of the hugely favorable response from prospective home buyers. It didn't take long for people to realize they no longer had to schlep across the region looking at countless homes that by the end of the tiresome day all looked alike. Instead, they can simply look at their phone. Fast, Simp...

It used to be that a band seeking to book gigs would send a cassette tape to club owners, talent bookers, and promoters. Today, nothing short of a professionally produced video will do. People who hire bands today have certain expectations. For one, they probably don't have the equipment to listen to a cassette or even a CD anymore. For another, they are only looking for professional bands who know that digital video is today's industry standard. And professionally produced video will get...

When your business hosts an important event, celebrates a milestone, or recognizes a significant achievement, documenting the occasion with professionally produced video is a good investment. That's because once the video is created, you can use it as often as you like in as many places as you want for no additional cost. Creating videos of important events can be used for marketing your company, its products or services, or building your brand. It can be distributed to prospective client...

During the global pandemic, many people were forced to stay in their homes for weeks or even months at a time. Businesses adjusted by allowing workers to "work from home", participate in online meetings, and encourage customers to purchase online while simplifying and expanding home delivery options. But now that the crisis has mostly passed, people have realized that they kind of liked not having to leave their homes for the things they needed to do. And business owners are adapting by c...

There is a definite trend in classrooms today toward watching videos and away from reading textbooks. In many schools, YouTube videos are nearly as common as math texts, history books, or assigned reading in English classes. Why? Probably because it's become way cheaper, faster, and more efficient to produce videos than it is to publish books. Plus, for better or worse the gradual shortening of people's attention spans have made watching a more popular option than actually reading. V...

Like practically every other industry, the real estate market is now mostly online. People can now view dozens of properties from the comfort of their own homes without having to spend money on gas, risk face-to-face contact with strangers, or run the risk of getting lost driving around strange neighborhoods. The change in the way people search for real estate has also changed the way real estate is marketed. Today, successful realtors need not only video tours of the properties they repr...

Your Website Needs Video. Surfing the web today you will notice websites are a lot more sophisticated than they were just a few years ago. Most have professional design, compelling images, intriguing copy -- and video. Websites without video seem outdated and static compared to others. If your business or even personal website doesn't include professionally produced videos, you may be missing out on a large segment of prospective visitors who simply click on to the next one that does. ...

Company leadership develops specific performance standards. They could be something like a way to greet new customers, explain product benefits, or even ring up a sale. Managers are then charged with explaining these standards to line-level employees. So managers review the standards with employees. Then they do it again. And again. And again. Repetition is one of the hardest parts of any job but especially for managers working with existing employees, training new employees, or review...