Hollywood Videos For Your Business… At The Mall?

Posted by Jack Smith in Social Media | View Comments

On Friday, March 19th, I had the pleasure of welcoming MyStudio to the Tempe Chamber of Commerce when I attended their Ribbon Cutting celebrating their opening in the AZ Mills Mall.  And I must say that while I was excited to see what MyStudio was all about, the in-real-life experience was much better than anything I could have imagined – especially if your business is in need of top-notch audio/video recording services at a great price.

What Is MyStudio?

So what is MyStudio?  Well, you can read the description below or check out their video here -

MyStudio is a self-contained, state-of-the-art, high definition (HD) audio/video recording studio that offers consumers access to true professional recording studio-quality audio and HD broadcast-quality video with an ease, economy and convenience never before available. MyStudio opens up a whole new world of opportunities for the creation of user generated video content by eliminating the technological and quality barriers faced by consumers in the creation of high quality videos.

For $20, MyStudio enables anyone to create a professional-quality video up to five minutes long in a private studio environment. Popular categories include music, modeling, comedy, dating, job resumes, auditions, promos, and personal messages and greetings.

However, I like some of the sound-bites that Larry Ryckman (President & CEO) mentioned when I spent a few minutes talking with him about the business.  The concept is founded on a state-of-the-art studio that not only includes a $43,000 camera, top-notch sound engineering and thousands of backgrounds to choose from, but it is backed by industry professionals and graphic design support staff as well.  I was also introduced to several of their Scottsdale employees and they were all awesome.  To date, the company has focused on partnering on entertainment projects and Mr. Ryckman likes to call MyStudio, “Your gateway to Hollywood or about dreams coming true,” but it can be much more than that for you and your business.

Why Your Business Should Care.

If you have heard me speak on social media and the power it can bring to your business, you know that I tell businesses that I think they are crazy if they haven’t started to look at how to leverage video into their business.  Video is one of the biggest and most popular forms of content on the web.  If you want specifics, though, comScore has them: 31 billion web videos were viewed in November by 170 million U.S. Internet users.

The number 1 tool for developing relationships is still meeting in person, but if you have to find a second, it’s video.

Whether it be used internally for tasks like training or externally for sales or improving customer service, it is a great way to leverage technology to market your business and/or improve operational efficiencies.  For local examples of people using video in their business, checkout the videos posted on Tempe Chamber Member Nick Bastian’s site or Diane Wallace of SnapFactory.  I also like what Dean Ouellette has done on his site.

For a national example, Gary Vaynerchuck of Wine Library TV is also heavily into video and I suggest his book on social media Crush It (<- Affiliate Link).

Give Me Another Example…

As a business owner, how many times a day are you asked the same question over and over again?  Why not create a video answering that question and post it to your site.  Then, rather than spending time every day answering questions, direct customers to your site where you SHOW THEM how to solve their problem.

Have you considered how many people first look for answers online before ever calling?  What if you never even had to take that customer service call in the first place because they found the answer on your site first?  Isn’t that why you have a site?

Now, not only have you answered their specific question, you have also directed them to your site where they can learn about new products and services, promotions, etc.  And this is just one example.

How To Get Started

Although I still think that a $150.00 FlipCam (<- Affiliate Link) is a mandatory tool for your business to help with creating immediate and valuable content for you business, there are also times when you need to step it up.  Have you thought about delivering a 5-minute client pitch via video or a welcome message for your site?  For those types of projects, MyStudio is the perfect solution.

To get you started, here are links to Harvey Gibson of Tempe Schools Credit Union and Neil Chitel of ManageStaff to demonstrate what they created with NO PREPARATION!

Now of course I don’t suggest you not preparing, but I want to emphasize how easy it can be to create a professional video for whatever purpose you can envision.

Lastly, here are 5 tips we discussed that you should consider when getting ready for your video.

1. Prepare – DUH, but it needs to be said.  Consider your time constraints, $20 = 5 minutes so consider how long you want your video to me (I suggest no longer that 2 minutes) and then determine how many videos and how much you can say in the time allotted.  Also consider you may not get it right on the first take (see #2).
2. Practice – Once you have prepared you message/content be sure to practice.  The bathroom and the mirror can be your best friends for this type of thing.  The bathroom allows you to both see AND hear yourself and you may want to do a practice recording in your bathroom before heading for the studio.
3. Creativity – I think Harvey did a great job of selecting a great image and then tying it to a service offered by Tempe Schools Credit Union.  You can visit the MyStudio site and view all the backgrounds available before ever stepping foot in the mall.  You can also submit your own which might be great for a branded message as well.
4. Solids – Pick an outfit that does NOT have crazy colors or patterns that would detract from your background or message.
5. Have Fun! – This is the biggest one in my opinion.  If you are having fun in your video, more times than not, it turns out to be a great video.  Know what makes you comfortable and then take it to the mall.  Is it a friend (rumor is they once had 12 people in one of the studios), a favorite shirt or picture or something else that will help you relax and enjoy.   People in the mall can’t see what your’re doing or your message, so it’s just you and whatever you want to accomplish.

Have you created or considered creating video(s) for your business or do you have additional tips?  If so, let us know in the comments section below.