Today’s post is a video recording of a 10-minute live talk by Adrian Lee, Founder and Director of VideoLane.com, at BNI Rendezvous Singapore.

In this video you will see the slides presented in the talk where Adrian illustrates the importance of online video marketing and how small business owners can use 5 easy methods to get started putting their products and services on video.

The talk ends with a video clip we released to YouTube last week,  How to Set Up a Mini Green Screen Studio in 7 Steps, from which you can hear the lively response from the audience.

1-day Internet Video Workshop – Singapore

The story caught my attention on Yahoo News Headlines.
I saw this video clip on YouTube when it was freshly featured.
The views were barely less than a thousand then.
I showed it to my kids using my iPhone. They loved it.

5 days later, the Yahoo news reported 7 million views.
I then checked out the video again and saw 15 million views.
As I write this article, the video is now 17 million views.
That means it’s getting 2 million views a day!

This makes a good case study for my videography students.
Especially the chapter on YouTube video marketing.

First, let’s understand what this video is all about:
- The video is a TV commercial for a new VolksWagon model.
- It is obviously produced professionally with talents and props.
- No mention of product benefits or features at all, just branding.
- Definitely not a high budget production. No Special effects.
(It can be easily recreated in your bedroom, kitchen and garage)
- The VolksWagon Channel has 130 videos, all less than half a million views.
(except for one recent video which is riding on its current popularity)

So now the BIG question is… what made it viral?
Let’s analyze 3 points from my video marketing notes.

1. Is the video entertaining, informative or educational?

The video is entertaining, a little informative and not educational.
At least I am informed this car starts with a remote control.
The small Darth Vader is certainly entertaining.
Without facial expression, the body language tells the whole story.

2. Is the video riding on a hot trend?

Is there a trend on “Darth Vader” and “Star Wars”?
No trends found on Google Trend and Yahoo Buzz.
However, there are 135,000 global Google monthly searches for “Darth Vader”.
1,220,000 for “Star Wars”. The video is targeting a huge market.

3. Is It featured on Youtube Home Page?

The video WAS featured on the front page as part of a Super Bowl Campaign.
I doesn’t matter if VW paid for it because the other ads did not get 15 million views.
I had one video featured before and I know how it feels to get a million views.
Getting featured or spotlighted on YouTube is great exposure.

Personal View

I am one of the contributors to the success of this VW viral video.
Volkswagon did not pay me to do it nor told me to pass it on.
The moment I saw it, I showed it to others because I “liked” it.
THAT’s the essence of a true viral video… a life of its own.

There’s one other thing I suspect though.
This video is highly targeted at Star Wars fans.
Star Wars fans who once were boys.
I admittedly am one of them.

1. Original Star Wars Music

The music sounds original to me.
Even if it was remade, it still sounds exactly like the movie.
It triggered pleasant memories as a fan of Star Wars.
It would not be the same if it was some other soundtrack.

2. A Star Wars Fan Will Always Be a Star Wars Fan

I became a Star Wars fan as a kid.
I still watch replays of Star Wars movies.
I have Star Wars games on my iPhone.
Of course I like the light saber sound effects.

3. Did the Same Thing as a Boy

When I was a kid, I did what the boy did in the commercial.
That made a strong connection with me.
I waved my hands and things never moved, to my disappointment.
Today, I will please my kids using some remote control.

So that’s my analysis of a successful viral video.
Remember, you cannot make a viral video till it becomes one.
Volkswagon posted 130 YouTube videos before one made it.

Aspire to make a viral video with more than a million hits?
Start shooting and posting quality YouTube videos daily.

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Adrian Lee
VideoLane Pte Ltd
Helping Businesses Record & Edit DVDs & Web VIdeos.

PS: iPhone Response…

Darth Vader Volkswagon VW Commercial Viral Video

Facebook has recently made some major improvements to its video capabilities, and it’s now giving YouTube a serious run for its money.

Is Facebook Putting Youtube Out of Business?

Of course, if traffic is what you’re after then YouTube is still your baby. But if you’re using YouTube as a free hosting site and embedding the videos in your blog, you can now do that with Facebook – and Facebook has two distinct advantages over YouTube.

First of all, Facebook will allow you to upload videos up to 20 minutes in length (1024 MB). YouTube, of course, cuts you off at 15 minutes.

Second and more significantly, we all know that the price you pay for using YouTube to host your videos is the YouTube branding splattered all over your video – and at the end, your viewers are given several more videos to click on, none of which are yours! Facebook doesn’t do this. When you embed a Facebook video in your blog or website, all you get is a nice clean player.

This is HUGE!

Want to know how to use Facebook’s video uploader? here you go:

1. Go to your Wall and click on the video icon in the Update Status box.
2. Click on Upload a Video
3. Navigate to where the video is stored on your hard drive and click Share.
4. This will begin a two-step procedure of 1. upload and 2. process.
5. Once the video is uploaded, and while it’s processing, Facebook will ask you to give your video a title and description, as well as let you tag friends if you want.
6. Once it’s processed, you can navigate to the video and underneath the video there is a link to “embed this video.” Copy and paste this code, and your video is embedded in any blog or website.

This article is written by Julia Kline of 20SocialMediaMistakes.com.

Adrian Lee
VideoLane.com
Helping Businesses Record, Edit and Share Videos Online to Engage Customers with Social Media!

About the Author:
Everybody’s talking about how to make money with social media, but most of it is garbage. So business owners make many huge, but easy-to-fix mistakes. Correct these mistakes, and watch new customers appear seemingly out of nowhere, and then become raving fans. In no time, your social media profiles become a great new revenue source for your business. Find out exactly how with Julia Kline’s FREE videos: http://www.20SocialMediaMistakes.com

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Happy Editing!

Adrian Lee
http://VideoLane.com

PS.  Did I tell you?  We use Ulead VideoStudio to generate royalty free music too with its built-in automatic music generator.

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Have you ever procrastinated making your first YouTube Video to promote your business because you are clueless where to start?  Are you holding back from a promising marketing opportunity because you think your video will look bad?

If you are an owner of a small business, you definitely have heard of the power of online video marketing and you know that entrepreneurs around the world are rushing to make marketing videos for YouTube.

It is easy to pick up any video camcorder and start shooting your own videos.  However after several tries, you may realize that your video is not professional enough to represent a respectable business like yours.

Did you know that you do not have to be a media graduate in order to shoot a professional looking video?

To make a better YouTube video, all you need are these 7 things.

1. Camcorder

What is the best video Camcorder?  This is the first commonly asked question when it comes to making video.  The truth is there is no best video camcorder.  If you can get hold of a TV station camera, which is top end quality, but not trained to use it, you will still get a bad video.  The advice here is to go for the simplest, least complicated camcorder you can handle.  Do not let extra buttons hinder you, but practice before you shoot.

2. Tripod

The number one reason home videos never look professional is the shakiness.  Observe movies and you may think that the cameraman was very steady with his camera.  No!  Humans are made of soft wobbly tissues.  We need devices to help steady the camcorder.  The most commonly used device to stabilize a camcorder is the tripod.  If you have shot a video on tripod before, you can tell the drastic difference compared with going handheld.

3. Light

Another tell tale sign that a video is not professional is the use of light.  Unlike the tripod, there is no need to get yourself a set of studio lights.  In every room there is a dark side and a bright side.  The common mistake made is shooting on the dark side.  If you understand the physics of light, you will know there is always shadow on the other side of the object which light is shining on.  So stand and shoot from the bright side.  Make full use of available light.

4. Microphone

If you are recording someone speaking, you need an external microphone.  The on-camera microphone is not capable enough to capture the voice of the person you are shooting, as it will pick up other surrounding sounds and echoes too.  The best microphone for interviews are the clip-on type placed close to the speaker’s mouth.  There is no escape from the purchase of the external microphone.  Sound quality makes a whole lot of difference in a video.

5. Software

The second most asked question is about choosing the right video editing software.  Again, like the choosing a video camcorder, find one that is simple to use.  Top notch video editing softwares come with hundreds of great features that will only slow you down and discourage you from making more videos.  Just use the most basic video editing software that allows you to cut, trim, add text, add music and add a second layer of video.

6. Content

Now that we have taken care of the technical aspect of making a better YouTube video for business, there is nothing worse than discovering that no one wants to watch your video that was produced with great picture and sound quality.  Content is king!  When making online video to promote your business, avoid making blatant advertisements.  Instead, create videos with value.  Business videos that work well online are those with useful tips and latest information.

7. Videographer

The last resort, hire a videographer if you really cannot do all the above.  Most videographers can create great business online videos and some are very affordable too.  Hire them to do the most important video and you do the rest.  Tell them your idea and ask them how they can make an online marketing video from it.  Videographers are a creative bunch and love to make visual ideas come true.

There you go! Take action and start rolling. Everything you need to make a better YouTube video for business is here.  Do all the stuff mentioned in this article and you are guaranteed to make a video that look undeniably professional.  Just make sure your final video is able to attract viewers to your website and hence getting more new customers.

Adrian Lee
http://VideoLane.com

PS:  Discover everything you’ll ever need to know about Creating, Converting and Copying DVDs, VCDs and Other Video Formats. Adrian Lee, a video-preneur since 1998, reveals the secret of using videos to grow your business… http://www.videolane.com.