This article was written by Ramon Ray of Entrepreneur.com. Ray is Entrepreneur.com's "Tech Basics" columnist and editor of Smallbiztechnology.com
Communicating with your customers through video can offer them a fresh alternative to basic text on a static Web site. We all know the saying, "A picture is worth 1,000 words." The principal is the same for a video on a Web site.
When deciding whether to add video, ask yourself the following questions:
Will adding video enhance sales or provide another benefit to my business?
Do I have the time and financial resources?
If you decide video is right for you, here's a look at the steps you'll need to take.
Creating Video
If you do it yourself: Depending on the quality of the video you want, you could create it yourself. I wouldn't recommend using a $500 home camera for shooting. A more professional camera could cost $1,500 and up. These cameras will give you the quality you need to make a video suitable for online viewing.
Once you have purchased a video camera, you might want to consider accessories, such as an external microphone to capture audio more clearly and a tripod so you won't have to hold the camera with your hand.
If you hire someone: Hiring a professional videographer will ensure the video is of the best quality. It might be fun and adventurous to do the video yourself, but do you have the time or expertise? Hiring someone isn't cheap and will add several hundred to several thousands of dollars to the cost of the video, depending on what you have them do.
Licensing Video
There's a lot of video already available that you could license and use on your Web site -- or integrate into a promotional CD or use as part of a TV advertisement. Sites like
Mochila specialize in creating a marketplace for video producers and consumers to buy and sell video.
Entrepreneur.com
RSS
