Suffering badly from Accessory Acquisition Syndrome (or ASS for short) I have a big weakness for nick-nacks, tools, and just general cool stuff that I like to use, collect, or just look at... Some of the most useful stuff a videographer can buy is actually pretty affordable, so if you are in the market to spoil your video loving geek, here's a few ideas with links to Amazon (click to buy)...

We’ve all seen those profile photos online. When looking through a long list of possible new connections or future business partners there’s always a few.

I’m talking about those profile photo’s that stand out from the rest… but NOT for the right reasons!

The quickly taken (and heavily cropped) image from last years Xmas party while you were a bit tipsy, a snap from a badly lit corner of the office on someones mobile phone, or just a “that’ll do” pic because its fast and no one’s going to see it anyway.

The image you share with the world in ALL your online profiles is the first impression someone is going to form of you, and in those first 2 seconds it could be the difference between deciding to link / call / email / or follow (and create a business relationship) or passing over to the next person who looks more professional.

It’s the only 2 seconds that matter to strangers who have not yet spoken to you or met you in person, so you may as well make your profile image a good one!

There are a few common mistakes most people make when they are deciding on what photo they would like to use. Some of the most common mistakes include:

1: Wrong attire - If you want to look professional, then you better dress professional!

2: TAKE THOSE SUNGLASSES OFF! - I know… seems like logic right? You’d be surprised how many people cover their eyes…

3: Reflections in your glasses - If you do wear eye correction glasses, then PLEASE choose a pic without that flash flare reflection in them!

4: Where do you look? - Look at the lens of the camera, not away - Just like talking to someone in person, if you look away form them you will appear disingenuous.

5: Avoid dark backgrounds - Photos taken at night with flash are just SCREAMING “I don’t care about my image because I never wen to the effort to try to look good”. Light background is softer on the eyes and creates more visual balance. (Also, if you have dark hair then you don’t disappear into the night from the forehead up!)

Simply put, all of these mistakes are avoidable with a bit of care and attention.

There are however some simple tips to improve your online profile photo as I will outline in depth now (Assuming you understand we are going to automatically do the opposite of all the above!)

1: Shoot the image in an environment that actually relates to your business.

Nothing says more about you or your business than being shown IN the business actually doing what you do. Work in an office? - no problem - Just shoot in a nice window lit corner with some desks in a blurred background. Work outside on site? - Even better - nicely lit photo you with your work in the background adds interest and tells a viewer more about who you are, what you do, and the size or scope of your operation. Remember a picture is really worth a thousand words, so unless you like writing A LOT, you can easily send the right message in one image.

2: Groom for your best look.

This is not just for the ladies. Men, we too ned to look our best in a photo, but if you are anything like me then you’ll probably just need a haircut the day before, and a hanky to rub the sweat off your brow in Summer! Ladies… It never hurts to check, double check, and triple check the face, hair and hands prior to being photographed. A stylist is going to be worth their weight in gold and a very cost effective option if you have the means. Failing this, a little effort 15 minutes before a photograph will pay off in spades, and grouped with the right attire, appropriate location and look at the camera will be an image you can be proud of every time you see it.

4: Bring someone you trust with you for an extra set of eyes.

I always always recommended having someone else with you who you trust to be your eyes. Sure you can view the image on the back of the camera, however most of the time people only look at their face (and particularly their own eyes) and miss the simple things like crooked collars, necklace not sitting right etc… Having someone else there who may not be a stylist, but knows you well will help put you at ease and be honest in their opinion about your look (and notice the little things others may miss…)

3: Update often!

Now I can hear you from here… I thought I only needed to do this once. Nope. I always recommend an annual update of your profile image. Trends change (clothing and glasses change styles) and people change. There is nothing more insincere than seeing a nice image of someone you would like to do business with, then meeting them only to see they bear almost no resemblance to their profile image because the picture is 10 years old!

4: Pay a professional.

Now I might be a bit biassed here, but professionals are paid to know what works. It’s never just about the image. It’s about feeling comfortable in front of the camera for a prolonged period of time (not just one quick snap) and with people who WANT to make you look good. We’re acting in your best interest because you are our client. We live and die on referrals from happy customers, so are dedicated to doing the job once, and doing it right. Professionals know how to pose you, make the most of your best features, and make you feel at ease for something that is not really a natural task.

From the pose, to the eye contact, the correct style and the right environment around you - there’s actually a lot to get right in your profile photo.

Do it once and do it right. Send the right message with your profile image…

Kirk Vogel

Vogel Media - Photo | Video

021 449-580

I have just compiled a list of all the equipment I use on a regular basis.

This has come about due to the fact that I would get about 3 or 4 calls every week from clients asking me if I shoot with X equipment.

Mostly I enquire as to why they would want to know or even care about what equipment their job is shot on (after of course establishing what the technical brief details are, I shoot on the best equipment for the job).

Equipment is just a tool. It serves a purpose, and creates a product that (should) adequately ful-fill the client's brief in every way, technically, and creatively.

It seems that the general consensus is that nowadays, unless you are using the latest and greatest, your work will never be good enough.

Not so.

For some jobs, I do actually use the latest and greatest (L&G), however with the L&G comes increased cost of acquisition, added insurance cost and sometimes even more computing power required to perform edits of MASSIVE files. All this adds up to more cost per hour to shoot, and more time spent in an edit... meaning a higher cost to the client.

In most cases, a smaller (and dare I say it - sometimes "older") camera will do the job faster, better, and cheaper, and you just won't know the difference (until you see the smaller bill of course!)

In ALL cases, I shoot my videos on the best equipment for the job. Whether that is a static mounted 4k cam-corder at a presentation, or on a small handheld DSLR or mirrorless camera for more portability and faster reaction time during a demonstration or documentary style production.

ANY equipment is capable of outstanding results if used properly, and experience counts here. A videographer who knows their gear inside out is always a better prospect than one who just acquired the latest and greatest and hasn't worked out how to use it yet.

I don''t know where this comes from. I shouldn't care but for some reason I do... funny...

So in the interests of all, I have shared a comprehensive list of all the gear I own for all to see and judge for themselves.

Click the image above or the link below to see the full kit, then click each item and you can read through all my thoughts / comments to see what I like, and why.

Be warned, some of my comments are more than a little honest, and some I just have some fun with!

Enjoy

Kirk Vogel

021 449-580

I'll bet you have an email signature.

Very few people I talk to know about the power in their email signature. You know, that innocuous little thing that has your name, position and contact phone number that goes under your email body text. I'll bet you set it up years ago and haven't even looked at it since... I'll bet you think it isn't even a marketing tool! After all... those that contact me already know me and the service I offer... right?

Maybe you've even sat down and wondered "if only there was a way to get a particular message out to everyone I know - every day - that was easy but informative and didn't take a lot of effort..."

I'm here to tell you that there is, and you've potentially been sitting on a MASSIVE missed opportunity for as long as you have had a business email address.

I'm talking about your email signature, and more importantly - adding video to it.

Imagine every email you sent out, went out with your personal profile video, or your latest product announcement, or your latest company news, or your.... well you get the idea. There is no limit to what content this video could hold, or what value proposition you could make those that contact you aware of.

99% of people I talk to COULD see a use for this as an effective marketing tool.

100% of these people don't use it.

Why don't they use it?

Simple... It's hard to do... You got to shoot it, edit it and then try to work out how to add it to your email signature... blah blah blah.....

Yes, shooting and editing is a bit difficult (this is what I do so don't even think about that) but in actual fact, depending on the email program you use, it is no more complicated than linking your website to a URL in your email signature (although I do admit, some applications can make it a bit complicated to set up!)

Simply put, every email you send could have a specific message video attached to a signature, customised to the audience it is going to.

A good example of this could be... An email comes in off your website from a customer looking for more info on a particular product. Your response could be a personally written response (with a customised signature including the video), or a canned response thanking them for their enquiry, with a video showing a product demonstration embedded in the signature.

Another example could be a potential customer doing their research on finding a good service provider like a mortgage broker / real estate agent / dentist / accountant / lawyer etc - asking a simple question like... "waddyacharge?" We've all received these low quality enquiries before, and most times they will be blind with no phone contact details so you could call the prospective customer to sell yourself and your services and reinforce your value over and above the requested cost parameters.

Instead, you can reply with a list of your prices, AND a video outlining why that person should choose you over everyone else they are "price checking'. (I guarantee price is rarely ever the deciding point on any of these services mentioned).

The client receives a little added value video, with YOU personally presenting your own value proposition (elevator pitch) where you can demonstrate why they should choose you over your competitors (you might even add in a video testimonial or 2 from happy clients to really swing the pendulum your way!). I'd be willing to bet you are the only provider who creates an opportunity to show them why to choose you!

Who do you think they are going to choose????

At it's most basic level, every email you send should have a video showing who you are and what you do in the email signature (you might even want to thank them for contacting you / being a regular customer / being a friend / or just asking for them to recommend you to their friends and family). Even this small amount of information (or value) is more than your competitors are doing right now so what are you waiting for?

A pro tip here, is that your video should not be any longer than 20-30 seconds - new customers have very short attention spans before they have chosen a service provider - and you should hit the most relevant points concisely and clearly (just like an elevator pitch) and ask for a call to action like "call me now for a no obligation consultation to assess your needs"

You might even sweeten the deal by offering a small discount if they call within 24 hours??? Whatever suits the situation, and your service.

If you are looking to shoot a signature video, call me now for an extra special price on your first shoot. I promise it will cost a lot less than you think, add value to your business, and market your brand more effectively than you are doing now!

Call me now:

Kirk Vogel 021 449-580

Did you know that there are between 400-500 hours of video uploaded to the internet every minute? I have to disclose this was a stat from February this year, so I am guessing that this is now higher than the upper number I mentioned.

More interesting is that within 4 years, it is expected that nearly one million minutes of video will cross global IP networks every single second. You would need about two years of continuous watching to view everything uploaded in that second. (Thanks Bloomberg)

EVEN MORE bewildering, is that in those 2 years you just took off work to catch up on that one second of internet video uploads (assuming you started immediately and never slept for the next 17,520 hours) there would be another 63, 072, 000 seconds that would have passed. Multiply this by one million minutes of uploads (excluding any possible growth in uploads) and you have a figure that is so staggering that my calculator has run out of numbers...

Thanks to my iPhone and the horizontal screen function, that figure is 63, 072, 000,000,000 (roughly 63 QUADRILLION minutes of video uploads in the 2 years you had off without sleeping). If you think you'd be tired after the first 2 years.....!

Not sure about you, but this number sounds like it might even rival the average Auckland house price in 4 years time...

The point of my stats here, is that there are definitely not 500 new websites going up every minute. Nor would there be one million mailbox flyers going into households every minute.

The point is that video is now not just the best way to portray a company message, but the only way that will be effective for business in the future. ON A GLOBAL SCALE!

With video, you can tell a story, you can add emotion to a advertising message, you can instruct , you can test, you can track someone's travels, in fact there really is very little you cannot do with video.

Other communication mediums pale by comparison. Websites - too many words and takes too long to read. Mailbox flyers - too small words (although they do make for some handy fire-starters on a cold night!). TV - too many and too obvious ads from advertisers trying to squeeze everything into a small time frame due to the high cost of placement. Print media - already dead (declining readership and under pressure from environmentalists).

You can see that there is only one direction smart companies are heading to with their marketing / communications budgets, and rightly so! Audiences are telling companies where they want to see their ads or promotional messages, and it is no longer on websites, in their mailbox, on TV or in print media.

This is the reason for the explosive growth in video uploads. Internet users are already watching ONE BILLION hours of Youtube per day, and this is growing exponentially.

Are you a business that has a strong video marketing strategy?

Are you advertising as a pre-roll on Youtube?

Does your company even have a Youtube channel?

If the answer to any of these questions is NO, then you are already behind the pack.

The good news is though, you are not that far behind, and can still catch up. Leave it 2-4 more years however and you will be lost in the digital fog that will be dominated by companies that have strong online video audiences, and it will cost you 10x times more to break through, and take longer to A/ find your audience, and B/ grow your audience.

Video does not have to be obvious advertising. In fact the best video is one that portrays a message in a way that isn't obvious, but one that encourages a viewer to connect with a particular character, scenario, or story, and be sold to without even realising it.

Story is everything. Advertising as we know it is on it's last legs and unless companies realise this and start using professional creatives to sell their message less obviously, in a media that is perfect for emotional connection, then they will also go the way of the old dodo bird

If you're a business looking to increase your brand exposure through video, then we need to talk now! Call me to see how I can help you stay ahead of the crowd... Kirk Vogel 021 449-580

Kirk Vogel

021 449-580