INBOUND 2016: Ed Heil "Adding Video to Your Service Offerings"

Thanks, Siobhan. Sorry about that. It's kind of funny. And I worked in TV news for 12 years, and if you had technical issues, you'd. A lot of times you just go on the air, you know? So it's this big tap dancing routine, which is always kind of interesting and lively. So thanks for sticking around. I know this is over lunch and you guys are probably hungry, and hopefully the last 15 minutes you've been able to kind of catch up on emails or other things. So Shabana's gonna help me by advancing slides. So let's keep moving. I'll try to keep this moving so we don't drag too much further than what we had originally committed to. First, let me start out with a really quick sense check of who everyone is here. How many of you today are using video as part of your service offerings in your agency? Wow. A lot of you. Really, really good. So keep your hands up if you feel like it's really working well, like you've got a really good system. Awesome. And if you don't and you feel like you're missing something or it's not going as well. Okay. How many of you are not using video at all? And just thinking, how do I get started? What does this look like? Okay, so it's probably about, I don't know, about 30% of you that aren't using it and hoping to use more or are doing it. Not really happy. So today's gonna be really, really tactical. We're gonna get into. I'm gonna share with you some of the things we do at and share with you and get into the weeds a little bit with what we do. So the key takeaways for today, Siobhan, we're gonna talk about what to produce, and I'll share with you the kind of content that we produce at Storyteller. We're gonna talk about messengers and messaging, and we're not gonna go real deep into any of this stuff. But I wanna just touch on some common mistakes and things that we've seen that people do or what your clients will sometimes push back on you for. That can complicate things. We'll talk about who to hire, because I know it's really, really, really difficult if you're not in the video space or if you're not familiar with video. We'll also talk about costs, and I'll share with you how we bill and just know that it's different from market to market. So LA could be very different from Minneapolis to Detroit to Nashville, et cetera. And we'll talk a little bit about video platforms because there are some great platforms that are out there and some of the companies are here at HubSpot inbound this week. So a little bit about me really quickly. My background is in TV news. I spent 12 years as a television news reporter and I started out in a really small market in Austin, Minnesota. Where in Austin, Minnesota? I'm originally from Detroit, but I ended up in Austin for my first job. You have to shoot, you have to edit, you got to know lighting, you got to know audio, you're carrying your gear all around and you're the guy in front of the camera. So that makes for a really interesting experience and sometimes some really interesting pieces when you're like shooting a stand up and your head is on the wrong side of the frame. Through my career though, and working in different markets. Went to South Carolina, ended up at WCCO tv, which is a CBS station in Minneapolis, where my last job in TV was. And I left there in 2005. What's really cool about making it to a larger market, and that's always the goal, especially when you're starting out in TV news, is to try to get to a bigger and bigger market. You have all these people that help you with stuff, you know. So we're in a small market, you're doing everything. In a bigger market you're doing less, but you're making a little bit more money. And trust me, it's not a lot more. So when I left in 2005, I had a pretty good sense for video. And part of it was not only understanding how to shoot, how to edit, how to really produce things myself, but also how to work with other people, how to work with different videographers, how to work with producers. One of the things you learn in TV news is also, especially on the reporter producer side, is how to disarm someone you're interviewing and help them to relax so that they can speak more freely, think more clearly. And so those are some skills that I learned along the way. And when I left and I started storyteller in 2005, right away I'm like, we're going to do video. And so for years we were a video production and PR agency. As we started getting more into content marketing in 2009 or so, we started to bring video a little bit closer to our work in content. So we were writing blogs like some of you guys are probably doing, writing blogs and trying to create content so your clients business will be found online. So in 11, when we became HubSpot Partners. We said, all right, let's really start to push this together more. Let's start creating more video content. And in the last few years, as you guys know, you keep hearing it, right, it's like, this is the year for video. Video's really going to take off. There's more and more people going online to watch video. You see the Cisco stats and more and more people and it's like, all right, great, well, now what do we do? How do we do this? And a lot of us are trying to figure this out and we've just had a little bit of experience as far as how to package things that we'll talk about today. So next slide, shim. So let's talk about what to produce and hit it again. There are really four things that we think about. You know, primary things, primary things that we will produce for our clients today. Informative, helpful content. I mean it's really, if you're writing blogs, you're producing similar type of content. We also produce stuff that's entertaining and we will also produce content that's engaging. And if you look at your video content before you, even if you're not doing video today, one of the things to think about is look at your blog strategy and how you create content. Your video content is very similar in that you've got a lot of videos you're gonna produce that's like awareness based, right? You have some that's really gonna focus on conversion and the consideration process. So you're gonna help educate and inform in there. And then at the very bottom, and that's where I kind of look at the engaging stuff, is maybe for your ambassadors and the people who are really enthusiastic about your brand or your company. These are maybe a little bit more emotional and stories that will tug at. So I'm going to show you a video hopefully. But this is a short piece that we did for one of our clients. We produce video, we actually produce blogs, but we started producing video blogs last year for them as well. A video blog for us is really think of a blog, but like in about a minute, minute, 15 minute and a half, really short, to the point, not a lot of editing, not real fancy, but just solid information. Haskell's is a wine, liquor, beer retailer, family owned business in the Twin Cities. And we will produce anywhere from. We'll shoot anywhere between 10 to 15 videos in a single day for them. One location you'll see it's set up and we just crank through the topics. So let's see if this plays siobhan this is a. This is a sample of some work we did for Haskells.

Did you ever wonder why they hand you the pork in a restaurant? Is it to smell it? Is it to chew? Is it to put it behind your ear? Well, today I'm going to dispel all that and tell you why they give you the cork. The reason a waiter hands you a cork is to ensure the authenticity of the wine. It has nothing to do with the quality of the wine at all. You have to have a very, very good nose to be able to tell by smelling the cork that the wine is bad. What you want is authenticity. This is a Pomard by Joseph Drouon, 2005. And it says that, right? The cork. And that's why they give you the cork in the restaurant.

So in that clip, that's Jack, Jack Farrell, and he's the owner of the company. And one of the things that we. A couple just things to consider when you're doing things like video blogs. Number one, Jack is really entertaining. He's actually fun to watch. He's an older guy and he speaks really, really well, extemporaneously. So Jack doesn't need a teleprompter, Jack doesn't need a script. Jack is a guy. You go, jack, we're going to talk about why there are corks in wine bottles. And you cue them up and Jack goes, oh, I'll tell you why. And he rips it off. Right? Those guys are awesome. If you have a client like Jack who can do that, you want that person. Video blogs for a guy like Jack, he could do 15 in a day and go, Jack, here are the topics. Send them to an in advance say, go through these, kick them around and we're going to knock these out. So that's Jack. And we do a lot of video blogs, easy content to create. We'll talk a little bit more about pricing and how we do that a little bit later. But that's one example I'm going to share with you. Another example. The next piece is a longer format piece and actually I'm going to show you a trailer for it. It's about 30 seconds of a piece that it's a longer form piece that's really meant to engage and tell a story at a very different level. Really at an emotional level. Think about your brand ambassadors, especially if you have affinity type businesses that you work with. People who get really, really excited about everything about the company. This next piece. And if we hit the next. Yeah, so this is. We'll Queue it up. This is a story about a marathon runner who's also a Special Olympian. It's overcoming adversity piece and something that has been really, really effective as far as just getting seen and raising awareness as well as driving more engagement.

My folks, there's something wrong. I didn't feel like I belong. It's hard, but I'd run a lot to school. I've always knew there's something missing in my life. Running has made me. Oh, this is why you run.

So a totally different type of piece, yet produced by the same, the same team. So in this situation, you're trying to tell a very different story, different skill set really from the production team that's used to tell a story like this versus shooting Jack Farrell, who's really just standing there, locked down camera background and speaking into the, into the camera. That piece was one of our favorites. We just won a regional Emmy for that piece a week and a half ago. And so when you're able to deliver video of that kind of, that level, that storytelling, it not only is great for your company, your agency, but it's also great for your client. And you roll them into that award and present them with an Emmy as well, which is really, really cool and great for relationship building. Let's move ahead. So let's talk a little bit about messages and messengers and if you hit it again, Siobhan, the thing, you know, a lot of this for us in the agency world, the first thing we're trying to do for our clients is figure out how to solve a problem. The hard thing about video is that most of your clients probably haven't produced a lot of video content. And the thing about video, they go, oh, we're gonna do a video, let's do, we gotta do this, we gotta tell this, we gotta tell this. And all of a sudden your 30 second, 45 second video turns into like a five minute essay. So the first thing, figure out that one thing that you're trying to solve and your client might say, well, let's do two or three, forget it. Do one thing, focus on one problem that you're trying to solve and focus on that one story and tell that really, really well. And now if it's a 45 second, that's awesome because you can put it on your website, you can put it on YouTube, you can put it on your social channels, right? Really, really flexible piece, as we say. The second thing this gets into a little bit of messenger is because we. What you'll find with, especially if you've Done. A lot of video people have these ideas, oh, we should have Cameron do it, because he's really, really enthusiastic. Well, you get Cameron in front of the camera, and Cameron clams up. He's like, can't talk, Right? So when you go through, number one, pick your talent somewhat carefully. Try to get them in front of the camera. And then once you're going through the footage, be brutal with your editing. And when I say edit brutally, what I mean is, be really, really critical. Because a lot of times people fall in love with the idea that, oh, I'm in the video. That's awesome. Instead of saying, you were, but you said the same thing three times. You really only need to say it once. So we're going to cut out those other two times. Or you added that stuff that really didn't matter. So let's cut that as well. So my advice to you, when you're working with your clients, don't be afraid to say, hey, you know what? We're going to cut this, this, this, and this. And frankly, I advise you to not bring your client into that editing process. Try to use your own content people to say, you know what? This is all we need. Because if your client sees all the stuff that's possible, they're gonna want more. And usually, if you can manage that, you're gonna have a much smoother production process. Be interesting and don't fixate on duration. The thing that people will always say to us is like, you know, how long should a video be? You know, my client wants to do this. Da, da, da. You know, is two minutes too long? Is five minutes too long? My standard answer to this is that people still go to movies, and not only do they sit in the theater, we'll watch movies on our phones. So the point is, if you've got really good, interesting content and good information, people will watch it. That Marathon man piece, and we've won four Emmys now, and every single piece that we've done has been at least five minutes, six minutes. We have 85% engagement, 86% engagement with those pieces because they're really, really good. And we hang on to the audience. So really focus on the quality of information. And I'll give you one really quick tip to find out if your video's gone too long. This is like, you know, caveman analytics. Show it to someone, and when they're watching it, watch for when they look at their watch. Okay? As soon as they look at their watch or they get distracted, you lost them. And just make a note of Whenever that time is, it's amazing. It happens all the time because when people are really, really focused, they don't look at their watch, watch. They're really focused on the piece. Next slide. All right, so this is my, this is my go to line. And it was passed on to me years ago as a salesperson, which is when people say they're not interested, what they're saying is you are not interesting and think about your video in that way. Think about your videos and say, gosh, it's really, that's okay. Or someone sees that you're not getting the engagement. It's not an interesting piece. If you've got, if you produced a. If you produce 15 pieces in a day for one of your clients and three are kicking butt and two are terrible because, you know, no one's viewing them. Chances are the topic's not interesting, the presentation interest isn't interesting, the presenter isn't interesting. But that's my little piece of advice. All right, so who to hire? This is one of those things for. Let me just do a quick show of hands again. So how many of you have your own internal production staff as a marketing agency? How many of you guys are video producers? Video production? Yeah. Okay, that helps. So if you're thinking about getting into video or if you're starting out, you've tried a couple people, I'm going to give you some practical tips here and things to consider. And these are really. All right, this is my preference. And some of you who are producing video may have other experiences and. But this is what I have to pass on. Number one, freelancers. If you're not doing video today, start with freelancers. They're all over the place. It's incredible how many people are shooting freelance video. These are people who went to film school school and are now looking for work. There are people who worked in TV news and were laid off. There are people who work in the TV news and want some additional money. So freelancers. I personally like former news people over film and advertising type folks and here's why. And this is again, this is my opinion, what my experience is. And part of it remembers I came from the news world. News people are really fast. They, they travel light and they're used to using minimal gear. So that helps to keep some costs down and it makes you really, really nimble. So when you're, when you're shooting in the field, it's not like they got 15 lights and a grip and they're trying to coordinate a bunch of people. Now we've done those kind of shoots, too. And some projects require that kind of scale. Jack Ferrell in the wine shop doesn't need that much stuff. Jack. We use a former news person. News shooter, pops up a couple lights, make sure there's a light in the background, mic them, and go. So I like former news people, film and advertiser. We actually have an intern who's a film advertising guy, great guy. And we're just trying to get him to understand we got to move at a faster clip, get a reel. And when you're, you know, a lot of times people say, oh, my nephew produced this, or get a reel that has a lot of different stuff. Try to really understand. And I say a reel, like a highlight reel of their work. Get a really good sense of what they've done. And if they don't have a reel and you're going to bring in front of a client, don't hire that person. It's probably. Unless you know the risk going in. But that's just a recommendation. All right. I'm a big fan of shooters. And having a shooter like the videographer, the guy with the camera, and also having a producer on site. Now, your producer could be. If your producer knows video, it could be your account person, but it might be an independent producer as well. And here's why I like producer. They coordinate. They put people at ease. They can talk to your client while the videographer is setting up lights and moving stuff around. And they understand how to listen for sound bites. And it's one of those things where as a producer, you kind of take this for granted. But over time, you learn how to like someone says something, you go, that was a really good soundbite. And you make a note of it, you know, and you can pass that on to the client. Videographers that I've worked with have said that's one of the biggest things that drives them nuts about corporate video is that so many businesses want to cut costs by getting rid of the producer. And they're probably one of the more important aspects of the shoot. Lastly, if you can find someone who has experience in corporate video, that's a plus. And the reason is you want someone who you can put in front of a client, and they're not going to be like Herman Munster. I mean, you want them to really be just almost as smooth as your account person or be savvy enough to know that they should just blend in. So someone who's worked in corporate video, who can point out subtleties without alarming the client, always A plus. So some resources. There are different places you can go to find shooters if you don't know where to start. Because a lot of times people will go. You do go to like, oh, my nephew or my neighbor's cousin's son, as you know. So some resources for you. Cruise control. We've used cruise control and production hub several times to shoot in other markets. So what we will do is we'll go out, we'll go online. It's like a lot of other services like this go online, say what you're looking for, give a price range, and people will bid on that project. You may not be able to get someone at the price that you want, but those two at the top have been very, very good for us and have some really, really strong shooters. The cruise store is another one similar to production hub and cruise control. Thumbtack and upwork are a little bit more. I think of them as a little bit more bush league. And so what I would say is if you've got a small project and you're not in video or you're not doing any video work today, you can post your job up on like thumbtack, for example, you can post a job and people will bid on that project. You can say, hey, I've got a half day. Shoot, I've got a $400 budget. This is what I need. And people will bid on that. And you can look at their reels and vet them that way. Kind of down and dirty. You might get a bigger range of talent that way, but some really good resources as well. Next one. All right, so what does it cost? I'm going to share with you a little bit about how we price stuff. So the first thing is it depends. And I say that really because as an agency owner, you have your own way of pricing, you have your own way of approaching stuff, you have your own way of marking up your projects or your freelancers and contractors. So the way we, what we have experienced and what we know to be true out in the production marketplace is that shooters, editors, producers, people who are in the production world will typically bill on a half day or a full day rate. If your half day, depending on who you're working with, if your half day is four hours or five hours, we go 10 hours for a full day. But if your half day is five hours and they go five and a half, some guys will hit you for a full day. So you always want to make sure what their rates are and what their half day and what their full day and what that means to them. And what happens if you go over? So get really, really clear about that because the last thing you want to do is budget for a half day. You go 15 minutes over because, oh my gosh, I didn't realize you were going to actually bill me for the travel time too. So understand that. Does their cost include travel time? Full day rates in Minneapolis, depending on who you're working with, are anywhere from 800 bucks for a full day up to $1,500. If we go into bigger markets and hire freelancers, we might pay up to $2,000 for a full day. If you need a full crew, they'll probably have a rate for the crew rather than for individuals. But you want to clarify those things. How we mark up, it varies a little bit, but not much. I mean, we. Some of it depends on the client, some of it depends on how often we use the shooter. Typically, we'll mark up anywhere from 20% up to 50%, but again, that's your deal and how you want to handle that. But that's how we do it. We have an internal producer, we have an internal shooter and editor that we run a majority of our work through. We bill them out at $150 an hour. Again, based on your market, maybe you can get away with more, maybe you can get away with less. It really is what the market will bear. In our market, that's pretty typical. Make sense? All right, so my pro tip, when you hire your crew and you go out there and you go out to shoot this project, right, they might say, we only want you to shoot this, but if they're paying you for a half day or they're paying you for a full day, our approach is let's shoot as much as we can to maximize that time that we have with you. So in other words, if we're going to go out and shoot videos for Haskells, and we know we have five videos, or if we're going to shoot a longer project, we'll go, what else can we shoot while we're out here? Because just because we shoot it doesn't mean we have to produce it today. And that does two things for you. Number one, it makes you really, really useful to your client and it makes you. It makes them understand that you're thinking about their long term investment. So the way it works for us is, hey, we're gonna be out there, we might as well shoot these guys. We'll get it in the can, we'll save it, and if you want to use it later, we'll produce that piece at a later date. So the second thing it does, it gives you that work potentially at a later date that you can go back and produce more content for them. And the third thing it does, it promotes a longer term relationship with them. So as people in content marketing and running agencies, we're trying to get away from a one off project and build those long term relationships. So the more you're able to leverage that content and that video footage for a longer stretch, it gives you more opportunity to develop that relationship. Does that make sense? Okay, so the next takeaway is what platform? Now this is, this is one of those things that it matters. And especially if you're, you know, using HubSpot or other marketing automation software, your client is, that is, it can make a big difference. So YouTube is obviously the easiest one great for search and really the way I Look at it, YouTube should just be an automatic and I think everyone in this room realizes that when you produce something, your client should be putting that to YouTube for search benefits. Vimeo, another great place, free. Frankly, we don't do that much in Vimeo anymore. It was a nice niche outlet, but our clients are really so mainstream that YouTube is preferred. And then a couple of companies that are here at Inbound, Wistia and Vidyard, we're a Wistia partner. We love Wistia because the way it interfaces with HubSpot for our clients and we are primarily small, medium sized businesses, so our clients don't have really, really big budgets and they're frankly not producing, you know, hundreds of thousands of videos. Unfortunately not yet. At least Wistia fits really well with them. The analytics are terrific, the integrations are awesome. Vidyard, from what I've learned about them, we've not worked in their tool. Some of the integrations with them and their platform is really, really dynamic, super flexible and gives you maybe a little bit more capability than Wistia, but it's also going to be at a higher price point. But all really, really strong platforms. So that's about all I have for you guys. Thanks.