R Vaughn's music video was shot & edited on an iPhone 4. Click to watch the video.
It’s a no-brainer that including media brings life to any campaign. This is especially true in the hyperactive world of social media, where a constant barrage of posts vies for the attention of potential fans and followers.
Of course, when it comes to attention-grabbing, a picture is (perhaps literally) worth a thousand words. And a video…well, a video may not be worth a thousand pictures, but it certainly beats a still pic by a good margin!
Even today, though, many managing social media campaigns probably shy away from using original video due to perceptions of high production cost and the belief that only highly-trained professionals with expensive equipment can produce worthwhile videos.
Click to watch video
So not true. Here’s one example. A non-profit I consult for is changing the location of its annual conference for the first time ever, away from their headquarters city. They were a little nervous about attracting people so used to going to one place year-after-year to a new, but more exciting, venue (Virginia Beach). The solution: send a vivacious young couple with a handheld camera down to the Virginia Beach boardwalk to check out the varied eateries and film one minute “reviews.” Slap on some fun music and a few titles, release one a week, and you’ve sent a message. The new conference spot is going to be a fun getaway!
Another example is the music video linked through the image at the top of this post. According to this story on CNN.com, this very professional-looking video was shot, edited, and uploaded to YouTube and the singer’s web site using only an iPhone 4 and the $4.95 iMovie app. That’s within anybody’s budget. (Tip: While it’s cool that the video was edited in a phone app, most users recommend downloading the finished phone cam video to a computer and doing the editing there, where you’ll have much more flexibility and options to choose from.)
What’s stopping you from getting video into you social media campaigns?