Today online video production firm TurnHere announced their expansion into the video search space, primarily with book-centric online video channels. The most notable partnership appears to be with BookVideos.tv, which TurnHere will feature a customizable widget and enhanced video player for book publishers.
I recently had an article published in SearchEngineWatch on affordable video solutions for search marketers, along with some of my own professional tips for how marketers and clients can best achieve success with these “enterprise-level” video firms. (By “enterprise level,” I mean outfits that are more expandable and suitable to all of the aspects of producing online video than a traditional videographer firm, but without requiring larger budgets reserved for ad agencies doing Hollywood-style shoots.)
Online video and video search marketing now has become an ideal business strategy in our new low-cost, technology rich environment. Producing high quality business-purpose video used to traditionally take months and tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, clearly out of reach for most businesses. The rapid advances in video technology in just the past couple of years have resulted in a new low-cost/high-quality content creation resource, with many free avenues for online distribution in both increasingly popular video search engines (YouTube) and newly emerging ones (EveryZing), which should make search marketers seriously consider adding video optimization to their own list of client services.
Advantages for search marketers working with a full-service video production firm
Video enterprises, such as TurnHere, differ from standard standard videography firms in the follow ways that can prove beneficial to search marketer’s needs over a direct partner relationship:
- Extensive online experience – they already have extensive experience with producing video for online distribution.
- Multi-talented – they can handle multiple stages of the product: idea planning, talent, production, post-production, media distribution and promotion.
- Geographic scope –they can bring their videographers from a much larger location area directly to you on-site.
- Quality control. Whether the work is done in-house or through their own subcontractors, video search enterprises typically use a rigorous pre-screening service to make sure all work is done of a professional grade.
- Backup optimization services. They can also provide backup or complimentary video optimization services to own, something that can come in handy for search marketers who are either still honing their own skills learning video search optimization, or for time-sensitive purposes simply need to delegate it out.
High-quality, low cost, uniquely personalized content
TurnHere’s typical format is very cost-effective and leads to a much shorter turnaround time than traditional television video. They create their productions in a “mini-documentary” style, without actors and actresses – real people telling their own story. Their videographers use prosumer-level equipment, which for Internet-viewing purposes is more than acceptable with most circumstances.
“We plan how it can be very entertaining, informing, and interesting for the user, but also that it will fit very much with the web.” explains Bradley Inman, Founder and CEO for TurnHere. “We don’t have scripts, therefore we don’t have long treatments, and we don’t have actors and actresses. That separates us from the old world of television advertising, which relies more on a brand-lifestyle and fictional narrative. Our pieces are non-fiction, but it is a narrative and there is a story.”
“Consequentially, TurnHere’s pre-production isn’t elaborate because you’re not faking it; you’re telling the truth of real people. Our filmmakers are videographers, and are also journalists or mini-documentarians, so they know how to interview people (for 2-3 hours), get the b-roll, get them commenting, and get them to be a real person talking about their passion, whatever that may be – a product, neighborhood, business, etc – and that’s edited into a 2-minute piece. Pre-production is really different in this world from the traditional television advertising room.”
Video pieces with TurnHere typically take about 2-3 weeks, but Bradley mentions that they’ve also had pieces turned out over in just a single weekend. Pricing ranges from between a few hundred to few thousand dollars per piece of produced content. Typical pieces run about 2-3 minutes, with Internet distribution partners including Google Video (including Google Local), Yahoo! Video, AOL Video, MSN, YouTube. and “other major web portals.” (And yes, TurnHere also has its own YouTube portfolio site where they will feature client video pieces on.)
