Aside from Robert Scoble's old Microsoft blog, can you name many more successful insider blogs? We all know what made Scoble's blog a success: he wasn't afraid to buck the company and give his own opinion. He wasn't a one-man cheerleading squad for all things Microsoft. His audience appreciated his unbiased honesty, even if he was a brand evangelist. And this is precisely where so many corporate blogs fail. There's just no fun in reading about your new CFO, your speaking engagement at Widget Fest '07 in Vegas, or your new company headquarters. That stuff is fine for press releases, but it makes for boring blogging.
Corporate podcasts haven't taken off for the same reason. Many companies started with good intentions, knocking out a podcast a week, but in so doing, they had in mind that the podcast was basically an internal radio show. They quickly bored us with company news that amounted to an infomercial. Another failure of the corporate podcast has been management's reluctance to spend the time it takes to script, record and produce something that can't be shown to have a direct revenue stream flowing from it.
And regardless of the inherent portability of podcasts, very few people are actually downloading them to their MP3 players and taking them with them on the road. In general, we listen at our desktops and laptops, and if we listen there, we'll watch there, too. I know mobile is the future, but aside from a few tech heads and gadget junkies, the vast majority are not listening on the go.
It's only natural we should gravitate toward video. Television took over radio, and vidcasts will soon be the medium people want to see themselves in.
You can do it yourself
Just as traditional travel agents and encyclopedia salesmen got forced out of business with the rise of travel sites, Encarta and Wikipedia, small video production companies are feeling the heat of every desktop becoming an editing suite. The hardware is cheap and easy to operate. Much of the editing software is intuitive and straightforward. And since it's so simple now, expect to see a bunch of companies trying it.
Here are a few tips to hopefully keep your vidcast doable and viewable:
It's not a newscast
You don't need a fancy set with traditional news graphics and multiple cameras. You don't need a teleprompter. If you can afford that, great, but this is, in essence, "disposable video." We're just trying to give your company a real face. You might want to experiment with chairs and couches in a traditional talk show set, but mixing it up, varying your locations, makes for much better viewing.
Get someone who can act to be your host
Many people freeze on camera. They don't seem at ease. They're not themselves. Nervousness makes your company look unprofessional. Dedicate just a few employees to the job of "host." Give them screen tests if you have to, but choose a natural who will represent you well.
Script it!
Nothing is as unfunny as a person ad-libbing what only he thinks is funny. Insider silliness and familiarity are great, as long as you're not just being giddy and goofy, trying to give us that casual-yet-forced "behind the scenes" stuff. An outline is a good start and most teams will be able to riff off that.
Show me people and places I didn't expect
Weird as it may seem, I might want to see your employee cafeteria as you interview Jane Doe from Accounting on what customers can expect from your new billing system. I'd actually like to see Jane eating a sandwich as she casually explains the new technology and how it's going to ease the customer's life. I'd even like to see Jane spill mustard on her shirt. Don't edit that out.
Give your on-camera team freedom
If you're going to shackle the vidcast with corporate communications guidelines, then it's going to be a very boring vidcast. You'll get final say on what the finished product looks like, of course, but try to stretch the normal rules just a bit and don't get all flustered if the camera team wants to follow the CEO to her Mercedes at the end of the day while interviewing her. Don't reign in the interviewers if they want to ask the difficult questions that a consumer of your products and services might ask.
Address issues
Every company gets complaints. Devote a few of your vidcasts to addressing these; bringing in different experts from your company whose area of responsibility the complaint is most suited to. Be honest in your answers. If you don't know, say so.
Allow for edit time but keep it current
Not everything you capture will be worthwhile. Allow your company production team time to take out the stuff that doesn't fit and takes too long to explain. But get it online as soon as possible.
Put it up and keep it up
Choose your favorite video-sharing site and create your company's channel. Devote a page on your website to the current show as well as archived shows. And most importantly, keep production on a regular schedule.
Keep it short
Five to seven minutes is the maximum duration I'd recommend for a company vidcast. Unless your show is just an eyeful of must-see broadcasting, don't flatter yourself into believing that people have that much time to devote to your company.
Given the general failure of corporate blogs and podcasts, why should vidcasts be any different? If we aren't careful, they won't be, and soon, YouTube and Revver will be littered with the good intentions of thousands of companies that lost the zeal and the will to join the next revolution.
Dave Wilkie operates Green Hammock and is the blogger behind Where's My Jetpack. Read full bio.
