Michelle Obama invited to the O O Farm in Maui for the APEC 2011 Meeting in Hawaii

September 30th, 2010


Mark Goodman



So, what’s this all about? At e-Conversation Solutions, we are definitely advocates of professional video. For many companies – such as professional services firms, large scale manufacturer, and many others – first impressions are lasting. To stand out from the competition, looking and sounding excellent is an absolute requirement.

However, sometimes, lower tier video can work. When I was in Hawaii on holiday, I agreed to build a YouTube channel for Best Wailea Ocean Condo. www.bestwaileaoceancondo.com One thing about travel video viewers is that they often rate user created video as more powerful than videos made by travel companies. As Nick notes, you never see a hotel website where the rooms don’t look good. However, many people have come to realize from experience that what you see is not always what you get – any experienced traveler knows that not all hotel rooms look as good as the professional pictures on the website. So, when it comes to travel, you can get results with a different type of feel.

So, I took my small JVC and went off to Hawaii. Rather than trying to show a “professional” view of the tourist areas, I decided to build my personal view of Hawaii. You can see a few more videos when you clicked on the embed above. I wasn’t trying to sell you the condo or a specific site. I was more trying to give you a flavor of the island.

One of the trips was to the O O Farm in upcountry Maui. The farm is run by Chef James McDonald, who owns several restaurants on the island. James and his family met us up on the farm on Sunday and prepared a freshly picked organic meal. After the meal, we did a few videos, the Michelle Obama invite being one of them.

Now you may say, if Mark can do this with a $400 JVC, why can’t I? There are a few things to think of…

First, this was the seventh or eighth video that I did with James that day. He had gotten down the rhythm of the “Answer Bit, and knew what to expect and how to respond. Also, since I have done hundreds of bits, I pretty much knew how to do it in the camera. Secondly, we did take the segment and run it through professional editing equipment. We did not change the video, but cleaned up the audio – which can make a big difference online. Finally, we put it in a cohesive YouTube channel where it made sense

We could not have scripted the piece with James’s daughter Ava entering the frame, and the beautiful natural setting of the farm could not be replicated no matter how sophisticated the studio blue screen. So, in this case, the “amateur” feel is engaging. But knowing what your are doing, and understanding the audience is important in creating video that engages and compels.

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Is your team ready to win on Monday night?

September 28th, 2010


Mark Goodman

I was watching the Bears-Packers game last night. Good to see a victory. Walked away with three key lessons learned.

First, have a plan. It was clear that the Bears had a game plan; aggressive defense, good special teams play, and don’t do something stupid on offense. Each of the coaches focused on the plan, and kept with it.

Second, use your key players where they are most effective. Aggressive defense by the line backers, Hester running back punts, even Cutler throwing hard and being mobile. Did a good job of using Peppers and some of the new acquisitions.

Lastly, take advantage of your competition. No one knew that the Packers would penalize themselves. But especially on the last drive, the Bears made it work for them.

What does this mean for your business? Have a plan and use the tools that are available to you. The playing field is changing, how have your marketing efforts been revised? Next, what players do you have, and how are you using them? We often hear, “we don’t have the resources!”. If you don’t, they can be acquired.

Today’s economic downturn has also impacted your competition. Maybe it’s time for a competitive “take –away”. Go after their customers. Many companies have reduced marketing and sales, thereby penalizing themselves.

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Get YouTube to make your sales presentations for you!

September 27th, 2010


Mark Goodman

This morning I spent some time running through the analytics that are provided by YouTube. The challenge with analytics is not getting the information, but drawing wisdom out of the tons of information that you receive.

I was looking at one of the channels that we built, that gets over 100 views a day. For the last month, 28% of all of the views came from related videos. That means that a viewer was watching a YouTube video (in most cases was from another channel); then chose to watch a video from this channel afterwards.

When you watch a video, additional videos come up on the right and then at the end. If the viewer is looking for more, YouTube chooses your content as a recommendation

An instant referral.

I have worked in organizations where the sales team has been pushed to make one or two presentations every day. In this channel, YouTube is making an average of 25 to 30 presentations every day.

The results for this organization? Sales for one key product line is up 19% year over year. Another line is up over 6%.

So, if you build a channel, they will come. But it’s not a short term effort. This organization has been working at it for over a year. Has over 300 videos up. But over time, has a relationship with YouTube that allows for their solutions to be recommended hundreds of times each month.

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Can You Create Search Optimized Video Yourself?

September 24th, 2010


Mark Goodman

We sometimes get asked, “Why should I pay e-Conversation Solutions to do videos for my company… can’t I just do this myself?”

It depends. First, think about the message you are trying to get across. If you are looking to convey a personal message/experience, doing it yourself can work fine. For example, I am working on building messaging materials for an owner of a condo in Maui. We spent the last week documenting the condo experience. Here are a couple of “do it yourself” iPhone pictures:


Maui Sunset. Wouldn’t you just love to sit outside in the evening and relax – we stayed at the Best Wailea Condo.

We went to an organic farm. Got some fresh ingredients and made a condo dinner -fresh squash and eggplant.



These pictures work pretty well for an amateur. I may not be professional, but have had enough training to at least have a good sense for composition, etc…

Travelers also like user created content because it is authentic. Nick has made the observation that every hotel has great pictures, but what you see is not always what you get.

But if I was a real estate developer, or a food professional portraying my business, these pictures simply wouldn’t work.

A business or professional services company is attracting customers and prospects because of their expertise and their image. First impressions are lasting. People don’t want to hire an amateur accountant or lawyer. As a purchasing agent, you are not looking to purchase parts made in a home workshop.

So, when it comes time to create video to present your business, think about how you’ve crafted the other parts of your corporate image. Chances are, you have nice office space, your employees dress well when meeting with clients, and you have a professionally designed website.

Why should your video presence be any exception?

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Adapting to a Changing World

September 23rd, 2010


Mark Goodman

Just spent the last week in Maui. I swapped a YouTube Channel for a week at a condo. One of the perks of being in the Search Optimized Video field. More to come on that channel on a later post.

We went on a tour of a sugar museum. Sugar used to be the largest business on the island. They imported workers from the Philippines, Japan and Portugal, to work in the sugar fields. The introduction of jet planes and low cost airfare changed the dynamic. Retirees, artists and tourists replaced the cultivation of sugar.

As the world changed, so did the island. The plantation workers of yesterday, became the hotel, restaurant and tour entrepreneurs of today.

So, how will the changing internet world impact your business? Where will you go, and how will your business adapt? Feel free to leave a comment below, and start the conversation!

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Innovation Comes From a Positive Environment

September 13th, 2010


Mark Goodman

Innovation is about creating a positive environment.

As a manager, when faced with an opportunity, do you ask “why?”, or “why not”? Which one you choose can mean the difference between innovating, or keeping the status quo and losing ground to your competitors.

When evaluating new opportunities, the first questions that many managers ask is “do we have the resources?” Assuming the answer is positive, the second question is “should we do it?”

However, at companies that foster an environment of innovation, the first question is “should we do it?” and the second question is “do we have the resources?”

This may seem silly, but it’s not. Innovation is about creating a positive environment. If people keep getting questioned “why?” or “do we have the resources?” every time they propose a new direction, they’ll stop asking.

And stop innovating.

Then, when a competitor comes out with some thing new, you’ll ask, why didn’t we think of that?

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The Benefits of a YouTube Channel: More Time + More Content = Many More Views.

September 10th, 2010


Mark Goodman

We had a great view week on the SCORE Chicago video YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/scorechicagovideo. Best day ever, over 350 views. Interesting, nothing was viral, it was a combination of continual programming. Here’s the breakdown:




Out of over 300 videos, these 8 were about a third of all views. How did they get to the top? There are 3 categories demonstrated. The first category is search. When you get a channel established, Google and YouTube find you as a trusted source. Every day, they refer viewers to these videos. Second, the SBA video was a new video that was promoted through a blog. Lastly, the Constant Contact emails were part of an email campaign, for a workshop. “emails opened” was the featured video, but viewers who watched that one, watched some of the other ones. We constructed the channel to encourage the watching of multiple videos.

Every video you post will not be a blockbuster. However, a well constructed channel with engaging content, will allow you to attract customer and prospects on an ongoing basis. Your expertise is found, referred and promoted.

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Take your experts, put them online, save money.

September 8th, 2010


Mark Goodman

I did a whole web initiative in the mid 1990’s. The web proponents said going online should save you money. The skeptical looked at the internet as a marketing effort. One person who worked at an overnight package carrier said that “no one wants to track their orders online, people like to call us!”

Fast forward to 2010. Not only do I really miss spending hours on the phone with shipping companies, but I have had two interesting discussions over the last month about mobilizing company expertise and featuring it on line with video. The feedback from a manufacturer was “we really can’t spare the time of our experts” or “the resources are not available”. But when we probed, it was determined that one expert was off to South America for two weeks. Another one was in Asia.

In professional services, pulling an expert who has billable hours can be problematic. We hear, “how can we afford to have someone who bills $250 per hour, spend 4 hours on a video?” But the video done effectively should cover 10 times the cost in personal sales visits that the expert does not have to make.

Yes, the video does need to be supported by a good website, and integrated into your marketing efforts. But you are spending that money anyhow.

Do the math. A trip to Asia can easily cost $20,000. An “in person sales call” with a billable expert may cost as much as $2,000. How many calls does it take to close a sale? What is the impact if you can eliminate one call per week?

So, putting your experts on line with video should save you money.

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Great, they found you online. What next?

September 5th, 2010


Mark Goodman

Congratulations. A searcher found your company online.

It’s what you do with the searcher, once they find you, that counts!

I was having a discussion with a business thought leader last week. She remarked that a business person can choose the e-Conversation Solution of search optimized video (SOV) solution rather than pay per click (PPC). While SOV works very well when coordinated with SEO (multiple use of both content and questions), using it as an alternative to pay per click was intriguing. She noted that either pay per click or using video to get on page one achieves the same result.

But, as a second derivative, I pointed out to her, is that once you are found, it’s what you present that counts. With SOV, you have an opportunity to immediately present your company as an expert. A trusted source. A targeted video both provides information and conveys trust. It differentiates you from the competition, and suggests additional content.

SOV says “how can I help you?” and “Here is a way to solve your problem”. Pay per click says “buy from me”. If you are selling commodities, “buy from me” might work. But, if you are working to establish a long term relationship in today’s world, the best first step is answering a question and solving a problem.

Consider this video, from manufacturing expert Paul Heinze:





So, once a searcher has found Paul, he provides a helpful answer to a question that potential clients must be asking. He doesn’t sell. As a result, he becomes an expert and someone that prospects want to do business with, instead of just another person selling services.

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Who is watching YouTube, anyways?

September 2nd, 2010


Mark Goodman

The 55 year old purchasing manager doesn’t watch videos on YouTube. The business owner in Pakistan is not online. It is mostly the younger male business people who watch internet video. Right?

Not true! Here is the data from the last two weeks on SCORE Chicago Video, which provides help for small business. This data summarizes around 2000 views.

Age Range (Male, Female):


Think about what the customer acquisition process is for your business. Who in that business is in charge of looking for a new supplier? What tools will that person use to sell your company to the decision maker? How can your company showcase your expertise and build trust?


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