"ooVoo ME!" Where Are "You" At With Video Chat?

ooVoo Me!

Has anyone asked you this yet? It's a relatively new video chat service! Much like Skype but with some variances.

A couple of advantages over Skype include:

1. ooVoo allows for your contacts who have NOT downloaded ooVoo, to still be able to talk with you from their web browser via the Web Video Calling feature. Great for those who may be on the move, at a public place, friend's computer, etc., who can't download the program, or don't want to for whatever reason.
   
   
2. ooVoo allows you to embed video onto your blog, website or social networking site via the web video chat feature. Great for building relationships, having meetings, etc.
   

Lots of its features are free.... all you need is broadband internet access and a computer with a webcam and microphone (and a headset works great if you have one).

There is a great breakdown of all the ooVoo features and a short comparison to Skype in my weekly mailing which you may access here! Take a peek! (If you would like to get on my mailing list go to my website.) As with all marketing resources, review and pick out what works best for "you."

All this leads me to asking you where "video chat" is in your marketing strategy? If you are a current Skype user, what are you using it for in your business? Do you think it works for trainings? Meetings? What works? What doesn't work?

My thoughts about ooVoo is that it is one more step towards video being a norm for communicating! More and more video, in the chat format, is like being there! ooVoo brings us more options for when we are on the run in that it supports communications with or without "both" ends having the technology. Not sure how many people are ready to be "seen" as they work, but that aside .... the time for video chat has arrived. Even in email ....something I personally would not support for a long time. Anyone thinking along the same lines?

As always, you want to enhance your business communications with you choice of marketing resources. It's not just having "video chat" that will increase your bottom line. It is what you are saying over video chat and where you have applied it within your communication strategy that will increase your bottom line.

If you are wondering about where you might apply video chat within your business communications please share your concerns here. We can all work together in getting some answers for you.

You may also be interested in my "weekly special" ....part of my weekly mailing that I opened up to my blog readers last week and will do again this week! The first two blog readers who respond will receive my weekly special ... just say "blog" when you call or email.

In the mean time ...

Keep your business growing ...
margie

Marketing Via Video

Hello all ...

Once again I just finished my weekly mailing. I wrapped up a 3 part series on marketing via video. If you are not on my mailing list, please go to the side of this blog and subscribe to the "weekly" mailing list and anything else you like :-)

When you stop to think about it, I guess there really isn't much that wouldn't lend itself to a good video. Just a simple introduction of yourself saves you a lot of time and gives you a ton of potential exposure. Taking it a step further ... products are great subjects. Imaging having a short series on products within a cosmetic line! You can explain what the product is, include of demontration of how it is used, even provide a web address to buy!!

Tours or "showings" are also great. If you manufacture products, take a viewer through the process, interviewing staff as your go. Or if you are just into information, a basic breakdown of an insurance policy could be very helpful. You just have to use a little bit of your imagination to gather all the possibilities.

I would love to have any one out there who has had success with video marketing share what they did! Please post here. Or even if you haven't done any marketing yet what you think might be a good idea. Post away......

Keep your business garden growing ...
margie

Making Videos - Standalone Camera or Camera Phone?

Hi everyone ...

I am continuing on with my input on using video for marketing purposes. As explained at the outset of this journey, I am just learning myself and sharing as I go.

A couple of weeks ago I put marketing ideas in your minds, the comfortable part of this for me. Hopefully you've still got some ideas going around in your mind. I will pick up on those thoughts again next week, but for now .... this posting is about choosing a camera .. stand alone or on a phone? Again, my knowledge is strictly from research, not experience so I welcome input from any of you who have experience!

I guess the "trick" to making your decision is in the "options" that come with each videoing device and it all begins with knowing that just about any phone or camera with video will be "good enough" for the internet. The question you have to ask yourself is how "good" do you want your video to be? Is just "enough" .. good enough for what you want to do?

Knowing that fact I would love input from anyone on the four "options" for recording videos - tape, flash, hard drive and/or disc. What do you prefer? It seems that flash would be pretty easy, convenient and popular ... although my research says to go with tape for the best quality.

Again, how good is "good enough?" We might want to start paying more attention to the videos we see and ask the creators what did they use? Tape is old technology and time consuming, BUT has no compression so is a better quality. The other 3 options are really easy and quick to load onto one's computer. However all three use compression which can lower the quality of one's video. Hopefully just knowing the differences will allow all of us to ask the right questions and have a better discussion with an exisiting user, sales person or even in our understanding of a Google search result!

I am also told that an external microphone jack is a must because the better audio only comes from using an external microphone, NOT the mic that comes in a camera or phone. True?? Someone knows out there .. let us know for sure!

And lastly there is the question of editing. If you really want to be creative within your video this type of software seems to be a must. As I understand it you really want to ask which editing software is compatible with the camera you choose. There may be limitations with any of the cameras so , do play it safe.

One software I can't wait to get my hands on is some screen capture software. This software allows you to "capture" what is on your computer screen in a video. There are many videos I would love to make from using my computer screen. Software demos is a major one! But gosh, which one do I buy??

So tell me readers .. standalone camera or camera phone and which of which! Video is hot right now and I for one want to jump into the arena. I welcome your input.

Next week I'll get back to my forte and talk about using the videos for marketing and making money!! Meanwhile ...

Keep your business garden growing ....
margie