Have you seen those videos featuring Southwest Airlines flight attendants doing their pre-flight instructions in VERY untraditional ways? Here is a link to one of their videos.

One of my favorite video series are the ones that IBM produced called “The Art of the Sale.” This is what happens when “The Office” meets corporate video. Here is the link to a video.

Before I ever set foot on a Southwest airplane I had already “fallen in love” with their brand and their company, because of the reputation they’ve developed through videos like these. I was even more suprised to see the IBM videos, and it made me like them even more; especially since I always imagine IBM to be like stuffy business folks in extra pressed white dress shirts all sitting around a corporate conference room table. It was refreshing to see a different side of IBM.

What does this have to do with you?

You can harness the same power of video to reach new clients or to strengthen the bond you have with your existing ones.

Let me explain further...

When I managed a large apartment community I decided to create marketing videos with an inexpensive Flip camera, inexpensive (even free) editing software and some creativity. What we did was to make short (usually 30 second to one minute) videos that we uploaded to YouTube. We then put the links in our Craiglist ads to try and make our postings a little “stickier.”

Obviously, you're not limited to using these only on Craigslist! With Facebook and Twitter and whatever new fangled social media site comes up tomorrow, your message can reach a wider audience of people.

Now, most of our videos were intentionally quirky and funny and were usually spoofs or parodies of famous commercials, movies or TV shows. All of them were a lot of fun to make~and did expand our audience. I remember one woman walking into our office and looking at me and saying, “Hey, you’re the guy in the cowboy hat!” I blushed and said, “Yep...that was me.”

Here is a sample of one of the videos we created, which is a spoof of those ubiquitous technical college commercials:

Now, if the quirky and funny is not yet your thing, you can use video in a traditional setting too.

• You could have your associates narrate a product or service you offer. 
• I also did a “thank you for visiting” video where I filmed a simple thank you message to our prospects, with some stock photos to remind them of the experience. 

I know many of you have hesitations, I understand. This may not be your thing and that’s okay. But for some of you, the idea is exciting and I bet there are others on your team who would love to jump on board and get the ideas flowing.

Think about it! How and where could you use videos? How have you used videos? Please share and we can all grow together!

I am a fan of the show A Taste of History with Chef Walter Staib on Public Television. Chef Staib is the owner and chef of City Tavern in Philadelphia, which is a recreation of a tavern that was at the center of our Revolutionary War history~with the Founding Fathers as frequent guests. 

The show features Chef Staib cooking dishes as it would have been prepared during that period in history; often in historic kitchens and locales such as Colonial Williamsburg or Thomas Jefferson’s home in Monticello. As a history buff and someone who loves watching cooking shows, the whole theme of A Taste of History really appeals to me. 

So…when I found out that I would be speaking for the New Jersey Apartment Association Conference and Trade Show (great show BTW!), I decided to fly into Philadelphia and do a little sightseeing while I was in the area … and City Tavern was high on my list of places to visit where I couldn’t wait to try the Colonial Pot Pie!