How often do you use FaceTime or similar apps to communicate with you friends and family? Hmm… I see those hands raised, but I volunteer to answer first. Most of my family members live abroad, and we have this “weekendly” ritual of seeing each other on screens through Skype. I can see my dad finishing up his dinner 5,000 miles away, while my mom is trying to explain to me how important it is to remove dust from that bookshelf behind my back (I have no idea how she was able to notice it through the screen, indeed, she knows her daughter too well).
However, using video communication for Skype talks is not the only way. Today video communications opens us to a whole new world. Did Thomas Edison back in the 1900’s ever think that in 200 years ordering food through video would be as easy as writing with a fountain pen was for him? Let’s not wait for an answer and move onto 4 tips to use video to communicate.
1. Video Blogging (Vlogging) – Research from January, 2017 tells us that the vast majority of Americans – 95% – now own a cellphone of some kind. The number of Americans that own smartphones is now 77%. To see how fast this is growing, just compare it to 35% of smartphone owners in the US in 2011. Every smartphone has a camera. More than 75% of the US population has access to the Internet, meaning that about 242 millions of us can be… video bloggers, by starting our channels on YouTube. Video blogging is a huge platform today, it is where people go for showing their extraordinary singing skills, finding a recipe for a dish, learning how to repair a truck and even how to assemble a brand new 100% handmade couch for your living room. Video blogging is a great place to go out and communicate with the world. If you have something to say, but you are too shy to do it in person on a face-to-face basis – YouTube is a great place for you. If you have knowledge of the near-dead Aramaic language but want to save the language by passing it to others – YouTube is a great place for you. Express yourself, it is time to go and create your Login and Password!
2. Collaborating with YouTubers in the Marketing World. “What does marketing have to do with YouTubers?” – You might ask…. Well, it’s another side of blogging. As a blogger gains more subscribers and followers, he or she opens an opportunity for companies to promote its goods and services through a YouTuber’s channel. British vlogger Zoella has more than 12 million subscribers on two of her channels and more than a billion views. She reaches a larger audience than some cable broadcasting channels do. She talks about fashion, make-up, beauty tips, and decoration. Her main audience is girls between the ages of 11 and 17. Could a company like Forever 21 ask Zoella to collaborate with them in exchange for extra income for her? Absolutely could, and they do. Zoella puts together outfits from Forever 21, records it on video – and voilà– the target audience was reached, sales keep growing and everyone is happy. If you are a business owner in any field, your marketing department has to look for those “key bloggers", maybe they will have a better reach for your audience than old-fashion local newspaper do.
3. Online Business Video Meetings – Michael is a 25-years old entrepreneur, who is looking for unique seashells in The Dead Sea (Israel) and The Sea of Okhotsk (Russia), while living in Melbourne, Australia. Michael has 4 groups working for him, each team dives to the sea two times a day, looking for unique seashells. At the end of the day, Michael is eager to receive his 10-page report from each team, with the detailed description of each shell, including its parameters, color and the place it was found. Then he has to send the report from each team to 3 other teams. Michael gets exhausted by reading 40 pages at bed and sending e-mails. How we can help Michael? Well, most likely Michael has poor time management skills. He is probably not aware of Skype group conversations, where all teams may be connected together, show shells to each other instead of writing 10 pages describing them in words and call it a day. Michael, we are here to help you, you are welcome!
4. Creating memories in motion. Do you like looking back at your parents/grandparents pictures from decades ago? I do too! Today we can expand picture observing experience with video observing one. Video dairies become more popular every year – recording your kids growing up, recording your hobbies, or even just an ordinary day may seem an entertaining experience when you look back at them in years. Couple years ago I joined an online group called “Me Today Everyday,” what we did was we recorded our thoughts at the end of each day for 2 months, talking about challenges we faced, funny moments and personal thoughts on anything we wanted to talk about this particular day. Every video started with today’s date and had to be shorter than 2 minutes. Now, looking back at them, I can recall what I did that particular day of that year. And who knows, maybe those videos will be engraved in history. Some people do a similar activity when they set a specific goal, to see how far they go and to monitor their action plan in work. Try it and see how far you can go with your goals!
