The time to make videos is now. That's the key message and pitch in this short video from Chris Brogan (you should absolutely be following him and reading/watching his brilliant insights):
Got it? I get it. You are self conscious or don't want to make videos for a bunch of reasons. I'm right there with you. But, according to a Cisco report, online video will be responsible for over 80% of global Internet traffic by 2022. You already get this. You watch lots of online video. So do your clients. You use online video to learn how to do things. So do your clients.
Video can make you more approachable
In this video posted on LinkedIn (sorry, can't embed here), david phu outlines how you can use video to humanize your organization and services in the eyes of your potential and existing clients. As he writes, "when people come to you they will encounter more than just text on a page, menus to click, and photos. they will encounter a feeling and a completeness about you. this helps in trust and decision-making."
It's time to make videos for your clients. And it's time to make them multilingual.
Why?
I've been saying this in pretty much every presentation I make about client-facing technology & digital strategy. You can and should be making videos providing quick and useful information and tips for your clients. It's never been easier to do it and post them online.
Multilingual information is still important to your clients. It's why you have multilingual staff. It's why community/ethnic media continues to be important and vital for newcomer communities.
But translation and interpretation is expensive!
You know what isn't expensive? Pulling out the smartphone you all carry around and recording yourself providing a tip of the week for your client. Think of it as your weekly work selfie. Easy, right? Each staff member can do it, in each language they speak, in the subject area they most know about. Imagine a repository of videos on your website or YouTube channel for your clients.
But, really, make sure the videos are embedded on your site, don't send people to the attention sucking rabbit hole of YouTube... You can surround your videos with additional information and tips. Let's say your video is about resumes. Embed the video, have a few paragraphs about resumes, include information about your resume workshops and services, link to some PDF templates for them to download. Boom. Immediately useful content and "virtual service."
Making multilingual videos quickly and affordably online
Making multilingual videos isn't always easy. If you've got multilingual staff, you can create multilingual video.
But what if you don't have staff who speak the languages you need to translate information into?
VEED.io may be able to help (note, Veed asked me to include mention of their site for a free Pro account, but I was already using it, so, cool!).
VEED.io is a site that gives you a quick and easiest way to create videos, add subtitles, with translation built in. You can upload your own video, or even take a YouTube video and add multilingual subtitles to it.
Here's a video about just how quick and easy it is.
The time to make videos is now. You can and should be making videos providing quick and useful information and tips for your clients. It's never been easier to do it and post them online.