Viddler

When looking for a professional online video platform for your business, keeping control over your content and your brand is a key element.

In addition to control, the ability to customize your videos, set embed options and have access to API calls are just as important, all of which are available through both Viddler’s and Vimeo’s online video platforms. …

But what makes Viddler a better option for your business has to do with three very significant features:

1. Monetization—Video revenue through ads and subscriptions
2. Viewer Engagement—By way of video commenting and tagging, etc.
3. Customer Service—Expert support throughout your online video journey

If you’re considering Vimeo for your business, check out this video, which highlights the similarities between us, but provides a clear focus on what makes Viddler’s online video platform the more robust, business-savvy solution:

In Viddler’s next webinar, “Mastering Wireless Microphones: A Simple Checklist for Flawless Audio,” our videographer Matt D’Avella will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how an online video professional sound checks each of his videos. Highligths will include:

1. The checklist you need to follow before mic-ing your talent,
2. Troubleshooting techniques if your audio doesn’t sound right,
3. Production and post-production tips for improving audio,
4. A look at the wireless mic setup used by Viddler.

Webinar Date: Wednesday, May 22 @ 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST
Registration Opens: Thursday, May 16
Registration Closes: Tuesday, May 21

Matt will wrap up with a Q&A, so please email mic-related questions to learn@viddler.com by Monday, May 20 with the subject line “Mics.”

A video recording of the webinar will also be provided to those who register in advance, so complete the form below to register today – space is limited!

By Huckleberry / Tunefruit.com

What’s up Viddlers? We’re back and we’ve got some more science for ya’ll. Before we get down and dirty, I need to fill you in on something called the nucleus accumbens. What is it exactly? It’s the part of your brain associated with rewards and pleasure … like the happiness you get when you wake up hungry and the house smells like pancakes and bacon.

Here’s your brain—that small, red spot is what I’m talking about: 

So, now that we know all this, let’s head to Canada real quick. Scientists there, at McGill University, put some people (probably over-worked grad students) into an MRI machine while playing 30-second clips of music the people had never heard. The participants were given the opportunity to “buy” the full track if they liked it.

What happened? Well, the nucleus accumbens would light up each time a new song was played. But, if the participant really liked the song, the brain would light up like the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. Hence, it became possible to predict if the participant would “buy” the track or not! 

Thankfully, at Tunefruit.com, we’ve got you covered. Our catalog of awesome tracks that most people have never heard grows every day.

And, of course, our Deep Tagging™ system helps you find the music you need for your videos when you need it. 

So, this little bit of science tells us that new music is pleasurable in ways that music we’ve heard before isn’t. It’s just another ingredient to consider when you’re picking tunes for your online videos. 

About the Author:
Huckleberry (@tunefruit) hails from Connecticut. After a short stint of walking the streets of NYC at 4 a.m. (with a tuba), he finally had enough dough for a bus ticket to Atlanta where he graciously accepted the job of “overworked, underpaid intern.” After all, what’s a berry gonna do with money? Check out their website: www.tunefruit.com.

In Viddler’s latest webinar, our videographer Matt D’Avella provided a look at including text and typography within videos. Highlights included:

1. Why you need to include more text in your videos
2. Five ways to incorporate text in videos
3. Typography basics and tips for improvement
4. Resources for creating awesome typography projects (with little experience)
5. How to utilize text with Viddler’s In-video Commenting & Tagging tool

In order to watch this webinar recording, you’ll need to visit http://www.anymeeting.com/Viddler/ED58D987824E and input your contact info.

Check back in a few days for the details on Viddler’s next webinar taking place Wednesday, May 22. …

On Thursday May 9, 2013, Google discussed its plans to offer a video subscription service on YouTube. This came as no surprise, although it’s a departure from their traditional free content approach, to which advertising (and huge revenues for Google) are attached. Some YouTube accounts receive money from video advertisements but the low Cost Per Impression (CPM) YouTube offers doesn’t make advertising worthwhile for most businesses.

YouTube is currently limited to select list of partner channels

YouTube is currently offering subscriptions to only about 50 select partner channels.  These channels will have the ability to activate subscriptions for their account.  YouTube has not announced their long-term plans and there is no mention of whether this feature will become publicly available.

Analysts have maintained that the YouTube subscription service is aimed at the likes of Netflix and Hulu. Although it includes businesses, educators, and entertainers who want to sell their own video content, it also targets TV networks evolving from the cable world. The Vancouver Sun reported that Canadian TV’s Corus Entertainment, DHX Media and OUTtv are among those helping YouTube move into a subscription model.

Most of the subscription revenue goes to YouTube.

According to Billboard Biz “YouTube Subscription’s Split with Content Creators Likely to be Less than 30%”.  That revenue percentage is not enough for most small businesses to consistently create original video content.

Some companies just want to produce their own content and get paid by their niche audience, whether the goal is to enhance a brand, train or educate constituents, or artistically connect with audiences.

What options do small content producers have?

Unless you are a big media company, the YouTube Subscriptions is probably not a legitimate option.  This news does make us think, “How can small companies and individuals sell their videos online?”

Here are 6 alternative ways to sell videos online…

1. Approach an existing streaming provider or network – Good luck with that. Even with all the competition for video streaming dominance, the major players want to unseat Netflix or Comcast, which means courting television networks, not small businesses or individuals.
2. Pursue a device-specific video platform (Apple) – All Apple iOS devices have excellent video capabilities, and a host of apps to deliver them, including Apple’s own “Videos” app. The problem (besides assuming that all your viewers have iPads or iPhones) is that Apple charges a big fee for in-app purchases. Many of the apps are also focused on networks and studios, not on small businesses or individuals.
3. Pursue a device-specific video platform (Android) – Ditto number 3, without the appeal of the Apple brand. It will be interesting to see how the “Google Play Movies & TV” app for Android is positioned vis-à-vis YouTube’s new service, but it’s not much help for small business who aren’t already in the movie business.
4. Create your own online video store – Good luck; you’ll need it. All you need is a website with video-savvy webmaster, who knows all about encoding, player technology, online security, and e-commerce.
5. Sell DVDs online – Don’t laugh. Discs are cheap, and easy to produce these days. While not as convenient as streaming, physical media has its advantages. It’s secure, and you can sell it on Amazon. There are a lot of DVD and Blu-ray players out there, not to mention laptop and desktop PCs.
6. Find an online service that offers video subscriptions – This option provides a turnkey solution to get started quickly and begin making money.  When evaluating your options, it is important to be able to easily group your content and set your own pricing.

Now that you know more about your option, we thought you would want to know that Viddler has been offering video subscription service for online videos since 2010 and meets most business requirements out of the gate.

There you have it: A totally biased, but reasonable way to look at selling your videos online.

Happy selling.

When done right, online video can be one of the most powerful tools you and your business can leverage.

Check out this Viddler video as reference for your future video projects. It’s short, to-the-point, and encompasses a resonating message (… and for those of you not producing online video for your business, get inspired to start):

Viddler is hiring a full time Online Video Channels & Partner Marketing Manager. 

Overview:

Viddler’s rapid growth requires the addition of a Vertical & Partner Marketing (VPM) Manager.

The right person for this newly created position will be charged with expanding, and formalizing Viddler’s 3rd party partner network of software developers and video solution services providers.   The VPM will also lead the development and establishment of “total product solutions” for Viddler’s served and emerging vertical markets.   VPM compensation is tied to the Viddler top line revenue in order to assure that members exceed the Viddler 2013 Revenue forecast.

Responsibilities:

• The VPM must be fluent / knowledgeable with each partner group and with each vertical market space to assure the success and mind-share from efforts and programs designed
• The VPM collaborates with vertical market leaders and partner leaders in order to assure a clear maximum value proposition for each group; so that Viddler’s products deliver a total product solution to each respective industry group
• The VPM will meet regularly with prospective partners and vertical markets influencers to maintain the insights, knowledge and efficacy of all programs
• Target, author, build and manage the deliverables for each targeted group
• Ensure Viddler internal sales and channel partners are equipped with all the information, materials, landing pages, promotions, etc., necessary to establish each partner’s success
• Develop and specify content for creation of product related marketing collateral necessary to recruit partners as well as end user prospects

Requirements:

• On Line Video Industry knowledge; capable of early recognition of industry trends
• Minimum 3 years project management and prioritization of tasks
• Customer aware (Experience as a customer a plus)
• Strong knowledge of web based sales and marketing strategies
• Capable of credibly interacting with customers/prospects, industry analysts, & media from a technical perspective
• Ability to clearly articulate your with people of different knowledge levels
• Hands on experience in channel or partner network marketing desirable

Apply today for the Online Video Channels & Partner Marketing Manager Position

By Eric Hochberger / Mediavine.com

At Mediavine, we had a unique problem that only Viddler could fix. Our content, which is in the TV and movie genres for TV Fanatic , Movie Fanatic and The Hollywood Gossip, is extremely commoditized. The same studios and networks that provide us with movie trailers and TV promos are sending the same ones to all of our competitors.

Unfortunately, because our company’s primary source of Web traffic comes from organic search, that means increased competition for the exact same news clip(s).

Luckily, Viddler is search-engine friendly by default. Whether you use their iFrame or HTLM5 with legacy embed code, you’re going to get indexed by Google video. 

But, if you’re looking to beat your competition, you need to go beyond search engine friendliness. You need to be search engine optimized. … Enter schema.org. For those not familiar, it is the process of using HTML tags to markup your page, which allows searches engines to identify key elements. It has been created and used by Google, Bing and Yahoo! And you should use it for everything!

Google webmaster guidelines already tell you to create a specific landing page for every video on your site. Hopefully you’re already doing this. … If not—start.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

In Part I of this schema.org series, I’m going to show you how to markup this page.
Follow the schema.org instructions found here.

Let’s take one of our videos: The Paperman – Full Movie, which was given to us by the fine folks at Disney. Take a look at the schema.org markup we used on that video page. Gist with HTML: <https://gist.github.com/ehoch/5388489>.

I removed some extraneous markup in order to simplify this example as much as possible. Some key things to note … We indicated the start of the markup to search engines with:
<div itemscope itemtype=’http://schema.org/VideoObject’>.

In this short video, our videographer Matt D’Avella provides a look at how he uses Viddler’s platform to involve his clients in the post-production stages of their videos, utilizing everyone’s time effectively and efficiently.

In summary, Matt uploads the client’s video to Viddler and creates a Secret URL, which allows only the client to access and play it. The client can provide their feedback to Matt in the form of in-video commenting (comments added within the video timeline). Matt receives email notification when comments are made so he log in and edit where necessary. And the cycle continues. …

Check out the video below for the step-by-steps on using Viddler’s In-video Commenting and Tagging tool in a not so “traditional” way:

By Huckleberry / Tunefruit.com

Did you know that blowing up mountains is bad for the environment? Or that older folks prefer happy memories to sad ones? These are results from actual studies. Scientists spent time and money to reach these conclusions! I guess, sometimes, we need science to get our point across, even though it seems obvious.

So, I just read this crazy journal article that used so many scientific words that it blew my mind.  

I’ll try not to use a lot of them, but I have to mention “semantic memory.” Basically, it’s the part of your memory that retains general ideas that you probably don’t even remember learning. Knowing how to tie your shoes could be a semantic memory (unless you’re like me and still use Velcro …). Basically, it’s just all the stuff that’s kicking around in your head that you can’t explicitly recall learning.

So, we can have verbal semantic memories (phrases like, “The early bird gets the worm”), and we can have musical semantic memories (like the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” tune). Or we can combine the two … try speaking the words to the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” without singing them. Are you with me? Great.

Now, the coolest thing about this is that it’s possible to have both verbal and musical memories at the same time. Why is this cool? Well, most of the time the brain is terrible at doing two things at once (people who talk on their phone while driving don’t drive as good; and that’s another study).

But since we now know that your audience can process both musical and verbal stimuli at the same time, you can get twice as much bang for your buck!

Hopefully you’re thinking, “Duh!” And yeah, to us, this study was another one in the long line of groundbreaking research, including the fact that going bald is upsetting, and siblings who fight don’t get along. But every once in awhile we come across an absolutely epic video. The videography is great, the lines are perfectly delivered, but there is no music (normally we use video examples, but for this one, we don’t want to call anyone out. You know who you are!). It’s like going head-on with the lines and then attacking with a musical flank. It doubles the effectiveness of your message.

The lack of music is the biggest let down, ever. Seriously! It’s like you’re living in Troy … You’ve been at war with the Greeks for 10 years and they gift you this awesome, giant horse. You think everything is peachy and the war is over, plus it’s a really cool horse! But then you find out that the Greeks were hiding in there, and at night they opened up the gates to your city to let their entire army in to rain on your parade. That’s a pretty big let down, right? Yeah … A video with no music is like the horse thing times a billion.

But don’t worry; it’s easy to add some tunes to your already epic video. Tunefruit’s Deep Tagging™ algorithms make it possible for you to search almost anything to get the perfect soundtrack. In fact, you can search “Greek,” “Troy,” “Trojan” or “Horse” and get different results for each. If you’re having trouble, or your vocabulary is more intense than our search engine’s, give us a call. We will help you find the perfect track for free!

Have fun storming the castle. …

About the Author:
Huckleberry (@tunefruit) hails from Connecticut. After a short stint of walking the streets of NYC at 4 a.m. (with a tuba), he finally had enough dough for a bus ticket to Atlanta where he graciously accepted the job of “overworked, underpaid intern.” After all, what’s a berry gonna do with money? Check out their website: www.tunefruit.com.