Video Testimonials Are Just Too Hard… Really?

Posted on January 25, 2012 by kwyatt

I was surfing the Internet recently, looking for useful/educational content when I came across this blog on video testimonials. I agreed with all the assertions the writer put forth about how powerful video testimonials are as a marketing and sales tool.

This comment however, got my attention:

I agree that video testimonials are powerful, something that would actually be easier to get is a written testimonial. Something that I have seen done to great effect is having a moving tape at the top of the screen with quotes from the satisfied clients.

Video testimonials would also require a lot of investment- video time, editing, staging the room etc…

(Just to disclose, I did fix some of the spelling, but otherwise the comment is as written.)

“Well that’s not true at all,” I said to the screen (yes, I talk to my computer – a lot.) Knowing what I know about how easy video testimonials are to record, I found it odd that the commenter thought they had to be a big production with an equally large time commitment and cost. I figured it was up to me to get the word out again on how simple recording video testimonials can be (especially when you use mailVU!) Take a look at this quick video I took with my iPod Touch and mailVU’s free video app:

Yes, that’s my little dog PeaJay, who loves the camera, offering his version of a video testimonial. As you can see, he loves the product and it didn’t take a lot of work to get this video done either! (We do feed him by the way, despite his zealous attacking of the treat box.)

Unlike Peaj, you’ll want to do more than just eat onscreen for your review. To create a great testimonial, all you’ll need is a laptop with webcam, good lighting, and good sound. Yes, dressing in a respectable manner is encouraged, but honestly, you could wear pajama pants and still do an effective video review.

For businesses that want to engage with customers on a personal level, see and hear from the people who buy your goods and services online. mailVU’s Business Plan includes a video recording widget that can be placed on your company website. Here is an example of a customer testimonial recording widget in action. Think of the video recording widget as the higher-tech equivalent of a text contact form. Is there a product or service you really want your customers to give you feedback on? Ask them to record their testimonial, right from your website with mailVU’s video testimonial widget. It’s so easy and also much more effective than a written testimonial.

Generally when people are contacting a company via video message, they make sure to send their best recording, especially if they know it might be used for marketing purposes. Want to see an example of embedding webcam videos? View these video testimonials on this page of mailVU’s site. As a Business Plan user, you can embed any of your customer testimonial videos in your website or blog.

Want to create a more professional video testimonial with graphics and editing? We can help with that too! Our partnership with ENERGIZED Testimonials can take your webcam video, pictures, and graphics, and turn it into an attractive, professionally produced testimonial for a fraction of the cost of an on-site video shoot. Depending on the number of testimonials received, a business could rotate them weekly or monthly, or, they could create a testimonial video wall.

The Business Plan isn’t just for collecting customer comments and reviews, it can also be used to send private video messages to clients and prospects. Those messages can be created using a webcam, or if you’ve got professional recordings, they can be uploaded so you can send pre-recorded video via email. And don’t forget mailVU’s free iPhone/iPad app for video mail on-the-go.

Sure video testimonials can be major, big budget, time consuming, slick productions – or they can be easy-to-obtain, inexpensive and authentic. If you want access to a cost-effective video platform where customers can reach you and tell you how great they think you are, contact us at info@mailVU.com.

-Kamilla

Posted in iPhone/iPad video email app, Testimonial Video Widget, Video Email App for iPhone, Video Email for Business, Video Testimonial | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t Wait for a Crisis to Connect With Video

Posted on January 22, 2012 by kwyatt

Don't wait until you're in the frying pan to think of ways to manage a crisis! Video provides your business an effective way to communicate when problems arise.

How would your company handle a serious public relations crisis? It’s a pretty heavy topic to think about, so oftentimes, business owners don’t have a plan to deal with a major issue, should it arise.

In any, business problems will occur. It’s how leaders deal with them that make all the difference. All too often leadership fails to own up to their responsibilities, blaming problems on others, making up excuses, or just outright denying that an event took place. Since mailVU is an online video platform, we started thinking of ways video could be utilized to lessen the impact of a company crisis:

1.)  Communicate quickly, face-to-face. If you can’t be there in person, record a video message. Video mail it out to all your employees first, letting them know what happened and what you are doing about it.

2.)  Embed a video on your website to explain to people what took place and lay out what steps your organization is taking to rectify the situation. If desired, embed a personal video message from the company’s CEO and/or managers.

3.)  Engage your community with a video recording widget on your company website. This widget is provided with a mailVU Business Plan. It will allow your site and blog visitors a more intimate means of communicating with you than a text-only contact form.

Hopefully your business won’t ever have to deal with a public relations nightmare, but if it does happen, social media tools like mailVU’s Business Plan can be included in your response plan. mailVU can be used from any computer webcam, our iPhone/iPad video email app, or the soon-to-be released mailVU Android app.

Take responsibility, communicate and engage. Be direct with your audience with a positive, emotional appeal. No media is more effective for doing this than video! It’s best to have our video messaging platform at your disposal sooner rather than later, so contact us at info@mailVU.com and let’s discuss a service plan that meets your needs.

Posted in Video Email for Business, Video Mail, Video Messaging for Business, Video Recording Widget | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

90% of Web Traffic Will Be Video Content

Posted on January 18, 2012 by kwyatt

Are you ready? Imagine the possibilities for your business!

YouTube VP of Global Content Partnerships, Robert Kyncl, recently commented that within the next 10 years, 75 percent of channels will be started on the Internet and that soon 90 percent of web traffic will be video. I came across an article discussing his prediction. The more I thought about it, the more I came to this conclusion:

“I knew it!”

As those who put up with me know, there’s nothing I love more than being right! Video is exploding among businesses of all sizes. Video helps online retailers increase sales, improves open rates on email marketing campaigns, and offers the ability to post real customer video testimonials on your website. The good news is that videos don’t have to be big-budget productions. When done correctly, a webcam video can be considered more authentic than a slick commercial. Take a look at this well-done, impromptu video:

Most computers, tablets, and smartphones have webcams as standard equipment, and there are low-cost video hosting options – ahem, like mailVU.com. Combined with faster wireless Internet connections and mobile devices that allow people to view video on the go, everyone is getting in on the video game (Heh. Video game, that was completely unintentional! I guess I’m just naturally funny.)

In all seriousness though, is your business ready for the coming video revolution? Here are a few things to consider doing in 2012:

  • Utilize video in your email marketing campaigns to increase open rate.
  • Embed customer video testimonials on your website.
  • Engage with your users by allowing them to record video comments.
  • Send videos via email or post them on your favorite social media sites.

Nowadays, people are much more likely to watch an informative video than to simply read text. Capitalize on that trend by moving more content to the video format. Imagine the impact a positive video review of your products will have on your prospects!

mailVU makes it easy to do all of the above. We have a customizable Business Plan that surrounds your messages with your company logo, allows you to have clickable links to your social networking sites and HTML links back to your webpage. Videos created from or uploaded to your Business Plan may also be embedded onto your website and integrated into email marketing programs such as Contactology, MailChimp and Constant Contact. Want to engage your users? Embed mailVU’s video recorder onto your website or blog and let your users tell you exactly what they like about your product or service.

Don’t get left behind! Begin using video in your marketing efforts and you’ll quickly see great results.

When you’re ready to get started, contact us at info@mailVU.com.

-Kamilla

Posted in Video Email for Business, Video Testimonial | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Customer Video Reviews Offer Positive Proof

Posted on January 15, 2012 by kwyatt

Since reading about the unfortunately named Boner’s BBQ of Atlanta, Ga.’s recent grand social media meltdown I’ve been thinking of how they could have handled things just a little differently by utilizing positive customer video reviews.

I highly recommend reading the article I’ve linked to, as it is quite an amazing tale of how not to behave on your business’s social media channels. To summarize, a woman and her husband ate at the BBQ restaurant and had a negative experience. She wrote a review on Yelp about what she deemed a lackluster meal. Someone who handles the restaurant’s Facebook account saw the review and proceeded to berate the woman, going so far as to post a picture of her on their page (it got really ugly. The ‘B’ word was used.) All heck broke loose as people came to the patron’s defense, though there were some who agreed with the restaurant’s Facebook administrator.

Lack of professionalism has always made me cringe, but to see it played out in social media where everyone can watch is just painful. Even worse for Boner’s, it didn’t have to be that way. Surely they have some happy customers who would say wonderful things about the restaurant, the food, and the service. Many of them would likely record a video testimonial for Boner’s to embed on their website under a Video Reviews tab. Here’s a great example of a video review:

In my time with mailVU, I’ve become quite convinced that there isn’t a single customer service problem that can’t be resolved with a great video message! In a perfect world, Boner’s would have had a mailVU Business Plan that would have allowed them to collect positive customer feedback in the form of video testimonials. mailVU’s video recorder easily installs on any company website or Facebook page. Boner’s could have acknowledged the Yelp review and casually directed people to the positive video reviews embedded on their website, letting happy customers do the speaking for them.

To further follow up, the owner or manager of the restaurant could have sent a personal message to the reviewer using video email. Boner’s could’ve posted that video as a Facebook status update to share with everyone, apologizing for the not-so-spectacular dining experience and offering to make it up to her with a free or discounted meal. This move alone would have probably gained the restaurant a few new customers. After all, her review seemed pretty well thought out with her detailing why she didn’t care for the items served. It wasn’t as if she’d left the usual eloquent troll prose of “Your food sucks!” – and even if she did, that wouldn’t have warranted the tirade that ensued.

There will be times when your company has to say “I’m sorry,” or acknowledge that a mistake was made or it will have to make amends with a customer who’s not happy with its products or services. Isn’t it worth it to be able to impress them with a personal response in video that only takes a few moments to create, but will leave a lasting impact? If the answer is yes, you need to contact us ASAP at info@mailVU.com so we can discuss your needs!

-Kamilla

Posted in Video Email for Business, Video Mail, Video Testimonial | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Great Video Messages Come From Great Prep

Posted on January 11, 2012 by kwyatt

Here’s a quiz for you. Don’t panic, it’s just a brief check on your video production knowledge:

1. When video recording yourself, what should you wear?

A.)  Stripes, lots and lots of stripes.

B.)  Duh. As many patterns and colors as I can get my hands on! I want my viewers to know I envy Ralph Furley’s style sense and that I try to emulate him as often as possible!

C.)  Solids. One simple, understated color that looks great on me while I’m on camera.

The answer is C. When you’re looking to record a video for customers or potential clients, tone it down and stick with one color. You want the focus on your message, not your clothing choices. Stripes and busy patterns cause your camera’s auto-focus lens to constantly readjust, creating an unwatchable video.

2. You’re setting up lighting for your video. How do you show yourself in the best possible light?

A.)  LOTS of backlighting.

B.)  In front of a window with extremely bright sun behind me. I should look completely blacked out on camera, like someone in witness protection being interviewed on TV. It’s more mysterious that way. I want my videos to look just like this one:

C.)  Good lighting, on my face.

Again, the answer is C. Backlighting and recording directly in front of a window in daylight is a big no-no. It creates too many weird shadows. How can those you’re trying to reach with video trust you if they can barely see you? Unless you’re a spy or want to remain incognito, keep lighting focused on your face – and make sure you’re properly lit before you start recording!

3. You’ve got appropriate lighting and your clothes are camera-friendly. What next?

A.)  Prepare. Create a script. If you’re not the greatest off-the-cuff speaker, it’s a good idea to jot down a few notes to keep yourself on track.

B.)  Practice. With mailVU, you can practice as much as you like and send those rehearsals to trusted colleagues and friends for feedback before making the official video.

C.)  Be confident. Avoid fidgeting. Relax so that you’ll appear more comfortable on camera.

If you answered A, B, and C on this one, excellent job! You’re probably already a stellar video marketer. Good lighting and clothing are important, but preparation for your video email or video message is paramount, especially when using the recordings for business.

Besides, you wouldn’t want to get a brand new mailVU Business Plan and have your company logo surrounding a crummy-looking message, right?

Do any seasoned video users have other tips to add? Leave them here in the comment section or at our social media hangouts, Twitter, Facebook and Google+!

-Kamilla

Posted in Video Email for Business, Video Marketing, Webcam Tips | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Increase Web Sales With Video

Posted on January 8, 2012 by kwyatt

Your company has a website. It has good blog content. It has an engaging social media presence. These are all great starts, but something is missing.

Video has become an expected part of marketing, and your business needs to begin including it. If you’re not the company’s decision-maker, you’re going to have to convince those in upper management that video is a media that will increase sales and user engagement.

One example you can point to is online retailer Zappos’s experience. The site has “…obtained increases of 6 to 30% in conversions …for products that use video.” Check out the full article here. Be sure to read the article detailing Zappos strategy in using video to sell more products and take a look at one of Zappos’s videos here (courtesy, Zappos.com):

I would also suggest arming yourself with these facts and include these others when talking to the higher-ups:

  • For those who like stats: Direct them to this site and this one that show just how much video is on the rise. There are many other similar articles that state the same thing. Video is becoming more ubiquitous as a means of engaging. According to a recent HubSpot post, even mobile video is expected to increase, reaching 54.6 million viewers this year!
  • For those who prefer ease-of-use: Take them to mailVU.com and let them try the free video mail service. It really is as easy as Click, Record, Send. Your managers will see that it doesn’t take a lot to get started with a video marketing campaign. As a matter of fact, you can create a campaign in an afternoon. mailVU’s Business Plan will let you embed any video onto your website. Does your manager have an iPhone or iPad? Show them how easy it is to use our app.
  • For those who want video, but really don’t want the clutter on YouTube: After putting in the effort to create a stellar email marketing campaign, your company might want something a little more elegant than a hosting platform that will surround your recording with Justin Bieber and cute puppy videos – or worse, videos from your competitors! As good as YouTube is for reaching masses of people, sometimes your business wants to only reach an exclusive group and have them focus only on your message. Embedding mailVU videos on your company website gives you complete control over which videos can be seen. You can design the web page so your business branding surrounds the video (not YouTube). The Business Plan also includes a video testimonial widget that allows you to collect product reviews to place on your website. Since your company is also (hopefully) using social media, you may include buttons to your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages or HTML links to your website in the footers of your video messages.

Looking for more ways to use video? See our 101 Ways to Use Video article. It offers a lot of ideas to get started. Every business can benefit from adding video to their marketing strategy. If your company sells products online, video will increase user engagement and the likelihood of purchase.

mailVU’s affordable online video platform is a great tool to increase sales! Got further questions? Contact us at info@mailVU.com.

-Kamilla

Posted in iPhone/iPad video email app, Testimonial Video Widget, Video Email App for iPhone, Video Email for Business, Video Mail, Video Marketing, Video Testimonial | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Video Drives Sales for Toys R Us and Cuisinart

Posted on January 4, 2012 by kwyatt

Today, I’d like to share a real-life example of how product videos helped me decide to make a purchase.

Gather around, here’s my story:

Three days before I was scheduled to return to my home state for Christmas and I was trolling the Internet trying to track down a gift for one of my nieces. (Yep, three days before I was supposed to leave. Life on the edge, I know.)

I had an idea what I wanted to get her. See, she likes to write, just like me, so I’d planned to get her a password journal; unlike regular diaries and journals, it would only open to the sound of her voice. I cruised Toys R Us online where the potential gift was listed.

Like most websites, there were a few pictures of the potential gift and – lo and behold – video! Yes, Toys R Us had gotten my mental memos! Right on their site was an embedded video with little girls showing how to use the item. I didn’t have to leave the site to try to find a video, it was right there for me.

Another company that uses video in a helpful way – Cuisinart. I got a shiny set of cookware as a gift and when I went to register it, there were several how-to videos for kitchen items. I spent 10 minutes learning to use Cuisinart appliances! I’ll be adding a couple of them to my culinary arsenal.

Do people decide to buy after spending time on your business’s website? According to Internet Retailer’s April 2010 report, consumers who watch product videos are 85% more likely to buy products compared to those who do not watch. Consumers also spend 9% more time viewing a page with embedded video compared to when no video is present. It’s no wonder than online retailers are rapidly implementing video marketing!

A new year is upon us. Isn’t it time to get your business onboard with video marketing? We make it incredibly easy to record, embed, and distribute videos with your company’s logo and colors.

With mailVU’s Business Plan you can:

  • Embed videos on your site
  •  Send video as email with links to your social media sites
  •  Record video testimonials and video product reviews from customers
  •  Send video mail thank you messages

Toys R Us and Cuisinart provide great examples of how to use video to increase online sales. Contact us at info@mailVU.com to learn how we can help your business do the same!

-Kamilla

Posted in Video Email for Business, Video Mail, Video Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

101 Ways to Use Video Messaging

Posted on December 31, 2011 by kwyatt

It’s a brand new year and time to jump-start your marketing and advertising with video! Are you a video newbie? It’s become more ubiquitous, but luckily it’s easy to use.

Use mailVU in your professional endeavors. Inexpensively video market your business, surround your messages with your company’s logo and colors and get ahead of the competition! Take a look at our list of ways your business can benefit from adding video:

Are you in real estate? Show off a property’s best attributes in a video message.

1. Answer questions about a piece of property in a video message. If someone wants to know how much space is between their future new home and a neighbor’s, show them!

2. Use video to scout new locations for a franchise.

3. Keep track of renovations and construction progress.

4. Looking for work? Send a video introduction to a potential employer. After the interview, send a video thank you.

5. Event planners: show off a venue for a special event.

6. Create targeted, personalized video email marketing campaigns.

7. Show your customers how to use your products. Explain why you’re better than the competition.

8. Collect video testimonials from your business’s evangelists, right from your website.

9. Demonstrate the products your business offers.

10. Create a video wall.

11. Did your company commit an embarrassing faux pas? Make a sincere apology in video. People will find you more believable if they can see and hear you.

12. Upload professional video of your products to distribute in video email marketing campaigns.

13. Do you sell online? Add video to your web offerings!

14. Do you have antique items you want to sell and need a way to show their best attributes? Do a 360-view video message of the items and send them to buyers!

15. Increase appointments and sales by using video as a unique replacement for traditional ‘cold calls.’ Video definitely gets attention and gets you more leads!

16. Record GoToMeeting events for later viewings.

17. Tweet and Facebook your video links for maximum reach.

18. Answer customer service questions with a video mail. Your customers will really know you care!

19. Use mailVU’s Private Label option for your business video messages.

20. Embed video blogs onto your website. Video helps with SEO!

21. Offer video FAQs.

22. Run a video contest!

23. Offer a video to onboard new employees.

24. Use video to offer training for newbies and seasoned workers.

25. Hold a virtual audition for dancers, singers and other entertainers. Have them send you private video messages from mailVU demonstrating their talent.

Planning to attend a trade show? Use video to differentiate your business!

26. Send video email to let attendees know where your booth will be during the show.

27. After the trade show is over and everyone’s gone home, send a video message to reconnect with prospects and keep your business at the top of people’s minds.

28. Are you a virtual assistant? Send a video introduction to your new client and …

29. … use it to communicate with your employer face to face.

30. Businesses may use mailVU to send private communication and never worry about links that can be passed around the Internet (simply set the number of views or days the message will be available.)

31. Sent a video, but forgot to set the self-destruct options? Recall it at will! It will no longer be available.

Do you run a restaurant? There are many ways to incorporate video into your marketing arsenal!

32. Show off some of your signature or new dishes to customers in a video on your website.

33. Place a video on your site showcasing the restaurants décor.

34. Use our service to introduce your chefs and staff. Instead of text bios and a picture, let your staff’s personalities shine in a video.

35. Use video testimonials of your best customers raving about your dishes!

36. Share video of your favorite recipes on your site.

Are you a public relations pro? Video offers a different way to stand out.

37. Instead of a text presser, send a video release to get attention!

38. Send a video email introducing yourself to journalists you want to work with.

Run a car dealership? Think about including virtual test drives with video!

39. Use it to also show off a car’s assets or compare different makes and models for a customer.

What about hairstylists and makeup artists? Being among the most valuable people on the planet, of course you should include video too!

40. Shoot video demonstrating the latest healthy hair techniques. Add it to your website!

41. Send video introductions to new customers.

42. Take video of yourself doing skills-heavy hairstyling processes like coloring and cuts. Add these to your website and/or send as video mail.

43. Use video to show off your salon and the people who make it run smoothly!

44. Create videos of the best makeup looks for fall, spring, summer and winter.

45. Create videos that offer tips on the best ways to apply makeup.

Want a new way to boost your non-profit? Video can help with donations, training and thank yous!

46.  Use video to appeal to people from whom you’re seeking donations.

47. Videos can be created and sent to train volunteers.

48. Send video introductions to new and potential volunteers.

49. Thank outstanding volunteers and donors in video! It’s more intimate and personal than a form email or letter.

50. Want to use video for your religious organization? It’s easy to send recordings of sermons, prayers, programs or announcements.

51. Send video to parishioners who haven’t been to church in a while. You can show some of the new things they’ve missed.

For physicians and physicians’ offices, video makes for a great communication’s tool – Make contact with first-time patients through video mail. They’ll be able to put a face to a name before coming to your practice.

52. Check in on patients between follow-up appointments.

53. Include video of your office staff on your website for potential patients to view.

54. Send video mail ‘appointment reminders’ if you can’t reach patients by phone.

Communicate with students/ parents/ faculty through personal video messages at your school or university:

55. Let students send video essays in lieu of written ones.

56. Use video to market your school’s students to potential employer.

57. Reach out to alumni with a video.

58. Allow students to send video resumes to employers

59. Use video for inter-office/inter-departmental communications among staff.

60. Students: Use mailVU’s iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch app to record lectures. No more scrambling to take notes!

61. Students can send video pleas back home to mom and dad for more money. (If you look pathetic enough, you might get it! A phone call can’t convey puppy-dog eyes!)

62. Use video to enhance online classes.

63. Practice language skills with students in and outside the classroom.

64. Work on reading exercises.

65. Get help with homework in all subjects. Tutors and teachers may demonstrate how to tackle complex problems in video and send them out.

Looking for a way to boost your travel marketing and communication? – People will love seeing exactly where they might be spending their time away from home – whether business or pleasure.

66. Take video of popular destinations or upload professional recordings to share with traveling clients.

67. Hotels can virtually show off their different rooms…

68. … and let their staffs give video introductions…

69. … then they can show and tell about what makes the hotel special. Spas, heated pools, exercise rooms – let the video impress!

70. Site-seeing tour guides can use video to offer sneak peeks of their destinations

71. Want vacationers to see a cruise ship before they embark? Let them see the vessel they’ll be housed on during their trip.

72. Travel agents can use video to connect with clients on a more personal level.

73. Have clients who had a great trip? Include their video testimonials on your travel site!

Special events, holidays, gatherings or just your day-to-day activities; there are endless ways to use video in your personal life.

74. Make a video scrapbook – Your vacation, your children’s best moments – the possibilities are endless!

75. Send a video mail ‘hello’ to far off friends and family when you can’t get together to Skype.

76. Practice your speaking skills.

77. Check your hair and makeup before you begin recording!

78. Check on elderly relatives or friends. Send them a video message and have them send one back to you.

79. Try on clothes and get your friends’ opinions! Send them video from your mailVU iPhone/iPad app.

80. Send videos of the kids’ recitals to their grandparents.

81. Is your child finally walking and talking? Get it on video and email it to everyone!

82. Did you get a great gift from someone far away? Let them know you got it and thank them profusely in a video message!

83. Is your pet doing something cute? Get him on video!

84. Send a video Valentine to a secret crush.

85. Can’t be with loved ones for the holidays? Send a video greeting!

86. Record your birthday party invitations – have the recipients RSVP in a video back to you.

87. Record a video tour of a new city you’re visiting.

88. Had a minor fender-bender? Take out your iPhone and get video of the damages.

89. Mom or Dad, are you away on business? Use mailVU to record bedtime stories to email to your little ones at home when you can’t be there.

90. Record a quick recipe to share with friends and family.

91. Introduce a new boyfriend or girlfriend to your far off friends and family!

92. Test out your webcam.

93. Demonstrate a quick recipe for a friend.

94. Have a problem with a product? Show the manufacturer in a video email instead of trying to explain in a written message.

95. Play James Bond – let your recipient know the video they are viewing will self-destruct after one viewing.

96. Place a homeless pet by sending playful videos of him to potential pet parents!

97. Show off your dance moves to a friend in video. Ask them to do the same.

98. Practice your singing or acting. Send the video email to a friend and have them critique your performance.

99. Video a perfect sunset using your iPhone or iPad. You can view it whenever you want to relive the memory!

100. Reach out to friends and family serving in the military.

101. Don’t wait to share your fabulous vacation! Take video of interesting sites, people and things to email immediately!

That’s 101 uses and those are just the beginning! We’re curious to know how you use our video messaging/mail service. Let us know here in the comments or at our social media hangouts; Facebook, Twitter or Google+!

- Kamilla

Posted in iPhone/iPad video email app, self-destruct, Video Email App for iPhone, Video Email for Business, Video Mail, Video Marketing, Video Testimonial | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to Make a Video Wall

Posted on December 29, 2011 by mailVU

mailVU’s Business Plan allows you to embed your videos on any website or blog. One great application is to create a video wall like this one:

To create a video wall simply log into your mailVU Business Plan account. Go to your Saved Videos dashboard, select a video you want to use, and click on the Web Embed button. Size the video as desired, copy the HTML code, and paste it into your blog or website’s HTML editor.

Note that since you are embedding the videos onto your own website you control the branding. There are no “recommended” videos from other organizations, no advertisements, and no logos from the video hosting provider. You control the look and feel of the page. Drive traffic to your website, not a hosting site.

Creating a video wall is easy with mailVU’s Business Plan and offers a great way to interact with your audience! You can change the video wall anytime you like, removing old videos and adding new ones. The videos can be webcam recordings, video uploads, or videos made on mailVU’s free iPad/iPhone app. You can even capture other people’s webcam videos from your video recording widget and use those. As long as the videos reside in your mailVU Business Plan account you can embed them at will. Of course you can always send these via video mail if you like. It’s your account. You control when, where, and how your videos are viewed.

Video Walls; one more reason to use mailVU’s Business Plan. Questions? Contact us at info@mailVU.com.

Posted in mailVU Video Email Users, Video Recording Widget | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Create a Custom mailVU Video Email Footer

Posted on December 27, 2011 by mailVU

One of the many features included with a mailVU Free or Business Plan account is the ability to implement custom footers below your video mail. To access the footer area, log into your account, click on My Account, and click on My Profile. On the left side of the screen you will see the Signature text area. Here are three ways to utilize this space:

  1. Whether you’re using a Free or Business Plan account, use this space for your contact information. Include your email address, phone numbers, physical addresses – whatever you like. The information you enter will automatically be added to the footer of all your mailVU video mail. If you enter your website’s URL, it becomes clickable from your video mail. If you have the Business Plan this footer becomes part of your template, which is viewable and clickable on the video landing page.

  1. mailVU Custom Footer

    As a premium function of the Business Plan, the Signature text area accepts HTML. This enables you to insert images into your footer, which can be hyperlinked. In the Business Plan, this image becomes part of your template and is also viewable and clickable on the video landing page. It is a great way to incorporate a clickable horizontal banner below your video emails.

To insert a linkable image in the footer, follow this format:

<a href=”http:// your URL link“><img src=”http:// a link to your image file“></a>

In this example our client DSA inserted a horizontal banner into the footer. When clicked, it takes you to their website. You can do the same with your banner.

  1. mailVU Footer Screen

    Another way to utilize the footer is to include your social media icons. On the right side of the My Profile screen are options to insert these buttons at the bottom of your video mail. This is another premium feature of the Business Plan, allowing you to easily add standard links to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Simply select the social media site from the drop down list and enter the URL for your page. In a previous blog we wrote about Social Media in Successful Email Marketing and how combining the two makes for a powerful marketing campaign. We make this easy to do with the Business Plan.

Be sure to save changes to your profile. Once saved, the changes are immediately available. Send yourself a video mail to see how it looks!

Having the ability to insert contact information and links in your mailVU video email footer makes it easy to implement Calls-to-Action. For instance, you can tell people what you want them to do in the video, and ask them to “click the link below.” Even if you only have the Free account you may still insert URLs in the footer text for people to click.

Are you part of a non-profit looking for a unique way to do fundraising? With the ability to add information to the footer of your videos, mailVU offers an easy way to connect your video messaging campaign to your social media sites. Simply ask viewers to “click on our Facebook (…or Twitter, or LinkedIn or whatever site you use to connect to your audience) link below to donate.”

Questions? Contact us at info@mailVU.com. We’d love to hear from you!

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