I recently wrote a guest post on Laura Roeder’s blog entitled Why Your Video Shouldn’t Look Like a Hollywood Production – Go Have Fun Creating Video.

In it I stated: One of the biggest benefits of video is its ability to engage with your audience – prospects and clients alike. Even if you are only the narrator, without appearing on camera, the video creates the illusion of being in the same room with a presenter, even though people know you are actually on film or tape. It still provides the feeling that they are interacting with you personally. The real you. Being real and natural is a great way to engender trust, which helps convert prospects into clients.  You can read the entire post here

There is still a place for a big budget Madison Avenue or Hollywood production, maybe that’s just not needed in your videos.

Jane's latest addition to her shoe collection

Ask most gals and they will admit that shoes are a kind of addiction. There’s Carrie Bradshaw cooing “hello lover” to a pair of Manolos she’s coveting.  I still chuckle at the day my boss compared me to the legendary shoe collector Emelda Marcos, the Philippine 1st lady who embezzled millions of the country’s wealth on her well publicized collection reported to have been in the thousands of pairs. I really couldn’t compete with Mrs. Marcos who was upset that reporters misrepresented her collection. She stated:

“I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty.”

The thing about shoes is that unlike other apparel, men notice and they often comment on them. According to shoe mega retailer Zappos, shoe videos get customer’s to notice and act. They sell more merchandise when a product is accompanied by video demos-  6-30% more sales.

This inspired Zappos to produce videos, in their case they committed to make 50,000 product videos.

Increased sales conversions are just one of the many benefits of video marketing, across all industries.  Are you using video? I would love to know how you are using video in your business.

Just for the record. These days my shoe collection consist of lovely 2 inch miniatures like the ones pictured here. Thanks Kathy for the lovely leopard and jeweled one; I just wish it was my size!

He is also presenting at the Gamification Summit in SF on January 20 and 21st http://gsummit.com

If you are not familiar with Gamification, here is a description from Wikipedia:

Gamification is the use of game play mechanics for non-game applications (also known as “funware“), particularly consumer-oriented web and mobile sites, in order to encourage people to adopt the applications. It also strives to encourage users to engage in desired behaviors in connection with the applications.Gamification works by making technology more engaging, and by encouraging desired behaviors, taking advantage of humans’ psychological predisposition to engage in gaming. The technique can encourage people to perform chores that they ordinarily consider boring, such as completing surveys, shopping, or reading web sites.

Lee Iacocca once stated: “The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.”  I concur, as long as you think of committing to paper being either words or visual representations.

I have enjoyed creating vision boards. It’s become a social ritual with my friend and colleague Jackie who runs 360 Engagement; we talk about our goals as we comb through magazines looking for visual representations of them, all the while dishing on the latest fashion or celebrity featured on the covers.

Great fun, but these well intended boards invariably ended up in my closet, never to be seen again.

I’ve used mind mapping tools which are great for laying out all my products and brands. I particularly like Bubbl for its sharp look, and Mindmeister for its ease of use.

Short Treasure Map for my Moozly Concept

The simple one page planning sheet is a great way to think through goals and commit to them by pen; the back of the napkin is a great spontaneous way to capture a burst of creativity but its limited by the small size of the paper, often reduced by a coffee stain or watermark.

My new favorite vision tool is a short treasure map. It’s pretty simple. It suits my learning style and orientation and is an attractive addition to the bulletin board that spans my entire office wall behind my computer.

So Jackie, my vision board buddy, this year I am going to be saying goodbye to the vision board in favor of the short treasure map format, so no more magazine surfing with you. How bout we go out for drinks and toast our visions for the coming year?

What are you going to do to make sure your 2011 is your best year yet?

Not sure?  Sign up for a complimentary strategy session.