Harness the Viral Power of Video

Thanks to Kimberly Chase of Little Spark Media, for her guest post about how to create more dynamic author videos. See her video interviews for clients Jill Escher and Agatha Hoff.

For the author seeking to publicize his or her work, the social web is a treasure trove of opportunity where people are increasingly looking to visual media to tell stories in a personal way. While this may seem to conflict with the printed page, it’s best to see all the different forms of storytelling we have at our fingertips as working hand-in-hand as we communicate our ideas.

If you’re looking to create a video presence on the web, there are plenty of options in both production and publication. For this entry, we’ll focus on strategy, because that’s where you’ll need to start.

Here are the elements you’ll need to consider:

Who is your target audience? Are they potential readers of your book, or perhaps people who would want to read your material online instead, connecting with you through a blog or social media? Are they young or old, trendy or conservative, gardeners or engineers? This will help you to decide on the approach you take to your video strategy in terms of location, content and publication.

Where do they hang out on the Web? Are they on Facebook? If so, are they your friends? Are they YouTube trawlers or mainstream media patrons? Do they visit your website, and if so how often? While your video should be available on as many platforms as possible, the answers to the above questions will help you decide where to focus. Your primary platform can serve as a base for your content that you can link back to, or if you have time you can post different copies of your video on different sites.

      What is the production value that is appropriate for your content? Are you trying to reach a well-heeled market that will be expecting studio lighting and impeccable sound? Are you in a niche market that will connect with you more if you are at home on a webcam? Or could you connect more effectively by doing videos in a location more relevant to your subject material, like at a horse show for a book on horses, or in a café for a book on coffee?

Spend a few moments on each of these items and stay tuned for our later entries covering both how to produce a video or series on your own and how to choose a producer if you decide you need some help.