The Truth about the Cheeseburger Testimonial

The title of this blog post is not about cheeseburgers.  It is about testimonials and how to construct one that is successful.  I apologize if you were looking for something to cure your appetite. I will attempt to give you some juicy, get a napkin, solid advice on constructing a testimonial video without getting your hands dirty.  Whether your goal is to sell more product, get more people to sign up for your services you will need some solid ideas on how to do a testimonial video.
These types videos can be very affective.   I've heard it said that Testimonials are the next best thing to a personal referral.  However,  before we get into the idea that let's talk about how to prepare for a testimonial video.
Although preparing for a testimonial video sounds strange it's very wise for a few reasons.  One if your client giving the testimonial is improvising you will be spending more time than necessary. More importantly you will have missed the goal of creating your masterpiece to begin with.
Have a specific goal in mind.  Do you want people to sign up for more of your services?  Are you trying to regain customer loyalty?  Perhaps you want to let people know you're the answer to their prayers.
Whatever your goal is make sure it's clear so that it fits.
Once you have come up with a specific goal in mind, you can start to interview or prospect for your spokesperson or ambassador to be on camera.  One great idea is to take a customer survey.  This method may reveal who would make a good client testimonial.  Another keen way of approaching the client testimonial is during a customer appreciation event.  This can be very time consuming, but can yield excellent results if done correctly.
Doing a customer testimonial video correctly would include specifics, addressing objections and not faking or being phony.
In your search for the perfect victim, you will want to use someone that is very realistic.  And can mirror what your perfect client looks like.  They should be someone that you customer community relates to.  Do the viewers identify with the client? What happened to the person that is similar to viewer?  This is known as addressing the objections.
A good testimonial will include objections that the client was facing.  Example:  "I'd never tried a garden burger before since I thought they would be tasteless."   This addressed the objection.  The person wouldn't try the garden burger because it would be tasteless.  The real objection here is how apprehensive the person was because they were concerned that they wouldn't be satisfied.  The next portion I would be curious about is what happened?  Did the person try a garden burger? Was it good? Did the person become a vegetarian afterward? Addressing objection will be the driving point to how powerful the testimonial video is.
Being specific is also more credible than being vague.  The client may want to mention how long they have been doing business with you and how it has changed the course of their life.  Did you solve a problem? You will want the person to explain how in details you solved their problem.  Which sounds more compelling?   The bacon double cheeseburger was good after the ball game.  Vs.  The cheeseburger was so delicious with the fresh tomatoes and special mustard,  I ate 3 in one setting, now I take my family here once a week.  Nonetheless it is more powerful if it is more detailed.  The other elements that make the testimonial good would be not to over edit, support the message and don't detract from it, and not to be phony.
Over editing will take away from the rogue style of this type of video.  It's important to keep the grammatical errors in tact.  This will also lend to a credible product.
Credibility in this type of testimony should be a criteria.  Choose real life people, with real life problems that you specifically solved.  In other words don't use phonies.  Don't get an actor to be your spokesperson or your cousin Vinny.  This will ultimately show in the final production.
Supporting the message instead of detracting from it is key to a good testimonial video.  Choose a non-cluttered area so the viewer is only focused on the messenger.  Keep it short,  Good testimonial will be approx 2 minutes in length, at the very longest.  Remember to ask them question before the camera is rolling.  If they come prepared with an idea of what you might ask them, they will be more confident on camera.
A good testimonial video will help encourage people to do business with you.  Especially if it's truthful, the client can relate to the principal subject, and the message is clearly stated.
If you found this helpful, then please drop me a line on FB.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eve-Grey-Productions/160204670749886
 or give me a tweet @eveproducer

What The Heck Does the Producer Do?

I always love the fact that people question my job title.  If you aren't in the business you may be wondering the same question.  What the heck does the producer do?

  I wish there was an easy way to answer this question. Producer's are technically the Architect of the project,  they find the Construction workers who build the house and then make sure the house gets built.

Depending on what capacity of Production, TV vs. Film vs. Video there are different Production Jobs with varying titles.  From Executive Producers to Production Assistants, job descriptions can change drastically.  The smaller the production the more Hats and Tasks the producer will have.   For the use of this blog we will refer to Commercial Production.

People always assume that I'm going to show up with my camera and shoot the commercial.  Not to say that there aren't Camera Operators who are also Producers.  There are a lot of them.  However,  I'm not the one you want shooting your Commercial.  I will hire the one who is best for your budget, who is able to obtain the look that you want to achieve,  and make your life easier in the process.

Why would you hire a Producer if the Camera Guy produces as well?  Why not go through the yellow pages and contact all the Videographers you can,  review all their demo reels, negotiate their pricing after spending 20 hours of discussing your projects birth, conception and delivery of your commercial.

Then after you have wrote your script with the Camera Operator, you can also be sure to do all the scheduling, and hiring the crew, you will have to contract with them and be sure you know all the details of the project.  The producer helps you select your Camera Operator, they are able to communicate with the crew in both the technical terms and then relay the message to you so that you can understand it without going to film school.  The Producer makes your life easier by managing your project for you.  They know the camera people and their skill levels.  They know which Editors are capable of telling  your story with the best skills.  They keep the project on target and ensure deadlines.  The producer looks out for the integrity of the project and has the  Executive Producer (the customer) best interest at all times.

If you hire a production crew to do your Commercial, you are the one with the money and therefore are the boss.  Everyone else works for you including the Producer.  So What the heck does the Producer do? The Producer makes your life easier and ensures that your project is delivered and that you are happy with the results.   You deal with one person and delegate the responsibilities to them.  They in turn will handle the rest.

Making videos can be fun, easy and can get you great results.  If you were going to build a house you would hire a contractor.  Think of a producer as the same. 

My Progress In the Film Industry Oh Crap, I'm an Enrepreneur?

So It's been a while since I wrote on here.  I would love to write in here once a week but hell,  I'm crazy busy!  Just to update my invisible, uncountable audience is reading this: 

1. Changed my website http://www.evegrey.com (it's short like me)
2. Hired an AWESOME Career Coach (advisable) 
3. Been working on a Crazy Promotion called "Tube Zoom" 
4. took in a friend that was homeless.  (it was the right thing to do)

 I really haven't had much time to do the blog (my apologies to those who really read this stuff).  Exciting Update be watching for me!!! doing my own Vlog!  It's so fun to be a WebStar?
Oh and did I mention that I started Dating a Cool Guy Named Matt?  There was two in the running but I'm pickin this little whiper snaper!  Ok TMI!!
I had an amazing conversation with some of the protesters at OccupySD.  I'm intriqued by how intelligent so many of them are,  and How Little the Rest of the World knows about what the movement is about. Okay, enough about that.
I'm so flattered, one of the protestors asked me to advise him on a movie he is doing for a contest at SDSU.  I just know he is going to win the contest!  I'm very excited for him.  If anyone needs some expertise with running their show or production,  I'm more than happy to help out.
I have also re-polished my proposal for "Families of Deployment". 

I am also still teaching myself to work with Final Cut Pro.  However, I met a really cool guy who works for A..... (Hiding Identity) Anyway, he has been showing me some really cool color correction techniques.  FCP is still an A-Whole to me...

Production is cool, it's a ton of work getting started.  I realized I'm an entrepreneur when I started waking up wanting to work!  

A little PR goes a long way...Written by Eve and Maureen of EveGreyProductions

EVEGREYPRODUCTIONS HAS The answer to KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS TUNED IN: Internet Video!

 Recent projections for the Internet is there will be over 2.10 billion Internet users by 2012.  97% of consumers now use online media when researching products and services in their local area.   YouTube (video content only) is the 2^nd largest search engine in the world making video content the hottest item on the internet!  There are more than 1 billion videos watched worldwide everyday!

82% of internet users are familiar with video, 52% of those take an action as a result of that video and 16% of those purchase as a result of that video.  If your company doesn’t have video on your website it is missing out on the most compelling marketing tool of our time.   It only mades sense to offer your clients access to your goods and services via internet video.

CEO Eve Grzadzinski of EveGreyProductions L.L.C., (formerly Co-Producer of the John Kerwin Show and Ashley Olson’s Stunt person), saw a need in San Diego for a full service Videography Company that would allow clients to incorporate Hollywood calibre video into their businesses without spending the money of a Hollywood Production.

Eve accessed her extensive network of film professionals and has a formidable collection of 9 Cinematographers, 4 Editors and 4 Associate Producers to do your bidding.  Her team is experienced and will craft the video that will get your business the internet presence it needs to stay competitive and capture a much larger  market share than businesses not using video marketing.