Show and Tell, Putting Video to Work

It's the dawning of a new "wireless" video era. Thanks to Apple TV and the iPhone, you can now watch YouTube and other videos, on your widescreen TV, cell phone, or video iPod. This means "home made" video just became a whole lot more popular, viral and important.

The days of watching and listening to what you want, when you want, are rapidly closing upon us. One day soon, children will be asking, "Did they have network TV when you were a kid?"

It's a funny feeling when I can sit on the couch in the living room, and have content streamed to my TV from the computer in the office. If you can put something in iTunes, you can watch it on TV in the next room. All you need is the Apple TV and an Airport Extreme wireless base station.

This means I don't have to sit in front of the computer, to watch and review training videos from content providers. It also means watching less regular TV, and having more "self directed" entertainment.

And it's not just amateurs on YouTube and Google. Video is everywhere. There are hour long comedy acts. All sorts of documentaries, cooking shows, home improvements tips, how things work, and how to make things work type videos.

My favorite has to be accidental infomercial... Indulge me here, and let me entertain you on a short visual journey.

It was a rare moment when I found myself watching a medical show on TV. I spotted a piece of equipment that I'd seen many times before.

I didn't know the trade lingo, but knew it was some kind of an agitator. (Researchers, medical and crime labs often need to agitate solutions.) It's a big piece of gear, where you load up the glass jars and it shakes them as long as you want.

Two things came to mind. This thing looks expensive. And I wonder if there's an affiliate program so I can sell it. I looked it up on Google, and found myself watching several videos on medical lab equipment.

It was just a regular guy, with no acting experience, he simply explained... "This big unit can hold up to a dozen quart sized jars. It comes with different size racks for different sized jars."

"It can heat or cool, plus or minus 1/10 of a degree. The racks are removable, and the walls are made of inert material, so it's easy to clean and sterilize."

He switched it on and closed the door to demonstrate how quiet it was. Then he smiled and said, "It even comes with a built in shipping pallet, so a forklift can move it, wherever you want. It's portable."

Now... if I was in the market for this product, I just learned everything that I needed to know, to make a purchasing decision. What a perfect video... and it lasted less than four minutes.

Do you have product you're trying to sell? Imagine making a short infomercial, to demonstrate its features and benefits.

You could show-off the goods to your prospects and existing customers. You could help people make a purchasing decision and sell a lot more units.

While you're at it, why not start an affiliate program, if you don't already have one? Your affiliates become your sales force and can use the video to extend your market reach, which leads to additional sales and traffic.

Like I said at the beginning, this is the dawning of a new era. Not just video. But wireless video, internet everywhere, and it's always on. So get out that camera... you learned how to do it in kindergarten... it's time for show and tell.