Videocasting with moderskeppet.se by Jonas

Blogs have been around for a number of years and an increasing number of corporate blogs seem to be popping up every week (even though the communication agency, JKL, has declared the corporate blog as dead). A corporate blog is something that social communication strategists often advise upon’.

We strongly believe in them because of the interaction, directness and personal voice of a blog. In many cases, corporate entities benefit from having a human voice and a face, both internally and externally. However, the time has come to develop the blog as a communication tool and move into a multimedia communication platform by adding pod- and videocasts.

There are few examples of this, especially on the Swedish market, but many opportunities. One of the more successful videocasters has to be moderskeppet.se, which is delivered by Mattias Karlsson, who offers well instructed and well communicated “how-to” videos of Photoshop. It often concerns topics that are up-to-date (one recent video is about making your own Christmas cards). Logically, Mattias sells instructional DVDs regarding Photoshop on his site. He has been number 1 of the Swedish podcasts on iTunes, so evidently, there is an interest for this and with well executed video- and podcasts, moderskeppet.se has attracted new visitors and probably new customers to the business. This is an outstanding example of how to integrate new technologies in marketing effort by small- and medium sized companies. Since we thought this was really interesting how a small, independent blog can be on the top of iTunes, ahead of big radio shows and other very popular content. Hence, we decided to ask Mattias a couple of questions concerning his videocasts and his blog.

What got you started making instructional videos?
- Long story short: I was planning on writing a book about Photoshop, which expanded into a DVD. I needed to learn the whole process, so I started to make small, focused projects that I could post online. I just finished my first DVD and it contains 85 short videos.

How’s the business going (since you’ve been top rated on iTunes)? Has it provided you with a lot of customers?
- Yeah, it’s been successful. I think my online videos allow people to trust that I can teach them things through distant learning. And, it’s a little surprising since the initial thought behind the free movies was “more casual and less directed�… just as a complement to the more thoroughly written instructional blog posts.

What is the biggest challenge with your videocasts?
- Quality. There are not a lot of competitors in Sweden, but just because of that, I can’t have low ambitions and surrender to low standards. I have a head start since I’ve been teaching for seven years. But the extra effort I make for the quality would have been lost with a bad microphone, lousy recording, editing, presentation and workflow.

What are your future plans for the videocasts?
- This is only the beginning. The next step, if I have the energy, is one new movie a week. I also expect Apple to release a new video-iPod during 2007 with a larger screen. The videocasts will always be a learning experiment, where I can try out new ideas and approaches.

Finally, how important is your blog for your business?
- I could have published a personal website, where I presented myself as a competent teacher, my CV, some work samples and that kind of stuff. But now, I have a website where, every day, I show that I AM a good teacher. It’s more work, obviously, but the difference in response is tenfold. Just a blog alone is not vital for your business – but a blog that offers something to the visitor can create fantastic effects.

Once again we see the importance of execution, its not enough to only have the knowledge or the content. The execution of Mattias business is spot on and that’s what makes it successful.

Many thanks to Mattias for his answers.

Swedish blogs about: , , , , ,

[tags]Photoshop, Podvideo, videocast, moderskeppet.se, blogs, Adobe[/tags]

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December 17, 2006 / 1 Comment.

One Comment

  1. Jonathan replied:

    Well done. It’s a good point that the ability of Mattias to better communicate (blog/videopodcast) what his service is very advantageous. If you don’t have anything to hide, you should be doing exactly this… what a great way to build trust. Brilliant, and best of luck!

    December 18th, 2006 at 9:45 am. Permalink.

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