What is a Video Press Release (VPR™)?

A video press release is the marrying of your approved text press release with a user-generated video clip highlighting the key points of your text release. CEOs or C-suite executives usually make the video part. The video should be between 1-5 minutes long.

What to say in the Video Portion of the VPR™?

We suggest the following steps:

1. Salutation, Name, Title

2. Company Name

3. Stock Symbol and where listed if public

4. Highlight key points of Text Press Release (don’t go outside anything not written in the text)

5. Sign Off, Thank you (of some variation), Website, Social Media (I.e, “You can follow us at…”, “Like us on Facebook”)

These are our recommendations, and should be used as a guide.

Announcing the SNN Video Press Release (VPR™) Beta Test Program

 

To request participation in our Beta Test Video Press Release program, you will need to create a log in and fill out some basic company information. You must read and check off acceptance of Terms of Service in order to proceed. We will send you proper credentials upon completion of the sign up form. A confirmation email will be sent to you with instructions on how to contact us when you are ready to start your first VPR™. Once that process has been completed, click on the tab titled, “VPR™ Media Room”

To request participation in our beta program, fill the form here and we will get back with your shortly. After the beta is complete, a paid subscription to upload will be required to keep your log on active and available.

Creating Video Press Releases….

“VPR™ Media Room”

Now head on over to our Video Press Release page. The confirmation email you receive will also go over the instructions on how to contact us for help and support.  At the bottom of this tutorial we have included a video to help walk you through the process.

At the very top you will see an area called “guest” and this is where you sign in, using the credentials we send you via email after you have registered. When you log in for the first time, you will of course have nothing in your media files.

Once you have one Video Press Release loaded, it will appear in the My Media area when you log on. When you have several VPRs, the most recent one will show. To see all of your content, simply click on the “show” button and all your media will be shown in thumbnail format. The image below is a sample of how the page will look once you have logged on.

To create a video, you will need a device that can capture it. The device can be a camcorder, digital camera and even your mobile phone. Once you have captured the video you wanted, transfer it to your computer, and you can edit it using applications like iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.

For video press releases, SNNwire recommends that you use a camcorder that captures your body at half-length. For v-cards, we recommend using a webcam on your computer, and capturing you from shoulders up. Follow the instructions and videos below on how to create and upload a Video Press Release. At the end of this short tutorial you will find some additional recommendations on optimizing and general good practice web video information.

At the very top you will see an area called “guest” and this is where you sign in, using the credentials we send you via email after you have registered. When you log on for the first time, you will of course having nothing in your media files. At this point you can just look around a bit and see how the site functions before you get started.

When ready, go to the “My Media” blue link at the top of the page. This is where all the action takes place for you to upload your media. If you have not logged in yet, you will see a pop window that will allow you to log in.

You may see see a blank area on the screen if nothing is populated yet so pay attention to the upper right hand side as there’s a control that allows you to to “show” or “hide” your content

Once you have one Video Press Releases loaded, they will appear here when you log on. When you have several VPRs, the most recent one will show. To see all of your content, simply click on the “show” button and all your media will be shown in thumbnail format. The image below is a sample of how the page will look once you have logged on.

After you see this opening screen proceed to “My Media” at the top of the site and click. Another screen will open allowing you to begin creating your Video Press Release. Once you have successfully uploaded media you will see your latest Video Press Release by default. For the first time the screen will show blank. This is where we come back to the “show” and “hide” button on the right hand side. Show is enabled by default, so click on “hide” to see your media and to begin. In the upper left hand corner you will see the links to begin.

Use the first link to create a Video Press Release. Now let’s back step a little here on what you need to do to prepare as there are some options available. We recommend that you might want to use local software on your computer to create your video first. If you don’t have a video recording software you can also opt for the Web cam Recording from the site and store your video and match it with the documents later. You can read below at the bottom of this page on the various formats that are available to upload.

Most of what the average user is looking for with formats is covered. If you decide to use the software available at the site you will see the following screen which will search and look for web cams on your computer that are available for use when you choose Web cam Recording.

If you only have a webcam on your computer it will appear and if you have access to more than one device, the options will appear on the drop down menu. Warning, you may see options for scanners and other devices appear here that are not web cams so be sure to select a “real” web cam to begin.

You may also receive this warning asking you to allow access and you need to allow, otherwise you will not be able to record your video.

Now you are ready to begin recording. You can record over and keep trying until you are happy with your results. To begin recording use the “record” button and hit stop when you are done. You will have the opportunity at this point to re-record your video or move forward.

The next screen gives you options. If you are just recording a video to save to publish later, check the box that states this media is not published and do not select a category as you will do that later when you match with your documents. When you check this box, your media is not published and is available for your eyes and viewing only under “My Media”. Again, if you have software that can record videos these steps outlined here are not required and are only if you want to use the software online to record your video.

I have named the video test. We suggest the “Title” be the Headline of your text document that accompanies your video. It is now available for me to use with a Video Press Release. When you look at the image below notice the different icons. One icon represents videos only and the other icon is for the full Video Press Release. In the image below I have 3 videos and 3 Video Press Releases. You media will have a link when you look at the entire listings of all Videos and Video Press Releases.

You can also use the drop down menu to filter and see the full Video Press Releases only. Also if you want to upload your video that you have already created you can do that here as well so you have options.

Let’s move on to the next scenario which is probably going to be the most used format to create your Video Press Releases. We are going to assume that you have your documents and videos prepared and ready to go. Your video content can be a video on your computer or one recorded as we walked through above. This time we are going to create a Video Press Release in it’s entirety. Click on Video Press Release in the left hand corner and that will get you started.

When you create a Video Press Release the first items to be added are your document(s). You can see the formats accepted and can even use a Power Point document to time and have the content change during the video. Select “browse” and find the document on your computer and select it. I’m going to use a simple Word Document sample with my upload here. Be sure to have your logo on the Word Document before uploading as it will be viewed exactly as it appears. Your company approved text press release should have your safe harbor and your logo on the Word Document before uploading as it will be viewed exactly as it appears.

I have my files on my desktop so now I browse to locate the document portion of my press release and select the Word Document.

After I have selected my document, I go to the word “next” to upload, bottom right hand side.

It will take a few moments for the document to upload depending on the size. The next screen that appears will give you options to either upload a video from your computer, or to use the web cam recording you have made prior to this process or any other video you have in your “my media” files. Again if you have your video and documents all on your computer, use the “upload” button.

If you have used the software to record your video to match with your documents, you can select “My Content” and use a keyword to find your video. Be sure to remember the name of your “stored” video as you will need it to locate and match with your document content.

In this case I have two videos with the word “test” in the name and I am presented with 2 to choose from. I can choose any one of the 2 videos to use. Click on the thumbnail of the video you want to use.

The next screen shows which video I have selected and from here I can also change to another video if desired.

If you are uploading a video from your computer, be patient as it takes a short while to upload and even after you add your file information it still may be in process. Sometimes you may not see the Video Press Release immediately so be a little patient and wait a few.

The next screen that appears are your “publishing options” and you want to fill out “all” the information as complete as you can here.

Title, created by and description are the first 3 items and are self explanatory. Under created by you want to be sure and include your company name and your name as well. Video Press Releases can also be searched by Tags so this is important to be complete.

Now going back to when we saw this form before, we chose the “VPR has not bee published” when we created our video using the software online. This time we want to leave it blank as we want to publish this time as we have our documents and videos ready.

Next go to categories and choose the section to where you want your VPR published. As you can see multiple choices are available so if your content relates to move than one category you can choose a couple. Don’t choose all categories or you might quickly become very unpopular around here and get your account suspended.

The last category is for SNNWire related information and basically ignore that category as that is where you will see occasional announcements from us. To make multiple selections, use the “control” key on your keyboard and select the categories.

Last but not least, we want to add some “Tags” to the Video Press Release. Tags index your VPR so use relative one word descriptions, and for this example I chose a few that would relate to a sample VPR, not real creative here for this content but I think you get the picture. The “Tags” will appear in the VPRs to search so make sure you don’t skip this step, important. Normally up to no more than 10 words will do the trick but be sure to add no less than 5 or 6, again this is for your benefit with searching VPRs.

As a short summary and recap, here’s the drill…..

1. The “Title” is your Headline of your company approved text press release (is character count an issue).

2. Under “created by” you want to be sure and include your company name and your name as well.

3. For “Description”, please enter the first 4 lines of your company approved text press release.

4. For “VPR Has Not Been Published” Box, please note the following:

a. If you DO check the box, your Video Press Release will NOT be published for others to see. However, your Video Press Release will be available for your own personal viewing in the “My Media” section, which you are logged in. This gives a chance to view how your VPR will look without it being available for others to see.

b. If you DO NOT check the box, your Video Press Release will be published for public view. By NOT checking the box, your Video Press Release will be available for view from the general public in the “VPR Media Room” in the category (more on categories below) that you have chosen.

2. For “Categories”, you will choose the appropriate sector that most accurately describes your company. There is an option for you to choose multiple Categories as well. This is important because when your VPR is published for others to see, this is where guests to SNNwire will look for your material.

3. For “Tags”, you will choose key words that are applicable to your Video Press release. Video Press Releases can be searched by Tags so this is important to complete. We want to add some “Tags” to the Video Press Release because Tags index your VPR. These “Tags” should not be overlooked because when the VPR gets indexed, the “Tags” or key words will get picked up by search engines, so make sure you don’t skip this important step. Normally, no more than 10 words will do the trick but be sure to add no less than 5 or 6. This is for your benefit with searching VPRs.

Creating Video PowerPoint Press Release

Adding a Power Point Presentation needs a little more configuration here if you have more than one page. When the Video Press Release is fully uploaded, and again be patient as it’s not instant for it to load, you can move the track along the bottom as to when you want the press portion to change. At the bottom you will be able to sync the movements of the slides with the video. Once you are happy with the synchronization of the slides, just save the Video Press Release. A few more details on how this works below:

Here’s a screen shot of how to adjust the Power Point slides so they will change at the time the video is running. This is important if you have more than just one page, otherwise only your first slide will show. Click on Sync Video Slide. You will see all of your slides and can move the arrows in the movie time line as to when you want the slides to change. You can always change the timing by clicking remove and start over again for that slide. Click on the slide you want to set the timing for and then proceed to adding the “tick” or arrow. The arrow will show red until you save it to load in that position in the movie time line.

When you are done, then run the video to make sure you have your slides timed according to the way you want them to appear. Again, when done, click Save. In order to edit your Video Press Release you will need to be signed in and also access the Press Release via the “my media” selection at the top, otherwise the VPR plays as it normally would for any viewer and edits can’t be made at that point.

This is basically how your Video Press Release will look. At any time you can go into “my media” and change details relative to the press release as far as the name, company name, and so forth. In the right hand corner at the bottom is the “full page” icon and to be able to read the press release text use the full screen viewing capability. You can also choose to show or hide the thumbnails as this gives a viewer the option to move head with the text and images.

The tags are under “details” and you also have the option to delete the Video Press Release, see the blue text at the bottom right hand side.

That should about do it and again you have your own files to access, change and update as needed. Watch the video below for full details.

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Optimizing videos

For best audio and video results to work on SNNwire, we recommend the following: SNNwire’s video players are formatted for wide screen (16:9) presentation. Videos captured in standard definition (4:3) are accepted and will be presented with 2 black vertical bars on either side of the video player. For optimum viewing experience, we recommend that the video be captured in web HD (1280×720) or SD (640×480). From there, it is easier to downscale the resolution for web delivery later. In general, the higher the resolution, the better your video will appear.

At the same time, HD videos tend to create larger files and will take a longer time to upload as well as to stream. Bit Rate/ Data rate Bit rates tend to be dependent on CODEC and there is no recommended or minimum value.

SNNwire recommends that you use the “auto” option or “default” when available when encoding your videos. Videos should be optimized for resolution, frame rate and aspect ratio (16:9 vs. 640×480) instead of bit rate. Frame Rate Frame rates are measured by the number of frames per second (fps). For best results, SNNwire recommends that the frame rate be set at 30fps (also 29.97fps) or the same as the original where possible. CODEC H.264, MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 are preferred.

Video length and file size SNNwire.com recommends that the videos be no more than 10 minutes in length or 250MB per video. As bandwidth improves, we hope to accommodate larger files for longer videos.

Audio

Sampling Rate 44.1kHz Channels 2 (stereo) or 1 (mono) CODEC MP3 or AAC preferred Prior to uploading your video to SNNwire.com, please preview your work locally on your computer to make sure that it is to your satisfaction. Once the video is uploaded to SNNwire.com we highly recommend that you preview it online prior to making it “live” on the site. Acceptable video file formats SNNwire.com currently accepts a variety of video files in the following formats.

  • MOV (Quicktime)
  • WMV (Windows Media Video)
  • MP4 (iPod/PSP)
  • FLV/F4V (Adobe Flash Video)
  • M4V (iPod)
  • MPEG

SNNwire recommends formats that are H.264 based as they are highly scalable. The following formats are H.264 based:

  • MOV (Quicktime)
  • MP4 (iPod/PSP)
  • M4V (iPod)

If you are working with a video format that is not listed, there are a variety of transcoders available, both free and paid, that you can use to convert to any of the acceptable formats listed.