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Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business

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The era of online video has arrived--now make it work for your business In the last year, the world of online video exploded. Hollywood got into the game, professional actors and writers joined in, and independent producers looked to find their niche. Now, companies are wide awake to the opportunities for product and brand promotion as well as customer engagement. So how do you want to fit into the new online video universe?

The must-have guide, Get Seen by Steve Garfield, the "Paul Revere of video blogging," offers a quick and complete toolkit to get you up to speed on the latest that online video and related media have to offer.

Examines success stories of how companies have used online video Presents a series of plans and tools that businesses can follow as they expand onto the social web Provides clear step by step directions on how to record, edit, and export videos, where to post them, how to build a community around their content, and what to do to increase views by making it go viral If you're ready to take full advantage of online video's many benefits, Get Seen is the one resource you need.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published December 21, 2009

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65 people want to read

About the author

David Meerman Scott

63 books109 followers
Our always-on, Web-driven world has new rules for competing and growing business. Advance planning is out – agile is IN! Those who embrace new ways will be far more successful than those who stay who stay stuck and afraid to change. No one knows more about using the new Real-Time tools and strategies to spread ideas, influence minds and build business than David Meerman Scott. It’s his specialty.

He’s a sales and marketing strategist who has spoken on all seven continents and in 40 countries to audiences of the most respected firms, organizations and associations.

David is author or co-author of ten books - three are international bestsellers. He is best known for The New Rules of Marketing & PR, now in its 6th edition, which has been translated into 29 languages and is a modern business classic with over 400,000 copies sold so far. David also authored Real-Time Marketing & PR, a Wall Street Journal bestseller. He is co-author of Marketing the Moon (with Rich Jurek) and Marketing Lessons from The Grateful Dead (with HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan).

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Steve Garfield.
Author 5 books39 followers
December 5, 2009
This book includes what I've learned about putting video online: how to choose a camera, how to shoot interviews, and where to host. I also have step-by-step guides on how to put video online and how to go live. Also included are stories of how I've put video online and interviews with people who have been successful online.
Profile Image for Mark.
36 reviews1 follower
January 25, 2010
Online video has never been easier to do than now, but if you are new to this medium Steve Garfield is a great guide. Get Seen guides the reader through everything from camera selection, to audio, lighting, editing, uploading and distributing. Throughout the book are useful interviews with established video users and leaders. The writing style is fluid and readily consumable so you will want to dive into trying out what you learn immediately.

Perhaps the extensive coverage is also one of the drawbacks. Although audio and lighting is described throughout as often more important than camera selection, very little space is used on explaining lighting and audio setup. Lighting and audio configuration diagrams are strangely absent, all of which would be helpful to the target audience. However, recommendations of introductory level equipment are discussed.

Editing discussions are primarily Mac oriented so any PC users will likely need to look elsewhere for more detail. Surprisingly I did not notice any mention of the popular Adobe editors either, which run on either Mac or PC.

Get Seen provides a very solid overall introduction and is very much a "how-to" book. Many of sections are specific to certain cameras (i.e. Uploading Flip Video to YouTube). You'll find yourself skimming to the sections that are relevant to your gear and interests, all of which are clearly organized. The book also makes excellent use of online video references - an included electronic (PDF for example) version of book would be handy just so the numerous links cited could be clicked instead of having to type them in manually.

Steve Garfield provides a wealth of information and I particularly appreciated the excellent overviews of the different online services and their different features. Anyone new to the world of online video should read this book to rapidly get up-to-speed on the essentials. Even those who are familiar will learn something new. Either way, this guide will undoubtedly find itself near the top of the reference pile of books on many desks in 2010, filled with tags and notes. Get Seen is a rare find that not only motivates the reader, but gives them steps to accomplish the ideas they formulate as a result of that motivation.
Profile Image for Dane Cobain.
Author 22 books322 followers
June 20, 2014
Get Seen is one of several books in Wiley’s The New Rules of Social Media series, a bunch of high-quality marketing books from the pens of such big names as Kevin Nalts, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. In this particular book, Garfield promises to tell you the “online video secrets to building your business”.

Unfortunately, it just doesn’t deliver on the promise that the other books in the series deliver. If this was published independently then perhaps I wouldn’t have rated it so harshly, but it’s up against some tough competition and it doesn’t stand up as well as you might have hoped.

That said, it may be of interest to a specific sub-set of marketer – the producers and film-makers themselves. See, I work in social media and although I tend to make the recommendations, it’s ultimately a specialist team that carries out the production of the videos. This book is for them – Garfield goes in to immense detail in to his set-up and includes factoids about the types of cameras, microphones and lighting that you might want to consider.

Having said that, there are a couple of saving graces that do make this book worth reading – in particular, it’s worth reading some of the interviews that Garfield carried out during the creation of the book, as there are some great top tips from third parties for you to consider.

As silly as it may sound, the index is also useful – if you’re looking for a reference book for the art of online video, then this is the book for you. If, however, you’re looking for a self-help guide, the type of book that you can read cover to cover and learn how to use video for marketing purposes along the way, you’d be better off reading Beyond Viral by YouTube superstar Kevin Nalts.
Profile Image for Donna.
134 reviews9 followers
April 23, 2010
Decent book for marketing departments or individuals looking to expand into low-cost video production and distribution.
Profile Image for David King.
Author 14 books79 followers
July 9, 2010
Useful book on making video for the web.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

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