A new video that Nadia Bilchik and I put together focuses on helping manage brands and corporate reputations in the age of YouTube. It is also the focus of a Linkedin group we created called Media Training in the YouTube Age.

We live in a world where everything we do can appear on YouTube even when that is not our intention. Where the goal is maximizing exposure, Nadia and I have found that stretching corporate boundaries and being authentic increase your chances of going viral.  Being over-scripted and staying too on-message can alienate your audience.  But stretching boundaries is no guarantee of success. Sometimes, these performances can produce negative reactions and turn you and your company into a joke.

The same is true for performances that were  never intended for public consumption. How do you effectively connect with your audience and guard against any damage should a videotape of your performance wind up plastered all over YouTube?

Enter Stage Left: Steve Ballmer

Consider a YouTube  video of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer jumping around the stage at a Microsoft event.  It has generated more than 1.8 million hits, over 5,200 comments and is the second most popular search result under the key words: Steve Ballmer. Most of us would die for numbers like that. Or die of embarrassment. It reminds me of Tom Cruise’s acrobatics on Oprah’s couch.

Or take for example the Bank of America manager whose rendition of a U2 song set to Bank of America lyrics at a corporate event generated a half million hits and nearly 800 comments – many like these:

He never dreamed his performance would make it to YouTube and generate the response it did.  He probably wished he had stayed home that day.

Being Mindful

Since you don’t know who is recording, who is posting and how you will be received, you need to be mindful – mindful of your immediate audience and the world beyond as well as your message, your performance, your objectives, and your customers’ perceptions of you.

Nadia and I disagree about the Steve Ballmer video.  I think it is embarrassing.  She believes it shows a different, less stodgy side of the company. One thing seems clear. It was meant to rally troops, not set off a viral storm.  But the impact on the Microsoft brand was negligible. People know Microsoft and know Steve Ballmer.  Few companies and even fewer CEOs can withstand this kind of authenticity. Remember the Howard Dean scream? It derailed his presidential bid. Microsoft is more the exception than the rule.

Audiences want authenticity.  But before embarking on a Steve Ballmer like performance, you need to ask what your customers would find acceptable, funny or disturbing if your performance went viral on YouTube? What risks are you willing to take?   How much exposure can you withstand?  Is your brand strong enough to absorb a negative reaction?

Maybe you should avoid jumping on stage or singing a cover song.  But don’t play it too safe. Hiding behind scripts and message points doesn’t work either.  Audiences want more from presenters, and an unintended audience on YouTube is not afraid to mock or criticize a wooden performance.

And so we must enter any corporate or public setting with the knowledge that our actions may appear for the world to see. Mindfulness allows us to anticipate negative feedback.  Mindfulness helps us to tailor corporate messages to fit the individual who is delivering them. When a rogue video makes its way to YouTube, mindfulness will help protect your brand and in the best case scenario can even enhance it.

Let me get back to you.

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One of the latest victims of a YouTube attack

It’s a debut of sorts for me.  I posted my first video on YouTube.  It’s for a workshop that Nadia Bilchik and I are doing in June called “Media Training in the YouTube Age.”   

We think the timing is right.  Online video is exploding.  Last week, I read on Mashable that  every second  about 33 minutes of video make it to YouTube and that users upload a total of 28,800 hours of video on any given day.  And consider the response of the president of Domino’s Pizza to a disgusting video posted on YouTube by now former employees.  It generated a tremendous amount of discussion about the pizza chain’s online strategy and the impact on its brand.    

In the age of YouTube and citizen journalism, every situation is now a media opportunity.

Call it the YouTube effect, and it’s challenging even well trained, seasoned executives and PR professionals to rethink their approach to media.  The world of network news and newspaper coverage coexists with every person with a video camera, access to the Internet and a point of view or misguided sense of humor. 

YouTube is a double edged sword.  Anyone can use it for promotional purposes or to manage a crisis.  The cost of production, distribution and marketing has dropped dramatically from the time that I started using video way back when.  On the other hand, anyone can post a damaging video attacking your company  as Domino’s experienced.   And anyone can be recorded at any time and later find his or her words and actions all over YouTube with little or no control over the content as political candidate George Allen discovered in 2006.

We are not minimizing the impact of broadcast television.  It’s a powerful medium that can reach millions of people in a single telecast.  And that’s why plenty of media trainers focus on broadcast news.  Rather we believe it’s critical to focus on teaching the basics of YouTube – when to use it (and not to use it), how to use it, and why.  

Understanding YouTube

Both Nadia and I believe many executives and corporate communications departments share some misconceptions about YouTube. Sometimes, the first experience that executives have with YouTube is during a crisis – the break glass in case of emergency approach. That is the worst time to get acquainted with online video.  Other times, companies throw company videos up on YouTube with little regard to the brand.

With little or no experience with the medium, others repurpose broadcast video or try to replicate the “authentic” look of user generated  videos with low production values.  Don’t be mistaken.  Don’t confuse unpolished with authenticity.  

Here are some considerations:

Production values:  While amateur videos gain credibility by looking amateurish, corporate videos do not.   Bad audio and video can undermine your message. You need to consider lighting, microphones, camera work, wardrobe, and location. At the same time, videos shouldn’t appear overproduced or slick and include needless graphics or special effects.  

Platform:  Then there is the computer  itself.  The screen is smaller than most TVs. People can pause and dwell. They have a very intimate relationship with it and the content. And most importantly they can share videos with others.  It’s important to understand what makes something viral or worth searching for.

Presentation:  Finally there is your presentation.  In many ways you are performing, and it’s important to be mindful of body language, eye contact, cadence and tone.

And those are just considerations for video.  Designing your YouTube Channel to reflect your brand is a whole other discussion.

Ultimately, the secret of a good YouTube video, like all social media, is authenticity.  Effective YouTube videos capture the genuine and the personal. A spokesperson can be serious, funny, compassionate or irreverent – but he or she must be real and strike a tone that is appropriate to the situation and the audience.  This is doubly difficult when you need to also communicate a corporate message.

Clearly, it’s complex.  A virtual persona combines the corporate and the personal.  And there is little room for error.  Performances become part of the permanent record.  Done right, a YouTube video can do wonders for a brand as the wildly popular BlendTec videos prove.  But they are also a lost opportunity if you don’t respect the medium and the expectations of your audience.

Ultimately, the key takeaway is don’t let a misunderstanding of the medium get in the way of effective communication.

Let me get back to you.

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