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  • Writer's pictureJonny White

8. Business orientation videos

Not to be confused with the “workout orientation videos” mentioned earlier, the business orientation videos would be created by our subscribers using a video template and instructions that we create so that their potential consumers can find the videos online and so that those videos will encourage consumers to book on the MINDBODY app.

Anyone with a new-ish smartphone can shoot similar quality video to what was available to professionals ten years ago. MINDBODY subscriber studios, boxes, spas, and gyms could create their own short videos if there were an accepted format and a place for these to live. There is a small barrier to entry for amateurs to create these videos given the conventions of storytelling, photography, and design that exist in commercial video, but a few simple instructions about story, lighting, sound, and content can help any adept smartphone user create a video that’s a heck of a lot better than nothing.

An example will work best to convey the idea: If a CrossFit box was instructed to have the head trainer talk for 55 seconds—roughly half about CrossFit in general then roughly half about their particular box and what to expect—this could serve as the “A-roll” for the video. MINDBODY could provide them with the questions to answer, lighting and sound tips, and ways to stay relaxed and succinct. Then if subscribers were instructed to collect a series of 5-second video clips of eight exercises they do at the gym, this could serve as “B-roll”. Finally, the video could open and close with an image of the outside of their studio so that people can find it easily. Such videos can be assembled on software that comes with most smartphones (for instance, iMovie, Spark Camera, VidLab, and Splice are all free or cheap apps on iPhones that could work).

These videos would be amateurish, but also honest and useful to potential consumers, giving consumers an idea of what to expect and letting them see the head trainer before they show up. I taught digital storytelling to graduate students for five years and I had older adult students with no video experience create videos that were emotionally compelling by following basic instructions about the key components of a short video.

One option would be for MINDBODY to create a 10-minute tutorial for both iPhone and Android users on how to film the necessary shots on one particular app (probably iMovie and KineMaster Pro, respectively), then how to edit the shots together, and how to post to YouTube and let MINDBODY know about their video so we can promote it via hashtags, social media, and later on MINDBODY web. That 10-minute step-by-step video from MINDBODY would provide iPhone screencasts and live footage of a sample video being made, so that subscribers can simply follow step-by-step instructions.

A first version of the initial 10-minute tutorial would take a few days to create, and this minimum viable product could be run as a small trial with a few participants, as a first step on which we can iterate until we’re ready for a larger rollout.

Alternately, another option came up when I discussed this idea informally with Blake Beltram and we thought perhaps MINDBODY could help create the first dozen or several dozen of these videos at MINDBODY One events, to begin iterating on the concept and discovering uses for these videos and best practices for creating them.

Many businesses would like to have a video but lack the confidence that they can do it themselves. Many consumers would like to find a wellness provider but lack the confidence to drop in and check it out. Creating a safe place that celebrates honest, homegrown videos from MINDBODY subscribers could resolve both those issues. This safe place could be a YouTube channel linked to social media, our website, our blog, and eventually these videos could be linked from MINDBODY web and the MINDBODY app.

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