How Remote Video Interviews Can Add Vibrancy to Your Content

Publishing on the web offers new capabilities to content creators, including new ways to use the creation process itself.

The Skype conversation normally used as research tool for a magazine-style story can be edited for use as engaging media content in the final product.

Google+ Hangout is easy to share with audience members. These video components can be more than an existing part of the process, bringing value to the audience as part of the content experience that appeals to visual and auditory senses.

One great place for video is PandoList, by Amanda Schwab.

Each list has a theme and is a combination of Q&A, video and narrative content. Most videos are shot and edited by Pando’s video team (who uses Final Cut) but Schwab does her remote videos over Skype, as you can see in a video interview with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club. She uses Call Recorder Installer for Apple products to record Skype interviews.

Schwab’s videos capture the personality of the people she interviews.

“It’s one thing to read about someone, but it’s another thing entirely to hear them speak about those same events you may be alluding to in the written component,” she says. “It just enhances the overall experience.”

Google+ Hangouts now offer the On Air feature to all users. Once a Hangout is started and titled, a user can hit “Start Broadcast” to live stream the Hangout to anyone with the link. The live stream can also be embedded into another site or blog (as well as being broadcast on the user’s Google+ page and YouTube channel). It’s a natural fit for interviews with personalities or thought leaders, especially when the audience is invited to participate.

Take a look at this video from PBS NewsHour. It’s the broadcast’s first and was a conversation about Syrian-Americans who were being spied on, a follow-up to a broadcast report. An excerpt from the video was later used in an online series. The social aspect of the Hangout brought engagement, but also drove the editorial product.

Especially as users are using content on various devices and screen sizes, video can ensure the message comes through in a personal and engaging way. The remote video interview is an easy segue for publishers looking for a simple way to add video to their content strategy.