“I don’t have to say a word to sell my design services,” says Stuart Meade, owner of Meade Septic Design in Goshen, Indiana. “My educational videos do the job for me.”

The success of those videos led Meade to present “How to Promote Your Business With Video” at the 2017 Indiana Onsite Wastewater Professionals Association conference. “Content is everything, but it can be hard because viewers want to be entertained and receive valuable, relevant information,” he says. “Occasionally valuable information means giving away something profitable.”

Meade’s webpage on “How to Install Your Own Septic System” is an example of giving something away. “It upset installers, some of whom even sent hate emails,” he says. “We know people who operate heavy equipment will do it anyway, so my objective was to help them install correctly and safely.”

Meade allocates three days to produce a video, but he is always working on developing potential ideas. He makes notes on topics to cover and shots to get, including b-roll, the extra video overlaying the audio. He usually has a camera in the truck to shoot secondary footage.

When a new project is ripe in his mind, Meade spends the first day writing the script from his notes and determining where to shoot and how to do it. Day 2 is the shoot. “A shovel is my helper,” he says. “I stick it in the ground and pre-focus on it using multiple cameras on tripods. After 20 takes, I’m comfortable enough to be myself, which is important.”

Meade wears a wireless microphone clipped to his collar for professional-grade audio. “A video camera’s built-in microphone is not going to pick up sound from 15 or 20 feet away, especially on windy days,” he says.

Day 3 is postproduction. “When editing, keep videos short and succinct with simple transitions between clips,” Meade says. “If you had to shoot in wind, do a voice-over using a quality microphone. Furthermore, don’t drown out the narrative with a music track, a common mistake.”

According to Meade, doing everything right the first time is important because taking down videos for additional editing deletes the view counter and comments. “Allow comments, because they engage viewers and help video ranking,” he says. “And reply promptly.”

New technologies such as steady cams and slider camera tracks have increased video sophistication, and viewers now expect high-quality video. To keep up, Meade purchased a separate gyroscope stabilizer for the camera, enabling him to shoot steady shots while walking around.

See Meade’s most popular YouTube video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAGEuk3RgHg

To read more about Meade Septic Design, read the profile story in the June issue of Onsite Installer.