flyte blog: small business web marketing blog: Animoto

If your small business has some nice visuals (think scenic views, jewelry, art, beautiful people, etc., etc.,) and you've been looking for an interesting way to display it online, you might want to check out Animoto.

I first heard about Animoto in an article I read in Entrepreneur magazine last month and began playing around with it right away. It's addicting to say the least.

What Animoto does is create slick slide shows set to music with great transitions. While there is a free version, it just too limiting to be of any use to a business. By upgrading to a paid account you can have videos of any length, have DVD-quality images, upload your own music, and include a clickable call-to-action. (For example, a resort could end it's slide show with a "Book Your Room Now!" link to the reservations page on their site.)

Once you've established your account you can easily create a slide show by clicking on "create video" near the top of every page. After that it's a three-step process.

Images: You can upload images from your computer or another Web site like Flickr. Once they're on the Animoto site you can rearrange the order, add text, delete or even spotlight certain key photos. Once you're happy with the organization click continue.

Sound: You can choose from Animoto's royalty-free library that includes a number of genres such as hip-hop, classical, independent rock and more. You can also upload your own music, but be aware of any copyrights you might be infringing on. In other words, dropping that Zeppelin track on your slide show may get you a call from an attorney.

Once you've selected the appropriate music it's time to render your video.

Render: If you have the business account you'll be able to add a call-to-action button at the end of your video. You'll also be able to change the image pacing of your video (although just 1/2 speed or 2x speed) and choose a cover screen. Once that's done Animoto gets to work.

A few minutes later (or even a few hours, if there are a lot of photos), you'll get an email that your video is ready for viewing. This is a lower-res version. If you like what you see you can download a DVD-Quality version. If you'd like to have the Animoto engine try again you can "remix" your video.

You can choose one-click remix, which will just give you different transitions, or go back in and tweak the order of photos, text, and choose a different song.

For small businesses looking to break through the clutter and grab a visitor's attention, Animoto might be just what you need.

Below is the video I created for Portland Motor Club based on my trip to an open house they had a few weeks back.

If you can't see the movie here, check it out on YouTube. Keep in mind that the DVD-quality is somewhat diminished when rendered through YouTube's system.