Video Score Survey

What is your Video Score?

A lot of professionals know that video can help grow their business, but they don’t know how to harness the power. If that’s you, I bet you’re getting stuck on one of these things:

Are you worried about compliance?
Is the technical part of making professional videos stopping you?
Does writing a good script seem daunting?
Are you afraid you’ll look dumb on camera?

You are not alone. But if you let those fears stop you, there’s no way you can grow your business and save yourself some time by creating videos.

THE FIRST STEP TO GETTING STARTED IS RIGHT HERE: YOUR VIDEO MARKETING REVIEW

We created it to help you discover your video marketing strengths and where you can improve to get the results you want from video.

Be honest with yourself and have fun!

Your Info

First Name

Last Name

Email*

Rate Yourself

I am confident with my on-camera presence and delivery.

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

I know how to write a compelling script that engages my audience and moves them to action.

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Video gear is no problem for me. I have an office full of gadgets and I love using them.

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

When it comes to choosing an outfit for my video record session, I know just what to wear.

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Creating videos that match the brand I’ve worked to build is easy.

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

What experience do you have with video marketing?

None

I've made a few videos on my own DIY

I've hired professionals

What were your results?

Impressive

Discouraging

I didn't set a goal

N/A

Goals

What's going on in your business right now that makes video marketing a priority for you?

What are your goals with video marketing?

Staying connected with my clients

Brand awareness

Establishing myself as an expert

Bringing in new clients

How would creating videos with the help of Idea Decanter help you reach your goals?

Your Work Style

Are you willing to devote 6-10 hours per quarter to create videos needed to reach your marketing goals?

Yes

What's your current sharing strategy?

YouTube

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Other

How often are you sharing content?

Almost every day

Once a week

Once a month

Rarely

Never

How do you feel about marketing

Love it but don't have time

Hasn't given me results

Daunting

Hard to stick to it

What percentage of revenue do you think the average advisory business budgets for marketing?

10%

The investment in video marketing with Idea Kit ranges from $4,000-$36,000 a year. If we mutually agree that Idea Kit would be a good fit for you, are you willing to make this investment to achieve your business goals?

Yes

About company

Idea Decanter began with a core belief in the power of video. When used to connect, video can nurture client relationships and engage prospects. Using Idea Kit, hundreds of financial advisors have watched their practice grow while they’ve saved themselves time. We help you record it once and share it with many.

More Info

Quick links

Awards and Memberships

About company

We offer quality services with the best possible performance and have developed a strong reputation for efficiency and reliability.

Company

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Taylor Hebden

Newest Caller of Shots: Director & Editor

A breakfast and lunch favorite for the hospital crowd at the University of Maryland Medical Center was nearby Colleen’s Café. The omelets arrived quickly and the tuna on rye was always reliable. At age 14, Taylor’s capable hands started juggling plates and pouring coffee refills. But it wasn’t just balance that she learned from that first job waiting tables, it was the same thing anyone who’s taken orders to earn tips knows. “It’s hard, but it forces you to develop social skills,” Taylor remembers. “And if you are good at it, you learn that you can talk to anyone.”

A STEEP CLIMB

Though Taylor loves rock climbing, she’s also climbed her way through a variety of video production jobs. In many of them, she likes to say, she didn’t join creative departments, she was the creative department.

She learned fast-paced studio production and interviewing techniques in a journalism stint at The Real News producing stories on climate justice, police accountability and workers’ rights. And while working for financial investment publisher The Oxford Club, she traveled with “tons” of equipment to shoots in Florida, California, and Vermont, learning how to run a shoot on the go. “Doing all that run and gun stuff and figuring out how to do the audio and the lighting by myself … it was a challenge, but it was fun, too.”

On those shoots, her waitress skills came in handy. She could chat up the talent before an interview and get them comfortable before she started rolling. That ability to connect helps when she’s running Idea Kit remote shoots, too.

Coaching people to read a script from a teleprompter and make it sound personable isn’t easy. Taylor says her goal in record sessions and when she’s editing videos is to always make people look and sound good. “I really like when clients see their video and say, ‘I didn’t think you could make it look that great!’”

DOING SOMETHING THAT MATTERS

Once she had a handle on video production, Taylor took her know-how and started volunteering for a nonprofit program for teens. After school, Baltimore kids could go to Wide Angle Youth Media to learn video production and editing. Taylor saw it as a way to teach them skills they could use in the real world that would help them get into the field and find jobs.

Leaving Baltimore behind, Taylor decided to pack up and move west. But she didn’t leave volunteering behind. At ServeWyoming she now mentors high school and college kids in multi-media production and marketing.

FROM BUSY BALTIMORE TO WIDE-OPEN COLORADO

The list of what she misses about Baltimore is long: the food, the culture, the punk shows, the bars, and the cool factor. Living in Fort Collins, CO has some unexpected benefits though – beyond the obvious hiking (with the dogs, of course!), climbing and snowshoeing. She likes the small community of friends she’s built (even through the pandemic) from the people she’s met. They’re the kind of friends who will make you a meal or give you their guitar. It’s a small-town bonus she wasn’t expecting.

Eric Durkopp

Production Maestro

For Eric, editing a video is a little like conducting a band. Not that he’s speaking from conducting experience, but he’s spent years with his eyes on a band director, following every beat of the baton. Ever since elementary school when his parents said, “Eric, you need to pick an instrument,” he’s been playing his part. First the trumpet (he picked it because it was the loudest instrument he could think of) and then the tuba. Why the tuba? In high school the band only had one tuba player. They needed someone to step up … and though he didn’t know the notes, how to blow or which fingers to use, he was up for the challenge. That’s just the kind of guy Eric is.

Production Maestro

There’s something about editing video that takes Eric back to the band room, but this time he’s up at the podium. As he manipulates clips in a timeline, builds After Effects and weaves in a music bed, he’s creating his own masterpiece with technology.

“When you go from a blank slate to the finished product,” Eric explains, “All the elements together are way more special than they were on their own.”

Just like a tuba solo sounds far different than a well-rehearsed band concert, the final project is way better than the individual clips.

WHERE TECHNOLOGY MEETS CREATIVITY

Eric grew up in the Seattle area where his dad is a retired Boeing engineer and his mom a nurse. The influence of compassion and technology led him to look for a career where he could strike a balance. He wanted creativity and computers. And video production gave him the chance to have both.

Tech runs deep in his family. Eric’s twin brother Michael is in I.T. And when the two of them aren’t at work, they might be collaborating on Michael’s YouTube channel. That’s when he’s not online gaming with his circle of friends. He’d rather be working out a complicated real-time strategy than racking up kills. Get him talking about his favorite games and there’s no doubt that he’s a legit Millennial.

ERIC’S EMPLOYMENT HIGHLIGHT REEL

Before joining the Idea Decanter team, Eric freelanced for a Seattle area law firm shooting and editing interviews, presentations and events. He’s also put in a significant amount of time and energy working for a Data Science Training Company where he created video content and grew their YouTube channel subscribers from 800 to 34,000+. He’s also worked as a freelance editor for Victory Studios in Seattle and got his Bachelor’s in Film & Video from Central Washington University where he first learned how to add “wow” factor to videos.

Angelica Vargas Bozo Duffy

Client Happiness Expert

It’s a statement of pride when someone can say they built something from nothing – but few people have built something like Angelica.

We’re talking about an entire community, from raw land to family homes, with roads, sewer lines, and street signs. With no background in community planning, she whipped up a subdivision in Southern Oregon and made it look easy. It’s that kind of roll-up-your-sleeves and get it done attitude that she brings to Idea Decanter.

ANGELICA’S SOUTH AMERICAN ROOTS

When the Idea Decanter team needs help en español, Angelica is the go-to. She was born in New York to immigrant parents. Raised in a home that cultivated the Bolivian culture, Angelica and grew up speaking Spanish. Her parents instilled in her a love for their culture and food with trips to visit family in Bolivia.

Lately, she’s made those trips with her kids Keagan and Aisling in tow. Both have gone through a Spanish-immersion program at a school where Angelica is a frequent volunteer. Between the classroom and the homework around the dining room table, los niños challenge Angelica to keep her language skills sharp.

FLUENT IN CLIENT HAPPINESS

hen she’s not helping her kids with homework, baking bread, gardening, or cleaning – oh yes, she’s a self-confessed clean freak, leave your shoes at the door! – Angelica’s passion is helping clients.

She once worked for a third party billing company where clients who were struggling or unhappy were sent her way. Loving the challenge, she worked to not just make them happy, but to expand their investment in the company. Angelica will tell you that turning angry clients into happy clients is what makes her tick.

Tracy Shaw

New Media Maven

Tracy is an award-winning journalist who has worked in broadcast, digital, and social media, as well as marketing and business.

As an experienced writer, producer and editor, Tracy specializes in making your message interesting and relatable to real people. The media landscape continues to evolve and thrive on digital platforms, and while that happens, Tracy is your guide through the content creation process. Her goal? To produce the most impactful message for your clients.

FROM BABY BUSINESSWOMAN TO TV NEWS MANAGER

Tracy’s career in journalism started at the ripe old age of 7, when she created her own newspaper, The Waltz Time Journal, that she sold for 50 cents an issue to people in her family’s small midwestern church. She wrote the articles, cut and pasted the “ads,” and marketed her business with a sweet smile and big, innocent, hazel eyes.

Fast forward to college, where Tracy promptly dropped her aspirations of being a lawyer when she stepped into the TV studio at Illinois State University. After a very brief stint in front of the camera, she realized she could be a journalist AND boss people around from the producer chair. Her creative, type A personality had found a home.

“PLEASE STAND BY …”

PALM TREES AND REMOTE SHOOTS

Then, when the universe offered Tracy an opportunity to devote more time to her family AND live in paradise, she jumped at the chance to move to SW Florida. Now you’ll see her in the Idea Kit virtual studio, producing your shoots. Expect her to be bossing you, just like she did her news anchors. But it’s all to make sure your videos are the best they can be.

Never one to relax, she does many hours of volunteer and charity work, while running her own blog and social media brand. That’s when she’s not training for her next marathon!

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Sharon Gottula

CREATIVITY CZAR

If you would’ve asked Sharon Gottula early on what she wanted to be, she would’ve quickly told you, “A Scientist!” The natural curiosity that had her pouring over her Discover magazines eventually lead to her discovery of cameras. Today, she looks through a viewfinder, not a microscope, but loves finding creative ways to tell stories about the complex.

Before getting into video, Sharon spent 20 years as a commercial photographer focusing her talent on everything from portraiture, to architecture and food. You may have seen her work in national and international publications such as Newsweek, Men’s Fitness and Prevention Magazine. For 7 years, Sharon was the marketing director for Image Light Group, Inc. managing the USA marketing needs for Hensel Studiotechnik. Now based in Seattle, she offers a high-energy editing style to videos and photo essays and specializes in telling your story in 2 minutes or less.

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Laura Garfield

WORD WRANGLER

Laura Garfield spent her teenage years idolizing Jane Pauley and Katie Couric. A thirst for learning and a love of writing had her hooked on broadcast journalism – where you didn’t have to know everything except how to ask the right questions. After graduation, Laura landed her first news gig at a tiny TV station in Hastings, Nebraska. Over the span of more than a decade, she worked her way up through stations in Omaha and New Orleans to a position at CBS News in New York and then CNN in Atlanta.

Along the way she has written a book, worked as a foreign correspondent, and has lately been drawn to the emerging possibilities of digital storytelling. Instead of a company relying on a big ad spend, with the Internet, you can be a broadcaster of your own brand. Laura believes that all you need to pull it off is a talented content marketing team (like Idea Decanter!) to help you craft your message.