ProZ.com Profile Video Greetings

A new way to add localized video greetings to your main profile, as well as any Pools you're a member of, has been released today on ProZ.com. This feature is currently in alpha testing.

Try it here:Profile settings> Marketing and promotion > Video greetings

A profile video is an excellent way to introduce yourself to potential clients and colleagues (see tips below). Through video, you’re able to talk about your professional interests as well as demonstrate your language abilities — something very important for an interpreter, for example.

In today’s release, there’s now a way to either drag and drop an existing file on your computer, use your webcam (currently FireFox only), or add a link to a YouTube video.

Please let me know how the process of recording/uploading goes for you, and if you run into any problems. This is an initial release and your help will aid in improving the feature further.

Note: You'll need to upload only .mp4 (mpeg) videos for now. We'll increase support for other formats after this testing period.

Tips for profile video greeting content

1. Keep it short, sweet, and high energy.

• 1 - 2 minutes should be your target length.
• Introduction (10 sec)
• What you do best (20 sec)
• How you got started -- your language story (20-30 sec)
• Closing action you want the viewer to take -- e.g. Shoot me a message (10 sec)
• Talking about your specialties should hopefully make you excited. Let that energy come through while being natural.

2. Dress professionally, clean your background, and have good lighting

• You should be dressed in business casual.
• A simple white or solid color background will work best.
• Make sure you have enough lighting to see your face clearly -- avoiding any harsh shadows.

3. Speak loudly and clearly

• Depending on your microphone, you may need to experiment with how loudly to speak.
• Enunciation is something to remember while speaking. Make sure your words are clear and easy to understand.

4. Preview and check for these things

• Were speaking loudly and clearly enough?
• Were there any unexpected background noises?
• Are your facial expressions natural and easy to see with the video lighting?
• Did you speak fluidly (not too many mistakes or pauses)?

5. Localize your video

The language of your profile videos can be set for your uploaded videos, to be greater targeted for viewers of languages you service. If you've uploaded a video via YouTube, you also have the subtitling capabilities offered there.

Think of your own content and experiment

The above is simply a suggested template. You could brainstorm other ideas to try. The goal is to provide you a more personal way to visually show someone who you are, why you're good at what you do, and what they would benefit from by hiring you. Whatever gets that point across, feel free to try it!

Other ideas:

• Show your workspace -- give a "behind the scenes" type feeling to how you work.
• Upload a screencast -- Create slides and narrate them. Or record your screen while you work with your favorite tools.
• Client testimonials -- Reach out to your clients to see if any of them would like to do a Skype recording with you to talk about how you helped in their last project. If you get a few, put them all together for a great roundup video.

Get inspired by this great example

 The following video (added by Fi2 n Co) is an excellent example of the type of video you could use to greet your profile visitors. There's a nice blend of individuality and character, as well as an introduction into the professional areas of expertise – introduced in a way that is very engaging.

And here's Fi2 n Co's 2022 profile video:

Other great tips in this short tutorial

Fi2 n Co also created this helpful tutorial video to help others produce a simple yet attractive profile video greeting.

Other ideas?

Share your thoughts about video ideas or about this feature in general in the comments. If you upload a video, come back and share the link to your profile here for others to learn from.