Jan. 14, 2019

This paid piece is sponsored by the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship.

If you own a small business, you’ve probably got a website.

You’re likely using social media.

Maybe you use email marketing.

Do you want to enhance and add versatility to the content you populate to those places?

This is an opportunity for you.

The Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship has added several professional pieces of equipment and has the resources to help you take your content to new heights.

“Sometimes people don’t think about it until after they’ve made a video or podcast, and they realize it looks dim or the audio is muffled or appears to be poor quality. This just enhances your communication and reach and professionalism,” said Thad Giedd, Zeal’s client specialist.

“The level of equipment supports that. And it helps you show variety in your dynamic content instead of always having your home office or storefront as a backdrop.”

It’s all available for Zeal associate members, for the introductory membership level of $99 per month, which includes a variety of other benefits, including access to professional development events and to the Zeal facility during staffed hours, where you can plug in and work, host a meeting or network with other members.

Here’s a look at some of the professional tools available:

• Sony A7s mirrorless full-frame camera
• Tripods
• Wireless microphones
• Wireless lapel mics
• Rode boom microphone attachment
• Professional lighting stands and lighting
• Studio backdrop options
• iPad
• Smartphone/iPad mounts and sticks
• Mevo Plus for 4K video and livestreaming
• Podcast microphones

“Along with our dedicated studio and recording room, we have additional spaces and rooms that can be used as backdrops, including conference rooms, meeting rooms, a purple wall as an open backdrop and other staging areas,” Giedd said. “The studio space has a bookshelf backdrop, a white wall backdrop and a wood paneling backdrop.”

There’s even a device that turns a tablet into a teleprompter and professional audio equipment for holding live events such as book launches, product launches or ribbon-cuttings.

Best of all, Zeal staff will help you set it up and give you tips on how to optimize it for your business.

“We’ve seen quite a bit of interest, especially from people doing promotional pushes or trying to up their content or do higher presence marketing,” Giedd said. “Whatever your industry, you need good presence, something with some frequency. With this, you don’t have to lug equipment around. It’s plug and play. You can stop in, use it and go.”

Chelsea Tracy, owner of Chelsea’s Boutique, has used the media tools for everything from podcasting to video production for multiple businesses and projects.

“It’s been a great add for some of my content needs in both keeping presence as well as adding dynamic elements,” she said, adding that the full-frame camera, microphones and lighting greatly enhanced her production.

“With the access to equipment, the options of staging of the facility and the help from staff, I absolutely love the easy accessibility and setup.”

The equipment also has helped Zeal tenant and board member Mike Vetter, founder of Flywheel, who used it to produce videos showing how his software works. They’re now featured on his business website.

“It worked well and was an effective way to help get our message out,” he said. “Any member can use the video production room or equipment. It’s a great way for us to build content together.”

To learn more about the media equipment at Zeal, click here.

Once content is created, Giedd also helps clients with finalizing it.

“We can help with amateur video and audio editing, and we have connections to help if you want professional transitions or b-roll,” he said. “I can help with how it gets distributed, how to funnel it and how to get a mix on multiple platforms, as well as help with file uploading based on how you plan to distribute the content.”

To learn more about an associate membership, click here or contact Giedd at 605-275-8000 or [email protected].

“The access to this equipment and staff help is definitely a benefit, but I think if that intrigues you, you’re really going to enjoy everything else included with connecting at Zeal,” he said. “It makes you part of a network, puts you in the know and gives you access to a community.”