Monday 26 November 2018

What Type Of Video to Use for Marketing

There are so many types of video, so which ones should be used for video marketing and when should you use a video production company in Johannesburg to create your video?

While businesses and online marketers are constantly encouraged to make use of video to market themselves, and their businesses, there is often the distinction between professional video and those done on a cell phone as a selfie video. The argument is often between these two types. Many would argue that a video done by a video production company is better than the DIY type of video.Others would argue that because the selfie videos are free to create that they are in fact better. The truth is that both of them can be used to great effect. It is important, though, to know when to use each type.
The reason is that each form of marketing has a different target and a different intention.
If you were marketing your company as a professional operation, the selfie video is a bad idea. If however you wanted to build some hype or want to offer an up to date, latest news sort of marketing then the selfie video can work wonders.
Two woman taking a selfie video for marketing

The distinction often comes between business marketers and affiliate marketers. Affiliate marketers often believe in only using the selfie videos because they are cheap or free so are more helpful. Business marketers often believe only high end corporate video will work. Actually there is a place for both in both scenarios. Some very successful affiliate marketers have realised that once they become successful they can no longer only do the selfie video because they need to show a level of successes to bring in a new audience and and new clientele. In the same way, business owners have realised that there are certain instances where a video production crew is either not available or not appropriate such as at an impromptu celebration or achievement. That is where a cell phone can be pulled out and used to capture the moment.

The distinction should not be between what is cheap vs what is not. It should always be about what type of video is appropriate. Both can be beneficial and both can be effective but only if used correctly.
While video production companies are not marketing companies, their experience with creating video for marketing can give you enormous insight into the right use of video at the right time.
A scene depicting a business meeting for video marketing online.


There are also different ways video can be done with video production companies such as social media clips versus a full production. Video can be embedded or used as a stand alone advert.A video post can work well as an update on the business activities or to announce specials. Each type of video has it's place. There is no one video type that works in all situations, so be sure to know the differences and how to make the best use of them.

It is also important to know where to use videos for marketing and which rules apply to which video  marketing platform. One question many would-be marketers ask is what technical specs apply to video marketing. There are different video codecs such as MP4, AVI and MOV. There are so many different types of video but the best for most marketers is to stick to the most common and most compatible format which is MP4 (H264)with a bit rate of between 4 and 7 Mb/s should work fine. If your video size needs to be limited then you could go below 4 Mb/s but the video quality would begin to degrade. Keep in mind that broadcast video can be as high as 150 Mb/s. So if you intend to advertise using broadcast video the cameras being used must start by recording at 150 Mb/s or above. For online HD video there is no minimum requirement but quality can begin to degrade below 7 Mb/s.

Most importantly the type of video being used should match the platform and the audience correctly. An advert is not an About Us video. It is not a documentary. It is not a bragging video. It is a message which answers a pain point or need of a customer combined with a strong call to action. The purpose of a marketing video is to get people to buy or at least contact your business in some way. If the video does not achieve this then it is not a marketing video. It might be a branding video but it will certainly not bring buyers.

So to the question "What type of video should I use to market my business", the answer is a targeted, effective, appropriate and of the correct size and quality video. This is why it helps to have professional assistance to create great marketing videos.



Friday 23 November 2018

Where to use video for marketing.

Video marketing has been accepted as the go-to for business marketing. Businesses understand the power of video to reach an audience and to bring in new business. So successful businesses have high quality videos made and continually market themselves with it. Where many new comers to online and video marketing get stuck is where to use the video. For most businesses who are inexperienced with marketing with video the process is the same.A video is made and it is put on the company YouTube channel and that's about it. The company then hopes that somehow people will find the video and will watch it.

It is important to understand that the video production is only the first step and that the video is only a tool not a solution in it's self. Once a video is ready it should be used in a number of ways to create multiple streams of potential customers. That means posting the video on as many social media sites as possible and used on paid for advertising platforms.

Before this is done though it is very important to know what the requirements are for the video to work on each platform. The most common mistake is to make a 30 second or even up to 2 or 3 minute video and thinking it is a one size fits all type of video. The problem is that not all advertising platforms have the same rules. Facebook for example only allows a video to be 15 seconds long as an advert. If you want to post a video to Facebook on one of your pages, it can be very long but not as a paid for advert. Each platform has a different set of rules regarding the size length and content of the videos. Make sure to check what the rules are for each.The easiest way to do this is to create an ad campaign on the platforms you want to use. In many cases, you will be able to go all the way to the point of uploading the video where the restrictions will become evident.

What is a good ideas is to make different lengths of video for different audiences. It might be better to make completely different videos for each platform as your targeting will be different on each as well.

Word image showing online marketing including video marketingOnce you have had your beautiful adverts made by a professional video production company and you have established what platforms to use, and what specifications are appropriate, it makes sense to link them all together. This is where the SEO of video comes in and where your video can make a difference, not only to being visible, but also boosting your SEO for Google and all the other social media platforms you use.

The linking can be as simple as having a link to your other platforms in the description of the video when it is posted. It is different when you use the video as a paid for advert as there is no description area but when people click on the video in many advertising platforms, such as Facebook, the viewer can be sent to, for example, your website or landing page.

In some cases there is no linking at all, such as on YouTube adverts, so be sure to have a clear and and strong call to action with a memorable destination for the viewer to go to. Where a lot of video marketers make a mistake is to not know that "pop ups" on YouTube do not work on many environments such as XBOX ONE. The YouTube video will play but there is no ability to see or click on a "pop up" or even to click a link in the description. Annotations have also been removed on YouTube so it is much more difficult to get a viewer to click on a link.

Graph depiciting increase in sales from useing a professional video production to market a businessWith all of this said, your video must be worth viewing.You can go around spreading your video across all platforms but if nobody wants to watch it, you would be wasting your time. Be sure to make your video as high quality and attractive as possible. It is not a good idea to dabble with video production. If it is the first time your company will be making a video, be sure to use a respected video production company and, if possible, get advice from a professional. Local video companies in your areas such as the  video production companies in Johannesburg can walk you through the process and explain the pros and cons to you.This can help you save a lot of money in the short term and provide much greater success with video marketing and the the use of video for marketing in the long run.



Tuesday 13 November 2018

Top three mistakes video marketers make.

Marketing with video and has seen an enormous jump recently and video production companies are working together with marketing companies to produce amazing videos for business marketing.
Video production companies in Johannesburg are moving more and more towards online marketing and away from broadcast video adverts. The problem is that many newcomers are taking short cuts and making bad decisions with video.

In this article I am going to look at some of the most common mistakes businesses make with marketing with video.
It is important to understand that there has been a divide between professional and non professional video creation. Many small time marketers like multi level marketers and affiliate marketers have pushed the message of self filming. This has brought a slew of bad ideas and bad productions.
So lets look at the three top ways that video marketing is being done badly.

Video Marketing mistake number 1:

One size fits all:                                 

With many online marketers there is a sense of video being a grudge purchase. Too many people see video as an obstacle to overcome so they want a fix-all solution that has worked for other people so they can do the same.
This approach has not worked in the off line marketing world and will certainly not work online.
Depiction of video used in a website for video marketing.Just because a video idea works amazingly for one company does not mean it will work for yours.
Simply copying and pasting ideas from one industry to another often falls flat.Even copying an idea within an industry can end badly because many of your potential customers will think you simply copied your competitor which doesn't say good things about your company.
While there are tried and tested techniques such as the flow of the advert, or marketing video, and a good call to action, simply copying a video verbatim is a really bad idea.This is especially the case where you may go the cheap route and make a cheap knock off of a video done by a professional video production company.
The question you should ask is "what is the problem or pain point that your customer has?"  and "how can you speak to that?" This way your message is targeted and way more effective.

Video Marketing mistake number 2:

Viral video

cats in a funny cat viral video.The myth of viral video has probably done some of the most harm to small businesses compared to anything else. Firstly, viral video will not bring more customers. It will simply bring more viewers from which you will probably gain nothing. The classic funny cat videos, can garner multiple millions of viewers and result in zero sales. This is because the entertainment factor is high and the shareability is high but the business message is exceptionally weak or non existent. The only people who make money from viral videos are content creators who post the videos on platforms like YouTube and make money from YouTube's advertising.
An effective video is not a viral video. An effective video targets your potential clients and gets them to follow through with a call to action. The approach of getting as many views as possible and then praying that it converts to sales is a really bad idea. Effective targeted video is what has helped many businesses grow.


Video Marketing mistake number 3:

Poor quality.

While newcomers are always looking for more cost effective ways to market their business, the short cuts have many pitfalls. The all too common mistake is to buy a camera or even worse grab your cell phone and begin shooting. This idea was possibly birthed by the affiliate and multi level marketing industry where personal interaction is gold. This approach can be very effective in a very specific niche. If you want to convince people that you are real and want them to connect to you personally then a shaky cell phone video can work.
Business owner doing a low quality selfie video for online marketing.The problem is that many small business think that this approach translates into business marketing. Nothing could be further from the truth. If your potential clients see you doing that sort of thing, their sense may be that you are a fly-by-night sort of a business and there is no trust whatsoever.
The video work, and overcoming being in front of the camera, can result in damage to your company image instead of boosting it. This is money badly spent and even worse, can damage your company in the eye of the viewer.
There is a place and a time for "low quality" video but it does not work in every situation, especially if you have high paying clients who expect quality, value and trust.


While there are many other mistakes that newcomers make with marketing with video, avoiding these three could make a huge difference for you. It is important to remember that there are no guarantees in marketing of any kind, even video. Many people have seen success with their video marketing but that does not guarantee that it will work for you and your business. That is why it is important to get professional advice when embarking on a video marketing campaign.
Online video marketing can be way more affordable compared to the old way of broadcast advertising but that does not mean that it is cheap, free or guaranteed to bring your business any results. Be sure that you understand your industry and get good solid advice on how to market your business.


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