The Kind Of Video You Should Be Using For Social Media.

There is so much video being used and so much confusion as to what video to use for social media. Many video production companies are producing tons of high quality video for marketing but are they effective marketing tools on social media? Its time to look at what video should be used and when, with social media marketing.

Before we look at the problems we need firstly to define social media. This basic step is often overlooked and is part of the problem. Firstly not all social media is made equal. Different social media requires different video. You can not post a video to YouTube and think that it is the same as twitter or Facebook. Some social media platforms don't even allow for posting videos. So it is important to know which ones do. There is also a different audience on each platform so its important to know the demographics of your client base and which social media platforms match that audience. It makes no sense to have a huge reach to an audience that has no interest in your product or service.
Many businesses, due to their lack of knowledge about social media, get suckered into the notion that to stay relevant they have to reach out to a young and connected audience. Although the temptation is always there to try to be hip and in touch, if they are not your client demographic or potential buyers, they are not relevant. Be relevant to your actual client base.

Each social media platform also has its own limit on size of video.This means bit rate and quality as well as length of video can be critical. So many companies make one video which they think can simply be plastered on all networks, not knowing that this is impractical. The video production companies in Johannesburg and around the world are only too happy to make these videos but the audiences will also respond differently to the same video on different platforms so the prodcution companies need to create ones that are appropriate.

One of the main causes of incorrect video usage on social media is self indulgence. Way too many companies will spend 3 to 7 minutes talking about themselves as if they are some super star who everyone is interested in. Reality check...You are not and they are not interested. A hard pill to swallow but if you don't break the cycle of self indulgent marketing, your businesses marketing will be feeble at best. The world today is filled with people who are only interested in what benefits them. They will not even watch 30 seconds of a rant about how amazing your company is. Video productions should be 100% about what benefits the client and not your business. The video is not only about getting the message to the client about how your company can benefit them but the video itself must be a benefit. This part is hard for many to comprehend because they never look from the buyers point of view, only from their own. Many corporate video production companies Johannesburg put together fantastic videos that are technically amazing and visually appealing but are of absolutely no benefit to the clients marketing strategy. The client is happy because their ego is stroked with the pretty video and the video production company is happy because they get paid whether the video brings new clients or not.

What video production companies should be doing is pointing out what video is most appropriate for which social media platform and how to use it. A video that provides value to potential clients is what should be used  on YouTube such as a "how to" video or some sort of free advice. This is of great value to the potential client and will draw them in willingly. On platforms that only allow for short small , videos where the viewers attention span is short a video that is either entertaining or provocative and very sharable is what should be used. When a company is putting together their web site a completely different video is needed. There are two types, the one being an "about us" video which goes on the about us page of the website and a "reason why" the client should use the business service or product video should be on the landing page. These can be hosted on YouTube or Vimeo and embedded on the web pages. These videos however will do nothing to bring in a new audience or potential clients but work well to close the deal with a person who has already landed on the website.
To draw in a new audience or potential buyers you need to go where they are.

While it makes sense to use professional corporate video production companies to make your range of videos, it is not their responsibility to know where to use them. That is either yours, or your marketing companies responsibility. There should be a clear communication between your marketing department and the video production companies to ensure the video is appropriate and targeted for the correct audience and social media platform.

For example a simple Happy Easter video can be as short as 5 seconds, to simply target existing clients. Like the video below.

This video will not bring in new clients and will do nothing for social media marketing but can be good for staying in the clients minds for future business.
Some simple inspiring short video clips can also work really well on many platforms. As long as it is short, interesting and sharable, then you stand a good chance of getting some decent exposure but its import to to keep testing to see which ones are responded to best and which ones bring in the most traffic. There is no silver bullet when it comes to video productions and their use on social media but these simple guidelines can make a huge difference to the effectiveness of the video and of the marketing on social media platforms.
When going through a list of production companies in Johannesburg, the production companies in Gauteng should offer you a range of video lengths and formats to be used on a range of social media platforms.

Do you really need video for your online marketing?

It has become an accepted norm that all businesses need video for their online marketing but have you stopped to question if that's true for you and your business?
If you were to advertise in a newspaper or magazine in the past you would first look at the demographics of the readers and see if they fit with your client base. While video marketing has very precise demographics on many platforms that can help to make your marketing decisions easier, there still seems to be a one size fits all mentality when it comes to video for business. If your business is B2C, in other words your customers are the public as opposed to B2B where your clients are other businesses, then video marketing can work very well and on many different platforms.Its simply a matter of choosing wisely to target the right market. Where it often gets confusing is when B2B businesses try to market to their potential clients. There is much more to be thought about.


Firstly the video itself is not marketing. It is strange to see so many companies who spend a fortune on a high end video for their company and simply stick it on YouTube and hope for the best. It makes absolutely no sense to think the video, as beautiful as it may be, will just bring in viewers and new clients based purely on how great the video is. To place it in context, if you made a print advert which was beautifully designed and aesthetically pleasing, you would still know that the advert itself does nothing to bring in an audience or clients.You would use that advert in many targeted publications to attract attention and you would know that it would require some repetition before it would really have an effect. Somehow that instinctive behaviour and clear understanding of how marketing works suddenly goes out the window when a video is made. It is very important to understand that video is not marketing, in the same way that an original draft print of an advert is not marketing until it is used correctly.Also keep in mind that video production companies are not marketing companies.

Part of the reason why this confusion happens is that a marketing company will ask thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars for a marketing campaign which includes a video. The many small businesses who cant afford that kind of expense turn to video production companies who will make a great video for a few hundred dollars. If you are very skilled at online marketing, then going to a video production company makes sense because you would have the video made and then you would use it correctly with online platforms to spread your message and advertise to new customers. This would bypass the expense of the marketing company. However if you have no skills in marketing then simply making a video can be completely pointless. Would you go to a local print shop, have a print advert made up and then sit back thinking the calls would roll in.Of course not. The problem for many small businesses is their false belief in what YouTube does. Many small business owners hear it being said "You should have a YouTube video, when that goes viral you will have millions of customers". This is a completely misinformed point of view.

Firstly most videos that go viral do so because they end up being promoted in some way by a person or YouTube channel that already has an enormous audience. In the same way that a radio station or TV station would have a huge audience that they would sell off to advertisers, so YouTube channels would either promote for money or because they like the video. If your video is mind glowingly funny or cute or have some wow factor, and you managed to get the right person to see it then maybe you stand a small chance of that approach working. Remember though that your video has to be more exciting than puppies, kittens, explosions, crashes and beautiful people combined to stand a small chance. More than likely you are simply going to have to pay someone to promote your advert video. If that's the case you are going to have to spend some time making sure you are hitting the right audience so that your money is well spent.

The burden placed on small video production companies to provide your company with millions of new customers is just ridiculous. They cant do it and if they can it's because they have marketing information and skills that they will charge you for just like a marketing company would. There is no short cut to fame and there is no short cut to marketing. The many online services, and ease of use of video, have absolutely improved the ability of small businesses to market more affordably and effectively but that does not mean that the marketing happens on its own and without spending any money on marketing.

Once you let go of the silly notion that marketing is now easy and cheap, you will begin to build a genuine marketing strategy to fit your business. It can also be helpful to test the waters in many online platforms to see which one brings you the best response.Don't put all your eggs in one basket and hope for the best. Test, test and test some more. When you find the right audience and the right platform the magic can begin.

Many video production companies Pretoria based and video production companies around the world have expressed their frustration at the unrealistic burden placed on them. Many have tried to create the facade that they are marketing companies in order to attract these unrealistic clients. This however can end badly as the unrealistic expectations come home to roost and the video production companies in Johannesburg and all around the world then have to fulfil those expectations.Some production companies in Johannesburg genuinely are marketing companies but they can be hard to distinguish from regular video production companies. Do some research or accept that they may just be great video production companies but are not marketers.

So the question remains "Do you really need video for your online marketing?" Video has become one of the most effective forms of marketing online. It is not the only useful form of marketing.Sometimes a simple picture and basic text can be as effective if not more effective than a video. It is important to spend some time asking your potential clients what they like and test that with different types of marketing to see which one works best for you.There is no answer that fits everyone or every business. Initially as much money should be spent testing as should be on the marketing itself. This question can only be answered after extensive introspection and large scale testing. Many industries are showing huge leaps in their marketing as a result of video but the same may not apply to you and your business. Video will dominate the future of business marketing but will it be the most effective for your business? Only a clear understanding of your business, your client base and knowing the route to the final transaction can guide you to answer this question.

Can Movie Tricks Be Used For Corporate Video Marketing Online?

Corporate video production has mostly been seen as far from movies and cinematic style as can be. In the past corporate video used for online marketing has very much had a "corporate"style. This style, although updated with graphics and other styling, has stayed very similar to past productions. High end advertising and commercial broadcast video productions have however been using movie techniques for a long while.These have been out of reach for most corporate video productions. The reason is that the advanced moving camera shots require expensive equipment.

Some of the equipment used by movie makers to create the cinematic look include such things as a dolly, a jib crane, and aerial vehicles such as helicopters, aeroplanes and high powered UAV or drones. These pieces of equipment are very expensive and mostly out of the reach of low budget movie makers and, more importantly for this discussion, of corporate video production companies in Johannesburg who need to produce low budget corporate video productions. Over time though cheaper replacements have become available to smaller productions. Although they are not as effective, in many ways are effective enough, to be usable and not be noticed as a substantial difference. The most important impact is that low budget corporate video productions now have access to equipment to recreate cinematic shots in what would normally be a very plain video production.

So to see how this works and how to take advantage of the new equipment we will look at these replacements.

Dollys replaced with with sliders and dolly wheels.

A dolly is a type of moving camera stand where the movement is in a lateral motion in a way that is smooth and stable. The movement is only in a side to side smooth movement. It can also be used in a forward or backwards movement as well but only in a horizontal way. These can be either a stand only for the camera or include a seat for the camera operator and would need another person to push the dolly along.
The slider and tripod dolly wheels.
These are much cheaper and able to do similar movements. Many would argue that a slider is nothing like a dolly because of its limited movement range. This may be the case but many dolly movements can be simulated with a slider and can actually do movements not possible with a dolly, which is to do very small movements for very close shots of smaller objects.There is also a cheaper replacement for the dolly which is a set of wheels which simply clip onto the camera tripod.These don't need an extra person to push the camera stand around but does need a very smooth surface to work on whereas a dolly can work on almost any surface. In offices or factories where most corporate video productions take place, where the floors are smooth, these can be perfect replacements.

 Steady cam replaced with image stabilisers.

The steady cam was a creation of a camera operator and engineer who made it specifically for a movie called "The Shining" and was then used in the movie "Rocky". These movies required a camera operator to follow an actor along an undulating surface and up and down stairs without shaking the camera. This system includes a combination or springs, arms and weights. It is a heavy piece of equipment that has to be attached to the camera operators body. The lower cost replacement is the camera stabilisers. The mechanical version is very effective and quite cheap.It uses a basic vertical arm with a weight at the bottom.It is light weight and very effective but takes a very long time to set up perfectly and takes a lot of practice to use correctly.There is a higher priced piece of equipment and that is the gimbal. This is an electronic camera stabiliser. It is also a reasonably heavy piece of equipment and with its higher price does put it more into the film industry range. It also behaves very differently to the mechanical camera stabilisers in that it corrects movement very quickly which makes some movements not possible.Others however love the accuracy of the gimbal. It is still cheaper than some steady cam designs but not cheap enough for low budget corporate videos.One reasonably new addition is actually in the camera and not as a seperate piece of equipment.That is the built in image stabiliser in the camera body or the lens. Combined with other equipment like a mechanical stabilizer or a jib can produce spectacular results.

Jib Crane with mini jib.

While there doesn't seem to be a difference between a Crane Jib and a mini jib, there is a huge difference in price and the convenience of use is vastly different. A jib crane used in the film industry often requires at least one additional operator besides the camera operator. The equipment is also a much more difficult to move and often require permits and have many safety rules and regulations that the mini jibs don't have. A mini jib, because of its size and weight can often be packed out easily and into a  bag or back pack and can be moved from one location to another making it much more cost effective for video production companies to move from one set to another.The difference, except for the extremely high angle shots, are almost indistinguishable between the crane and mini jib shot. The price difference though is dramatic. The full crane Jib can be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars while most mini jibs range from just a few hundred dollars to as low as tens of dollars if are home made. The shots created are so spectacular that this should be seen as a required piece of equipment for almost all corporate video production.


Aerial shots with quadcopters or mini drones.


A helicopter is pretty obvious to most but most people don't know how the video camera use can vary. Some would assume that the camera is always mounted onto the helicopter but there is in fact a high percentage of film productions where the camera operator is simply seated in the helicopter with an open door or special window.The use of helicopters is prohibitively expensive and, in may cases, pointless because of the noise, dust blown up and legal and insurance issues. The film industry moved to high powered drones or UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) . These although cheaper than helicopters are still way too expensive for corporate video productions. This is where the quadcopter or mini drone came in.Its relatively cheap, very effective and easy to use for most shots. The problem for most drone operators though is the varying regulations for use from one country to another. Video production companies in Pretoria, for example, need to use a licensed drone operators and can only do shots in certain ways, whereas in many other places in the world no license is required or may just be completely illegal. When they can be used effectively drones have been some of the biggest game changers in video production equipment. Some beginner videographers have gone from doing basic shoots to epic corporate marketing videos.

Finally, not as a piece of physical equipment but in the world of software, many video editing software programs allow a video editor to fake camera movement as if it were done by physical equipment. In many other ways the software can also clean up the footage that was made with cheaper camera equipment to make it look like more expensive equipment was used such as image stabilisation as well as all the special effects that movie studios use.

The result of all these changes and additions of cheaper equipment have meant that corporate video productions can suddenly become as thrilling as big budget film or advertising productions. Production companies in Johannesburg who were stuck with a camera on a tripod can now change to creating spectacular visually appealing shots for their corporate clients without bringing in the insane budget.

While many video production companies will stay stuck in their old ways of thinking, pioneering spirited video creators will now be able to produce videos which effects similar to big budget movies.
While this will add some extra cost, the results so far out reach standard productions that ignoring them would be silly.

Here is an example of how a standard corporate budget can be used to turn a standard marketing video into a fun and exciting one.