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.

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.

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.

What should social media video look like and can video production companies do it for me?

For most businesses social media marketing is something they would prefer to pass on to somebody else so social media video should be done by video production companies right?

It is not difficult to find statistics related to video and the impact that is has on the internet as well as its appeal to social media marketers. In the past it was good enough to post a single image like an info graphic or simply a pretty message like a quote of the day. While those days are not completely over they are close to it. Video has taken over due to it's attractiveness to the viewer. The problem is that video is way more difficult and way more expensive than a simple image. This is both a good and a bad thing. While many just see the cost and difficulty, others who are more advanced in things like SEO, see a way to stand out in their marketing. Video productions have certainly exploded across the web, and social media, but are still in the minority. That means that although there are more costs involved, now is the time to be ahead of the pack. There will come a time when it is expected to have video and the additional cost will not give your company any benefit over the competition. It will simply be required that you have a video included in your social media just to not be left behind.

So if your marketing budget is limited and you have been stuck on the path of low return on investment when it comes to social media engagement, what is the answer?
Some have turned to making short selfie style videos using their phones as a video camera. While this is not necessarily bad, it does have some problems. The first is that you have to put in the effort on a constant basis. Most small businesses cant be bothered to even post a message everyday, never mind a video production. With social media in general most small businesses have opted to use a social media management company at an affordable cost to keep them up to date with social media interaction. So the answer can be very much the same but using video. The problem is that many, if not most, social media management companies don't have the slightest idea about video. There are some rare examples of marketing companies who have this in the bag. One of those is a company called webspresso , who provide cost effective video for social media marketing in the same way you would have your normal  social media management handled.

So the big question is what does social media video look like?
Is it a full video production? Is it an info graphic sort of a thing? Is it expensive? How can I get video in my social media campaign and go back to focusing on my business?
The answer is pretty amazing.What social media video is, is a short attractive, cost effective way of getting a message across. In the same way that a picture was used to put a message across and keep you interacting with your client base, so social media videos are now doing the same.

So who is actually doing this video stuff? These are small creations by video production companies. They are wonderful little "finger food" style video productions put together by video production companies in Johannesburg and around the world. They are very short, very attractive, highly effective tools, which will soon completely replace info graphics and image posts.

Here is an example of a social media video put together using one of the fantastic templates created by video production companies as opposed to graphic designers.

There many types and varieties of videos that can be used for social media video productions. They can be as simple as logo animations to very short adverts like those you would see on TV.
Here is an example of a TV style advert which is also a template style but has a broadcast feel to it.

These little gems are the answer to most social media marketers woes. To find out more or to have some video clips made for your business contact one of the best video production companies in Johannesburg: Absolutely AV Video Productions. Call: +27 11 462 7816 or go to https://www.abav.co.za.

Video marketing for small business

Big companies have clearly seen the benefits of video marketing online and understand how much more affordable and effective it is compared to past expensive broadcast advertising. Small businesses are however less convinced. The sad thing is that online marketing should actually be benefiting small businesses due to its low cost and accessibility. Small businesses though are always tighter with their spend. This is totally understandable because they have less to spend and less ability to take risks. The small companies that do see the enormous benefits have taken up the challenge and seen huge benefits. For many people advertising is seen as a one to one exchange where all the money that is spent must be immediately visible as a return and therefore if no immediate returns are seen it seems to them to be a loss and a waste of time. Many small businesses pour good money after bad into low quality traditional advertising such as print media or phone books. The returns are minimal to say the least but they stick with it because they know it well and are comfortable with it.
When a good video campaign is put together by skilled people in a video production company the returns can be fantastic but because it is new territory for small businesses they often shy away from it.

Video production companies are in many cases also part of the problem because of their inability to distinguish between large and small companies. The expectations and the disposable funds are not the same. Large companies expect the videos to be very high end requiring expensive equipment and expertise while small businesses do not have the same expectations and have much less to spend.
Some might argue that video companies should not differentiate between big and small companies and treat everyone the same. This is a confused and short sighted approach. Any wealthy businessperson may well buy an expensive imported car while a small business owner may be more likely buy a smaller, more affordable car. Does this mean the two people are being treated differently? Clearly not. The same should apply to video productions. Smaller companies should have more affordable video productions available to them. This does not mean they should accept inferior quality but rather a service which best suites their budget.

It has been assumed by many that the only way to get a cheaper video made is by using a student or a new comer to the industry. While this thinking greatly benefits the students and newcomers by the lessons they learn, they are learning their lessons at the clients expense and the expense may be great when loss of business is factored in.
There also many dangers involved with low skilled videographers. Many don't have the basic understanding of copyrights and privacy laws. This lack of knowledge can have very costly results in the form of legal action and danger to individuals. The professional small business should really be looking at professional corporate video production companies to create the video that they need for their online marketing. There are more and more skilled video production companies who are beginning to offer affordable video productions that can greatly benefit small businesses. With many services in a free market, competition drives prices down making it possible for small businesses to take advantage of these services.

There are some important factors to keep in mind though when using these more affordable high quality video production services.

The first and most important thing to keep in mind is that video marketing is not SEO. SEO which means Search Engine Optimisation, is a completely different field. While video can play a major part in the Seo work, it in its self is not SEO. The very skilled SEO experts know that video is an intrinsic part of a good SEO strategy but they also know that video cannot stand alone. If you were to put your fantastic video onto YouTube and just wait and watch if anyone will see it, you are in for a mountain of disappointment.
Videos need to be promoted just like any piece of content. If you created a typed piece of marketing material, you wouldn't assume that it would promote its self.You would know that you need to pay a publisher of some kind to promote it. A print add needs to be printed in a publication that is distributed. The same applies to video.

Different videos have different purposes. An "About us" video is great for your website and YouTube but it can not be used for social media. Videos need to be tailored to each format. There are also different price tags for different types of videos. There is no "one fits all" video. Corporate video production Johannesburg companies are often asked for a quote on a corporate marketing video of a few minutes, as if video is sold by minute like meat is sold per pound or kilogram. This is not the case with video. A video of a person speaking in one place is very different to moving graphics, aerial video footage or even a heavy edit for effect. No video can be quoted as a fixed generic amount.Each video, with its own complexities will have a different price. Many small business owners make the mistake of wanting a TV style advert for their business. The advert on TV often costs hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars or rand to produce. Small businesses don't need these adverts. Also many small video production companies in Johannesburg can produce much more appropriate videos at a lower cost.

Its not a once off. Videos are often seen like websites, where once it is all done nicely it is a "set and forget" situation.This may work for a reasonably long while for websites but it does not work on videos. With social media becoming so pervasive in the marketing of all sizes of business,  it has affected the need for high volumes of content. With video becoming more and more important to social media, video has become a high turn over piece of content. Video productions put together by video production companies in Johannesburg were mostly seen as a low turn over high price type of marketing material. This has changed and video production companies have seen the importance of responding to the demand.The growth in demand for high turn over low price content may eventually over take the high priced video productions. This reluctant acceptance of this change will completely change the playing field of video production and the field of marketing.