So, you’re making your marketing plan for the first quarter of the upcoming year. Well, at least we hope you’re making your marketing plan in advance. We don’t recommend just winging it, that leads to marketing disaster– but that’s a blog post for another day!

What should be included in this marketing plan for the first quarter of the year?

Well, you should include marketing strategies that have worked well for you in the past but always should incorporate something new! Trying new marketing tactics will allow you to expand your reach and therefore your audience.

If you haven’t already incorporated video into your marketing strategy, now is the perfect time to start! Whether it’s getting your company started on TikTok or filming a company overview to share on YouTube and Facebook, incorporating video will benefit your company’s marketing outreach efforts.

When you’re making your plans for the first quarter (Q1), it’s important to incorporate video marketing. Why? Because it works! It keeps your current audience and clients engaged while drawing in new viewers and potential customers.

Why should I make a Q1 Marketing Plan?

You should always be planning your marketing strategy ahead of time!

It reflects not only on your brand’s image to post marketing content hastily, but it makes the job so much more stressful than it has to be. Making a plan helps you see what is working where and how to keep gaining marketing traction, and planning by the quarter of the year, or every three months, takes a lot of stress off of your and your employees’ shoulders and allows you to really create a seamless brand across all platforms and marketing paraphernalia that you put out into the world. There is absolutely no downside to making a marketing plan!

Some people may argue that the first quarter is one of the most important. It sets the tone for the entire year to come. Others might say that it doesn’t matter where you fit things in throughout the year. Both are right, to an extent.

The first quarter of the year really does set the tone for the whole year to come. Financially, it shows you how your marketing is either succeeding or failing and how you can improve for the rest of the year. You’ll want to be able to change a few things from quarter to quarter, too, depending on how your different marketing efforts perform.

Your first quarter is the perfect time to try something new! And videos are the perfect way to incorporate something new. If you haven’t already started using video marketing, now is the time to do it. If you have, it might be a good time to try creating a video type that you haven’t tried before!

Let’s take a look at how you can incorporate videos into your Q1 marketing plan this year:

1)Determine your goals for Q1

What are your marketing goals for your first quarter? What do you want to accomplish- more views, more engagement, and more sales, of course! And video marketing is the easiest and fastest way to reach those goals.

However, it’s important to remember that video marketing is just one part of your Q1 marketing plan. Your video should be based around your goals for the quarter and contribute to your overall business goals, but it’s still just one component. And you want every cog in the machine to line up and work seamlessly.

When developing your video strategy, think about how to fit it into your larger marketing plan! What does this mean? Think about things like: How will you promote your videos? What will be the final product of this video, and what is needed to get there?

Remember that video marketing is different than not only traditional marketing materials (like print or online ads), but it’s also different than regular social media marketing on platforms that aren’t video-only. You want to consider all three when developing your q1 marketing plan!

You should also consider your budget and how it will affect your marketing plan. You might not want to spend your whole budget in the first quarter, even if you’re planning to use some of the same content throughout the entire year, but you don’t want to go too cheap and not have great content to share to make the right impression. You want to make sure that you have some wiggle room to adapt your marketing plan for future quarters throughout the year.

2)Create a video (or several videos) around those goals

Now that you know your plan, it’s time to start creating your videos!

Video production can take a lot of work. It’s important to get every step of video production right so that your video is of great quality. These videos are introducing your company to the world and portray your brand and reputation as a company to everyone who watches. So, it’s important to get it right!

You might consider working with a professional video production company, like C&I Studios [link: ]. We know the ins and outs of video marketing and can help you with every step of the video production process. We can work with you to develop video ideas, produce the videos, and even do post-production editing if needed. You might need help determining which kind of video would be best for your q1 marketing plan, and we’re ready to get the ball rolling!

Or you can do it all yourself! If you have access to professional grade equiptment and have the time and talent and post production equipment to edit your footage to create professional videos, you can create amazing videos on your own! It’s not recommended to simply use a cellphone camera, even if they are getting better with time.

If you’re stuck on what types of videos you should be making, check out our previous blog post about the best types of videos for your industry. Every industry will benefit from using videos in their marketing.

3)Make sure it reflects the values of your company and brand

Does your content portray your company in a realistic and positive light? Does it make sense when compared with your other marketing efforts? Does it match the branding you’ve worked hard to portray to the world? If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, you might want to consider revising your work.

You don’t want to post videos that aren’t relevant to your company. You don’t want to have the wrong type of video posted at the wrong time to the wrong platform and risk it not doing as well as it should have done. You want to make it so that it fits into your Q1 marketing plan- or any marketing plan!

Video production takes a lot of work, and you should only post content that is worth it in the end. This means putting thought into your videos, and making sure you have done your research about how video marketing can help your Q1 marketing plan.

4)Share it in the right places

We all know that social media is important for every company, but did you know that not all platforms are made equally? Social media has several types of platforms- video only, photos only, and a combination of videos and photos. Knowing which one is best for your Q1 marketing plan is an important step in the video production process!

Make sure you’re posting to social media where it belongs- not all social media platforms are created equally! You want to make sure you’re posting to places that you know your target audience is hanging out online. It takes only a little bit of research to know where you should be posting.

Of course, don’t rule out posting to as many social media platforms as possible. You might find that you have an audience that you didn’t realize would take to your products or services. As long as they’re spending money on your company, there is no wrong audience for your business! But, you want to make sure you aren’t wasting your time, effort, and money on posting where your content won’t do as well.

5)Promote!

Promoting your videos doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, even though paid promotion is one of the easiest ways to get your videos in front of as many viewers as possible. Free promotion can be just as effective, though!

You should consider promoting your videos through all of your previously-established channels like social media platforms, newsletters, and anywhere else you can post a video!

You can also try making some teasers for your upcoming videos. Teasing your video is the best way to generate interest in your brand and get more people excited to tune in on its release date!

You should consider asking viewers to subscribe to your channel, too- that’s one of the easiest ways you can keep them up-to-date on new products and services that you post in the future.

6)Measure, measure, measure!

You want to make sure you’ve gathered all of the right data about how your Q1 marketing plan is performing so you can tweak it if needed in the future. How will you know if you’re on the right track with your Q1 marketing plan? You’ll need to measure it!

The best way to go about measuring a video marketing campaign is by using a combination of analytics and engagement. Some common analytics tools that are used for social media include Hootsuite, Google Analytics , Facebook Insights, Twitter analytics , and more. Engagement can be measured by looking at things like likes, shares, comments, retweets, etc. YouTube analytics are a great tool for gathering information about your q1 marketing plan- and they’re free!

The best way to keep track of these measurements is to track them as they come in and keep them up-to-date. It can seem overwhelming to track engagements, but it’s important to know what marketing strategies are working for your company and which ones you can switch out.

For example: if you’re spending a lot of money on making unboxing videos and product review videos, but only the unboxing videos are doing well, you know you can put out less product reviews for the moment, since that’s not what your current audience is looking for. Don’t completely throw out the idea of videos that don’t work for you- try tweaking them or just taking a break from posting video types that are stale among your audience.

Knowing how any marketing content is doing is incredibly important to all aspects of your business, so keep track of those measurements!

 

Now that you know how and why you should be incorporating video into your Q1 marketing plan, you’re ready to go out there and start planning, creating, and posting! But don’t forget to measure the engagement, too!

If you’re looking for more hands-on help, you can contact C&I Studios. We’re here to help in any way we can. We thrive on your success. You can look at our portfolio to get ideas on what we can create together.

Have you tried TikTok yet to further your business’ marketing reach? If not, you’re really missing out on a large platform on which you can advertise and procure new potential customers.

TikTok is a video-sharing app focused on short videos and it is growing in popularity by the day. Tiktok can be extremely useful to both personal and business users, but you must know the tips and tricks of using TikTok to its full potential. It might not be as complicated as you realize, but there are still some important aspects of this social media platform that are important to pay attention to.

The best TikTok campaigns are the ones with a solid strategy, so if Tiktok is something you are considering bringing into your business, keep reading.

We have eleven tips to help you grow your business using TikTok!

Tip #1: Focus on engagement

With TikTok, you don’t just post videos and wait for the views to come rolling in. TikTok is a video-sharing app and if your videos don’t have high attention time, you won’t see much success. TikTok users love watching videos with engaging content; whether that’s something funny, incredible, or inspiring.

This means that Tiktok campaigns must be carefully planned out to achieve the best results. TikTok users won’t be interested in your video, let alone engage with it if it doesn’t engage with them! TikTok is perfect for companies that want to create videos that are quick, but engaging.

You’ll get the most out of Tiktok by focusing on engagement through the entire TikTok marketing strategy. If you’re still having trouble getting a good amount of engagement, check out our previous blog post.

Tip #2: Make sure your content is “Evergreen”

What does the term “evergreen content” mean?

“Evergreen” means that your content will stand the test of time. It’s answering questions that are searched for time and time again, information that people will always need when it comes to your business, products, and services.

Evergreen TikTok videos will always be relevant to Tiktok users. They’ll pop up on people’s feeds often. More importantly, you should be using evergreen hashtags!

Not all of your content has to be perfectly evergreen, depending on what you’re trying to sell in respect to your business- things like unboxing videos or product reviews will go out as technology and pop culture expand. But it’s important to make sure at least a good portion of your content is. Use hashtags that won’t go out of style in the next month or so. While it’s popular to use the newest hashtag about The Superbowl, even if your video has nothing to do with the event, it won’t be as searchable later on.

Tip #3: Be clever with your TikTok hashtags

Since we’re already on the subject: hashtags are important to any TikTok marketing strategy. The right TikTok hashtags will get you more views and increase the chances of Tiktok users discovering your video. However, there’s a catch: using popular TikTok hashtags like “tbt”, “f4f”, and “bestoftheday” won’t get you the TikTok views that you need! TikTok users are savvy and they know when someone is trying to use Tiktok hashtags with no real reason for it.

TikTok users will quickly leave your video if they notice this. Many users will think you’re desperate for the views and lazy enough to piggyback on what’s currently popular; not a great look for your brand. You’ll lose out on engagement and Tiktok video views. When you go to use hashtags, make sure you know what they are and why Tiktok users are using them!

You should also be wary of the limit of hashtags on each video TikTok dictates. This makes choosing your hashtags carefully even more important as you only get a few chances to tag it right. Using up your hashtags on tags that have nothing to do with your video is extremely unwise as the people who are interested in the type of content you’re putting out won’t be able to find your video!

The best way to know what hashtags are doing for different videos is to simply take the time to click on them, watch videos tagged, and take note of what’s popular in this hashtag.

Tip #4: Use TikTok’s editing features

Tiktok is great for any business that deals with video marketing. TikTok videos are unique compared to other social media platforms because of TikTok’s integrated editing features. TikTok’s filters, stickers, and other video editing tools are perfect for adding a professional look to your Tiktok videos!

The TikTok video editor is one of the best TikTok features to use if you want to market your business through TikTok. TikTokers love fun, creative content that they can interact with. TikTok’s editing tools are perfect for Tiktok video contests, TikTok TV ads, TikTok influencer marketing campaigns, TikTok charity fundraisers, and more.

However, using too many filters or stickers can really detract the viewer from the actual video content. The edits should always be relevant to your video content, too. You should find a good balance between too much and not enough; you want the right amount to grab a viewer’s attention

Tip #5: Use TikTok Channels

TikTok is taking over the social media world by storm! TikTok users want to be entertained. It’s why they love TikTok so much. Tiktok users are always looking for TikTok videos that will engage them in fun, awesome ways! Use TikTok channels to your advantage when creating Tiktok video marketing strategies!

TikTok channels contain the best TikTok videos from around TikTok. Accessing TikTok channels is simple; just perform a search for TikTok channels. TikTok users are constantly adding their favorite TikTok videos to TikTok channels, so check out Tiktok Channels often!

Tip #6: Utilize Tik Tok Ads

Tik Tok ads are the new way for businesses of all sizes to get more Tiktok video views. The best part about Tiktok ads is they’re are fully customizable. You can target users that are similar to your TikTok audience, Tiktok users who have interacted with similar TikTok ads, TikTok users in a particular region, TikTokers between the age of 18-24, and so much more!

If you’re looking for ways to grow your TikTok video marketing campaign, TikTok ads are the best TikTok features to use! Tiktok ads give your Tiktok video marketing strategy all the TikTok tools it needs to succeed.

Tip #7: Know the Law

TikTok deals with user-generated videos and music, so it is extremely important – especially as a business owner – to be aware of copyright laws. As soon as you or your TikTok video are suspected of copyright infringement, TikTok will step in to investigate the claim. Some videos are silenced, but the video is still left ups, but worse TikTok can terminate user accounts without warning for violating TikTok’s Terms of Use! So make sure to abide by TikTok’s rules. It is up to TikTok users to prove that their TikTok videos are original – not copies! Tiktok users can do this by putting a TikTok watermark on their TikTok videos and making sure that the Tik Tok music they’re using is original and allowed.

If you’re worried if something goes against the Terms of Use, don’t post it! Take the time to look into the rules before you hit that post button. Make sure you make any necessary changes if your video does violate the Terms. It’s not worth getting your account shut down.

Tip #8: Understand that TikTok is NOT Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or YouTube

TikTok isn’t TikTok’s competitors! Tiktok is a unique social media platform. TikTok has a different audience and a different purpose for Tik Tok users. TikTok video marketing strategies must be unique as well to succeed! If your TikTok videos are the same as your TikTok video marketing strategy, TikTok users will notice. Tik Tok users are looking for TikTokers to provide them with engaging TikTok videos that they can enjoy with their Tiktok friends and family!

The more effort you put into your TikTok video marketing strategy, the better results you’ll get! Whether it be using TikTok’s ads, editing tools, TikTok Channels map, or Tiktok user-generated videos, there are ways to take your Tiktok video marketing strategy to the next level.

Tip #9: Invest time in learning the latest and greatest

You will want to stay up to date on how the TikTok algorithm is working with or against you. TikTok is constantly updating its algorithm, just like any other social media platform. They want to show new videos and support all of their users to the best of their abilities, and that means they adapt as time goes on. The catch is that they adapt quickly, swiftly, and without much warning, so you always have to be on your toes when trying to figure out what’s doing well now and what will do well in the future. It’s important to know what changes TikTok has made to video marketing strategies because these can have a huge impact on your Tiktok video marketing campaign.

You should also stay up to date on the latest editing tools TikTok offers, or any other video editing app or software that you plan on using. You’ll be able to stay on top of the trends, maybe even start a new trend yourself!

One way to stay updated on the latest news about TikTok in respect to both the algorithm and new features is to bookmark TikTok’s blog and check it daily for TikTok news and updates.

Tip #10: TikTok is still a Social Media Platform

While we did say to not think of TikTok as you would Facebook or Instagram, it’s important to understand that it is still Social Media. Just as you are real humans behind your company and videos, the people you are engaging with and selling to are also human beings.

Neither of you are robots (though you might run into your fair share of bots on any platform, they’re usually very easy to spot). Treat your viewers, subscribers, and customers with respect in both your video content as well as your replies to their engagement.

In order to grow your business, you want your customers to know they’re heard and appreciated so that they spread the word to their friends and family and share your videos. And the best way to start that rapport is to treat them with respect on social media.

Tip #11: Get help when you need it!

Asking for help is not a weakness. It takes a lot of strength to understand when you need to bring a professional service or even a contract worker in to help you with your company. And, to be quite honest, your content will probably do better than if it were just you or your employees creating videos with merely their phones.

Professional video production companies, like C&I Studios, will develop unique concepts and use professional equipment such as high-quality cameras and professional editing software. They also know copyright laws, so you’re MUCH less likely to break TikTok rules. It’s really a win/win situation.

You’ll also find that companies like C&I Studios also offer more than just TikTok video production. C&I Studios offers many marketing solutions that can make all of your marketing look seamless and professional. We know the world of marketing, especially marketing video production.

You can contact C&I Studios if you’re ready to get started or if you have any questions about any of our services. We can’t wait to talk to you about your company and its needs!

Looking for more help with TikTok? Check out this blog post.

If you’re a content marketer, content manager, social media manager, blogger, or content creator of any kind; there is one thing you need to know. And it’s how to create a content calendar that works for you and your business.

Content calendars should be used by content marketers to help them figure out what content needs to be created and when it should be published, but content marketers shouldn’t use content calendars as a crutch. They also need to have a content strategy in order for content calendars to work as intended.

But what should go into the planning of a content calendar? More than you think, actually!

There are many different factors that go into creating a useful content calendar. There’s no one single right way to create a content calendar for your company. However, there are some things you’ll want to consider and maybe even avoid. It all depends on your marketing strategy, your budget, who is working on it, and your brand.

As content marketers, we first need to know our content strategy.

Every piece of content that should go into your content calendar needs to support your content strategy. This means it should align with the business’ goals and objectives as well as the larger company’s marketing efforts. It should also be customer-centric; think about what your audience wants to read, not just what you want to write about.

What social media platforms will you be posting to? Are you cross-posting any content? Will they be posted at the same time or on different days? These are just a few of the questions you need to ask yourself while planning out your content calendar.

Your content calendar needs to correlate with your content strategy. Every piece of content that should go into your content calendar should support the content strategy and help you accomplish the larger company’s marketing goals. Your content calendar is a way for everyone within your company to have an idea about what content to focus on and when it will be released. It also helps content marketers and content creators to identify content gaps.

Keeping content relevant is crucial in content planning.

If your content calendar includes content that does not support your content strategy or misses the mark on being customer-focused it will fail. This means content needs to become more reactive when necessary; if a significant event happens that affects your company or industry, content needs to evolve to stay relevant.

This also means content marketers need to know their audience inside and out; this way you can be prepared for content opportunities that may arise based on the customer’s demographics or information that is available about them.

Content marketing requires content marketers to know what content exists already, so they don’t duplicate content and waste content creation efforts.

The content calendar should be a content strategist’s bible; it contains everything that can influence the content in some way, from key business events to the latest social media numbers. Content marketers need to know this information in order to plan their content ahead of time.

Some forms of repetition can be good for a marketing campaign. You might consider creating a series of videos that you’ll post over the course of a month. You might like to have a “product of the month” post or something similar that features something different but is presented in ways that are similar to other posts. But what you don’t want is to post the exact same graphic with the exact same copy multiple times. Your audience will get bored, your brand will suffer for looking lazy or disorganized.

You also want to make sure you’re using everything that has been created for your marketing campaign, or at the very least storing for later use, or else the time and money that went into its creation would be wasted.

It’s also not a great idea to recreate another company’s content exactly. This content might be great for them, but if you are trying to get your content shared it will likely not work. You can use similar content or content that’s inspired by other content that has been created in the past, but don’t recreate content so you can claim it as your own – this is copyright infringement and no one wants to get sued.

The content calendar is a way for you to keep track of what content you’re producing as well as the content your competitors are releasing. It gives you insight into how other companies in your industry or niche are creating content. You can then create content that is similar or content that is inspired by content already created.

Frequency and content type should also be considered when planning content.

Content calendars need to be thought out, content producers will need to know what kind of content they should create and how often they’ll need to create it by taking into account the content’s frequency and content type. For example, a blog post about a product might have a content frequency of one post a month, but a content type of every day. This means content producers need to come up with content ideas for each content type daily.

There are four content types:

Informative Content – Educational content that is primarily used as a resource for customers or employees.  This content can appear in many forms from podcasts to podcasts.

Entertaining content – This content is primarily designed to entertain customers. This content can include memes, videos, infographics, etc…

Promotional content – This content can be used as a way of promoting products or services. It might include an ad on social media or it could even be something more creative like creating a content calendar that is designed to attract customers.

Transaction content – This content can be a case study or a comparison of products or services. It could also include a link for where customers can purchase the product or service you’re promoting in your content.

Knowing what type of content and how you want your audience to engage with it should always be considered in your content calendar so that you are getting a wider range of engagement throughout your calendar timeframe.

To keep content planning in line with your content calendar, content producers should create content ahead of time so that the content will be ready to go when it’s scheduled to post.

In order for content calendars to provide the most value, they need to be updated regularly.

A content calendar that is not kept up with will become outdated and content marketing efforts will suffer as a result. Content marketers need to make content calendars a priority, they cannot work in a silo. They need the content strategy, the content team’s input, and approval from multiple sources in order for them to be successful.

Content calendars should be made available to all content marketers in the same company so they have the information needed to create content at critical times.

Some content can’t wait until a content calendar is published or scheduled. For example, a new product launch requires content that may need to be created in a short amount of time and content marketers need access to this information during content planning.

Creating content on the fly requires content marketers plan content ahead of time and schedule it in advance on social media platforms. It also allows content marketers to be more prepared for what’s coming up so they can keep content planning and publishing consistent and timely.

Are you paying for a content calendar service or are you creating one yourself?

There are many websites out there that offer content calendar services. You may have already heard of them: Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Canva not only help you create a calendar, but they can also help you publish your content at the right times on the right days or even help you create the content on their site. You’ll also get analytics on how your posts did as far as engagements and views.

These sites can be an asset, especially if you’re just starting out and don’t know how to create a content calendar in a spreadsheet on your own.

Spreadsheets do offer a cheaper way to create a content calendar, but they don’t offer you the extra help of publishing your content or giving you analytics. You’ll have to spend more time compiling them yourself. But, if you have a really tech-savvy person on your team that’s willing to put in the work to create the right kind of spreadsheet that can include both posts and analytics, then it’s worth putting in that little bit of extra time to save some money. But it’s not always the right answer for every company.

Make sure everyone who needs to have access has it.

We understand needing to keep access to certain things on a short leash, but it’s important that you allow more than just the marketing manager to have access to the content calendar. This isn’t just so that others can create content that isn’t repetetive or doesn’t match the tone of your other posts, but also so that in an emergency someone else can go in and fix something or post for you. You should always have a backup in case of any emergency.

If the content is already in the content calendar, it’s easy to edit so nothing needs to be delayed.

It’s always important to keep all content marketers involved in content planning and publishing content on social media because they will have access to information no one else does. This way, content can’t overlap since all content marketers are aware of what other content marketers are doing.

It’s also good practice to make content calendars accessible to more than just content marketers, you can allow content bloggers who may be looking for new content ideas access as well. They can pull ideas from what you’re already planning to post and create a more seamless marketing strategy if they don’t already have access to your social media strategy.

Make sure to include EVERYTHING!

It’s important that the calendar includes more than just social media posts, it needs to include content that is being created for other types of content that are being published. This content should be pulled from content that was already created for social media since it’s content that your fans want to see. For example, if you’re publishing a content calendar full of content about your products and services, there may be other content out there that would compliment the content calendars social media posts.

If you include every piece of marketing content you plan on putting out, it shows the bigger picture. It shows you how every avenue of marketing content is performing for your business and allows you to make better decisions on how to change up your strategy when something doesn’t work or stales so long as it includes your analytics!

Remember content curation.

Content curation is important because it gives customers content they are already interested in and content that will keep them coming back to your social media pages again and again. So, in order to have a successful content calendar, you need content that includes content that goes viral or content that is super popular on social media. It can be important to follow trends and curate a fun and exciting experience for your followers.

 

Here at C&I Studios we hope this guide helps your to create the best possible content calendar for your business. We offer services that help with many aspects of marketing, including content calendar creation on top of our content creation services.

Ready to work with us? Contact us today to get the ball rolling!

Planning a marketing budget should be the first step you take as a small business owner when diving into marketing your small business. Knowing how much you can spend on creating your marketing materials and how you go about spreading them out is important as it affects the quality of your work and how it’s presented to any potential customers.

Having a marketing budget is important for any small business owner to create and maintain at all times. It helps you keep track of your costs and expenses when it comes to promoting your small business online or offline. Without a marketing budget, you could end up losing money and not even knowing where it’s gone.

A small-business marketing budget is your master plan for promoting your small business, including how much time, effort, and money you’ll set aside for each kind of promotion. Marketing activities can be carried out in various ways to promote small businesses; from small businesses’ websites to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Other forms of small business promotion include small business cards, brochures, flyers, and small events in person. The marketing budget is a guide for small-business owners to refer back to when planning the various small-business promotions that will be carried out.

With a small-business marketing budget, small business owners can plan small events to promote their small businesses in a more personal manner. This could be handing out flyers or small business cards at an event, such as a local community fair. Small-business owners can also carry out small online events by running advertisements on sites such as Facebook throughout the day for a

What should you consider when building your marketing budget? Honestly, there are a lot of things you should take into consideration when building your budget. Let’s take a look at them:

How you’ll distribute

First off, you need to know where you’ll be advertising your business.

Will you be primarily online, such as social media? Will you pay for the social media platforms to promote your advertisements? Or are you planning on just posting to your feed and hoping for the best as far as engagement?

Are you planning on posting flyers locally? Will they be in a public space or do you need to make a deal with another business owner to display your marketing materials?

All of these activities cost money and need to be planned and budgeted accordingly.

Type of Content

Different types of content will cost differently. Designing a graphically pleasing flyer to post around town will cost drastically different in certain aspects than a voice-over commercial on a local radio station.

After you decide what distribution route you’ll take, you need to figure out what forms of content will do best with each route.

For example, with Instagram, you’ll want both beautiful photos that pertain to your business (product and event photos do great here!) as well as engaging videos that grab your target audience’s attention. This means you’ll want to budget for both photography and videography.

If you’re only planning on printed marketing, which is not wise in today’s internet-dependant age, you’ll want to make sure you’re budgeting for a graphic designer, photographs, printing, and possibly distribution. It costs money to send out marketing via mail, and it’s important to make sure you don’t overlook any cost like that!

Equipment

What kind of equipment do you need to create your marketing material? Should you be investing in the equipment and purchasing it for yourself or renting it?

Using your phone for photos and videos that will be going on most of your marketing efforts is not wise. It’s important for quality purposes to make sure you’re using professional equipment. Poor quality photos send the wrong message to your potential customer base.

Professional equipment can be expensive, but when you’re small business is small it’s important to stay within your small budget. Being able to rent the equipment can really help with costs if you can’t afford the investment until you drum up more business. Companies like C&I Studios offers equipment rental

Event printers, computers, and editing software should be included in this part of your budget. If you use it to create anything marketing-related, it’s part of your marketing budget.

Location

If you’re creating photos or videos for marketing purposes, it helps to know how much you can spend on renting the space before you book the place.

Public spaces can be less expensive, but you need to make sure you’re following any laws in the area. You also need to know if there’s a limit as to how many people you can bring, as well as how long you’re allowed to be in the space.

Private places can be either expensive or incredibly cheap, depending on who’s property it is. If you’re going somewhere private, it’s important that you have permission from whoever owns the place. This is especially true for small business-owned homes and backyards. It doesn’t matter how small or large your space is, if you’re using it for marketing purposes, it’s part of the budget.

Understanding how to find the perfect location in your budget for photo or video shoots can be difficult, we know. If you need more help, you should check out our previous blog post about finding the perfect location.

Talent

Who do you need to create your marketing materials? Do you need to hire people to work the cameras, actors or models to help display the products you’re selling, or even find a freelance graphic designer or writer to help create the content? You should be including their costs in your budget!

Graphic designers are able to create amazing content for both printed marketing and social media. They will create graphics that can be used on both printed marketing as well as online in social media, e-mail marketing, and on your company’s website. They can create logos, which really help your business be recognizable, too!

Writers and editors help you to communicate to your target audience, as well as the rest of the world, what you want to say. It’s important to hire people who have a certain way with words that fits your company’s brand and can catch as many mistakes as possible when editing. They’ll make sure your company is being presented in the best light by their writing. But it costs money to hire them, and you should be making sure you’re paying them a fair wage.

Video production teams, photographers, and even actors all help you to create marketing materials. These people are not small expenses, they can cost up to thousands of dollars for just one shoot. But most small businesses who are starting out don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars laying around to spend on marketing.

That’s why it’s important that small business owners find ways to cut corners when they can to save up for their marketing budget. You should try small things like taking your own photos and videos in the beginning, until you’re able to hire someone else to do it.

If you’re going to be shooting photos or videos that involve models, then you’ll need to know how much it’s going to cost. The photography industry is ever-changing when it comes to rates. For small businesses in the beginning stages, they tend to pay less. But if you’re looking for a specific model with a certain look, then you’ll have to pay a little more.

Remember that models are people, too. They need to make a living, and they work hard at the jobs they do!

If you’re hiring actors or actresses to be in your marketing materials, then chances are you’ll need to pay them for their time, just like models. This can include shooting photos or videos, attending small events, even just being your brand ambassador at small, local businesses.

The post-production crew helps you to put the final touches on your marketing materials. Editors, colorists, and sound mixers can all help take small pieces of small businesses to make them look polished. Remember that small businesses don’t have unlimited budgets, so small things are important!

Props

Props are important in both videography and photography. If you’re setting a scene, you’ll want to have the right props to make the scene look realistic and inviting to the viewer.

Having a prop budget will help you to make sure you’re getting the right shots. Even if you can only afford a few items at a dollar store, to begin with, it’s important to have some props on hand for any marketing campaign that’s coming up. You can also find great props with some character at any resale or thrift shop if you’re on a tight budget!

Recycling props is not a bad thing, either. Some props allow for your content to be recognizable, whether it’s one prop or just an aesthetic that you reuse. Small business owners who are looking for small opportunities to save money should be recycling their props as much as possible. They can reuse the same prop as long as it fits your marketing campaign as well as adds to the overall aesthetic you’re going for!

It’s important to make sure you aren’t counting out props. Props can help you to tell a visual story if done right.

Post-production

Costs in post-production include retouching, music, editing, and color grading are important to include in your budget. This small business marketing technique can help your marketing materials look more polished and professional.

Retouching is the art of editing images that you either want to be edited or need to edit due to poor lighting, camera positioning, etc. Retouching helps small businesses to make their marketing materials look visually pleasing and correct small mistakes in the process.

Some editing does tend to cost more, which is why it’s important to be using the correct equipment in the first place so that you’re less likely to have to retouch the entire photo or video.

It costs money to use certain music or graphics, too. Music can help small businesses tell a story and convey emotions. However, small business owners should be mindful that they aren’t using music without permission from the rights holder or artist.

When small business owners save up for marketing budgets, it’s important to remember that small things add up. Saving here and there can help small businesses to afford marketing materials that

Hiring a service

Of course, hiring a service outside of your small business is going to cost money. But it can honestly get you the most bang for your buck while also making sure everything is done right and optimized for whatever type of marketing you’re putting out into the world.

They can do as much or as little as you need, from providing a full marketing strategy to only helping with bits and pieces of the work.

Consider companies like C&I Studios that are happy to work with businesses of all sizes to help them create amazing and successful marketing content. We provide many different services from video production to product photography and more. You can look at our portfolio here to get a taste of what type of content we’ve created in the past.

Contact us to get started! We can’t wait to hear from you to talk ideas, tips, and strategy!

 

We hope that we’ve been able to help you establish the right marketing budget to promote your small business in a way that brings in new customers or clients. There are so many different ways marketers spend their money, and there are also many ways they should not spend it, and we sincerely want your business to succeed. We hope this guide helps you to navigate the world of marketing as a small business and we look forward to seeing your efforts soar!

Video has become an integral part of almost every online business as part of its marketing strategy. Sure, it’s fun and definitely makes life more interesting, but it also conveys a message better than any other form of written communication.

You’ve probably seen this in action before or witnessed companies producing high-quality video content. It’s a great way to get your message across, show off their products and services, and reach a wider audience because it doesn’t exclude anyone from viewing the information, regardless of their ability to read or whether they can access a computer at that time.

In this article, you’ll find out why video is such an important element in your marketing tool belt. We’ll also show you how it can be easily implemented into your site to increase conversions and ultimately drive more sales. It’s easier than you think, as long as you don’t make any of the common mistakes.

The Case for Video Marketing in Your Business

It’s not just celebrities that are using video marketing to grow their brand and reach a wider audience, increasing sales in the process.  Almost every company uses video marketing in some form, including thousands of small businesses.

Here are just a few ways that video marketing can help you:

Gain more visitors to your site, resulting in higher sales. The best way to do this is by building up an audience who will be eager to view the videos you produce. Discover how social media sites like Facebook and YouTube can help you achieve this goal.

Gain the trust of your visitors. Video is a great way to convey information and it’s more personal and entertaining, so people are inclined to view it and hopefully share it with their friends and family. This means that they are more likely to buy from you. Here are some tips on how video can help increase conversions.

Increase sales online or offline! All you have to do is produce a video with the intent of generating interest in whatever you’re selling, whether it’s something your company produces or your product portfolio.

Establish yourself as an expert within your niche. This works really well if you’re into online marketing because video conveys what you know far better than any words can say. And who doesn’t want to hear the opinions of an expert?

Video Marketing for Better Conversions

Start by building your organic audience. The more people you have visiting your site, the greater number of sales you’ll make. You can use social media sites like Facebook and YouTube to help attract visitors to your site. Posting to as many free platforms you can post videos on will give you an audience. Make sure you’re tagging your videos with keywords, giving your videos interesting yet informative titles, and intriguing covers to get people to click on the play button.

Here are a few ways to make sure your content is ready to build an audience:

Create valuable video content. It needs to be valuable information, not just the video equivalent of “selling like an infomercial”. That’s why educational videos are highly effective. Educational videos can range from how-to videos to animated explainer videos and more! As long as the video includes important information, the video content can be considered educational and valuable.

Let people know about it. Once you’ve created your video, get the word out about it by placing links on your blog or website, wherever they’d be more likely to see it. You can also include social media buttons that will allow your visitors to share the video with their friends and followers.

Don’t rule out posting your videos on social media, too! Social media is one of the best places to post your video marketing content as you can get high amounts of views, subscribers to your content, and easily add links to your eCommerce store and any other important links for viewers to click on.

Embed your videos on your current website. E-mail them to your email subscribers. Share your videos more than once, at different times on different days, to make sure you’re getting them in front of as many prospective customers as possible. Different demographics of viewers are online at different times, so sharing at different times throughout the day will boost your visibility.

Provide a call to action. At the end of each video, tell viewers what you want them to do next: whether it’s buying something from your site or subscribing to your blog, any kind of engagement is good for your video marketing strategy. You can also create opt-in forms which they could use to sign up for your newsletter.

Call to action efforts help to drive engagement. With most social media platforms, engagement is everything! The more likes, comments, and shares your video gets, the more likely it is that a social media platform will put your video in front of more people. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok will recommend videos with a large amount of engagement to other people who have engaged with similar content.

Increase your organic viewership. If you’ve been posting regular videos, paid video marketing can get people who have already seen your content to tune in to a new video that might interest them.

Video advertising is a great way to build brand awareness and increase traffic to your site, but it’s consistently changing from one platform to another. Whether you’re paying for video promotion on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, advertising on YouTube, or posting your videos to another site like TikTok, make sure you’re aware of the best practices for whatever platform you choose.

Before you start paying for video views, make sure that your content is optimized for whatever platform it’s on. Each platform has its own specific changes that need to be made in order to get the most views, which will make your content more visible and increase sales.

Give people a reason to subscribe to your channel or blog. Once someone has subscribed, they’ll want to see more content from you, so they are more likely to buy and share your videos and posts via social media. You can also use video marketing as an incentive to encourage people to sign up for your newsletter or join your email list.

You can film a series of videos that are related, give updates on specific topics, and provide your subscribers with much more content, sales, and information when they subscribe. You don’t want them to forget about your channel or have a reason to unsubscribe. You also want them to share your content with other people.

Not sure what kind of video content you should be creating? You can check out our previous blog post that describes the best video types for different industries here.

Paid vs. Free Video Marketing

While you can post marketing videos completely free on social media platforms, on your company’s website, and embed your videos within emails, there are so many benefits to investing in paid video marketing. While it will take more time and money than doing everything for free, the end result is a much higher return on your investment. Here’s how:

Create videos that speak directly to your audience. Paid advertising can get your videos in front of more people who are already interested in what you have to say.

Think about who your target audience is and where you’ll be posting your videos. The more specific you are about your audience, the easier it will be to find people who would be interested in what you have to say. For example, a video marketing campaign for a pediatric dentist may want to focus specifically on parents of children, rather than all adults.

You can offer discounts and coupons as enticements for viewers to watch your content. Giveaways, too, create a lot of engagement, though it usually only has short-term results.

Boost your visibility online. Whether you want to increase viewership or search engine optimization, paid advertising can get you where you need to be! Think about who your target audience is and where they are most likely to be online. Knowing your target audience, what they want to see, and where they’re the most likely to view it is your most important asset. Knowing what platforms to pay for vs. platforms that either don’t need the visibility as much or aren’t where your target audience is hanging out online will optimize how you spend your video marketing budget.

Boost video rankings on YouTube and other video sites. If you pay for viewership, search engines like Google will be more likely to display your videos when someone searches for information related to the products or services that you offer.

Before you pay for it, though, it’s best to consider the current searchability of your video. Making sure your title contains important keywords, that your cover photo is enticing enough that people will want to click on it, and that the description is factual and also contains keywords needs to be your top priority. This will only increase your views and searchability as you pay for optimization as well.

Reach more viewers in other countries. Why do you want to reach people in other countries? To increase your potential customer base, of course! Many people in the United States already use YouTube and TikTok, but video marketing is quickly growing around the world, too! Paid video marketing can help you get your videos in front of potential customers who are based in different countries.

Don’t forget about paid social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook ads! You can target your audience by location, age, interests, preferences, and even videos they’ve already watched. It’s a great tool that will help you target a specific audience.

However, you can also use this feature to see how your video is doing with other audiences. If your video content is resonating with an audience you aren’t targeting, but you’re getting a good amount of sales out of them, be flexible and change your marketing strategy to include them!

You might find that while you begin with a target audience of 20-something women in the United States, you might have an audience that spends more money with you with 30-somethings of all genders in the United Kingdom, for example. Don’t be afraid to adapt your marketing strategy as you go- the more you learn about your audience and customers, the more you can tap into that market and sell more.

 

There are so many benefits to investing in paid video marketing, and it’s important to not ignore it even if your organic engagements are doing well. While it will take more time and money than doing everything for free, the end result is a much higher return on your investment. Don’t let the cost of video marketing stop you from using this powerful tool! Even when it’s not free, the return on your investment is worth its weight in gold.

When you’re ready to get started with video marketing, C&I Studios offers video production services, among other services to up your marketing strategy, to businesses of all sizes, types, and backgrounds.

If you’re ready to create amazing video marketing content with us or have any questions, please contact C&I Studios and we’ll get the ball rolling!

As an eCommerce business, you want to make sure you’re presenting yourself and your products in an informative and appealing way. You want photos that are accurate, high quality, and professional. But there’s so much more to photography than just being able to capture a moment in time. Professional photography is about creating an experience for potential buyers to enjoy when they visit your website.

So let’s say you decide it’s time to look into hiring an eCommerce photography service, or photography specifically for your eCommerce website. What should you look out for in a photography service? What questions should you be asking them to make sure you’re getting exactly what you need out of their service?

Here are a few important questions to ask when hiring photography for your eCommerce website:

What is the timeline of photography services, from booking a photographer to receiving final images?

Honestly, this is one of the most important questions to ask your photographer. You may need the images back by a certain date, or they may have a lot of other jobs at the moment and they may not prioritize your job ahead of someone who hired them first.

You’ll want to know how long from first contact until finished photograph delivery it will take. It’s a process, so expect it to take some time and plan ahead as to when you’ll need your photos.

How long does post-production take?

This question goes along with the first one in how it affects timing in which you’ll get your finished photos back. But sometimes you have to be more specific with your questions, which is where this one comes in to play.

Some photography services prefer to take and edit photography for eCommerce websites in batches, but others prefer to work on each eCommerce photography image as they come. Find out how your photography service prefers to handle post-production with your eCommerce photography so you can have a better understanding of what type of schedule they will be working within.

How much experience does your photographer have?

You should ask about the specific photographer that will be taking and editing the photos how long they’ve been working as a photographer and how experienced they are in the type of editing you need. The more experienced, usually the job gets done faster and with fewer hiccups.

You may also want to know this information as it pertains to your budget. Photographers with much more experience sometimes tend to charge more, but it can be worth it for a quick turnaround time and flawless editing. However, it’s important to never underpay your photographers or other freelancers, so don’t hire an inexperienced worker with the intention to underpay them.

Have they worked on eCommerce photography before?

Even the most experienced photographer may not have a huge portfolio of eCommerce work. There are so many different types of photography, and not every type uses the same equipment or techniques. Even if photography equipment is used for different styles, the photography style still makes a huge difference.

It’s important to know that your photographer is experienced with photography services for eCommerce photography so you’re assured of getting the quality service you want and need. Ask what types of e-commerce projects they’ve worked on in the past so you can reference those photography projects to see if their photography style fits your needs.

How do they handle photography for eCommerce websites?

Different photography services will have different methods of photography, so it’s important to know how yours is going to take and edit the photos you need before you hire them. Some photographers may only take their own photographs while others may hire assistants or work with a team.

Some photographers will handle photography for eCommerce websites by taking photos of the product that are very clean and artsy, while others will photograph the product in use to give their eCommerce photography a particular style. Ask your photography service which method they would prefer to use or if they have another artistic way they take photographs.

What photography style do they use to take photos for eCommerce websites?

There are a variety of photography styles and it’s important to determine which one your photographer will be taking so that the images match the tone and theme of your website. There’s lifestyle photography, traditional photography, product photography, food photography. Most eCommerce photography services will be able to offer a variety of photography styles, but it’s good to know what they all are before you hire someone.

How do you determine pricing?

Another seemingly obvious question, but no less important!

You don’t want to end up paying too much for photography services, but you also don’t want to underpay for services rendered- you might get some sketchy work. Some photography services will charge by the hour, while others will charge a flat rate depending on what type of photography they’re doing for you.

Ask your photography service how they determine their pricing so you can understand which method works best for your budget and business plan.

Do they include photography post-production work like retouching in the price?

Some photography services will charge extra for photo retouching, but it’s popular to have photography editing included in your eCommerce photography service package. Lighting issues can be fixed with eCommerce photography post-production techniques and the photo itself can also be edited before it goes online. Ask if your photography service includes photography post-production in their photography services or if retouching is an additional fee.

Which leads us into our next question:

What is their policy on photography retouching?

A photographer might only include minimal retouching, which is usually what you want for eCommerce photography. You want to really show the product exactly how it is since you don’t want to falsely advertise the product on your website.

But sometimes there may be a need to retouch more than the basics. You’ll want to know if it’s included in the photography package or if you need to pay extra for extra editing.

You’ll also want to know if you can get a revision to the editing that has been done. Sometimes you won’t be happy with the final results- maybe the colors are too far off- so you will want to know if you’ll be able to get a revision out of your photographer and if it’s included in the price or you have to pay a little more.

What editing techniques do they use?

When it comes to photography, photographers tend to have their own personal styles. Some prefer natural edits while others will edit their work heavily. It’s important to know what type of photography editing your photography service prefers so that you can both agree on the style for your eCommerce photography.

If you want very clean and crisp photography, you may want them to avoid heavy editing and if your eCommerce photography is meant to be artsy or product photography-esque, you may need them to edit the images heavily. Ask how they would like to edit the photos for your eCommerce photography so that you know exaclty what to expect when they deliver the photos.

What type of photography equipment do they use?

This is a big one. You want to make sure you’re getting professional photography, not camera phone photos with filters added in. Ask what photography equipment your photographer uses to capture images for their eCommerce photography service. Are they up-to-date on the latest technology?

Photography equipment will vary depending on the style and eCommerce photography required for your business, so make sure you know what equipment your photography service prefers to work with. If, for example, you need photography for eCommerce website displaying clean and crisp photography , ask if they use prime lenses or photography equipment with a shallow depth of field. This will help you understand their photography style so your eCommerce photography comes out the way you want it to!

Where will the photographs be taken?

Do you need to take the products in to a studio for the photographer to be able to take the photos, or will they come to you? You need to know if you should be planning to travel and how to accommodate those added expenses and the time that you need to take out of your day.

You also want to make sure that if they’re taking photos on-site, that you have enough space to accommodate their equipment and that they have enough time to work with the products, too.

What is their availability?

Ok, this one is a bit obvious, but no less important to remember than any other question on this list. You need to make sure your availability lines up, especially if you want to oversee the products they’re photographing or you’re on a tight deadline.

If your photography service has other jobs besides your photography, then your eCommerce photography may not be given the attention it deserves in the timeline that you need it. Make sure that the photography service you choose is actually available to work on your photography and isn’t booked up for days or weeks at a time before they can get started on your photography.

Always make sure that you’re giving your photographer enough time to work their camera magic- tight deadlines will be your enemy. If you’re not giving a photographer enough of a timeframe, they won’t want to work with you. Plan ahead, make sure that you’re available just as you make sure your photographer is available.

Do they carry Photography Errors and Omissions Insurance?

This is something for photographers and photography services to consider whether you’re working with them on photography or not. Because photography is a profession that involves the handling of other people’s property, it should be protected by photography errors and omissions insurance to handle any issues that may arise during photography sessions.

Can I have editorial rights?

This is something that you need to know before you choose a photography service for eCommerce photography . It’s important that the photography services that work with you understand whether or not they can share, sell, and distribute the photos they take for you.

Be sure to have photography services have a clear understanding of what you want at the beginning- whether they can use your photography for commercial purposes or not, and ensure that their photography service is on the same page as well so there are no surprises down the line!

Knowing the legalities is always important when hiring out a service, no matter what that service is.

 

Make sure you know as much as possible when hiring a service like eCommerce photographer. Companies like C&I Studios are ready to answer any and all questions you have about the services they provide.

Contact us today to get started on a project together!

Video marketing can really allow your company to be creative in your marketing endeavors. It can be very effective, getting your company in front of a much larger audience and turning those views into sales.

However, video marketing is not as simple as uploading a video on YouTube or TikTok and expecting it to become an overnight success. There’s so much more to it! And, of course, there are some mistakes that are commonly made by businesses that end up hurting their revenue, branding, and even their reputations.

There are some common mistakes made by companies attempting video marketing that need to be addressed before you begin your video production process. We’ll examine those mistakes and explain why they can hurt your video marketing strategy.

Let’s take a look at common mistakes you and your company should avoid when creating your video marketing strategy:

1) Making Videos “Just Because You Can”

Video marketing has become easy to do because video-making and editing software is available to everyone. You can even get video creation apps on your phone, which means you might start video marketing without having a good reason for creating video content. The video creation apps on the market today are also very affordable, which means you could end up spending too much time making video content for video views that never lead to conversions or any video marketing goals whatsoever. Don’t assume that video marketing should be the next step in your company’s marketing plan just because you can create video content easily.

Take a look at what your brand is, what you’re trying to sell. Save the dance challenges and silly shenanigans for your personal account.

Posting random videos that you’ve made to your business account will lead to videos that don’t serve a specific marketing purpose, and they won’t benefit your business at all. Some videos that are off topic or off brand may confuse your viewers on what it is your company does.

2) Assuming Video Marketing is Just an Extension of Traditional Marketing

Video marketing is video marketing. It doesn’t matter whether you are buying video ads on YouTube or TikTok or posting directly to your company’s social media account, video marketing is video marketing regardless.

However, you should also be aware that video content has different dynamics than other types of digital content do. And just because video ads exist doesn’t mean they’re the best video format.

Understanding these dynamics is part of the reason video marketing can be so effective, particularly online video marketing that works for your business goals (which might include getting more video views, video SEO, video conversions, etc.).

3) Paying Too Much Attention to Vanity Metrics

One of the most common mistakes companies make in video marketing is paying attention to video views. Measuring video views is important, of course, but video views are not the only video metric you should be measuring.

You also need to pay attention to video engagement stats such as video likes and comments, as well as video conversions (the metrics that matter for your business).

This all comes back to video marketing goals, which you should specify before starting video production. It is where video views and video conversions meet video SEO (keyword research) and video analytics tools like Google Analytics or social video analytics platforms.

4) Relying Too Much on Video View Counts for Social Media Platforms

Every social media platform has its own audience, which means video views can vary from platform to platform. This is why video marketers need to pay attention to video views on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and video ads on Instagram or Snapchat.

A video that has a lot of video views on YouTube might have zero video views on Facebook or TikTok. And a video that does well on one video platform might not be successful on a video ad network.

Measuring video views for social media video marketing is important, but doing that alone can lead to video marketing mistakes. You also need to focus on video engagement metrics and video conversions (which vary from video platform to video platform). Engagements on both ends, customer and business, establish a form of trust between the two parties.

5) Not Doing Keyword Research for Video SEO

Keyword research is video marketing that focuses on video SEO, which includes finding video keywords to target. You can also think of video SEO as a type of video content creation because you should be using video keywords in your video titles and descriptions.

For example, if you’re making cooking videos, you should include words like “recipe,” “video recipes,” and “how to cook video.”

It can be easy to forget this, but video keywords are important because video search is video SEO. It’s not just about video views anymore. Video searches are growing on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram video ads, and video ads on Snapchat.

This also includes doing hashtag research on whatever platform you’re posting to. You have to be careful on platforms like TikTok that limit how many hashtags you’re allowed to use on one video, whereas on Instagram you can use as many as you want, though it might look cluttered and desperate if you’re using too many.

6) Not Understanding How Video Ads are Different Than Regular Videos

Video ads are video marketing strategies that are usually paid for by the business in order for the platform the ad is on to promote the video and get it in front of as many people as possible. This can include video ads on YouTube, video ads on Facebook, video ads on TikTok, video ads on Instagram video stories, and video ads on Snapchat.

But even though they’re all video advertising formats, the dynamics behind each ad type are different. For example, video views for an IGTV video ad are not the same as video views for a video ad on YouTube.

The reason video marketing mistakes can happen is because video ads are different, but video marketers aren’t always aware of those differences. This causes them to make video marketing mistakes like thinking that video view thresholds (which vary by platform) are the same across multiple platforms.

If you’re new to paid ads on social media, you can look for bargains as a first timer. Some platforms will offer you credits if you haven’t utilized ads in a while, too. It’s worth looking for a deal if you want to see how paid ads work for your business.

7) Not Optimizing for Mobile Video

Another video marketing mistake is not optimizing video content for mobile video platforms.

Today, more than half of video views come from mobile video, which means they come from video ads on Instagram video stories (which allow you to upload video content up to one minute long), video ads on Snapchat (which can run video ads of up to 10 seconds), video ads on YouTube (which can run video ads of up to 6 minutes long), video ads on TikTok (which allow you to upload video content up to one minute long), and video SEO.

For video marketers, this means optimizing for mobile video is important because it has become crucial for video views, video conversions, video rankings, video search volume, video engagement metrics (like video completion rate), and video ad delivery.

8) Not Optimizing for Local Video Markets

Today’s video marketing mistakes can come from not optimizing video content for local video markets. For example, if you’re a company that creates videos about nutrition or personal training, it’s essential to make video content that’s optimized for local video markets like Houston video marketing, Los Angeles video marketing, San Francisco video marketing, or Chicago video marketing.

Knowing the physical market your business is in will help you to target the audience your business is designed to sell to. Video marketing isn’t just for grabbing the attention of virtual customers, it can also translate to bringing in physical customers from your area, too, and it’s important to not ignore them.

This is because the video search volume on YouTube for video keywords related to nutrition and personal training varies by city. This means optimizing for local video markets can help you find video keywords that have video search volume in your targeted video city.

9) Not Utilizing Facebook Video Marketing

Video marketing mistakes include not doing video marketing on social video platforms. While video marketers have focused a lot on video ads on TikTok, video ads on Instagram video stories, and video ads on Snapchat, one of the most underutilized video platforms is Facebook.

It’s often easy to overlook this platform because video marketers are so focused on video ads on Instagram video stories, video ads on Snapchat, video ads on TikTok, video SEO, and YouTube. Facebook is now considered for older folks, too, so they might not be your target audience. However, this is a mistake because Facebook videos get more than 4 billion video views each day.

That means this platform needs to be on your radar as part of your video marketing strategy because it’s a video platform video marketers can’t afford to ignore.

10) Not Creating Video Content That Stands Out

Video content mistakes include not making video content that stands out. There are more video marketers than ever before, and video marketing is becoming increasingly competitive as video platforms like TikTok gain in popularity.

This is why video marketers make mistakes when they don’t stand out from the crowd because video SEO has become so competitive. There are video marketers who have video SEO down to an art, and video marketers who are still learning the ropes in video marketing.

But there’s no doubt about it that video marketing mistakes can come from not making video content that stands out—from other video marketers creating video content around the same topics as you’re covering.

11) Not Understanding the Role of Video Thumbnails in Video SEO

Another video marketing mistake video marketers make is not understanding the role video thumbnails play in video SEO. While video optimization for local video markets, social video platforms, and video content that stands out are all important video marketing elements to optimize a video marketing strategy around,

It’s essential for video marketers to understand video thumbnails have a significant impact on video SEO, video rankings, video conversions, and video performance. However, video marketers make mistakes when they don’t use video thumbnails for their videos because video thumbnail optimization can be used as a powerful video marketing tool to increase traffic and leads for businesses.

In fact—especially if you’re video marketing for local video markets —video thumbnails can be used to completely change video SEO and video ranking results.

Video thumbnails are so important video marketers need to prioritize video thumbnail optimization for video SEO.

12) Not Adding Call-to-Actions in Videos

Another video marketing mistake that many companies have made is not adding video call-to-actions. While video marketers have focused their video SEO efforts around video titles, video descriptions, and video tags, adding video thumbnails optimized for video search isn’t the only important video element that needs attention.

Video marketers should also be adding call-to-actions to videos because it can help video content creators increase video shares and video conversions. You want your viewers and prospective customers to engage with your content in order to further your outreach and start a rapport with any potential customers. The more video views your videos get, the more backlinks video content creators can build to video websites.

Call-to-actions can be anything from asking your viewers to subscribe to links to other videos or products, asking them to answer a question in the comments section, really anything that gets your viewers to interact with your video. This is because video shares give video rankings a boost and help video SEO efforts, too.

13) Not Optimizing Video Titles for Video SEO

Optimizing video titles to make them easy to search for. For video marketers who are just beginning to learn video SEO, video titles can be difficult to optimize because video ranking algorithms are constantly changing. However, video marketers need to make video marketing mistakes by not optimizing video titles for video SEO because video titles play an important role in helping videos rank on Google and YouTube.

 

If you’re not feeling confident in your video marketing skills, consider outsourcing to a marketing firm, like C&I Studios. We can help you get started on the right track when it comes to video marketing and video production.

Outsourcing will help save you time and quite possibly money as they help you bring in more income.

Contact us to get started today!

First things first: YouTube is a really strong platform that you should take into account when it comes to promoting your business or corporation in a direct manner. It’s the most versatile platform for video marketing and should be the first social media platform you create a profile for as a company.

YouTube has a lot of users, and if the video content is well-crafted, YouTube can become an extremely effective way of not only promoting your products/services but actually becoming part of people’s daily lives. YouTube is a really strong platform to do a lot of things, and having a YouTube channel dedicated to your corporation can be a real boon.

In this article, we’ll talk about some YouTube strategies that you should consider when it comes to creating and maintaining the best possible YouTube channel for your corporation. These are based on our experience in working with YouTube for our clients, and these 10 YouTube best practices are really effective when it comes to YouTube marketing.

There are many potential YouTube strategies that you might want to consider, but in an ideal world, your YouTube channel should have two main objectives: YouTube should generate leads that convert into sales and YouTube should help increase brand awareness. YouTube can do both of these things if you set your YouTube channel up correctly and your YouTube strategy is well focused.

The way most companies use YouTube is by posting videos that are related to their products/services, and then they usually expect YouTube views to translate into sales. This can be problematic because YouTube is such a massive platform with so many different types of users that it will be really hard for your business or corporation just to post YouTube videos and expect them to automatically generate income for you.

On top of the lack of instant gratification, maintaining a YouTube channel can be really time-consuming, especially in the early days of your channel. You might not see results immediately (although that’s not always necessarily true) and it takes time to develop a YouTube audience who will enjoy your videos and come back to YouTube time and again. YouTube is not an overnight success platform, so you need to be prepared for the long haul if you really want YouTube to work out well for your corporation.

But, you don’t want to ignore YouTube as a platform just because it isn’t instantly gratifying or because it’s time-consuming. YouTube videos are easily shared, easily embedded, and truly one of the best platforms you can use for video marketing. YouTube marketing is sometimes more effective than even Facebook marketing, and YouTube has the potential of reaching hundreds of millions of people. YouTube can be an amazing platform to help your corporation grow awareness of your business or product/service.

However, YouTube works best if it’s part of a larger marketing strategy that you’re already using for your business or corporation. YouTube works best as a marketing supplement and YouTube works best when YouTube marketing is married with other forms of internet marketing.

With all of that being said, here are 10 best practices for a strong corporate YouTube channel:

1- YouTube should be part of your overall marketing strategy.

YouTube works best when videos are married with other forms of internet marketing, such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, blogging, email marketing, and everything else you’re doing to promote your business online.

The reason that YouTube works so well when it’s partnered up with other forms of internet marketing is that YouTube videos can be shared easily and viewers can be redirected to your YouTube channel if they click on your video even when it’s shared on other sites. This shows your viewers that you’re present in more than one place and that they can subscribe to your YouTube channel for more videos like the one they’ve clicked on.

2- Don’t post YouTube videos just because.

YouTube should be used only when YouTube videos are the best way for your corporation to achieve its marketing objectives. YouTube is not a platform you want to use if you’re just trying YouTube out as an experiment or because you think YouTube videos are cool. Posting videos that aren’t relevant to your marketing will only harm your business brand.

Your channel should be another branch of your brand. You want your content to be focused on what it is your company does or sells. Irrelevant videos will only lose you your target audience.

If you’re only posting YouTube videos because you think they’re cool or funny, the YouTube algorithm will sense it as spam and your channel will be lost in the noise. YouTube algorithm is built to catch spam, so YouTube only wants videos that are relevant and targeted. YouTube will punish you for posting irrelevant YouTube videos by either not allowing them to be monetized (taking away any revenue you make from advertisements playing before and during your videos) or hiding them from their inner search engine.

3- Always have a call to action!

YouTube videos should always have a call to action in order to engage with the audience. YouTube works best when YouTube videos help your business accomplish one or more of its marketing objectives and the only way YouTube can really help you accomplish your online marketing objective is if YouTube has a clear call-to-action to take advantage of what your business is offering.

It can be a simple “hit the button to subscribe!” or you can even ask your viewers to comment on the video by asking them their opinions or even have them ask you questions about your company or products and services.

A lot of viewers appreciate engagement because it makes them feel as if you’re listening to them, which you should be!

4- YouTube videos should be around a maximum of 10 minutes in length.

YouTube is not the place to post videos that are too long, even though you can! YouTube works best when videos are posted that are short, sweet, and to the point. No one wants to listen to a 20-minute long review about a product. Very rarely can someone pay attention for that long.

YouTube doesn’t have length requirements, so you can post videos of any length. But, if you want to post a video that takes up 40 minutes, consider breaking it into a series. YouTube has a feature where you can create playlists on your channel so that viewers can find related videos easily and they can consume them either all at once or just one video at a time at their own discretion. Plus, posting more videos more often can bring in more viewers who then will want to subscribe to hear the rest of your spiel.

5- The title of your YouTube video is EVERYTHING!

Long titles are a big NO-NO! You want them to be easily searched for, easy to understand exactly what the video is about, and also lure viewers in to watch your video. YouTube works best when videos have the type of titles that YouTube users are looking for. YouTube users love videos with simple titles that make it really easy for them to quickly understand what the video will be about so that they don’t waste their time.

Make sure you’re using keywords! Keywords make your titles easier to find when using the YouTube search engine. If your video is about a certain product, make sure to name that product in your title. Is it a review? Make sure your audience knows that by stating it in the title!

The title needs to be interesting enough to make people want to click on your YouTube video and watch, too. YouTube works best when videos have titles that match YouTube users’ interests. YouTube videos with titles that users find too long-winded and boring will get lost in the shuffle and YouTube works best when videos have titles that are easy to understand and very clear about what your YouTube video is going to be about before people click on it.

So, titles should be clear, concise,and short!

6- Consider fun cover art!

YouTube video covers are a really great way to engage your YouTube viewers even before they click play. YouTube works best when videos have covers that are interesting enough to make YouTube users want to click on the video to watch it. YouTube videos with fun and captivating cover art will immediately catch the eye of any YouTube user who is looking at it.

It can be very easy to create a captivating cover for your YouTube videos, especially if you’re going through proper post-production and are able to grab great screenshots of your video or can work a little bit of graphic design magic!

However, it is not wise to make your cover art into something that looks nothing like the video you’re posting or is a false advertisement of the video as a whole. It should also match your company’s branding themes in order to be recognizable as your company’s video.

7- Interact with your viewers!

Interacting with your viewers and subscribers is one of the easiest ways to make sure your viewers stick around. It tells them that you care about them. YouTube works best when YouTube videos are interactive with YouTube users and YouTube subscribers. YouTube works best when YouTube videos do not just place the viewers on the backburner but let them know that you care about them and want to hear their opinions as well by giving them a way to interact with your company.

If your viewers have questions, make sure you’re responding to them, even if you don’t know the answer! If they have a complaint, make sure you’re reporting it to your company so that you can make positive changes, and let the viewers know that you’re working on it. They want to be heard and considered, especially if they’re giving you money!

8- Don’t forget about YouTube annotations!

YouTube annotations are an important step that you should never skip! YouTube annotations work to your advantage because they inform YouTube users of other YouTube videos that they should check out next, YouTube playlists and YouTube channels they should subscribe to, and YouTube annotations also help YouTube users by giving them a way to easily share your YouTube video with their friends! YouTube users love YouTube videos with annotations that allow them to engage with the video even more.

YouTube annotations make it really easy for YouTube users to like, share, and subscribe. Annotations are perfect for both showing appreciation and asking questions of your viewers, too! It’s always a good idea to make sure your viewers know how much you appreciate them and their business!

9- Be sure that your YouTube videos are engaging!

YouTube works best when YouTube videos are entertaining and engage its audience. YouTube users want to be entertained or learn something while watching your YouTube video and being able to meet that consistently will get them to subscribe to your channel.

You don’t have to be a comedian or professional orator to keep your audience engaged. You can teach them something new about the products or services you sell. You can show them new techniques on how to use any products. You can even do a review of your products in order to show them something they might not have known about it, but that they might need out of it. Keep it on-brand for your company, though. A serious law firm won’t want to be posting silly jokes but may consider teaching their viewers about past trials or new law changes, whereas a Toy Company may want to show the silly side of their products and present their channel in bright colors that draw in the childlike eye.

10- Outsource help when you need to!

As we stated before, maintaining a good and engaging YouTube channel can be time-consuming. So, why not outsource for help when you need it?

Advertising firms, like C&I Studios know the ins and outs of YouTube. We know how to create engaging, on-brand videos for a number of different industries, how to maintain a channel, and how the interaction between creators and viewers should be working.

If you’re ready to engage with YouTube views more thoroughly, make sure to contact C&I Studios today to create and learn how to manage your video marketing through YouTube!

You’ve written a script, hired the talent, shot the video footage for your company’s latest marketing campaign, but now it’s time for post-production to finish off your marketing video. It’s important to really polish your video and edit it into something your company can be proud to display anywhere. There are a few post-production techniques and elements you should take into consideration as you compile your video.

While post-production isn’t always a very time-consuming process, it can seem a million times longer if you don’t have the right post-production team on board to help you. It can be a good idea to hire a video production company like C&I Studios to produce your video from start to finish.

If you and your company prefer to create your own videos, or are looking for ways to boost your skills in post-production, we’re still here to help! Following are a few post-production elements that will take your marketing video from ordinary to extraordinary:

1)Custom Music

Music is one of the post-production elements that can really make or break your video. It sets the tone and tells the audience how they’re supposed to feel while watching it. Music is known to evoke emotions. The wrong music choice can result in a video that’s unclear, boring, or misleading.

The right music can turn a video into something viewers actually want to watch again and again. The post-production team you work with should be able to find the perfect piece of music for your video.

While it can be fun to use popular music, it isn’t always feasible what with copyright laws and your budget. There are many pieces of music that are available in the public domain, or you can create your own if you’re musically inclined.

There are plenty of post-production companies that specialize in finding exactly the right music to fit your video, even going so far as to create the music for you. So take advantage of them!

2)Sound Effects

Some people may record all their audio at the same time as their video footage without any post-production at all. This is fine for videos that will only be viewed online or on mobile devices, however, if you plan to post your video on TV or in theaters, post-production sound effects are a must! TikTok quality audio is not what you should be striving for in videos meant for marketing, even on TikTok.

Sound effects can make the difference between your video being high quality and merely average. For example, the post-production team can choose different sounds for the main character’s footsteps and other parts in your video. Sound effects can also help if you’re trying to show a specific emotion. If the post-production team is adding sound effects, they should be able to get them just right to make your video come alive!

3)Voiceover Narration

Many marketing videos include professional voiceover narration. This post-production element can add a professional touch to your video. If you’re not especially artistic or creative, post-production companies that specialize in voiceovers can find the perfect voice to fit your video.

Voiceover narration is used for both videos meant to be hosted on TV and videos posted online and can really enhance the viewer’s experience. This post-production element can help your marketing video stand out.

Voiceover can help enhance some of the audio that didn’t come through in the original recording, or it can help to explain what’s happening in the video. Voiceover can really make a video accessible to anyone who is visually impaired, too. So, it’s an important part of any video that requires explanation.

However, if you choose to include voiceover narration in your video, it’s important that the post-production team hires someone who sounds sophisticated and professional. If this post-production element is done poorly then it won’t add anything to your video and will actually make it sound amateur.

4)Picture In Picture (PPI)

This post-production element is a great way to make your video more interesting and dynamic as it can add something extra to the video, showing off things you wouldn’t be able to fit in naturally. Picture in picture edits can also be a post-production element that enhances the video by showing what else is happening simultaneously with the main theme of the video.

Picture in picture edits can help your post-production team demonstrate their creativity and artistic vision as well as boost sales of your product or service. This post-production element will surely make your video stand out among others.

However, doing too much of this can really distract the viewer from the actual video content. This element should only be used to emphasize something in your video rather than be heavily featured.

5)Custom Transitions

Transitions between scenes are also important to consider. You don’t want your transitions between scenes to look like an early 2000’s PowerPoint slideshow, so make sure you’re using high-quality transition effects and staying up to date with new editing techniques and technology. If you don’t, you may not come across as professional or up-to-date in your technological know-how.

Transitions from one scene to another can make all the difference when it comes to post-production elements. For example, if you already include some visual effects but you don’t have post-production adding their own effects or transitions, it can seem really weird.

Making sure your transitions are up-to-date, smooth, and interesting can keep your audience’s attention and send the right message of your company’s professionalism.

6)Editing the Actual Video Footage

Editing takes place after all of the footage has been shot and recorded, at least in part. There are many factors that go into post-production editing, including what type of software was used to edit it and how long post-production editing takes, but it can include anything from cutting out mistakes to speeding up or slowing down the footage for the final cut- how else would those who made The Matrix have created those dynamic fight scenes?!! By editing the footage, of course!

Another post-production element that editing can incorporate into your video is color grading. Color grading edits the footage by adjusting the colors of your video to make them look like they blend together more organically or give off a certain emotion.

7)Annotations

Annotations are post-production elements you can use to enhance your video with call-to-action messages or links that lead viewers to more information about your product or service. Post-production companies will know how best to position these annotations for optimal results.

Making sure that your clients can find links to your e-commerce store, easily sign up for emailed newsletters, or subscribe to your other video marketing efforts allows for engagement and return viewership. Annotations help post-production elements make your video stand out among the rest and you can really tailor them to your company’s branding.

8)Encoding the Video

Encoding is especially important if you plan on putting your video online. If post-production professionals don’t encode correctly, it can ruin the video’s quality completely. Therefore, make sure post-production encoding is done carefully by post-production experts.

Encoding is a post-production element that involves the act of compressing your video in order to save space when uploading it online. It’s important that post-production experts do encoding, as they will know exactly how to compress the video without ruining its quality.

It also saves space in your company’s offline storage and makes it much easier to share between employees, other companies, and even makes it easier to share with your customer base via e-mail.

9)Captions and Subtitles

Captions and subtitles are some of the most important post-production elements that you should be adding to every single video. They make your videos accessible, which speaks to both your brand culture and your professionalism.

A post-production element that makes the video stand out by making it more accessible is subtitles or captions. Captions and subtitles make sure everyone who watches it understands what the video says, no matter what.

Captions are a great way to reach out to a wider audience who may be hearing impaired or have trouble understanding your video if there’s a lot of background noise that’s distracting from the main message you’re trying to convey. Captions post-production can also help those who speak English as a second language, as many forms of captions can be translated.

Making your videos accessible to as many people as possible is in your best interest. It widens your net of potential customers and viewership, which will expand your revenue.

 

All of these post-production elements are important to consider, no matter what your video is about. They not only make your videos look professional and well-made, but they make your videos accessible, too! Accessibility grows your viewership!

And since post-production is so important, it’s important to get the right team working on these edits. The post-production team you choose to work with should have skills in all of these post-production elements so that they can ensure your video is the best it can be. Don’t skimp on the details!

The post-production team should also have experience working on marketing videos similar to yours so they know what works and what doesn’t work for your type of video. You can’t expect post-production people to excel at post-production editing if they don’t have any experience with what you need.

If your current team isn’t well-versed in post-production, or any of the video production process, it’s in your company’s best interest to look into hiring a video production firm to handle it. Hiring a post-production team that knows what works and doesn’t work is very much in your company’s best interest.

They have the experience and skills needed to get the job done right the first time, no matter what post-production elements you need to be incorporated into your video. Your marketing videos should look as professional as possible; put your best foot forward!

C&I Studios prides itself on knowing the video production process inside and out! We understand how many different industries need to be marketed. Every video we create is customized to the industry and brand it’s representing which allows for a custom fit every time! We make sure all the post-production elements are incorporated in and tailored to your video.

Check out our portfolio of video production and take a look at the many other services C&I Studios has to offer.

E-commerce businesses always need to display their products in a professional and easy-to-see way in order to sell their products. It’s important for the consumer to be able to see the details of the products they’re purchasing, otherwise, they won’t spend money. One of the most common ways for e-commerce stores to present product photographs is product-on-white photography.

Most e-commerce businesses know why good product photography is important, but do they actually know how product photography should be done in order to make it sellable to their customers?

In this article, we’ll give you a few product photography tips for making sure your product shots turn out great and why it’s important to use product-on-white photography as your main way of displaying products for photography.

What is Product-On-White Photography?

Product-on-white photography is simply as it sounds. It’s photographs of products on a white background in order to post on an e-commerce shop.

You’ll see this type of product photography on most e-commerce sites like Amazon or Best Buy. It makes it easy for the consumer to see the product without being distracted by a background as well as allows for better light in order to see the small details of the product you’re trying to sell.

Why You Need Product-On-White Photography

There are a number of ways product-on-white photography has an advantage on product shots with a background.

First, it allows for better product visualization since you aren’t distracted by the background color or anything on it.

Second, product-on-white photography is more professional due to how product-on-white photography allows product shots to be taken in a controlled environment (this is less true with product photography using natural light).

Why is Product-On-White Photography important?

White product photography turns a product into a feature item. It is no longer an object amongst others, but the hero of the product shot. Showcasing your product on white makes it stand out from the product listing and puts it in its own world – making it easier for users to spot and click on.

This product-on-white photography is perfect for product pages as it brings out the product, not the background. It makes it easier for customers to quickly browse through products and view them from all angles. Furthermore, many e-commerce businesses make product videos to show off their products from all angles; white product photography is pretty much essential for product video listings.

Here are a few tips on how to create the perfect product photo using a white background that will make your e-commerce store look professional and clean:

Always take your product-on-white photos in a controlled environment:

A controlled environment is one where the photographer can control every aspect of the photoshoot. This means everything from product background to product lighting. Being able to control every part of the photoshoot guarantees that you’ll be able to get the perfect shot of your products, once you figure out the perfect balance of lighting, background, and angling the camera.

A product-on-white shot may not always look good at first; at the very least, make sure you take one (or more!) product shots in a controlled environment in order to show the product in its best light.

Setting up product-on-white photography shoots in a controlled environment can be difficult depending on the type of product you’re photographing. For bulkier products, product-on-white photos can be hard to take since they may not fit inside product studios or product white photography rigs.  Luckily, professional studios like C&I Studios have large cyclorama walls (or CYC walls) that are large enough for even photos of a car on white!

For smaller items, product on white photography can be easy since they can be contained within product white photography rigs or smaller product studios.

Use product white photography lightboxes to get high-quality product photos:

Lightboxes are simple white box-shaped backgrounds that are used in product photography. They are excellent for getting good product shots regardless of the product being photographed. If you have a bigger budget, it’s great to purchase product white photography lightboxes for product-on-white photos.

Creating your own product white lighting rig is another way of getting product-on-white photography done quickly and easily, without having to spend money on product white photography lightboxes. There are many tutorials out there to build your own lightbox, but we don’t recommend this route unless you really know your way around the tools. It can cost a lot and it’s not guaranteed to be a good light source or background.

Hiring out a studio to create your product photography is a great way to ensure your photos are taken in a controlled environment and that you’re using professional equipment that will help you to get the best product photos possible.

Use a white product photography backdrop:

Using the proper backdrop not only makes your product stand out from its surroundings but also allows for more creative product photos.

And in order to get product-on-white photographs, you need, wait for it, a white backdrop. Should be easy, right? It can be more difficult than you’d think. There are so many off-white options out there that you need to make sure that you’re getting a true, crisp white backdrop. White shows dirt easily, too, so it’s important to make sure it’s stored in a clean place when not in use, and never left out for dust and grime to collect on it.

It’s important though to get the right backdrops for whatever product you’re trying to photograph. If you use a product photography backdrop that is too big, it might look odd and unprofessional. Too small and you’ll get unwanted colors in your photo that offset the product you’re trying to show off.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive option, a white sheet, a white tabletop, white poster board, really anything that reads as a true white can work. However, sometimes taking the inexpensive route can really show in your work. For example, using a white sheet of fabric that has a large weave won’t read as a white background as you’ll be able to see little shadows in the texture of the fabric. And white poster board can wrinkle easily in transit from storage to set, and often will reflect light in unusual ways. It’s important to invest in the right kind of background and take care of it properly so that you’re not having to replace your backdrops constantly.

To be able to take product photos on the go, small white backdrops are essential for product photography because they provide you with the possibility of creating product photos that are professional-looking without needing too much equipment or effort.

You can easily purchase small lightboxes that serve as white backdrops from most companies that specialize in camera technology. If you’re going to be taking a lot of product photos, the price is worth it to invest in the right tools.

Make sure the product is evenly lit:

The key to product photography is making sure that everything about the photo looks professional and clean. Even lighting ensures that no shadows fall onto the product and it shows off your product at its best.

If you have the right type and amount of lighting, you won’t need to edit your photos too much in post-production.

Some e-commerce businesses use simple ring lights and cellphone cameras to take photographs of their products. While this is an inexpensive way to get photos of your products up onto your site, it’s certainly not the best way to present your business. Photos can turn out pixelated or blurry with a cellphone camera and ring lights, while they do provide a good amount of light, can still allow for shadows to show up in your photos.

Using professional lights will help you to create clean photographs that anyone on the internet can access.

Make sure you’re using the correct camera:

While we all carry a small camera on our person at all times of the day in our cellphones. They’re pretty decent cameras, too, for everyday pictures. But they aren’t meant for product photography or any kind of professional photography at that.

Filters and photo editing applications can only do so much for product photography. The product itself needs to be taken in the right lighting, photographed on the proper background, shot with the proper camera, and edited later by professionals.

Using a professional camera will create cleaner photos in higher definition than a cellphone camera. You won’t need to edit your photos as much, and you’ll be able to display the photos proudly on your website without having to fear if they can be zoomed in on without the photograph pixelating.

E-commerce product photos are images that will potentially go viral across the internet. They represent your product, business, and brand. It’s important to make sure they’re the highest quality of photographs so that your business is properly represented.

Use different angles when taking photos of your products:

You’ll notice on many big-box online stores that they’ll have more than one photo of a product. For product-on-white photography, it is best to have one photo that shows the product from the front and another that shows the product in its entirety.

That way, you can show off all your product’s features without requiring the consumer to interact with your product in order to get a better look at what you’re selling. Consumers are more likely to make a purchase when they’re well-informed, and being able to see all sides of the product allows them to see everything they need to.

Take a computer for example. You’re looking for something with certain specs, right? You want to see how the ports are set up, where the power button is, and how the keyboard is laid out. You can’t see all that from just one photo. No, you need to see the computer from multiple angles in order to see all of that.

You also want to take pictures from different angles in order to make sure you’re getting the best shot. It’s best to have many different options to choose from when deciding what photos to edit and upload to your e-commerce store.

Use product photography props to enhance your product:

Product-on-white photography is not just about how you light up or place your product on white, but also what you do to enhance it and make it look more attractive for consumers.

Adding certain props to your product’s photo can make a product look more appealing to customers and give them a better understanding of the product. It can also help the customers gain a sense of scale when trying to decide if a product is right for them to purchase.

Don’t be afraid of editing:

Your photos won’t come out perfect right off the camera. Of course, product photography with product-on-white will require some editing in order to look professional and clean. You can’t expect a product photo that is taken in your house or outside to come out looking like the photos you see on big e-commerce sites like Amazon.

Perhaps there’s a small shadow underneath the product that you just can’t quite get around with your lighting situation. Those can be edited out. You can also edit out any dust or dirt that finds its way into the shot. If your lighting is washing out the colors of the product, you can bring them back to their original color with just a bit of editing magic.

It’s important for e-commerce businesses to invest money into product photography that includes editing by professionals who know what they’re doing. Firms like C&I Studios know how to create appealing product photography from concept to post-production edits.

Consider hiring a professional:

It takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to make product-on-white photography into something that looks professional and clean. It’s best to hire a product photography studio that will have the tools and knowledge required to take product-on-white photographs.

The money you spend on product photography can be very rewarding when it comes time for consumers to purchase your product online, especially if that product is something that requires a certain aesthetic in order to sell well.

C&I Studios is one of these professional marketing firms that offerings product photography. But, that’s not all we offer! Check out our other services, like video production, here.

 

Product-on-white photography is one of the best product presentation methods that you can use for e-commerce businesses. It brings products into their own world and allows users to quickly get an idea of products without being distracted by

Don’t let product photography hold you back from selling online! Get the product-on-white photos that will sell your product quickly and easily. Contact C&I Studios today to get started!

Video is no longer just video.  It’s video with animation.  Businesses, charities, and individuals are all looking to video as an affordable way to get their message out there in the world.

But video with animation is more than video; it’s imagery combined with motion which makes for an effective promotional video. Most of us think of animation as cartoon characters, but animation can include video and video editing.

Animation video has a high production value, is memorable, grabs attention, and speaks to people in a way that traditional video can’t.

Whether you’re looking to market yourself or your product, animation video makes the impact that video with just video cannot.

Animated video is a great asset to have in your marketing strategy, not only for businesses but also for educational institutions or even families.  It’s a powerful promotional video tactic that wins over viewers’ hearts and minds more often than not.

Without further ado, here are 8 tips for animating your promotional video:

1) Keep it simple

We know you want to go all out with animation: it’s flashy, attention-grabbing, and really fun to add to any video. But, more bells and whistles aren’t always the best practice. Sometimes you have to live by the rules of K.I.S.S.: Keep it simple, s…. well, we don’t think anyone is “stupid”, but we didn’t create the acronym.

Keeping things simple is the best course of action for video animation.  You should keep your video short and to the point, with only the main message that you want potential customers to see.  If there are any minor parts that you would like video viewers to understand, simply add an annotation (a separate video positioned next to, over, or below video) explaining the video topic.

Simplicity is key when bringing animation into your marketing efforts.

It’s also best to keep videos under two minutes long. Too long and you lose viewers out of time constraints and lack of engaging content. Keeping video clips short is important to video success. Since video viewers have very little time in terms of attention span, keeping your video under two minutes is a must.

2) Keep it short

With video growing in popularity, video producers are constantly making their videos longer to accommodate all that they want to say or show.  This is not necessary, however, or even really recommended.  People have very short attention spans when it comes to video, especially online video sharing video, so make your video short and to the point.  Come up with a video topic and video viewers will be satisfied.  If there are any minor parts that you would like video viewers to understand, simply add an annotation (a separate video positioned next to, over, or below video) explaining the video topic.

Besides, breaking up longer videos into shorter clips that can be posted as a series can be more beneficial to your marketing strategy! It will engage more people over time as you post the content at different times as well as make your content more sharable.

3) Keep it beautiful

A video containing animation can’t be as effective as video without animation if the video is not aesthetically pleasing. You may have a video with a good message, but video viewers’ attention span will stray from the video if you do not make your video look nice.

Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and can be interpreted in many different ways. When it comes to animation, it could mean anything from a smooth transition to artfully designed characters.

Attractive animation is video animation that is aesthetically pleasing and video viewers will appreciate looking at it. They’ll want to share the video with other potential customers, whereas videos that aren’t nice to look at won’t be shared. Many people share videos to their social media only if it fits in their aesthetic, too. So, making sure that it’s pleasing to look at, but can fit into many aesthetics can be extremely beneficial. But don’t let your brand’s personality suffer in order to fit in.

If you need help with video animation, hiring an animator or video graphics designer can help bring your vision to life for video purposes. Many video production firms, like C&I Studios offer animation along with their other production services. If you’re looking for animation with a firm like C&I Studios, it’s important to make sure you’re on the same page of what you consider to be attractive animation.

4) Keep it entertaining

Along with making sure your animation is attractive, you want to make sure it’s actually entertaining.

Let’s face it, people want to be entertained when companies are trying to get them to spend money with them. People are more likely to remember things that keep them interested rather than dry video topics.  You want people to watch your video because it’s awesome, not just because you have a great message. Though a great message certainly plays a part in the entertainment aspect of the video, it’s not enough.

An entertaining video evokes emotion. Animation can certainly play a role in entertainment value. It can easily grab the eyes and viewers’ attention.  But video animation is not the only way video producers can successfully create a video that video viewers will want to keep watching, even if video production companies couldn’t afford a more involved animation style.

You don’t have to be an animator or video graphic designer yourself in order to make your video entertaining! Using some simple video editing techniques to make video transitions, insert video clips, and video graphics can also help your video feel more complete. For example, adding video animation into the more dry parts of the video can be beneficial to keep viewers interested in your video.

5) Keep it consistent

Consistency is the key to video animation.  This means that video viewers should be able to recognize what video graphics and video voiceover parts mean during your video. You should keep video edits, video effects, video time, video size, video color scheme, video font style, and video font size consistent throughout the video.  This type of consistency allows viewers to be more focused on your video message instead of individual components.

For example, if you’re going to have a cartoon character pop up every other scene, then keep that same cartoon character showing up throughout the video. If your video contains video animation, video graphics, video voiceover, and video text, then keep them all consistent to maintain video continuity through your video. You don’t want too many voices speaking at your audience or too many graphics flying across the screen, it can be incredibly overwhelming and noisy to most viewers.

This tip goes along with keeping things simple. You don’t want too many different parts coming in and taking over; that’s how you lose viewer interest and get confused customers.

6) Keep it relevant

Relevancy is extremely important when animating a promotional video. You want people to remember the message that you are trying to get across during video animation.  If video viewers are distracted by video graphics, video voiceover, or video text that is not relevant to your video message then they will not pay attention nor care what you’re trying to say.

You should keep video edits, video effects, video time, video size, video color scheme, video font style, and video font size relevant to video animation, video graphics, video voiceover, and video text.  Keeping everything relevant allows video viewers to focus on your video message because all of the components that make up your video are related.

Your animation should also be relevant to current social commentary and issues, too.

Making sure you’re not using images that could be considered taboo or offensive to not only your target audience but to anyone who might view your video is important when trying to market your company. Offending your potential customers is not something you want to do. You don’t need to be political in your marketing by any means, but you should make yourself and your marketing sector aware of any changes in what is appropriate to include and what you should absolutely be excluding.

7) Keep in mind your company’s personality

Even though video animation is a great way to market your product or service, if the video doesn’t feel authentic it will backfire on you.

You want video viewers to associate video animation with your company, so video producers should take the time to put video animation in their video that properly represents their company.

Your company’s personality is found within your brand as well as your company culture. If your video company is known for being colorful, make sure you add video animation that represents your company’s personality by having fun and showing off the character of your video. If your video animation is bland and not true to how your company actually interacts with its clients and customers, you’ll find that past customers will not return and you won’t be engaging with your targeted audience.

You should get video feedback from your team on top of your video customers to get a great idea of what video animation should include. Make sure to ask them if the marketing feels authentic to your brand.

8) Keep video viewers engaged

Using animation is one way to keep your audience engaged, but only if it’s really done right. And creating the right kind of animation depends upon your target audience, your brand, and what you’re selling.

Children will be more engaged by silly cartoon characters that are convincing them that they want a certain toy or game, while an adult may not find them appealing when they’re deciding to make a purchase for themselves. Adults might appreciate specific animated texts or graphics that give information. Charts and graphs can really sell something to an audience with an analytical mindset!

Video animation can also turn off your video viewers if it is not done right. While we’ve already talked about making sure they’re aesthetically pleasing, you should also consider how active it is and how a viewer might react to its presence. If your video looks too flashy or if video graphics are popping up everywhere, then video viewers will not know what to watch and where they should be focused.

If video viewers are not paying attention to your video or don’t understand what video animation is trying to get across, they will leave the viewing process and find a video that better suits their needs.  You want video viewers to enjoy watching your promotional video animation so keep them entertained and interested!

 

We know animation can be a difficult area to get into when it comes to video marketing, but it can really boost your marketing game and therefore boost your sales. That’s what C&I Studios is here for!

C&I Studios specializes in professional video production of all kinds.

Need video animation?  We’ve got video animation.

Want video graphics, video editing, video voiceover, video text?

We can do all of those things at C&I Studios!

You can peruse our portfolio here and see what we’ve provided many other brands with. You might even find something that you never thought about pursuing with your marketing strategy! Let’s get the ideas rolling!

Ready to get started? Or maybe you don’t see exactly what you’re looking for? Contact us to start a conversation. We’re here to help and ready to get started!

In this day and age, photography and videography have almost completely merged into one industry. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean photography and video are always interchangeable. In fact, the two have distinct uses when it comes to marketing campaigns.

So the question remains: when is it appropriate for you to use a video instead of photography? When is photography better than video? And most importantly, how do you know?

What is the difference between photography and videography?

To start with photography, it is a visual medium. It’s really good for capturing images and scenes to illustrate a story or concept. If your business needs still photos of the inside of your office, say for an article about what makes your workplace so great, photography is perfect. You can also use photography to take pictures of products and event table settings. Photography is also ideal for professional portraits.

A photograph is a single captured image. It can feature people, products, places, or animals and can be extremely versatile in terms of subject matter. They’re still, no movement or audio, and can be heavily edited.

A video is a story told in motion with audio. A video can show how a product works or what it looks like in action, whereas photography is still and you would need multiple photos to capture motion. Videos contain audio that enhances the experience of the media, providing information and/or entertainment to the viewer. Video is great for showing off a business’ personality, too! These can feature testimonials, information about the business and employees, or more.

When it comes to photography and video’s uses in marketing, photography tends to be used when the goal is promoting services or products, while video is frequently meant to emphasize or enhance a company’s story.

Both are known to evoke an emotional response from viewers, so the real decision is in where you’re marketing your business as well as how you want to present it.

Why would I want to use one over the other?

Both photography and video are required for marketing purposes because the two bring different things to the table. Not every marketing project requires photography or video, but it does enhance the experience and bring in more potential customers. It’s worth making sure your marketing includes visual media.

In general, you should try using a mixture of both types of media. It will bring you the best advantage. However, knowing when the best times and places to use each is the biggest hurdle to jump over when planning your marketing strategy.

Photography should be used in marketing because it has the ability to deliver an emotional impact through composition, light, subject matter, and perspective. Photography can directly connect with your customers on an emotional level because it’s communicating with their subconscious mind. It’s a powerful medium that has been successful in marketing for many years. Photography can be used in marketing when you want to capture a single moment, while video can be used when you want to show something at work.

Video takes photography one step further by using audio. Video allows the viewer (potential customer) to connect with your product on an auditory level in addition to visual, which makes it even easier for them to emotionally bond with your business because more of their senses are working together.

Video is most effective when you want to show your business in action. When photography can’t capture what you’re trying to communicate, video will pick it up and run with it because of the audio that comes with. It actively shows a sequence of events or actions taking place rather than just capturing a single moment.

So which should you be using for your marketing efforts? Let’s find out!

Physical Marketing

Marketing media that you can hold in your hand isn’t going to be able to play a video. Flyers, brochures, printed magazines, and posters will all have photography or graphics. This creates opportunities to use photography to connect with your customer on a deeper, more intimate level. Because there’s nothing else going on besides photography and writing, the person reading it needs something powerful to connect them with your brand.

Sometimes graphics and clip art are used on physical marketing media, but it’s usually not the best option. Photographs, as we stated before, inspire a more emotional reaction by their viewers. Photographs can feature other humans, animals, plants, landscapes, or products. It’s important to remember that photography is capturing a moment in time, but you can create photography for marketing purposes by staging a photo shoot of some sort.

Online Marketing

Here’s where we really need to question what we should be asking for marketing campaigns: photographs or videos?

We’d say that depends on where online you’re going to be posting your marketing information. Between social media, email marketing, website marketing, and advertisements, there’s a lot to figure out about what works where.

Let’s start with the most basic of online marketing, social media. On all major social sites photography is allowed and in some cases, required for you to share your content. However, there are video-sharing platforms like YouTube and TikTok that are meant for video content only. When you’re creating a photography project for marketing, save it for your social media accounts and take advantage of photography’s visual appeal that makes it perfect for social media.

That’s not to say photography isn’t allowed on video-sharing platforms. Many creators mix photography in to their videos via slide shows or effects. It makes for a fun and interesting mixture. Other than that, there’s no reason to use photography on a video-sharing platform… unless it’s photography of the video you want to share, or a slideshow of photographs.

Posting marketing material on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter isn’t as cut-and-dry, though. Instagram, for instance, has an option to upload video and photography in your feed. On most sites you’re going to be sharing a healthy mixture of the two. Photographs and graphics are easy to consume, but are easily passed by while scrolling through a feed. Videos, on the other hand, grab the attention of the viewer.

It’s important to tag whatever media you’re posting so that people seeking them out specifically can find them easily. If photography is your focus, use hashtags like #photography and #gallery to get more eyes on your material. If you’d rather promote video, make sure to use hashtags like #video or #videoshow.

With email marketing, photographs are the most popular. Email marketing is frequently used as a way to promote and inform, and photography fits perfectly with those two categories. On the other hand, email newsletters are often sent via HTML which means you can share video or photography within them as well. However, it can be more challenging to use photography on filtered emails.

If you want your photography project to stand out, make sure the images are high resolution and professional-looking. You’ll probably have more success with video here because of its ability to show motion.

Marketing your website requires photography and style. Most sites that allow photography allow the option to upload videos as well, but we still recommend using photography both for aesthetic reasons and because it’s easier to show off what you’re selling.

That’s not to say that your website shouldn’t have video. You should have videos on your website! They just need to be strategically placed so as not to overwhelm your site visitors and provide the right information in the right places. Product review videos should be on the product pages themselves, whereas a video detailing your company should be found either on the main page or in the “About Us” section.

Once you have your photography or videos, make sure you optimize them for marketing. You may want to consider video-specific SEO techniques like uploading a transcript of the video to make it easier to read and understand for search engines as well as make it easier for people who can’t turn on or even use the audio aspect of a video.

Television and Movies

Commercials have been a staple in viewing programs on TV. Most of them are made of videos to match the media that you’re currently engaging in. Sometimes, though, commercials will use a rare still image in order to make a statement. In contrast, the still photo grabs the viewers’ eyes when they’re expecting to see movement.

If you’ve been to the theater in the past decade, you’ll notice that ads play while you wait for the movie to begin. They’re usually a mixture of both slideshows of still images and videos that advertise local businesses or new movies to be released soon.

Basically, if you’re going to advertise where videos are the main media, creating videos is how you want to advertise.

How Can I Create Videos and Photographs to use in my marketing?

It can be both simple and complicated to create photographs and videos that are worthy of advertising. And that’s what C&I Studios [link: ] is here to help you with- content creation of all kinds.

If you want photography, it’s as simple as hiring a photographer. If you’re not looking to invest in photography, try taking your own photos with a camera that allows for photography options or using your phone. For photography, you’ll really want a nice camera with interchangeable lenses. This gives the photographer room to grow and allows them to change cameras over time as new models come out and prices drop. A tripod will be needed in most instances to keep shots steady and if you really want excellent photography, you’ll need a model release form as well.  Of course your output will not be near the level of quality you will get when you hire a professional, so keep that in mind.

If you’re wanting video footage from multiple angles then it would be best to hire a video production service that can help capture the moment and capture the footage needed for marketing.

It’s not wise to use your camera phone to create all of your content. While camera phones are much higher quality than they were five years ago, they’re still not quite the same quality you will find with a professional camera.

If you need photography and video, it’s a good idea to look into companies that do both photography and videography, like C&I Studios. Our photography and video services work together to create seamless marketing campaigns that show how professional your company is while telling the story you want to convey to potential customers.

You can see all of the services we provide companies like yours here. We don’t just “do marketing”, we create and put forth ideas and tell your stories. Creativity is our business!

We’ve worked with many different companies, such as Coca-Cola, Hautehouse, and many others to create professional photography and videography that they can use in their marketing efforts. Contact us today to find out more about photography and video production and how we can help you create the images needed to take your marketing campaigns to the next level.

We can’t wait to hear from you and get started in creating amazing marketing campaigns together!