Live, in-person, events are back! We’re all getting ready to gather again after two very long years of virtual events and conferences, but what does that mean for your business? It means you need to start working on your exhibit booths for the events you’ll be attending as vendors or sponsors!

But what does an exhibit booth look like in today’s technological world? You could go the traditional route and have a couple of tables with some brochures and a banner or two, but that’s not going to leave much of an impression on potential customers.

If you’re looking to create an exhibit booth that will really stand out and leave a lasting impression, then you’ll need to make sure you utilize both graphic design and video production. By combining these two elements, you can create a truly unique and memorable experience for your audience. Whether they’re in-person or tuning into a live streaming event of your exhibit.

Graphic Design

Graphic design is crucial for creating eye-catching visuals that will draw people in and make them want to learn more about your company or product. You can use graphic design to create a sleek and professional look for your booth or to showcase specific products or services that you offer.

But what kinds of graphic design should be included in your exhibit booth? Here are a few ideas of what you should be including in every exhibit booth that your company puts together:

• Branding Materials
• Product Visuals
• Service Information
• Infographics
• Booth Graphics
• Live Streaming Visuals

Branding Materials

Make sure your booth reflects your company’s identity. This could include items like your logo, company colors, and slogan.

Product Visuals

If you’re selling products at your exhibit booth, then you’ll need to have high-quality product photos or videos on display.

Service Information

If you’re providing services, then include graphic design elements that explain what you offer and how it can benefit potential customers. You can also host demonstrations of your services, if possible. This is a great strategy to attract more customers to your booth.

Infographics

Infographics help your audience to see, at a glance, how successful your business has been. They can also be used to explain complex topics in a way that is easy to understand.

Booth Graphics

Your booth graphics should be inviting and easy to read from a distance. Consider using large fonts and bright colors to catch people’s attention.

Live Streaming Visuals

If you’re planning on live-streaming your exhibit booth, then you’ll need to create visuals that are engaging and interesting. You can use graphic design and video production to create on-screen animations, motion graphics, and more.

 

To really put together a striking exhibit booth, you need to make sure that your branding is obvious so that people walking through can very clearly tell what your company is about. If you’re selling products, then your product visuals need to be of the highest quality so they look appealing and inviting. And if you’re providing services, make sure your graphic design elements explain what you offer in a way that’s easy to understand.

Video Production

Video production is also important, as it can be used to create engaging and informative videos that will help explain what your company is all about. By using video, you can really show off your products or services in a dynamic and engaging way.

There are different kinds of videos you can include in your exhibit booth to really make your company stand out against every other booth at the event. You can have an overview video of your company, a product demo video, or even testimonials from satisfied customers. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a live stream from the exhibit booth to show your audience at home what your business is up to!

What can each of these videos do for your booth? Each one of them provides your exhibit booth with something different!

Company Overviews

Let’s begin with the most basic of videos that you should have in your exhibit booth! This kind of video introduces your company to anyone walking through the exhibit.

In this type of video, you’ll want to introduce your company. Give a brief history on the founding of your company, introduce your employees (if you have a lot, pick just a few to keep it short and sweet!), talk about your goals, and discuss previous success.

You can also use this video to show off your company’s culture. This is a great way to really attract top talent to your booth! If you’re looking to hire, this is a huge asset!

Product Demos

If you sell tangible products, why not show them off with demonstration videos?!!

Through videos, you don’t have to have every product your company sells right there, in person during the event. You can use video to show off anything from a new product launch to that one item that’s always selling out.

If you have a brand new product that you’re excited to show off, make a video about it and bring it to your event! It’s the perfect time to really show off what your company sells, does, and how it can make other people’s lives easier, fruitful, and/or comfortable!

Testimonials

What better way to sell the experience of your company than with testimonials from satisfied customers? Testimonial videos are one of the easiest and most successful ways of getting future customers to trust your company. There’s a reason websites like Yelp and Angie’s List (now known as “Angi”) are so popular, and that’s because people tend to trust real customers and their experiences. You can read about all of the reasons why a testimonial video, not only playing in your exhibit booth but posted anywhere that people will see and interact with it, will increase your company’s success here.

Live Streams

This type of video production will be done at the event. It takes a bit more effort during the event itself because you’ll need to have people and equipment dedicated to producing the live stream. This should be the only kind of video production that we’ve mentioned that happens at the event.

What’s so great about live streaming? To understand everything that makes live streaming an asset during any kind of event, read our previous blog post about why live streaming is beneficial to your company.

You can also reuse any of the video footage from the live stream in future marketing! We’ve recently written about how to reuse footage from not only live streams, but from any previous video production, and you can read all about it here. Live streaming your exhibit booth during an event can really make the rest of your future marketing videos pop!

 

Videos can really draw in an audience. They can provide a more dynamic view of your company than just text or still images. Plus, they help to keep people engaged and coming back for more! Use video production to its full potential in your next exhibit booth and see the difference it makes!

No matter what kind of video production you decide to go with, remember that graphic design is key to a successful exhibit booth. You’ll need to have signage and other marketing materials that will direct people to your video and help to create a lasting impression.

And no matter what kind of exhibit booth you’re looking to create, graphic design and video production are essential elements that will help make your booth truly memorable. So start planning and designing your exhibit booth today!

How can we create these types of media to incorporate into our exhibit booth?

That all depends on what your company has access to in terms of equipment and personnel as well as things such as time and budget. It can be difficult to find the time and energy to put together everything, pack it all up, set it up, and all on top of creating the media. So, why not hire a company to create the graphic design elements as well as video production. But what kind of company does all of this?

C&I Studios has your back!

As a marketing content company, we have the means to create any kind of graphic design that you need as well as produce dynamic video content to be used in your exhibit booth (as well as reuse later in your marketing efforts!)

You can see everything C&I Studios offers on our services page. Want to see what we’ve created in the past? Check out our portfolio, too!

In Conclusion…

Together, graphic design and video production can be used to create an unforgettable exhibit booth that will leave a lasting impression on everyone who sees it. So if you’re looking to make a big impression at your next trade show or event, make sure you utilize both of these powerful marketing tools.

You’ll not only get fantastic brand recognition and awareness from the graphic design elements you’ve incorporated into your booth, but also receive great engagement from the people who walk through your booth. They’ll be more inclined to stop and watch your videos, ask the people working the booth questions about the information you’re putting in front of them.

Don’t forget, you can always hire a production company like C&I Studios for your future marketing needs as well, including graphic design and video production. So if you’re looking for a one-stop-shop for all your marketing needs, look no further than C&I Studios! We’ll help make sure your company makes a lasting impression.

E-mail marketing is being utilized by many businesses, big or small. Most inboxes are filled to the brim with e-mails from businesses that many get lost in the noise. Adding visuals to e-mails can increase e-mail open rates and e-mail click-through rates. The following list will detail 12 reasons why e-mails with visuals are more effective than e-mails without.

1. E-mails with visuals are more interesting

E-mails containing visual media tend to be more interesting than e-mails without. Have you ever clicked on a marketing e-mail and then clicked out of it almost immediately because it wasn’t visually engaging? And then clicked on another and spent time looking through it because there were bright, colorful graphics that drew your attention? Have you even noticed yourself doing this? That’s because we’re drawn to visually interesting things rather than just blocks of text.

E-mail designers include visuals in e-mails because e-mails with visuals are more engaging to your subscribers. E-mail recipients are more likely to interact with e-mails that have visual content, especially if that visual content sparks certain emotional responses, such as using bright and fun colors to invoke a sense of joy.

2. Visuals grab e-mail recipients’ attention

Since media is more visually interesting, it’s going to grab your attention easier than other e-mails. E-mail recipients tend to open and keep reading e-mails with visually interesting graphics because e-mails with images stand out more than e-mails without, and e-mail designers know this all too well.

E-mail receivers that have been getting e-mails from you for a while are likely to delete e-mails without visuals in them, even unsubscribe from your e-mail list if your e-mails are piling up in their inboxes. If you want to get e-mail receivers to actually pay attention to your e-mails rather than just clicking “delete” or “unsubscribe”, go ahead and include visual media in your e-mails, even if it’s something small.

3. Visuals better engage e-mail recipients

Since marketing e-mails with visual media are more likely to keep the reader’s attention and subscription, they’re more likely to engage with the e-mail itself.

Engagements include forwarding the e-mail to people they think will be interested in it, clicking through to see more details of a product or service that the e-mail features, and clicking through to make an actual purchase. Some marketing e-mails also feature free items to download, like a pattern for craft hobbies or a pamphlet of information if the subscribers so chooses to read it.

 

4. Visuals make e-mails more shareable

E-mail campaigns including visual media tend to be much more shareable than e-mails without visual content.

Your subscribers will find that the e-mail you’ve sent them is interesting and has information on sales, new products, and anything else you want to relay to the public and forward to their friends and family to make use of the information, too.

Visual media e-mails are more likely to be forwarded around the internet by e-mail recipients that find them visually appealing and a good use of their time. E-mail campaigns including visual content also have click-through rates much higher than e-mails without.

5. E-mails with visuals get higher e-mail click-through rates

Visual e-mails are much more likely to be clicked than e-mails without visual media. If something isn’t grabbing someone’s attention, they won’t engage with it at all. Let alone click through to learn more about what’s featured in the email and make a picture.

E-mail designers include visuals in e-mails to encourage their e-mail recipients to interact and click through the e-mails to find out more information. E-mail click-through rates can be increased with e-mails that have visual media included. These visuals can be pictures of the products being featured, videos of models showing off the products, and more!

6. E-mails including visuals are less intimidating

An e-mail with visual media are much less intimidating to read through to the end than an e-mail with only blocks of text.

When e-mail recipients are browsing their inboxes, e-mails with just blocks of text are less likely to be opened than e-mails with visual media. If e-mail receivers have a lot of e-mails piled up in their inbox that they need to get through, chances are they won’t click through e-mails that require a lot of attention or reading.

Visual e-mails can reduce intimidation because e-mail recipients can get a quick idea of what the e-mail contains without having to spend time figuring out what the e-mail is about. E-mail marketers have started including visuals in e-mails to make e-mails seem less intimidating to their recipients and increase the chances that their subscribers will interact with their e-mail marketing campaigns.

 

 

7. We process visual information 60,000 times faster than text

People take in visual information much faster than they do with written or typed text. E-mail marketing campaigns that contain written information are much less likely to be read when compared with e-mails that have visual content for people to process.

By adding in visuals to your e-mail marketing campaign, you’re making it easier for your subscribers to digest the information you’re giving them. E-mail marketers are including visual media in e-mails to make their e-mails more visually appealing and easier to click through.

It’s also important to remember that not every person who might be reading your marketing e-mails processes language as easily as the next person. Many people may not be able to read the same language that you’re writing your e-mails in. Making sure to add in visual media will allow readers who may have difficulty taking in text information alone to have better access to your products.

8. We retain information better when we read it in a visual format

Not only do we process the information quicker by using visuals, but we retain that information more successfully than just text alone. Memories usually come back to us in images rather than seeing text, even if we were able to take in the information via text.

Research has shown that people remember and comprehend visual information better than text. E-mail marketers have started including visuals in e-mails to increase e-mail comprehension.

As we’ve stated many times throughout this blog post: Marketing e-mails that contain visual content are much more likely to be read than e-mails that do not include visual media. Therefore, that information is actually being taken in as opposed to an e-mail with only text that your reader is going to close. If there isn’t the opportunity to take in the information, then they’re not going to retain it whatsoever.

9. E-mails with visuals break down information into bite-sized pieces

Some marketing e-mails contain a lot of information. Sometimes too much information, to be honest. They might inform of a sale going on, new products that they’ve received, and other information that can just be too much to take in all at once.

Translating them into graphics can do wonders for an e-mail marketing campaign. Turning an announcement of new products into a button with a picture preview of the products that your subscribers can simply click on to take them to your website where they are located. Not only will it look cleaner than a big block of text explaining the new products, but it will get your campaign more click-throughs!

It can also be easier to know what’s on sale with a simple graphic showing how much the discount will be and what products are on sale.

It’s just easier to digest the information as visual media than text alone.

10. E-mails with visuals better explain an idea or a product

In respect to the previous point, it’s important to understand that sometimes people just take in visual information easier than text. If e-mail marketers want to describe their product or a message they’re trying to get across, adding visual media can do wonders.

Visuals can better explain the idea of a product and show what it looks like in real life. There’s no wondering what exactly your e-mail is describing anymore with visuals included.

11. Visuals help e-mails stand out from other marketing e-mail campaigns

In e-mail marketing, every e-mail is going to contain a similar format. This is something that you can’t really do anything about other than including visuals in your e-mails.

Let’s face it: e-mails look a certain way and e-mail marketing campaigns are e-mails that you’re sending out at an interval to your list. This is why it’s important for e-mails to stand out from the rest.

Visuals are one of the best ways e-mail marketers can get e-mails to stand out from the crowd. No two e-mails are going to contain the exact same visual media. Every business will have different products they sell, present them in different ways, and use different types of media. Some prefer photos, some GIFs, and small videos to grab attention further.

Remember that e-mail marketing without visuals looks pretty similar, but e-mails with visual media can look more unique! It can be a way for e-mail marketers to create e-mails that stand out and catch people’s attention.

12. Visual media can help e-mails look cleaner

We’ve already covered this point pretty well in the other points, but there are still some other benefits that visual media brings e-mails. One of these other benefits is that e-mails with visual media can look more attractive.

This is because e-mails with visual media contain less text, thus your e-mails will look neater and cleaner than e-mails without visuals. E-mail marketers can make their e-mail marketing campaigns look much more professional by including visual media.

 

If you’re in need of visual media to include in your e-mail marketing, you should get a hold of us at C&I Studios. We have the means to create amazing product photography and videos that really show off your products and services in appealing ways. We provide many different services to fit your company’s needs.

We can’t wait to help jazz up your marketing e-mails and help you to retain followers and obtain more click-through rates and purchases.

So, you’ve decided that you want to use videos in your marketing strategy. Great! You’ve looked into the different kinds of videos and are still trying to decide where to start.

Here at C&I Studios, we suggest starting with a Testimonial Video. No matter the industry, testimonial videos are always a great way to showcase how your company benefits your customers and community.

Testimonials are video reviews of either your company’s ability to provide the service advertised or of customers who have previously purchased your products. Testimonials are widely used among businesses worldwide because they are supposed to help us make decisions about buying products, especially if the testimonials come from people we trust.

Testimonial videos have become popular in our everyday lives. We’ve all seen them before on Youtube or other video-sharing sites where a user will post a testimonial video of completing a task or of customers raving about a brand’s product.

Why should you use testimonials in your marketing strategy today? We’ve put together 10 reasons why testimonial videos can help increase sales for your company.

1. Testimonials demonstrate what you offer

People want to know about what your company can offer them. Do you have fantastic services that they need or want? And how do you differ from the competition? Or, what products do you sell that you want to put in front of them that you know have great reviews?

In a testimonial video, your customers can plainly show your target audience exactly how their interaction with you and your company went. It leaves little, if anything, to question about the process of service or the product, depending on what you’re selling.

By using testimonial videos, you’ll be able to give your target market a real testimonial from someone that they already know and trust.

2. They’re versatile

Testimonial videos can be used in many different parts of your marketing strategy if need be! You don’t have to use testimonial videos in your advertisements only. If you want testimonials from people who’ve bought a certain product, testimonial videos can do that. They can be embedded directly on the product’s page where people can experience both the testimonial video as well as other people’s written reviews.

Similarly, testimonial videos work great on social media, both as regular posts and as paid ads. We all know testimonial videos increase sales and conversions. So, naturally testimonials video work great as a way to convince social media followers to buy your product or service because the videos will tell them exactly what they need to hear in order to make the purchase decision!

If you have a regularly e-mailed newsletter, adding in videos can makes the experience more interactive. Testimonial videos will help push the potential customer into clicking on any links in the e-mail.

The possibilities are endless!

3. They’re authentic

Testimonial videos tend to be very genuine and authentic. Because testimonial videos are so popular and can be found all over the internet, testimonials need to come from real people and not actors. As a consumer, it’s easy for us to spot testimonials that have been faked.

You’ll want testimonial videos where the testimonials come from people who reflect your target market – because those testimonials are going to have so much more weight. A testimonial video from your community member is going to be more influential than testimonials from celebrities that may or may not have ever even used your product or service. Not to mention, it’s also a lot cheaper to use actual customers than actors or celebrities. Social media influencers are another option, but they also may feel too forced. While they’re more likely to actually use your product or service and give a realistic review, potential customers may still see them as paid actors. Be careful when considering who to get a testimonial from.

If testimonials come from people that are similar to your target market, you can expect that testimonial to be able to help convince your audience the most because they’re already very much alike. This is why testimonial videos are so popular – they help the customer decide on whether or not the brand’s products will fit into their personal lifestyle.

4. Testimonials provide a personal touch

Testimonial videos play an important role in obtaining and retaining sales. The testimonials from previous customers allow those who are currently searching for a product to feel as if they’re being heard because now they have a testimonial from someone who is just like them.

It’s much more powerful to have testimonials from like-minded people who have experienced purchasing and using your product or service. They also allow your company to show its creative side through video production. You can show off the workplace in the background, interview employees on their testimonial of working for you, and more. You can even shoot testimonial videos in a more personable setting like someone’s home or outdoors to give testimonials that personal touch! It all depends on the message you want to send to your target audience.

5. They convey professionalism

When testimonial videos are done correctly, they convey professionalism. When testimonials come from real people, they help gain customers trust because testimonials provide authenticity and transparency by showcasing your company’s professionalism through the eyes of your current customer base.

An audience can also see testimonial videos as an indicator of character. Testimonials show that there’s a real, authentic company behind the products.

6. They capture customers attentions

If you want your testimonial video to be watched, you’ll need to catch your target market’s attention.

You’ll want testimonial videos that are short and to the point. They can be anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute in length maximum. People don’t want to watch a video where the speaker talks and talks about things that don’t pertain to their experience, so making sure that your testimonial video only includes the facts and some relatable content is important. Potential customers want to be able to see themselves in the position of the person giving the testimonial and visualize their future experience.

When testimonials are done correctly, they allow your potential customers time to hear what you have to say but not so much time that they lose interest. Testimonial videos that are too long can be a turnoff. They need to be simple and easy-to-understand testimonials, not long and drawn-out where the testimonial is rambling on and on.

By keeping them short and sweet, you’re actually making them more versitile! Shorter videos are able to be posted on more social media platforms such as TikTok where they limit video lengths to 1 minutes at the most. People are also more likely to watch a minute or less long video on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, or else they may click away and move on to the next piece of information that isn’t yours.

7. They put your best foot forward

Testimonial videos showcase the best of what you have to offer directly from your previous customers! A testimonial video will give your business a better shot at being viewed by the public because they have a way of humanizing brands. You can create testimonial videos that allow people to understand what makes your company unique. Allowing you to build up a reputation within the community.

When testimonial videos show reviews from past customers, they help show that your company is successful and it also shows that you’re willing to share testimonials from previous customers rather than hide them in fear of bad press getting out. You want potential customers to hear nothing but good things, but you also want it to be realistic, which makes testimonial videos perfect for getting the good word out about your company.

Testimonial videos convey transparency and this builds trust with potential customers.

8. They’re easy to share

Testimonial videos are extremely popular. Because testimonial videos are so popular, testimonials can be found all over the internet. When testimonials can easily be shared, testimonial videos maintain high exposure and increase awareness of your brand!

Videos are easy to post between social media platforms, marketing emails, and on websites. Being able to easily share means that you can easily grow your audience and gain more views on your videos.

If you go the route of asking influencers who have used your products or services for their recommendation of your company, it should be known that it’s very easy for them to create quick testimonial videos on social media platforms themselves such as TikTok or Instagram.

9. They inspire further testimonial sharing

Since we know that they’re easy to share, it should be said that they inspire others to share their own testimonials about your company.

Testimonial videos can be found all over the internet. When testimonials are shared, testimonials are also capable of being viewed by millions of people all around the world! Testimonials spread quickly – testimonial videos help you increase awareness, exposure, and gain a following that could turn into loyal, returning customers!

People love to share their opinions and experiences. If they didn’t, websites like Yelp wouldn’t be so successful. Once people know they can share their own testimonials with ease, testimonial videos become more interesting and engaging in the eyes of potential customers.

When testimonials are shared, testimonials also inspire people to share their personal experiences which can bring an attention back on you!

10. They increase your conversions

If testimonials are done correctly, testimonial videos will lead to more conversions because they’ll build trust between you and your target market. You can then use testimonials in your advertising to help teach consumers how they should feel about the product or service that you’re selling them.

The more invested your audience is in your business, the easier it is for them to spend the money on your products or services. Testimonials can be very powerful and have a big impact on your potential customers. That’s why testimonial videos are so popular – marketers know that testimonials are really great for boosting sales!

Conclusion

If done correctly, testimonial videos can be a company’s best friend. Testimonial videos help potential customers gain trust and help businesses gain sales!

Don’t know where to begin with video production, or just don’t have the time to create a testimonial video? Consider hiring a professional video production company like C&I Studios.

C&I Studios is ready to help you create the perfect videos for your business. We can help you to create all kinds of video marketing including, but certainly not limited to, testimonial videos, how-to videos, explainer videos – C&I Studios has got you covered!

Contact us today to get started on your testimonial video!

There are so many avenues for getting the word about your company out there. Today, let’s break down just one facet of your marketing strategy- video marketing.

What video marketing means is putting video content on a video-sharing platform online. YouTube, for example, is a video-sharing platform that allows you to upload a video of any length from your computer or mobile device and share it with the world! TikTok, on the other hand, allows for short videos but provides a completely different viewership than YouTube.

Video marketing can be an extremely powerful tool when done correctly. In this article we will look at what a successful marketing strategy looks like.

What is Video Marketing Strategy?

A video marketing strategy is the framework and set of tactics for creating and distributing video content to help your business achieve its goals. Video marketing can be a powerful tool but unless it’s part of an overall video marketing strategy, your video efforts may not deliver on their full potential.

The video marketing process has two major components: creation and distribution. Both of these components are important to consider when looking at video marketing strategy as a whole. In video marketing, video content is created for different purposes and therefore needs to be distributed in a way that the video will be successful in both gaining an audience as well as gaining new customers that spend money on your services or products.

Marketing strategies are usually defined by the company’s marketing department. However, video production companies, like C&I Studios can help you define your video marketing strategy based on your objectives and resources. They can also expand your resources with their own available resources. Such as production crews and people to edit in post-production, which are things your company may not have on hand. Video producers will base their video marketing ideas on information they learn about you during the video production planning process.

The outcome of video marketing is video content that’s distributed to the right audience. In video marketing, video content is often shared on social media sites and embedded in websites. However, video can be used for a variety of purposes, including product demonstrations, customer testimonials, and more.

Whatever the video content you’re putting out, it’s getting your company and what you’re selling in front of millions of people. Awareness alone will bring in at least a trickle of more customers, but great content and proper distribution of videos that showcase how amazing your company, products, and services are will really boost your sales and income.

Content Creation

Having engaging content is important. You want your target audience to react positively, be it sharing your videos with their friends and family, subscribing to your future videos and marketing efforts, or making a purchase. Video marketing content can include but is certainly not limited to, video reviews, video interviews, video testimonials, music videos, and video ads. Some companies even like to participate in popular fads such as dance choreography challenges or put out funny skits that keep their audiences wanting more.

Video Content

Video content needs to be relevant to your target audience’s interests and informative enough for them to find it helpful in some way. The video production company will help you determine what video topics work best with your target audience.

If you already have an established customer base, research what type of content they’re engaging with. Ask some of your customers what video content they like and how it helped them make a purchase. If you’re just starting out, video marketing can be an effective way to create awareness for your brand and also get customers from other social media platforms by sharing video content with their friends via various social media outlets.

Viewers want content they can engage with. They want video creators to be passionate about what they’re talking about. They want to see original content, not the same videos that are already on their social media feeds. Make sure you plan video shoots with this in mind. Preparation is essential for video marketing success.

Copy and Captions

Just as important as your video content is the text that accompanies it. Titles, descriptions, captions, and tags are all video marketing components that make your videos easier for everyone to find. These elements need to be compelling and relevant so viewers will want to click on your video and watch it.

The amount of text you include will depend on whether video search engines or social media sites are ranking your video higher. The more people who see your video, the more video views you’ll get, which is what video marketing success is all about.

If going the route of hiring a video production company, they will be able to help you determine how much text to include with your video content. This is information they learn during the video planning process with their client in order to produce video marketing that’s shareable and engaging for viewers.

Create video marketing titles and video descriptions that tell your customers what type of video they’re in for and why it’s important. With video descriptions, you’ll be able to provide more information along with the video content that viewers might find helpful. You can also use video transcripts or subtitles as a way of providing supplemental video content that isn’t visual.

Captions are more important now than ever. Making sure that your video is accessible to all will guarantee that your video is viewed by a larger audience. If everyone can watch and understand what’s going on, then they’re more likely to share it.

People are searching video marketing topics on social media sites daily, so your video needs to be tagged with relevant video marketing keywords.

Audience Engagement

Once you’ve produced some compelling video marketing content, use it as an opportunity to engage with your target audience. Interact with them via the comments section of each video you post or through other avenues that video marketing platforms provide you.

Commenting on your own video marketing content is a great way to engage with your customers and show them that video isn’t just a one-way street for video marketing. You can build business relationships as well as express gratitude for their loyalty as customers.

Distribution

The video that’s created for your video marketing campaign should be distributed in a number of different ways. This includes social media platforms, video hosting sites, video aggregation websites, and video advertising networks. Distribution can even include posting the video content on your business website or sending it to people who have previously shared their email addresses with you.

Distributing your video in multiple ways is important, too. You want to make sure that you’re reaching people who are interested in your video content, and they aren’t always just in one corner of the world wide web. Think of posting your video in multiple places as casting a wide net in order to reach everyone in your target audience.

It’s also important to think about the video content itself when distributing video marketing material. For example, if you have a video where someone is reviewing your fishing lures, it might be worth posting this video on video-hosting websites that are mostly fishing-related instead of just video game-related video sites.

When video marketing content is distributed in the right places, viewership tends to increase which leads to the video ranking rising on search engines.

Websites

Websites and video content go hand in hand—in fact, a video is the most engaging form of content online today. According to recent studies, including an Adobe study about video marketing, video is proven to increase engagement rates by as much as 80%. Basically, people respond well to video marketing.

Website videos can range from testimonials from past customers to how-to videos, and unboxing videos to show potential customers what exactly they’re paying for. They can also introduce your company, employees included, to the general public in order to make potential customers feel at ease being able to see the humans behind the brand.

It’s worth investing in fantastic video content to embed on your company’s website, as video is one of the most effective ways to provide value and engage with your target audience. The video is accessible by all website visitors and search engines like Google and Bing will also find and index your video for more exposure.

Of course, these videos only get viewed by people who are already viewing your website. That’s why video marketing on video-sharing websites and social media platforms is a more common practice, As it’ll allow more people who aren’t aware of your company to watch and share your video content.

Social Media

It’s no secret that social media is one of the best places to post any content that advertises your business and video content is no exception. In fact, video content is one of the best types of content to post on social media. Social media is an inexpensive way to post your advertisements. Posting usually free unless you want to pay for promoted posts which are usually not too pricey.

However, it’s not always the best strategy to just post your videos all willy-nilly on every platform and hope for the best. Distributing video marketing material via social media needs to be strategic and well thought out. You want your video to reach the maximum number of people while also distributing it in a way that’s helpful and relevant for them. For example, if you post video content about how to use your products or services, you might be better off posting it on Instagram as opposed to LinkedIn.

For the video marketing strategy to be a successful one, you need to plan how video content can be distributed in a way that makes sense for your company and your customers.

Email Marketing

Plenty of businesses use video content as a way to send introductory emails or newsletters. Or video content can even be sent to individual customers who may have requested more information about your product or service.

If video content about your company is recorded, you can send it out via email marketing in order to bring potential and new customers up to speed on what exactly you do. You can also include 30-60 second condense video content content of testimony from past customers to further solidify the benefits of working with your company.

Feeling overwhelmed by this process? Contact C&I Studios today to get started. C&I Studios offers video production services of all kinds, among many other services that allow you to convey the story you want to tell via marketing media. We’ve worked with many businesses to create amazing and successful videos that tell their stories and have the knowledge to really make your company’s video marketing strategy a successful one.

Video marketing is a great way for you to tell your story, so go ahead, start sharing video content!

If you’re an eCommerce brand looking for ways to boost your marketing, you should really consider creating TikTok content. TikTok is a social media app that is mainly used for sharing short videos. It’s a great platform for eCommerce brands because it allows you to reach a large number of people quickly and easily.

Video marketing is a great way to engage with your audience and TikTok is the perfect platform for doing this. The app has over 500 million active users, so you can be sure that your content will reach a large number of people. Additionally, the videos are short and easy to watch, so people are more likely to stick around and watch them.

eCommerce brands that create TikTok content will be seen as innovative and trendsetting. The app is growing in popularity, so by being one of the first eCommerce brands to start using it, you’ll stand out from the competition. Additionally, TikTok is a great way to build brand awareness. When people see your videos, they’ll be more likely to remember your brand and to consider buying from you.

Let’s take a look at a few different reasons TikTok content will help your eCommerce brand become and stay successful.

Create engaging content

TikTok is a great way to create engaging content. The app is all about sharing short videos, so you need to be creative if you want to stand out. There are a number of ways that you can create engaging content for TikTok. You can create videos that are funny, interesting, or inspiring. You can also make use of hashtags and trends to create content that is relevant to your target audience.

If you’re not sure what kind of content to create, you can take a look at what other eCommerce brands are doing on TikTok. By doing this, you’ll get a sense of what works and what doesn’t. You can also get ideas for content that you may not have thought of before.

Be creative

The best thing about TikTok is that it allows you to be creative. There are no rules when it comes to creating videos, so you can experiment and see what works best for you. You can try out different styles and formats to see what resonates with your audience.

When it comes to creating videos for eCommerce brands, creativity is key. If you can come up with creative content that people will want to watch, you’ll be well on your way to success.

Creativity also promotes a happier workplace for your employees, if you include them in your video-making process.

Show off your products

TikTok is a great way to show off your products. If you have a new product that you’re promoting, or if you want to show off a sale, TikTok is the perfect platform for doing this. You can create short videos that show off your products in a fun and creative way. This will help to engage with your audience and to get them excited about your products.

If you make your own products, your videos will already contain original content just by showing them off. Handcrafted products are always popular on social media, so by showcasing them on TikTok, you’ll be sure to get attention. Handcrafted products are always unique and interesting.

If you carry other kinds of products that are widely available from other eCommerce stores, too, you’ll still want to be present on TikTok with videos about the products you sell. A lot of consumers look to videos to learn about products, whether they’re new on the market or they’re in need of something specific, so making videos for each of your products is certainly not a waste of time.

In eCommerce, there’s always something new to promote, so it makes sense to document these things in video form as they come up. If you don’t have a blog or some other outlet for your traditional eCommerce promotion plus product videos, then you need to start making videos. Not everything knows how to start when it comes to making videos. Using a professional production team with experience creating social video content can guarantee your videos to come out the way you want them to be.

Show off your process

Are you an eCommerce brand that makes all of your own products? Showing off your process on how your products are created is a huge trend on TikTok right now!

Potential customers love to see how products are made, especially if they’re customized or made-to-order. Right now you’ll find a lot of videos showing how shops create resin art, custom drink tumblers, and so many other custom products. Show the world how you paint, how you create, how you come up with your cool ideas that you’re selling to your audience! If you have a unique process or a cool shop setup, make a TikTok video about it! Better yet, make a whole series of TikTok videos about it!

Process videos can also be ASMR videos that show your order packing process. There are many of these videos on TikTok as the idea behind ASMR videos is meant to be relaxing and meditative and people engage with them a lot, even if it’s just watching the video all the way through. Relaxed and happy viewers are more likely to make a purchase, too, so that’s something to keep in mind when coming up with video ideas!

Be relatable

One of the best things about TikTok is that it allows you to be relatable. eCommerce brands can be seen as cold and unapproachable, but by creating videos for TikTok, you can change this. You can create anything from comedy sketches, to product reviews, to a simple walkthrough of your store’s physical space whether it’s in your basement or an office space or a warehouse, people want to know what your company looks like!. Keep your videos humble but professional in order to be relatable, but still present yourselves as a company people want to do business with.

Your videos don’t need to be serious all the time. You can create videos that are funny or quirky, and this will help people to see you as a relatable brand. Additionally, using humor is a great way to connect with your audience. People love to laugh, and if you can make them laugh with your videos, they’ll be more likely to consider buying from you.

Brand awareness

As mentioned earlier, TikTok is a great way to build brand awareness. When people see your videos, they’ll be more likely to remember your brand and to consider buying from you. You want your audience to automatically think of your eCommerce brand when they’re thinking about purchasing any products that you sell, so making sure that your TikTok videos help you to stand out against your competition and really show your audience who you are as a company will do amazing things for your brand awareness.

Brand awareness is key for eCommerce brands. If you can create videos that are interesting and engaging, you’ll be well on your way to increasing awareness for your brand. TikTok is a great platform for eCommerce brands. By creating creative, engaging content, you’ll be able to connect with your audience and stand out from the competition.

Make use of hashtags

TikTok is a great platform for using hashtags. When you use hashtags in your videos, you’ll help to reach a larger audience. Additionally, people who are looking for content on specific topics will be able to find your videos by using relevant hashtags.

There are a number of ways that you can use hashtags on TikTok. You can add them to your videos as text, or you can use them as part of a hashtag challenge. You can also create branded hashtags that will help to promote your eCommerce brand.

Hashtags also help with brand awareness, if used correctly. If you use hashtags that are relevant to your eCommerce brand and to the videos that you’re uploading, you’ll be able to reach a larger audience. Additionally, people who are looking for content on specific topics will be able to find your videos by using relevant hashtags.

Be sure to keep track of which hashtags are performing well for you and continue to use those that are most relevant.

Pay attention to trends

Another great thing about TikTok is that it’s constantly changing and evolving. This means that you need to be sure to pay attention to trends if you want your eCommerce brand to succeed on the platform, but you’ll have plenty of opportunities to really be able to get your brand to shine on the app, too, with how often the algorithm changes.

Keep an eye on what’s popular on TikTok right now and try to create content that aligns with those trends. This could be anything from using specific hashtags, to creating videos that are in line with current trends. You don’t want to be too trendy and risk your videos seeming out of date, but if you can find a way to tap into current trends, you’ll be able to engage more with your audience.

 

In Conclusion,

eCommerce brands should start creating TikTok content if they want to be successful. TikTok is a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engaging with your audience. Additionally, the app is a great way to show off your products and to get people excited about what you have to offer. So what are you waiting for? Start creating some amazing TikTok content!

So if you’re looking for ways to boost your marketing sales, start creating video content for TikTok. It’s a great way to reach a large number of people quickly and easily, and it can help you build brand awareness and engage with your audience. TikTok is a powerful tool for eCommerce brands, and if you start using it now, you’ll be well on your way to success. So what are you waiting for? Start creating some amazing TikTok content!

If you’re not sure how to begin, or you don’t have the means to create your own video content, it’s important to consider hiring outside help from a video production company. C&I Studios is one of those companies and we love what we do.

We can’t wait to help you and your eCommerce brand create amazing content that will boost your sales and customer engagement. Contact us today and we’ll get started on your new video marketing journey together!

When you are planning an event, live streaming should be one of your top priorities. Live streaming can help to boost an event’s success in a number of ways, and it is becoming an increasingly important tool for marketing events.

Live streaming has become popular on platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and more. In fact, live streaming on social media is growing at a rate of 112% each year. That means that if you’re not live streaming your event, you’re missing out on a major opportunity.

Live streaming is a powerful marketing tool, and when it comes to events, it should be one of your top priorities. By live streaming your event, you’re opening up your event to a larger audience, generating buzz and excitement, and giving people a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on.

There are many reasons why live streaming is such an important tool for marketing events. Let’s take a look at some of them!

Boosts Views and Reach

First and foremost, live streaming allows people who can’t attend your event in person to still see what’s happening. This is especially important for larger events that might have a limited number of tickets available. They’ll be able to tune in as they please, so if they’re physically unable to attend, they can still check out the bits of your event they really wanted to experience.

The general public may not know about your event until it actually happens, so having a live stream allows them to still interact with your event and be able to see if the event is something they’ll want to attend in the future if you continue hosting events of the same nature.

The more views you get, the farther you’re reaching, and the farther you reach, the more success you’ll have with not only the current event but with future events, future sales, and gaining more followers.

Provides Behind-the-Scenes Footage

Another great benefit of live streaming an event is that it allows people to see what goes on behind the scenes. This can be really helpful in giving people a better idea of what to expect from your event.

Behind-the-scenes footage can easily be repurposed into future marketing as well as provides your viewers with fun information, too. Everyone loves being able to see what happens behind the scenes, and live streaming provides that opportunity. People will be able to see what happens throughout the event so that they can know what to expect from any future event.

It can also help to create excitement and anticipation for the event, live streaming event set-up for a truly exclusive behind-the-scenes sneak peek. People love getting a sneak peek of what’s going on, and live streaming allows you to do just that.

Generates Buzz and Excitement

Streaming an event live helps to generate buzz and excitement among potential attendees. It also encourages people who might not have been planning to attend to reconsider. If you’re going to continue to host events like the one you’re live streaming, you’ll be showing your audience exactly what they can expect from a future event, luring them into buying tickets for any future event that you host.

If your event has someone famous, being able to live stream their segments of the event, such as a speech or book-reading, their social media platforms can share your live stream, thus giving you their entire audience on social media. It will create buzz, maybe even get you to trend and reach even more of an audience organically.

Creating excitement around an event will only help you in the future. When people are looking forward to something, they’re more likely to attend and even tell others about it. This is the perfect way to create a lasting impression on your viewers.

Helps with Sponsorship Opportunities

Live streaming an event can help you to snag some sponsorship opportunities. When potential sponsors see that your event is being live-streamed, they’ll be more likely to want to get involved. They’ll be able to see how many people you have tuned in to your event, how many people are engaging with the live stream, and so on. The more engagement you have, the more likely sponsors are going to agree to work together.

If your event is reaching thousands or millions of viewers, your event is likely being seen by other companies, celebrities, and other people who may be willing to sponsor the event in the future or willing to collaborate in other events with you.

The more sponsorships you get for an event, the better quality your event can be. You’ll be able to hire more help, popular talent, rent a bigger or fancier venue, even provide a better quality of refreshments and anything else you can think of that goes into planning an event.

Sponsors are important. As a company, you might not have it in your budget to host an event on your own, so making sure that you’re appealing to future sponsors is crucial. Live streaming can show future sponsors how your event runs in real-time, and you can use the footage from your live stream and repurpose it for future event promotions.

Boosts Engagement

One of the biggest benefits of live streaming is that it allows people who cannot attend the event to still participate, even a little bit. This is especially important for larger events that have a limited number of tickets. By live-streaming the event, you are opening it up to a larger audience and increasing the chances of reaching your target market. Engagement can be anything from simply watching the live stream to sharing the video with others, to commenting and interacting with the people who are streaming the video.

Live streaming also allows you to create a more personal connection with your audience. By live streaming an event, you are giving people the opportunity to see and hear from the people who are involved in the event. This can help to create a more engaged and interested audience.

The more engagement you have, the more successful your event will be.

Provides an Interactive Experience

Another advantage of live streaming is that it provides a more interactive experience for viewers. They can not only see what is happening on stage but they can also interact with other viewers and the event organizers. This creates a more engaging experience that can help to build loyalty among your audience.

With live streaming, you can host interactive polls, get questions live as people ask them, and so much more! People appreciate knowing that they’re being paid attention to, so including them throughout the event, even if they aren’t there in person, is a good way to boost your company’s reputation among your audience and customers.

If you have a popular speaker or guest, allowing your viewers to ask questions even if they’re not in attendance physically, you’re going to get more interaction. Interaction on a live stream usually translates to interaction outside of the event, too.

If you live stream your event, you can reach a larger audience to poll interaction from, create excitement among potential future attendees, and increase engagement. This will help to make your event more successful. Live streaming can also be used as a marketing tool for future events.

Promotion

Live streaming can also help to promote your event. By posting live videos of the event on social media, you can reach a larger audience and generate excitement about the event.

Additionally, live streaming can be used to create a teaser video for the event that can be used to promote it online. If you plan on hosting similar events in the future, using footage from the previous event can really create more hype for future events. It gives your audience a sneak peek at what happens at your events. If you’re hosting a conference and you had a Q&A with a popular speaker, you’ll want to be able to show prospective attendees that you’re able to provide them with interactions with the people they want to hear from and interact with. They want to know that your event is worth the time and money they’ll invest in your event.

In addition, live streaming can help to create a sense of urgency among potential attendees. By letting people know that the event is live streaming, you are encouraging them to take action and purchase tickets sooner rather than later.

Ok, but I need help with live-streaming

That’s ok! Not everyone has the expertise to create an amazing live stream for your event. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and video production and live streaming are some of C&I Studios’ strengths!

Not only can we help you with the live stream, but we are able to take the footage from it and turn it into more marketing opportunities, too! In post-production, we can take any video footage and recycle it into something amazing that’s bound to create more success for you in the future.

Whether it’s a simple one-camera set up, or multi-camera set ups that require live switching, Zoom integration, and live mixing, C&I Studios has packages to meet your event live streaming needs.

 

As you can see, live streaming is a powerful tool that can help to boost the success of your event. If you’re not live streaming your event, you’re missing out on a major opportunity. Make sure to consider live streaming as part of your event marketing strategy!

If you are planning an event, live streaming should be one of your top priorities. Live streaming can help to boost an event’s success in a number of ways, and it is becoming an increasingly important tool for marketing events. By live-streaming the event, you are opening it up to a larger audience and increasing the chances of reaching your target market. Additionally, live streaming can be used to create a teaser video for the event that can be used to promote it online.

 

So, if you’re looking to give your event the best chance of success, live streaming is definitely a tool you should consider using.

Creating video content can be time-consuming and tedious. You’ve spent days shooting video footage for different productions, you’ve spent the money on hiring talent and renting the location of the set. It’s a lot of work. But did you know that you can easily repurpose old footage from your previous productions into new marketing content?

Repurposing video content is a great way to get more mileage out of your investment. By reworking old footage into new videos, you can create fresh and engaging content for your marketing efforts without spending too much time or money. It’s not lazy, it’s ingenious!

You can create new videos by compiling footage from different productions, or you can edit old footage to create new and interesting stories. You can also use video content for other marketing purposes, such as website design or social media campaigns.

There are a few ways to repurpose that video content for other projects. Some of them are as easy as reposting, others require a little bit more skill, usually in post-production editing software. Repurposing old video footage is a fantastic use of your resources. You’ll save time and money by not having to host another day of shooting or paying for the talent, and you’ll still be reaching new audiences with the video footage you already had on hand!

Reposting

First, you can post your video on other social media platforms. For example, if you create a video for Facebook, you can also post it on YouTube and Twitter. This will help to reach a wider audience and get more engagement on content that did well previously.

This is an incredibly simple way of recycling old video content. You don’t have to do anything extra other than copy and paste the link or upload the video itself to the new platform. If something did well on Twitter, it might be a good idea to try it on Instagram to reach a totally different audience demographic.

However, keep in mind that you’ll likely want to tailor the video for each platform. The dimensions and length of videos can vary greatly from site to site. TikTok has a different amount of time alotted than say a video posted on Facebook. So, take some time to make sure your video looks good on all of the channels you’re using.

Editing Videos

If you want to go a step further, you can also edit your old video footage to create new content. This usually takes a bit more work, but it can be worth it if you have a good idea for a new video. You can use editing software to create short videos, social media posts, or even entire new videos. Making minimal changes to old videos that you haven’t posted in a while can really do wonders!

You can also use editing software to improve the quality of your old video footage and repost it! If it’s been a while since you’ve posted it, your new followers will love to see it, and if it’s retouched and made to look new, your older audience will enjoy it, too!

You can also cut them down and use snippets of your videos in other marketing materials. If you have a longer video, you can use short excerpts as part of an email campaign or on your website. There’s no wrong place to post these new video creations.

If you’re not comfortable editing video footage yourself, you can always hire a professional editor to help you out. Companies like us here at C&I Studios have expertise in post-production editing. It’s one of our passions, editing video footage to create something you can be proud to share with your customers and followers.

Reuse Footage in Other Videos

If you have some extra time and want to create a more elaborate video, you can also reuse footage from old videos to create something new. This is a great way to create videos on a tight budget. You’ll already have the footage, and all you’ll need to do is add in some new shots and put it all together.

This approach can be a bit more challenging, but it’s a great way to come up with creative ideas for videos. You can also use this technique to create video series. If you have a few old videos that all follow the same theme, you can edit them together to create a longer video.

You can also create montages or mashups with reused footage. This is a great way to show off your skills as a video editor, and it’s a fun way to engage your audience. There’s nothing that you shouldn’t try! You might be surprised how an editing experiment turns out!

It’s important to remember that just because your video content is old, doesn’t mean it’s not worth using! There are a million and one ways to reuse old video footage. So, don’t be afraid to get creative! Whether you want to create new videos, graphics, or motion graphics, there’s something for everyone.

Adding motion graphics to your videos can help them stand out from the crowd. It also makes them more engaging and exciting to watch.

You can even just change the music to get something new. Music helps to get an emotional response from the viewer and by simply changing the music in the video can invoke a completely different response and vibe.

There’s no limit to how much editing you can do or what you can change. So, get creative and have some fun! Editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or Sony Vegas can be used to create short videos, social media posts, or even entire new videos. Making minimal changes to old videos that you haven’t posted in a while can really do wonders!

Or, you can completely “Frankenstein” the old footage together to creating something totally new and different. It can also be used to create a portfolio style video that shows off all of your best work together. You can easily piece together old sections of video footage to create something completely new! If you have two videos that you love, but you don’t want to repost them exactly as they are, editing them together creates a new video that people will be excited to engage with. If you want to create a video that’s totally new, editing software can also be used to piece footage together from different sources.

Take Advantage of C&I Studios’ Lifetime Backup

You might not have realized it, but if you have worked with us before, we have all of your video footage backed up for life!  The footage that we capture is important to us, and to you.  That’s why we hold onto it forever.  One of the best ways to get new content if you have worked with C&I before is to just contact us and see if we can cut together something new from what was captured previously.

Sometimes we can integrate new footage, an interview for example, with clips that we have shot previously in order to create a really dynamic video that shows your company’s growth and consistency of vision over time.

Creating Graphics or Motion Graphics

You can also use old video footage to create graphics or motion graphics. This is a great way to add some extra flair to your videos or social media posts. GIFs are still all the rage. They provide more emotion than an emoji or emoticon, and help you convey your reactions with a little bit of humor. They also show off your skills as a video editor.

This is one of the most creative uses for old footage that you can create. With how often people share gifs and short videos, as long as you make them accessible to all, your motion graphics will spread far and wide! You should always make everything you put out shareable. If people can share, they will spread your content far and wide! (Just make sure to put your company name on it so they come back to your company!)

If you’re not comfortable creating graphics or motion graphics yourself, you can always outsource the work to other companies. There are plenty of great graphic designers and motion graphic artists out there who would be happy to help you out. This is another service that companies like C&I Studios can do for you! We love creating new content, even if that means recycling old footage to create something new and fun and shareable.

In Conclusion…

When it comes to repurposing video content, the sky is the limit! You can post old videos on other social media platforms, edit them to create new content, or reuse footage in other videos. By using these simple techniques, you can breathe new life into old video content and create engaging and exciting video marketing materials.

Repurposing old content is a great way to save time and money. If you have footage that’s no longer relevant, don’t worry! You can still find ways to reuse it. There are a million and one ways to do it, so get creative! Whether you want to create new videos, graphics, or motion graphics, there’s something for everyone. Just take a little time to brainstorm some ideas and get started!

If you’re wanting to get some new content created, or to make your old content feel new, give us a shout! We can’t wait to work with you and your company to create amazing video marketing content together! We make everything easier for you and your company.

There’s no doubt about it – video marketing is becoming an increasingly important tool for businesses of all sizes. In fact, according to recent studies, including video on a website can increase conversion rates by up to 80%. That means more clicks to your website and more purchases being made simply by using more videos in your marketing strategy. It can be as easy as posting a video on TikTok or any other social media platform.

But what makes video so effective? And how can you make sure that your videos are helping to improve your conversion rates?

Here are just a few of the ways that video can help to improve conversion rates:

1. Video is engaging.

Think about the last video you watched, whether it was on Facebook, TikTok, or in an e-mail. Have you found yourself just watching a video as it plays in the middle of your scrolling through your social media timelines on your phone or computer? That’s because the video was engaging and reeled you in.

People are more likely to engage with video than with other forms of content. In fact, research shows that people are two times more likely to watch a video than to read a blog post. And when people are engaged, they’re more likely to take action, whether that’s clicking through to a landing page or making a purchase.

Even when your followers just watch the video and like it, they’re making it so that their followers are more likely to see the video. And once they see it, they’ll be likely to like it or send it to someone they know, and the cycle keeps going on. So, if you’re not using video marketing, you’re missing out on a huge audience.

And there are a lot of ways people can engage with videos! Views are engagement. Likes are engagement. Shares and comments are engagement! It doesn’t take a lot of work to engage with a company’s video, which makes it the perfect type of media to use in marketing your business.

2. Video is persuasive.

Video is also highly persuasive, which makes it a great tool for conversion rate optimization. In fact, studies have shown that video can increase conversion rates by up to 86%. That’s because video content is able to communicate messages and ideas in a way that text and images can’t.

That’s because video can quickly and easily communicate a message. And, when done correctly, video can help to build trust with potential customers. Trust is essential for conversion rates; after all, if customers don’t trust your brand or your product, they’re not going to buy from you.

It’s also persuasive because it can show how a product works, how it actually looks, how a service is provided, and any end results from either the use of a product or the service. People love seeing before and after content, and this is the perfect medium to show not only that, but the process as well!

3. Video is versatile.

Video can be used in a variety of ways to improve conversion rates. It can be used to introduce new products or services, to demonstrate the features and benefits of those products or services, or to create customer testimonials.

You can make a traditional commercial. You could make a series of comedy sketches that show off your products or services. You can use previous customers’ testimonials to build a rapport with your viewers. You can even host a live sale online to boost sales immediately. There are so many different options of what you can do with video content in order to market your company in a positive way.

4. Video is mobile-friendly.

With more and more people using their smartphones and tablets to access the internet, it’s important that your videos are mobile-friendly. Fortunately, most video formats are compatible with a wide range of devices, so you don’t need to worry about your viewers not being able to see your videos.

Mobile-friendly videos get more traction because they’re able to be viewed anywhere, any time of day. If someone takes their commute on public transit as their time to scroll through their social media or personal e-mail account and catch up on the day’s posts and messages, then they’re able to see your video then. Or, say someone is out and about with a group of friends and they think about a video they saw earlier- they might want to share the video instantly with said group, and being able to do that via mobile means they won’t forget plus those new viewers will watch the video right away.

There’s no wrong answer as to why your videos, or any marketing content your put out, should be mobile-friendly.

5. Video is a great way to build trust.

Video can also be used to build trust with potential customers. By showing them who you are, what you do, and what your company stands for, you can help to create a connection with viewers that can lead to increased conversion rates.

Videos like testimonials and reviews show the rest of the world how trustworthy your company can be. Nowadays, conversion rates are key to a business’ success and with video marketing you can help increase these rates. Hearing that someone had a wonderful experience and to have them talk about it in detail really puts prospective customers at ease when they’re thinking about hiring your company or making a purchase. By putting out testimonials that detail a past customer’s experience, you’re allowing new customers to see the whole process before they purchase. They can imagine how the job would be done if they decide to hire you or purchase from you. Seeing everything that you have to offer in a video is one of the best conversion rate increasers.

6. Video can improve website SEO.

Video can also help to improve your website’s SEO. In fact, including a video on your homepage can increase your website’s chances of ranking in the search engines by up to 53%. That’s because videos are able to provide keyword-rich content that can help to improve your website’s ranking in the search engines.

SEO is incredibly important in today’s world that’s basically run by search engines. What do you do when you need to find a product and don’t know where to begin? You Google it. So, when someone is searching for a product that you sell or a service you provide, you want your company’s website to pop up first, or at least close to the top, so that they’re more likely to click on the link leading them to your website.

7. Video is great for branding.

Video is also a great way to build your brand. By creating engaging and interesting video content, you can help to create a strong connection with your target audience. That connection can lead to increased brand awareness and loyalty, which can result in increased conversion rates.

Brand awareness is key to any business’ success. By creating video content that’s interesting and engaging, you can help to increase awareness of your brand and its products and services. And, as we all know, once a customer becomes aware of your brand, they’re more likely to do business with you in the future.

8. Video is a great way to humanize your brand.

Video can also help to humanize your brand. By showing your viewers what goes on behind the scenes at your company, you can help them to connect with your brand in a more personal way. This can lead to increased loyalty and conversion rates.

When a customer feels like they know your company on a personal level, they’re more likely to do business with you. After all, nobody wants to do business with a faceless corporation. By using video, you can help your customers to see the people behind the brand and connect with them on a more personal level. This can lead to increased conversion rates and a more successful business.

9. Video can be used to create a sense of urgency.

Video can also be used to create a sense of urgency with potential customers. By showing them what they’re missing out on if they don’t buy or hire your company now, you can help to increase conversion rates.

We all know that people are more likely to take action when they feel like they’re running out of time. That’s why salespeople often use the phrase “act now, before it’s too late.” By creating a sense of urgency with your video content, you can help to increase conversion rates.

When it comes to conversion rates, urgency is key. If you can create a sense of urgency with potential customers, you’re more likely to get them to take the action that you want them to take, whether that’s hiring your company or making a purchase. And, what better way to create urgency than with video? By showing viewers what they’re missing out on if they don’t take action now, you can help to increase conversion rates.

10. Video can be used to show off your company culture.

Video can also be used to show off your company culture. By showcasing the work environment at your company, you can help potential employees or customers get a feel for what it would be like to work or do business with you.

Company culture is becoming more and more important in today’s world. Potential employees want to know what the company culture is like before they take a job, and potential customers want to know what it’s like to do business with you. By showcasing your company culture through video, you can help to attract more employees and customers.

 

So..

If you’re looking to improve your conversion rates, it’s a good idea to start using video marketing. With its ability to engage and persuade viewers, video content is a powerful tool that can help you to achieve your conversion goals. It’s an effective, engaging, and versatile way to reach more potential customers and boost your business’ bottom line.

If you’re not sure how to go about adding video into your marketing strategy plan, you’re not alone. It’s a type of marketing that many businesses have skimped on as it’s more expensive and time consuming to create, but it’s all worth it!

It can be a great asset to look for a video production company to do the hard work for you. That way you don’t have to be savvy with a camera or computer in order to get amazing videos to share with your customer base! Companies like C&I Studios can do as much or little to create video marketing content for your business. We have experience creating all sorts of video types for our clients including, but certainly not limited to, animation and live streamed events!

If you’re not using video marketing, you’re missing out on a huge audience. Video is an essential part of any good marketing strategy, and it can be used in a variety of ways to improve conversion rates. So, what are you waiting for? Start using video today! Or better yet, give us at C&I Studios a call and we’ll create amazing video marketing content together!

It can be a daunting task choosing the right animation company to help you with your video marketing strategy. After all, animation is a very versatile and powerful tool that can be used for a wide range of purposes – from explaining complex concepts to making a product or service more engaging.

But if you have the chance to add the element of animation to your marketing strategy, do it! It really adds the perfect touch to your marketing efforts and shows your customer base how polished you are as a business. And in order to really put that great impression out there, you should make sure to employ people that have expertise in animation.

However, before you make your final decision, there are a few things you need to take into account. Here are the most important factors to consider:

1. Experience and expertise

Animation is a complex process, and it takes a lot of skill and experience to do it well. Hiring a company that has the expertise to create amazing animations is crucial. If you hire a company that doesn’t know what they’re doing, you can end up with subpar work that you don’t want to share with your customer base.

It’s important to put your best foot forward when it comes to any marketing efforts. Make sure the animation company you choose has a team of professionals with a proven track record in creating high-quality animation.

2. Style and approach

Animation style is very important – it needs to reflect your brand and be appropriate for your target audience. Make sure the animation company you choose has a style that you like and that is aligned with your marketing goals.

When it comes to animation, there are three types of animation styles:

• Traditional animation – This type of animation is created by drawing each frame of animation on paper.
• Stop motion animation – This type of animation is created by moving physical objects (usually puppets or dolls) a little bit between each frame to create the illusion of movement.
• Computer animation – This type of animation is created by using software to create the animation frame-by-frame.

Animation companies use different animation styles depending on the needs of the project. So, before you choose an animation company, it’s important to understand the different types of animation and which one would be the best fit for your project.

If you know what type of animation you’re looking for (which, is more than likely computer animation), you can rule out animation companies that don’t work with the style of animation you’re looking for.

3. Quality and attention to detail

Animation is only effective if it’s done well. Make sure the animation company you choose has a reputation for producing high-quality work, with attention to detail down to the smallest detail.

This can go along with expertise. An experienced animation company has more practice when it comes to paying attention to detail. They’ll produce higher quality work as a result.

4. Cost

Animation can be expensive, so it’s important to get quotes from a few different companies and compare prices. However, don’t compromise on quality just to save a few bucks. The animation company you choose should be able to provide good value for money.

It’s also important to remember that animation takes time and effort, so the cost of the animation will depend on how long it takes to produce.

5. Turnaround time

Animation can take a while to produce, so it’s important to factor in the turnaround time when choosing a company. Make sure you choose one that can meet your deadline without compromising on quality.

Whichever animation company you hire should be able to give you a realistic timeline for the project and they should also be able to adhere to that timeline. Delays can cause big problems, so it’s important to make sure the animation company you choose can meet your deadlines.

On the other hand, you shouldn’t be giving them unattainable deadlines and expecting amazing results. Make sure you’re giving the company you hire enough time to create their animation magic. A rush job rarely ends up with great animation, and it’s more likely to end up with a company that isn’t too keen on working with you again. Giving them ample time to create your marketing content is not just a courtesy, but a necessity.

6. Communication and coordination

Animation is a collaborative process, so it’s important that the animation company you choose has good communication and coordination skills. They should be able to effectively collaborate with you and other team members to ensure that the final product meets your expectations.

The animation company you choose should be good at communicating with you. They should keep you updated on the progress of the project and be available to answer any questions you have.

Projects can go wrong if there is a lack of communication. Make sure the animation company you choose has a good communication strategy in place.

You should also be making sure that you and your company are also able to communicate with the animation company you’re planning to hire. Being able to communicate your wants and needs from a specific project is absolutely crucial to making sure your project comes out exactly as you need it to.

7. Ability to work with different file formats

Not all animation companies are able to work with different file formats. Make sure the company you choose is able to produce videos in the format you need, whether it’s MP4, MOV, AVI, or something else.  Knowledge of a variety of professional animation programs can be important, as well, especially if you are looking for a team to put the finishing touches on a working concept.

8. References

When choosing an animation company, it’s important to ask for references. This will give you a good idea of the quality of work they produce and how satisfied their previous clients have been.

Make sure to get references from the animation company you’re considering working with. talking to past clients is a great way to get an idea of the quality of work they produce and how satisfied those clients were with the final product. References should be from companies in the same industry as you or something adjacent. They should be able to provide first-hand experience with the company and be able to give you a realistic view of how the job went.

Don’t discount companies someone had a few bumps in the road with, so long as the final outcome was just fine. Remember that we all make mistakes, but as long as the wrongs were righted the company learned something, and having that kind of experience means that you’ll be in good, honest hands.

9. Satisfaction guarantee

Animation companies should be able to offer a satisfaction guarantee. This means that if you’re not happy with the final product, they will work with you to fix the problem.

They should offer revisions as you need them, within reason. They should always be wanting to make sure the work you pay them for is to your liking and specifications. A guarantee is necessary in case they misinterpreted what you were looking for, something didn’t get communicated correctly, or it just doesn’t live up to expectations. Even through perfect vetting, things happen, so having the guarantee adds a bit of insurance in case anything comes out wrong.

10. Creative input

Animation companies should be willing to let you provide creative input throughout the animation process. You are paying them to create something for your company after all. They shouldn’t just produce the video and hand it over to you – they should be willing to work with you to create a video that meets your needs and exceeds your expectations.

Make sure you’re communicating your wants and needs to them. They should be willing to let you see the project at different stages to be sure that they’re creating exactly what you’re looking for.

11. Creative flexibility

Animation companies can be very creative, so make sure the animation company you choose has the flexibility to adapt to your ideas and suggestions. They should be open to your feedback and be able to work with you to create a video that’s perfect for your needs.

Creative flexibility is key when it comes to animation companies. They should be willing to work with you to create the perfect video, regardless of your ideas or suggestions, and provide the ability to revise work when they miss the mark, within reason.

12. A team of professionals

The animation company you ultimately hire should have a team of skilled professionals who can produce high-quality animation, not just a one-person operation. The team should be able to work together to create a cohesive and professional product.

Make sure the animation company you choose has a team of skilled professionals who can produce high-quality animation. The team should be cohesive and professional, and be able to produce a high-quality product.

A team ensures that you have multiple eyes and brains on the work they’re creating for you. A team ensures that quality control is more seamless and creativity flows more freely!

13. Experience in your industry

This is one point that a lot of people don’t always think about when hiring outside help.

The animation company you choose should have experience in your company’s industry. You want to make sure they’ve worked with similar companies. And understand the challenges and needs of companies in your industry.

They should understand the challenges and needs of companies in your field. This will help them create a video that is tailored to your specific needs and ensure that they understand the needs of your business and can create a video that’s relevant to your target audience.

 

Are you in the market for an animation company? Why not check out C&I Studios and our large portfolio of animation work, both 2D animation and 3D animation. We have a large team of animators and crew that have a passion and great expertise in animation and can’t wait to keep creating and producing more animation and other marketing content. We’re confident that we can exceed your expectations and create a video that you’ll be proud to share with the world. Contact us today to get started!

When should you start using video in your business’s marketing?

The short answer? Now. Any time, but the sooner the better.

The slightly longer answer? It’s never too early to incorporate videos into your marketing strategy and company branding. It can be the first impression you give your potential customers or it can be something you slowly build up over time.

There is no magic 1-year, 5-year, or 10-year point where video can be thrown into your marketing mix and you will immediately see results (especially if video clients haven’t been part of your video marketing strategies). There are many companies that have spent years building up their video experience and still lack noteworthy returns on investment. Even video marketing veterans have to continue working towards video marketing success – there is no ‘set it and forget it’ video strategy.

You want to make sure you’re putting out good content that customers will engage with and share. But, it’s ok to swing and miss with your videos. Every failed video is a learning moment and you’ll figure out what your customers want through posting more content and reevaluating after each video is posted.

So, how do you decide when to incorporate video into your marketing strategy?

The decision is ultimately up to you and your company. But before you get into the exact “when” the video will be live on either your site or social media, you need to figure out what your budget and timeline should be.

You should be asking yourself and your crew a few questions:

• What budget do I have for video marketing?
• What kind of time can I devote to video production?
• What video experience do I have?
• How will I approach producing videos?
• What kind of videos do I want to be associated with my company?
• Am I hiring outside of my current employees to create video marketing content?

Video marketing is more complex than just “point and shoot”. There is video production, video distribution, and video marketing that all need to be considered when you decide to use video.

If you want to take a more passive approach, then videos can be added to your strategy in the form of video search engine optimization (video SEO), which means using video for your title tags and meta descriptions so you can show up in video search results.

Video marketing can also be incorporated into your social networks, including video posting on Twitter and Facebook, as well as placing videos on relevant video distribution sites such as YouTube.

For a more hands-on approach, you could hire video producers to create video content for relevant video distribution sites or have someone create a video for video SEO purposes. C&I Studios is a company that’s ready and excited to create video marketing content, as well as any other marketing content you need, that’s tailored to your business and customers.

The list of options is endless, but the decision belongs to you and your business, which is why video marketing isn’t so much a ‘when to video’ decision, but it’s always video marketing.

What else should I consider when deciding my video marketing timeline?

In order to know when to post your video content to get the most out of it, you should have an idea of what kinds of videos you want to create and how you’re going to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.

Once you’ve decided how video marketing fits into your overall strategy, you can compare video production timelines to video distribution timelines. It’s important to choose video content that is relevant to your business and customers. Think about what times of the year are most successful for your business (holidays, anniversaries, etc.) and start there.

For video SEO and video distribution, you’ll want to create video content that’s engaging and shareworthy.

What does your audience like? Are they business buyers or consumers? Do they love funny videos or do they prefer company testimonials? What kind of video content will get them excited about your products and services? How can you get your followers and customers to engage in your video content?

What kind of video content do you want to create? Do you know what kind of videos will perform the best for your industry? If you want a quick list of video content ideas that are appropriate for different industries, check out this blog post here. It’s important that you know that you’re not limited to this list by any means, it’s meant to be a jumping off point of videos that have performed the best in different industries. Feel free to get creative and think outside the box, but it’s ok if creativity isn’t your strong suit, too.

When deciding where to begin with your video marketing, including when and what, it’s important to consider videos that have evergreen content. Not every video needs to be evergreen, but evergreen content will really work in your favor to consistently bring in new viewers and potential customers, and help you to retain them if it’s a video they’ll want to refer back to over and over again. They’ll even want to share it with their friends and families if they think they’ll enjoy it or learn from it as well.

But, what does “Evergreen Content” mean? It’s simply content that will either never be considered out of date, or will age very slowly and can stay up for years to come. It does not expire, it doesn’t hibernate. It stays evergreen like a pine tree!

For example, if a pet store were to put out a video about interpreting cat behaviors, that video will still be relevant for years to come. But, if that same pet store were to post a video about the best cat litter on the market, that will soon be considered out of date as soon as the next best cat litter becomes available for purchase and the pet store will have to recreate that video to include the new product.

It’s also important to know where you’ll be sharing your video content. Different video hosting platforms have different algorithms and video lengths that work better than others. You’ll also want to consider the demographics of each platform’s viewers and how video marketing can work best for reaching your target market on those platforms.

For example, video marketing on Snapchat or TikTok is a great way to target a young, hip audience. LinkedIn is better for more business-oriented videos, and YouTube still reigns king for video content.

Knowing where you’ll be posting your videos will give you any and all limitations for your videos. You’ll know the maximum length, anything that might get reported and would get your video taken down, and you’ll know what kinds of editing tools the apps will offer you, too!

So, when would be the best time to post my first video?

There are a few key video marketing periods throughout the year that businesses should be aware of and capitalize on!

The first video marketing period is during the holidays. Around Christmas time, buyers are already in the shopping mindset and are looking for video content to help them make informed decisions about what gifts to buy for their loved ones.

The second video marketing period is during the summer. During the summer, people have more free time and are looking for video content that can help keep them entertained.

The third video marketing period is during the back-to-school season. During this time, parents are looking for video content that can help them prepare their children for going back to school.

In order to make sure that you’re using video marketing to its fullest potential, be sure to create video content that is both interesting and informative! Viewers will lose interest quickly if the video isn’t providing them with new or valuable information. So mix things up a bit by including videos that are both entertaining and educational.

Above all, have fun with video marketing! It can be a great way to connect with your viewers and create lasting relationships with them. Just remember to keep your videos short, informative, and entertaining!

In Conclusion…

Video is growing more and more every day, so rather than asking ‘when to video’, you should video marketing video content as soon as possible so it can reach your target audience and help achieve video marketing success.

While you decide “when”, it’s important to figure out the “where”, “why”, “how”, and “what” of the video as well. You also want to pay attention to important marketing times throughout the year and line up your strategy with them.

You don’t need to have everything figured out before you start video marketing, but having a general plan will help you get started on the right foot and increase your chances of video marketing success.

So, when should you start video marketing for your business? The answer is as soon as possible! Get creative with your video content and find the video hosting platform that will work best for you and your target market. And don’t forget, evergreen content is key to a successful video marketing strategy.

We’ve already covered finding filming locations in New York City and Los Angeles, so we’re now off to… South Florida!

If you’re looking for great filming locations in South Florida, you’re in luck. There are plenty of amazing spots to choose from, and with a little bit of planning, you can find the perfect location for your next video marketing project.

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Do your research

Before you start scouting locations, it’s important to do your research and figure out what type of setting you need. Are you looking for a beachfront property for a video that shows off the bathing suits your company sells? A lush garden to frame the luxury products available on your eCommerce website? A quiet suburban neighborhood? Or maybe a comfortable but classy living room set to film an interview? Knowing what you’re looking for will make it easier to find the right location.

It can be as simple as searching online, asking for recommendations from your network, or even going out into the world to scout out the perfect place. There is really no wrong way to research, except relying on only one form of research. You never know when you could be getting outdated or just straight up wrong information, so doing a thorough job and using multiple sources is the best route.

Use online resources

When beginning your research, online is the first place you might try. There are a number of online resources that can help you find South Florida filming locations. Sites like Filming in Miami and South Florida Locations offer detailed listings of properties that are available for film shoots, and they’re a great place to start your search.

Honestly, just typing “filming locations South Florida” into Google will bring up A LOT of information for you to work with. Try doing a few searches for different types of locations and see what pops up. You may be surprised at the variety of properties that are available for video or photoshoots.

One of the easiest ways to find great filming locations is to use social media. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook are filled with pictures of amazing South Florida locations that are perfect for filming. Social media is also a great way to communicate with the people who either run or own the property you’re looking at renting or using. Some social media also hosts a lot of information about the property such as hours of operation, phone number, and upcoming events. Sometimes you can even find a calendar to see if they have open availability!

Online sources are the easiest to access in today’s technology-run society. They’re likely updated regularly and offer easy communication with the people you’ll need to talk to in order to gain access to the property you want to film on.

Ask around

Another great way to find South Florida filming locations is by asking around. Your family, friends, and co-workers may know of a great location that you never even thought of. Miami is a huge city with lots of different neighborhoods, so it’s likely that someone you know has had some experience filming in one of South Florida’s many amazing locations.

Don’t be afraid to ask around–you may be surprised at what the people around you know! You might just stumble upon something amazing just by kicking around a few ideas with an old acquaintance.

Get in touch with local businesses

If you’re looking for a specific type of location, don’t be afraid to get in touch with local businesses. Restaurants, stores, and other businesses often have great spaces that are perfect for filming. Not only will your video benefit your company, but another local business will receive some recognition and new business.

It doesn’t take a lot of effort to send off an e-mail or make a quick phone call to a local business, either. Nor will you have to travel very far to get to your filming location. You may already know the owners or employees and have an easy rapport with them, so you don’t have to worry about building a new working relationship, either.

You should always be looking for ways to collaborate with local businesses, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so! Local businesses helping each other out and collaborating will benefit your entire community by marketing not only your business but theirs as well.

Scout the area yourself

Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential locations, it’s important to scout the areas yourself and get a feel for them. This will help you make sure that the location is right for your project in every aspect.

You never want to book a location blindly. You should always scout out the place before you make a final decision.

Scouting the location will allow you to make sure it can handle the number of people your production requires, the equipment you need, and anything else you need to bring. You also get the chance to meet the people you could be working with and find out how they operate in their natural habitat.

The earlier you start scouting locations, the better. South Florida is a popular filming destination, so many spots can get booked up quickly. It’s also a good idea to revisit potential locations more than once; the lighting and scenery can change dramatically depending on the time of day, weather conditions, and time of year.

Scouting is also a fantastic way to network for future productions. If you’re scouting one place for specific video production but it isn’t perfect, it might be perfect for a different production in the future. You should be constantly scouting out new filming locations so that you have an updated list of possible spots.

Consider your budget

It’s always important to be mindful of your budget and find locations that fit within your constraints. There are plenty of great filming locations in South Florida that won’t break the bank, but you may need to get creative and think outside the box a bit.

If you’re filming a more budget-friendly project, South Florida has plenty of parks, beaches, and other outdoor locations that are perfect for filming. Just be sure to check with local officials before you start filming to make sure you’re following all of the necessary rules and regulations.

If you have a bigger budget, South Florida offers a variety of unique indoor locations that are perfect for filming. From mansions to museums, South Florida has something for everyone. Just be sure to book your location in advance, as these spaces often fill up quickly.

No matter what your budget is, South Florida has plenty of great filming locations to offer. With a little bit of planning and research, you’re sure to find the perfect spot for your next project. South Florida is a popular destination for filmmakers, and for good reason! There are endless possibilities for filming locations, both inside and outside. You just need to know where to look.

Have a backup plan

No matter how carefully you plan, sometimes things don’t go as expected. It’s always a good idea to have a backup plan in case you need to find another location last minute.

When you’re filming outside, it’s important to remember that Florida weather can be… well, unpredictable. Having backup plans for an indoor option for the same time or having another date or two set aside in case you need to reschedule is always a good idea, no matter where you’re filming.

Of course, outdoor filming in inclement weather issues aside, there are many other reasons to need a backup plan. People can back out, budgets could be blown completely and you need to relocate to a cheaper location, anything can happen, so having options and flexibility can really save the day, your time, and your company’s money.

Get in touch with local film commissions

If you’re looking for something specific, like a particular type of property or a certain type of environment, it’s worth getting in touch with the local film commission. Film commissions are usually very knowledgeable about what’s available in the area and can help you find the perfect location for your project.

South Florida is home to a number of film commissions, including the Miami-Dade County Film and Entertainment Office, Palm Beach County Film and Television, and more! A quick search online will bring up the closest film commissions to your business or the filming location you have your eye on.

Film commissions can supply you with a lot of information that you might not be thinking about. They can help you with permits and other logistics, and they can often put you in touch with people who own the perfect property for your project.

Hire a studio to help

Asking for help is not a weakness, and hiring a video production studio like C&I Studios can really make the job of not only finding a location in the area easier, it really makes the entire video production process easier. We know South Florida like the back of our hand and can help you find not only the perfect filming location, but can help with casting, crew, equipment, and so much more.

We also have an actual studio that we use for some indoor filming opportunities, so you may have your filming location already locked down without having to go any further!

Video production is not the only service we offer, and we can’t wait to work with your company to create amazing marketing content!

Have fun!

Filming can be stressful, but it should also be enjoyable! South Florida is a beautiful location with plenty to offer, so take advantage of it and have some fun while you’re filming. South Florida is home to a variety of interesting and unique locations, so be sure to take advantage of them. Take advantage of a day of scouting to enjoy a day of getting out of the office. Make lasting relationships with local business owners. There’s no wrong way to enjoy your work.

No matter what your project is, South Florida is the perfect place to film it! With a little bit of planning and research, you’re sure to find the perfect spot for your next project. South Florida is a popular destination for filmmakers, and for good reason! There are endless possibilities for filming locations, both inside and outside. You just need to know where to look. South Florida is a beautiful place, so take advantage of it and have some fun while you’re filming!

Ideas for your next video project are usually the hardest to come up with. Whether you’re just starting out with video marketing or you’ve utilized this form of media before but you’ve just run out of ideas, it’s hard to brainstorm new video ideas!

The first thing you should understand is that it’s okay to do something similar to what you’ve done in the past. It’s also ok to do something similar to what your industry competition has created as well, so long as you aren’t copying it exactly. If you feel like doing something new, by all means, go ahead… But if your tried and true video idea still works well for you, there’s nothing wrong with using it again!

If you’re really struggling to come up with video ideas, here are some ways you can get your creative juices flowing!

Figure out what videos are appropriate for your industry

If you’re new to video marketing, your first step in preparing ideas is to know what should and shouldn’t be in videos for the industry your company is in. Previously, we’ve listed out a few different video types for different industries here.

You don’t want to make it a habit to post videos that have nothing to do with your business. That’s how you’ll lose not only followers but also customers both current and prospective. If people follow your social media platforms, they want to see content about your business, not just some comedy sketches that make fun of unreasonable customers.

Keep it classy and keep it relevant!

Research the Competition

One of the best ways to come up with ideas for your next video is to look at what other companies are doing! Taking a peek into your competitors’ Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook feeds can give you inspiration for not only content ideas but co-marketing opportunities.

The reason that searching social media is a good way for video marketing content is because social networks are all about being up to date on what’s currently happening. Many people use the “trending topics” section of Facebook to find out what’s going on in various areas. You can bet that if your competition is creating a video involving one of those trending topics, you should take notice!

By watching videos of other companies in your field, you’ll be able to get new ideas for what’s possible with video marketing. You can also find out what works and doesn’t work by simply watching the competition… And possibly even gain some insight into their customers, which is information you can use to create better videos for your brand’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, etc.

Make notes about what you see in the videos you watch. What are they doing? How are they doing it? What is it that their customers love or hate about what they’re doing?

By reading comments on these marketing channels, you may also be able to find out what fans and followers want.

Keep a notebook or a word document with you and keep notes as you go through this process. Sometimes it takes a few times watching their videos for something to really hit you… And if it doesn’t, maybe your next video idea will!

Make it a team effort

Some of our best ideas are the ones we get when brainstorming them with others! If you’re able to understand what works and what doesn’t work in video marketing by having an open discussion with other people you work with. They can be employees, coworkers, clients, or anyone you have a professional working relationship with. Even someone who doesn’t work a “creative” job for you might have amazing ideas for video content!

People who aren’t always looking for the next video idea can have some of the most genius ideas, even if they aren’t all the way fleshed out. A great idea is the beginning of something amazing! If you have a good team around you, chances are they’ll be able to help take your video ideas and turn them into amazing pieces of promotional content.

Not only will you get a range of ideas to work with, but you’ll also be boosting company morale by including your employees in creative work. Creating company videos for marketing is something employees can get excited about because it’s often their work or product that’s being featured.

Ask your customers what they want to see

A simple survey posted anywhere you digitally market can do wonders to help you and your company learn what your customer base is looking for in video content. This is especially helpful if you’re still getting your feet wet with video marketing, so you’ll have an idea of what types of videos are best for engaging your audience.

The keyword here is engagement… Video marketing helps build relationships with the people who buy from you. So ask them questions about why they plan on buying from you in the future, what video content they want to see and try to get a better understanding of their lifestyles.

Customers love feeling like they’re being heard, and asking them about what they want to see from your marketing is one way they can continue to be excited about your business and the products you sell or the services you provide.

Go back and look at your analytics

Are there certain videos of yours that have well exceeded all of your expectations? Those are the types of things you should focus on for future video production. Look at data such as what time the video was posted, how many views or likes it got. Try to brainstorm ideas based on those trends so you’ll be able to make videos that successfully hit those numbers again. Never underestimate the power of a video series!

If you don’t have any data to look at, this is another good time to turn to your customers. If you haven’t already, ask them what type of video they would like to see from you in the future. Also check out who else they follow and what kind of content those companies and influencers are putting out.

Attend Industry Related Conferences/Trade Shows

These types of events offer tons of new information that you can include in your video. What’s even better is that oftentimes there are several other companies at the trade show that use video marketing for their own company too. You can ask those companies’ employees what they would like to see from your company as a video. And of course, you’ll be able to gather lots of new ideas for future videos by simply talking with other marketers who are exhibiting at the trade show!

Even if you don’t have time to attend an actual conference or trade show, there are always news articles that come out about them that you can use for your video marketing content. You’ll also be able to follow along with the conference with people who are attending and posting their experiences on their social media platforms.

Also, your experience at conferences and trade shows itself can provide amazing video content! Your followers love to see what you and the company are up to when you’re out working with similar companies and learning the latest about your industry. For example, consider a cosmetologist attending a hair show. They’re going to be around new products that are available for them to purchase and use in their salons. So, making a video that introduces the new products while at the tradeshow can really get your clients excited about the new products right away! Booksellers at literary conferences can also make videos showing their customers the newest books coming out that year will create some excitement and possibly get the booksellers a bunch of pre-orders for those books.

If you have the chance to attend an industry conference or tradeshow, take it!

Take a Class

If you’re not able to come up with any video ideas on your own, take a video production class! Classes are an easy way for people who are creative thinkers to find fresh ideas. Going back to school may be for some people but if you aren’t one of them, small workshops are available in most cities that focus on video marketing.

Even taking classes that aren’t directly related to video production or marketing can be helpful in getting the creative juices flowing. If you’re thinking about sketch videos (scripted comedic videos that do well on TikTok), think about taking an improv acting class!

It’s ok to think outside the box on how to come up with ideas. There are infinite ideas out there for video marketing content. But remember, brainstorming is about gathering ideas, not about making decisions on what to do next with the ideas you have! You’ll be able to narrow it down once you’ve gathered your thoughts.

Read Industry Related Articles/Blogs

Traditional avenues of research should always be considered when thinking about your business, not just looking at another company’s social media presence. By reading articles and blogs that have to do with either your industry or marketing-specific blogs, you’re getting the information from a reputable source. You can get ideas off of blogs just like this one!

By reading this blog, in particular, you’re doing a great job in coming up with new ideas for your video project! Blogs like C&I Studio’s can keep you informed on the latest video and marketing trends as well as new technology and techniques you can utilize to create amazing content for your business!

 

You don’t have to be confined to just one type of brainstorming tactic. You can mix and match these different ways of finding video inspiration to come up with content for your own video marketing needs.

So, now that you know how to come up with ideas for your next video production as marketing content… Get out there and brainstorm!

Take a look at C&I Studio’s portfolio to see the amazing video content we’ve created for our clients. You might get a few extra ideas!

If you’re still having difficulty coming up with video ideas but you really want to break into or continue video production for marketing content, reach out to C&I Studios today!

As a Shopify store owner, it is your responsibility to quickly generate sales and get shopify store conversions with little stress. You’re wanting to boost your sales and expand your customer base.

But how does one go about doing that? Other than setting up the Shopify store, what should you be doing to increase your visibility and drive traffic to your store? There’s a lot you can be doing!

The tips below will help your Shopify shop to grow, and help you to be a successful business overall.

Build a customer mailing list

E-mailed newsletters are a great way to keep your current customers updated on any sales, discount codes, new products, or events that your store will be hosting. They can even alert your customers to new blog posts, videos, or giveaways on your social media platforms. The only downside to e-mailed newsletters is that sometimes they end up in the spam folder, or hidden in Gmail’s Promotion Folder. But they generally bring in a lot of sales from both new and returning customers.

But how do you get people to sign up for e-mail marketing? Well, people love discounts and promotions. By offering your customers a coupon once they sign up to your mailing list, you will gain more shopify traffic and shopify sales. Or, you can offer them another type of incentive such as a free download in the confirmation e-mail they receive right after signing up. Anything inexpensive or free will grab the attention of new potential subscribers.

A shopify store is not like other stores, it’s 100% online. Therefore, marketing online is essential for shopify store marketing. Once someone subscribes to your customer mailing list, you can then market to them on shopify through Facebook shop-related ads, sponsored Pins on Pinterest, or shop-specific ads on Google Adwords.

Having a customer mailing list will help your shopify store to grow in sales and turn into something more successful than you ever imagined!

Make it Mobile-Friendly

Another Shopify growth hack that you should implement is to make your shop mobile-friendly. Make sure customers can shop with ease whether they are on a phone or a tablet and their experience will be positive. This way, customers will enjoy using your shop and any product research they do will lead to sales.

It’s rare that a website or online store doesn’t have a mobile-friendly version of the website. If you don’t make sure that your Shopify store is able to be viewed on mobile devices, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of income.

Right now, most people do their online shopping on their phones or tablets, and if customers can’t easily use your Shopify site, they’re going to click away without making a purchase, and may never click on your links again if they remember that your site wasn’t neat and tidy. And that’s something you truly want to avoid.

Have Amazing Product Photos

To put it simply, you’re not going to sell anything if you don’t have pictures of the products you’re trying to sell that are appealing. The product photography you post on your Shopify store should be top notch if you ever want to see shopify store growth.

There are many pictures that can lead to shopify sales – your main product image, images of the products in use, close-up shots of individual products, and any other photos you think would sell your shopify shop for you!

Product photography isn’t black and white, hit or miss. It’s something you can be creative with, to an extent. But you want to make sure it’s not too over the top that people are not buying because they think it’s fake or believe that the props you’re using are included with the product. You also don’t want to have photos of bad quality that won’t maximize shopify store conversions.

For tips on product photography, check out our previous blog post on the subject here. We’ve also written about product on white photography, too, so be sure to check that out if that’s the direction you want to take with your own product photography.

Create A Blog and Keep Up with It

If your Shopify store does not have a blog, try creating one! Your Shopify blog is another opportunity for customer engagement. Customers enjoy reading blogs filled with informative content and are more likely to shop if they know that you can offer them great deals or fun content that they will enjoy.

Blogs should be relevant to the industry in which your Shopify falls into. If your shop sells craft supplies, having a blog that takes you through patterns and tutorials will give people ideas on how to use the products you sell. Fashion blogs that teach people how to style the clothing you’re selling will have a similar effect. You want your blog to grab peoples’ attentions, so don’t be afraid to get creative and think outside the box!

You don’t even have to do all of the writing for your blog. If you have the chance to talk to your industry influencers, you can hire them to write guest blogs for your site. And they’ll share it with their followers who will, if they like the content you’ve been putting out, follow your blog, your social media profiles, sign up for your newsletter, and make purchases!

You’ll want to make sure that you’re posting regularly to your blog. Regular posting, whether it’s twice a week, every weekday, or anything in between, regular postings will keep current readers engaged because they know when to expect new content, but also bring in new readers by boosting your blog’s searchability with every search engine (we call this Search Engine Optimization, or SEO). You need to make sure you’re using proper keywords, too. Doing a little bit of research on best SEO practices would be incredibly beneficial to boosting your company’s visibility.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Shoppers use social media platforms every day so it is not wise to ignore them. Implement Shopify growth hacks by using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to share deals, shop updates, or anything that will catch their attention. You can also create an event on Facebook to advertise a Shopify sale or to promote a shop update.

YouTube will be one of your best assets as far as social media platforms. It might be overlooked due to its age, but YouTube videos are shareable on almost every other social media platform. YouTube also helps to make your videos easy to find via Google and other search engines, as it’s well established. You just want to make sure to follow these guidelines to make your business YouTube videos successful.

TikTok can also do wonders when it comes to driving traffic to your Shopify store. You’ll be more limited as to what you can post on TikTok compared to YouTube, but you’ll be putting your store in front of millions of new potential customers! For the best practices in growing your business using TikTok, check out this blog post!

Listen To Your Customers

Something that every business should do is listen to your customers. They have a lot to say about your store, your customer service, and might have useful ideas on how to improve any part of your business.

Use analytics from Shopify to find out what products are being viewed the most, how people found your shop, and what their online purchases were. By looking at this data, you can make improvements to your shop and marketing campaigns to attract more customers.

Customers always want their voice to be heard, so make sure that you’re paying attention to their comments and messages across social media, too!

Use Conversions To Build Your Audience

In any business, the key to customer loyalty is engagement. Engaged customers are more likely to shop with you again and tell their friends about your shop.

In order to engage a customer, try sending a survey asking them questions regarding what they were looking for when visiting your shop. Then use that information in your future marketing campaigns to attract similar people who will shop your shop.

Conversions are vital to any Shopify business. They enable you to track more than just sales; they allow you to see how many people click, add to carts, and view products. This information is crucial in the improvement of your shop and will give you better insight on who your shop’s target audience is, what kinds of products they want to shop, and what marketing strategies you should implement.

Keep an Eye on the Competition

Keeping up with your shop’s competition will help to boost sales for your shop. You can do this by looking at their listings to see which products they’re selling that you aren’t and then look into improving those parts of your shop. This will also give you more ideas on how to grow your shop.

Only sell products that are trending, even if they’re not ones you’d usually shop for. Retailers that have a shop full of items everyone shops for tend to see higher conversions than stores with an itemized shop with just one of each item. It’s not always easy to predict what will become popular or not, so you can shop at other stores like yours to find products that are selling well and shopify growth hacks them into your shop.

In Conclusion…

There are a lot of different things you can and should be doing to boost your Shopify store’s success. From bringing in new customers to retaining retuning customers, these tips will help you to get the sales rolling in to your Shopify store!

If you’re looking at creating content to boost sales, be it product photography or marketing content for YouTube, TikTok, or any other social media site, C&I Studios is here to help!

C&I Studios is a content production company that specializes in video production as well as photography and many other services. We’ve created many amazing marketing campaigns for businesses big and small, online and brick and mortar. And we can’t wait to create amazing content together that will help to boost your company’s visibility and sales!

Social media marketing is still one of the fastest-growing places to advertise your eCommerce endeavors. But social media is only as effective as it is influential; if you haven’t found a way to stand out during your social media marketing efforts, then you aren’t getting the social returns that eCommerce businesses need.

The following 10 ways will ensure that your social media presence stands out among your competition and drives real results for your eCommerce business.

1. Engage with your audience

A social media presence is nothing if it doesn’t have engagement. You can have the fanciest social media account with the most followers, but without engagement, your social media content isn’t doing much for you.

Remember that social media is a dialogue, not just a monologue, so you have to respond and engage with your audience as well.

Not only will your audience feel included and appreciate your responses to their engagements, but engagement actually makes your content more likely to appear in searches and on feeds since they’ll be considered popular.

And social media engagement is not just about likes and comments – social sharing is an equally important aspect of social media marketing that can’t be ignored. On Instagram, a simple save of a post boosts views, too!

2. Be social!

You can’t truly engage with your social media audiences if you aren’t social yourself! You can share other people’s content, ask for feedback on social media, and share social media content from your social channels as well as other social channels.

By this we mean that social media is not just about sharing social posts; you need to be social on social media! This is especially important since social consumers follow brands that they like and engage with them regularly. Social sharing and social conversations will help your social media presence stand out.

Make sure you’re answering questions, comments, and any messages that your followers are sending. Interaction is the best and easiest way to make your audience happy and willing to purchase from your eCommerce store. (Well, other than making sure the products you’re selling are of good quality and shipped on time, but we’re talking social media specifically.)

Being social with other businesses will also help you gain followers and buyers. Engage with other companies’ social media! It’s a good thing to do! Your competition isn’t always your enemy- heck, they might even consider collaborating with you at some point in order to share followers and customers.

3. Asking social questions

Asking questions are a social media marketing tactic that can be used to gain insight into your social followers, connect with them on social channels, and increase your social influence.

People love filling out short questionnaires and making sure their opinions are heard. Use this to your advantage!

A social question can be anything from “What do you think?” or “Do you have any suggestions?”, all the way to “What social networks do you use?” or “Which social network is your favorite?”. If you’re in the hobby eCommerce business, ask your followers to show off what they’ve made with supplies they purchased from you on their own social media profiles!

You can drop social questions into your social media content that encourages social sharing, such as blog posts and social updates. You can also ask social questions in real-time during a special social media event – this works great for eCommerce businesses that are social eCommerce-oriented.

Every tag and share allows for their followers to see how you and your customer interact, and if you’re interacting in positive ways that show off your amazing products as well as that you value your customers you’ll find that more people are willing to follow and engage with your social media!

4. Keep social statistics updated

Facts and figures are social media marketing gold; social proof can be very influential to social media audiences, especially social shoppers. Social proof comes in many forms, such as testimonials, social shares, social mentions, social ratings, and more – all of which you should display on your social media profiles.

These social statistics are especially important if you have social commerce-specific social media accounts since social consumers are much more likely to buy from eCommerce businesses that have social proof.

It doesn’t hurt that keeping this information around also helps you to decide what works and doesn’t work for your social media presence. Since social media is social, social proof can be a social factor that you rely on.

The more social proofs you have the better- which means it’s time to start asking for testimonials and mentions! It’s an easy task; ask your fans and followers to share how much they love your eCommerce store by putting your social information as a social status update on their social profiles. If you’re looking for proof from social media influencers, use social analytics tools to find where the power is and approach them with an offer that drives social traffic your way!

5. Do the social rounds

Doing the social rounds goes hand in hand with being social on social media! By doing the social rounds, eCommerce businesses can social media market their social media presence and social identities at the same time.

Broadly speaking, social rounds involve regularly visiting social accounts from your competitors as well as social accounts from related businesses. For social shoppers, regularly checking out what your social competition is up to will give you great insight into how to improve your social media marketing.

It’s market research, to put it simply. Knowing what’s working or not working for your competition will help you decide what you can and should try for your own social media presence. You can use some of their ideas to create your own or completely avoid doing what they’re doing.

6. Add social media widgets and badges to your eCommerce website

We’ve talked about social proof in social media marketing in previous points, but social proof can also be very effective on your eCommerce website.

Adding social sharing widgets and social icons to product pages will encourage social shoppers to share your products with their social networks. Social media badges and social widgets can also be added to eCommerce website footers and sidebars, as well as social media profiles.

Being able to direct your followers to and from your social media presence and website will 1- make your website and social media recognizable as belonging to one another and 2- drive traffic to and from both places to gain followers and purchases!

7. Encourage social sharing

Social sharing is another social media marketing tactic that can help your social shares stand out against the competition.

Social sharing takes time and effort on the part of social shoppers – social media marketing that requires social shoppers to take action tends to have a higher social impact. By encouraging social sharing on social media, you can increase social shares and social engagement for your eCommerce business.

There are several ways you can encourage social sharing: through social widgets, providing share incentives such as discounts or exclusive offers via Share It buttons, social media contests, and social media contests as social media marketing tactics. It doesn’t always take a lot of incentive for your customers to share your content.

8. Don’t be afraid to get creative!

Sometimes standing out against your competition is as simple as trying something new with the content you’re putting out into the world. Whether you’re social media marketing your social profiles or social media sharing content, social creativity is another social media marketing tactic that can help you stand out.

Creativity can translate into any aspect of social media marketing. You can change up your graphics, make gifs and videos, or even use new, fun music in your media. Creativity is social media marketing gold, so don’t be afraid to jazz it up a bit and try new things!

9. Post social video content

Piggybacking a social media tactic onto another social media tactic is a wonderful way to increase social shares when social sharing is concerned!

Since social shoppers are just as likely to engage with social videos as they are with social posts,

10. Try collaboration

Collaborating with your competition can do wonders for your social media following.

More social media marketing knowledge is more social media marketing power. Collaborating with your competition can help you increase social shares, gain social followers, and make social impact on social media like no other social media marketing tactic can!

It’s common for eCommerce businesses to go up against each other – even the same products are usually sold by multiple competing social media profiles. Collaborating with your social media competition can help you gain social presence, social shares, social followers, social engagement, and social impact – but collaborating doesn’t have to end there!

There are also ways to collaborate with complementary businesses – businesses that provide social media marketing services or products that compliment yours. Businesses who compliment yours will social media marketing your social media presence while social media marketing their own social media presence through social sharing and social engagement.

Collaborating with complementary businesses can help both businesses improve social impact and social reach on social media, while providing the opportunity to increase brand awareness and promote each other’s social assets! Collaboration is a wonderful way to social media marketing social impact and social shares to increase social followers, social engagement, and social presence, so don’t forget to collaborate with your social media competition or complementary businesses!

 

Social media marketing will make or break an eCommerce company. It’s important that you make your presence on social media loud and proud, really make it stand out against the noise of every other eCommerce business on the same platforms as your business.

If you’re in need of help especially in creating new and creative content that your followers will love to interact with, C&I Studios is able to help! We love producing videos, photoshoots, and so much more that will boost your social media presence! We can’t wait to create amazing content with you!

As livestreaming continues to grow, more and more people are using livestream events for all kinds of things. Social media has become the driver behind this level of usage, as anything social media-related takes off very fast, or dies out quickly. Livestreaming isn’t going away any time soon, though.

Livestream marketing is not new in any way. It’s been around for years since the early 2000’s. Yet, livestream marketing is still growing and will continue to grow as social media livestreaming sites continue to search for their niche in the livestream market.

With livestream marketing being more popular all of the time, there are things that need to be considered about your livestream events that might not have been taken into consideration before. Here are some of the most important points to consider with livestreaming events.

Make a Plan

The livestream event needs to be planned out ahead of time so that important things can get done before the livestream is scheduled to happen. This includes planning out your livestream content, planning promotion on social media sites, and planning Q&A or chat sessions during the livestream where possible. If you do not plan ahead for livestream events, you may find yourself in a difficult position to get the event done on time and done well.

You should consider making plans for set-up, during, and after. You can’t be too prepared for anything, even livestreaming.

Set the Stage

You don’t want to show your messy bedroom in a livestream. It’s not appealing to anyone watching. You should be treating this production as you would any other video production and make sure that your set is well planned out, appealing, and relevant to the video’s topic.

You want to find an appealing livestream room with good lighting. Setup the equipment on tripods, making sure nothing is blocking any of the livestream camera’s field of view or anything else that will get in the way. You want to avoid trying to use your livestream for more than one thing at a time also. For example, don’t try to livestream while at the same time you are trying to do a video chat or livestreaming with another camera. You don’t want anything to go wrong that incurs extra costs. Be sure everything is setup beforehand and then livestream away!

Have the Proper Equipment

Many livestreams are done with a simple ring light, tripod, and a cell phone. It’s an inexpensive setup that works for some, but it isn’t always the best choice.

You should be considering livestream set up just like you would any other video production. Having the proper equipment is important if livestream events are to go smoothly and people watching on their screens will be able to watch comfortably without straining or moving around too much. It’s also important for livestream quality so that more than just livestream viewers can enjoy the livestream event.

There are many livestream events that don’t go well because viewers cannot enjoy the livestream with the quality of view that is readily available for livestream production.

Get Organized and Use Proper Software

With most livestreams, it’s pretty simple to prepare; put your cell phone on a tripod and press record. While that works for many influencers and MLMers, a well created livestream that’s been produced with proper software will really show the world that you’re a professional business and take your work seriously.

However, there are livestream video production options that are available for livestream viewers. You may want to livestream events with multiple cameras, livestream chats, livestream slideshows, livestream animations… the list goes on and on. There is a lot of potential in livestreams nowadays.

There are many livestream software options out there that can help you to use livestream chat services or other livestream video production features. For livestream events where more than just viewers will be watching, livestream software options can help to organize livestream content so that it’s easier for everyone involved to livestream the event.

Of course, mobile livestreaming apps are available that can let you livestream on your phone. However, these mobile apps aren’t always the best livestreaming software for events that need more livestream video production features.

At the end of the day, livestream video production is just like any other type of video production or livestream event. Get organized, have planned livestream events with proper livestream equipment, and have your livestream content prepared ahead of time so that livestream viewers can enjoy your livestream event.

Do a Test Run

This part doesn’t have to be live unless you’re testing the actual livestreaming process itself. Test runs are meant to make sure you have everything ready and streamlined so that your actual livestream event runs as smoothly as possible without hiccups on your end.

You want to be able to test to see how your setting looks. Making sure the lighting is sufficient, that your cameras are set up correctly, and that you’re not showing anything that will distract your audience are out of the scene. Make sure the equipment is in proper working order and that all of your livestream software features are ready to go.

If you want to test the actual livestream, especially if you’ve never livestreamed before, you can certainly do that, too. Test it out with a smaller announcement so that you’re not wasting the livestream or confusing your followers. You want to be sure that you know all of the controls ahead of time.

Be Ready for Questions

A livestream chatroom can be an amazing thing for your livestream when it is configured correctly. Whenever possible, set up your livestream chatrooms ahead of time so that people can use them during the livestream. You will also want to make sure that anyone involved with livestream chatrooms is present during live events.

Questions of all sorts are going to be asked. You can ignore some of them, but that’s not always wise. People will be curious about what you’re telling them, about the products you’re selling, and about what’s happening in your video presentation. It’s also wise to keep an eye on the chatrooms for any questions that may be directed at you during the livestream event itself. Doing so will ensure that everyone watching is getting everything they need during your video presentation and livestream video production processes.

Be Ready for Craziness

This is always important, but it’s even more important with livestream video production. Livestream video production can be a crazy thing if you’re not prepared.

For professional setups, whether big or small, you need a team that has experience managing live switching between multiple feeds, creating graphic assets on the fly, or knowing where to train cameras in order to capture the most important parts of your stream.

Follow-up with Feedback

Any livestream feedback should be seen as a source of information that can improve your livestream event from then on out. You should take any livestream comments seriously and consider them, especially if there are major concerns brought up by viewers during the livestream itself. This is another reason why having a plan ahead of time is important.

Feedback allows you to see what you can improve upon, what needs to be changed completely. It can also help you to see what is important to your livestream viewers, and it can even give you information about livestream event new ideas. Always keep an open line of communication with your chatrooms!

A Final Note

Livestream video production is a video production style that should be taken seriously as any other video production. Like video editing, video marketing, video animation video production or any other video production style, it is just another way to get your message across to others.

Remember that livestream video production isn’t just about getting your message across in general, but also about understanding how people communicate with each other and find new viewers who can relate to you video marketing video. Getting livestream video production right is just another way to discover new ideas, methods, and ways that your video marketing can be effective in getting the most out of your videos.

Always keep in mind how you can get the most out of livestream video production by understanding what livestream viewers want to see when they come to view your video.

As livestream events continue to grow in popularity on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, you will find livestream events a helpful resource for your business or organization. Consider all of these points when planning livestream events so that they can be done properly and take off well with livestream audiences.

If you’re looking to livestream your event but feel overwhelmed or still don’t know where to begin, consider hiring a professional video marketing company to guide you through he process. Consider hiring a company like C&I Studios to produce your livestream videos. We can help you with every aspect of the production!

Think about what you’ve purchased online recently. Did the website have photos of the products you bought? Of course it did. Think about those photos, though. Did they make a good impression? Is that what drew you into making that purchase? Probably, which is why excellent product photography is one of the most important aspects of running a business, especially an eCommerce business.

Product photography allows your customers to see the product for what it is. They should be able to see every feature, every side of the product while also presenting it in an enticing manner, such as on a model built like them so they can imagine themselves wearing or using it or paired with other products that they might already own or are thinking about buying.

But, product photography isn’t black and white. What works for one company might not work for another in their goal to boost sales. It depends on the products you’re selling, who you’re selling them to, and how you present your product photography to your customers.

Here are a few tips to creating product photography that shows off your products while also standing out against your competition who sell similar products.

Consider Product-on-white photography

Putting a product on a white background makes the product stand out. It is simple, clean, and to the point. This product photography works for most eCommerce websites, but it can also be replicated easily by other sellers who will likely want to try to compete with your product as well as make customers think that they might as well purchase from them because they aren’t offering anything different.

A product shot against a white backdrop is designed to draw attention to the product itself, not any of its features or functions, which may mean that potential customers who want to know more about it will have to look elsewhere. For eCommerce websites that sell products that are essentially blank canvases for customers’ imaginations, product-on-white product photography is a great idea.

It’s the most used type of product photography, usually used by most big box stores like Best Buy or Amazon. It’s a basic form of product photography that most companies employ.

If you want to try product-on-white photography for yourself, check out our previous blog that shares tips on this type of product photography.

Others, however, might want to consider product-on-color photography instead.

Consider Product-on-color product photography

Putting a product on a color background allows the product itself to pop out in front of that background color. It draws attention to the product itself, making it stand out more. product-on-color product photography is often used by smaller websites where the competition between eCommerce companies is less fierce and each product stands a better chance of being noticed on its own merits rather than trying to compete with other products offered by other companies that are similar but not quite the same.

It works for product photography where the product itself has a standout feature, such as jewelry or clothing. It can be used for other types of products as well, but it depends on how your product stands out against its background color.

Use Models

Clothing companies use models to show off their products. They showcase everything product photography can do. It can make clothing look good on anyone, no matter what body type they have or how it looks on them.

Models aren’t just for clothing companies, though. Other eCommerce websites that are product-based also need to find models for their product photography as well, especially ones that sell products that look good on anyone.

A product photo may not be enough for that product to stand out. It needs a model or a person who can show that product in use as well as garner interest from potential customers so they know how it could look on them and what they could do with the product.

You’ll want to be sure that you’re hiring the right models, of course. If you’re selling clothes that fit a wide range of body types, hire models of all body types so that your entire customer base feels included.

Use Props, but carefully

Using props in product photography requires a bit of balance. You don’t want your customers buying something and believing that the props are included with the sale and you don’t want them to think that the product you’re trying to sell is the prop instead.

Products should be the focus of product photography, not the product’s surroundings. Taking product-on-prop product shots can help an eCommerce business stand out from other product-on-white photographs by adding a sense of theme and character to the images themselves.

Using props in product photos can help set an eCommerce store apart from its competitors, however. An eCommerce store selling children’s toys, for example, might consider product photos with kids playing with the product. An eCommerce store that sells kites could try product shots of people flying kites or images that include other objects that are related to the product, such as wind and bright sun.

Don’t be afraid to get creative!

Just because you’re taking photographs of products doesn’t mean you have to stick to what’s usually done. Go ahead and get creative with your products! It will help set your product shots apart from the rest.

Be sure to consider product-on-prop product photography for eCommerce websites that sell products that are meant to be used or enjoyed by customers, but don’t forget that product photos of otherwise plain product samples can also stand out by putting them on more interesting backgrounds like contrasting colors or settings.

You can easily find simple backdrops for sale that look realistic, such as posterboard with textures. They’re inexpensive and can easily be stored in sturdy tubes for multiple uses. Or perhaps consider fabric backdrops. Fabric backdrops can be classy and comfortable, depending on the vibe you’re trying to get out of them.

Think outside the studio, too. Outdoor shoots are worth considering for products you’d use outside.

Use product photography for marketing

It can be difficult to entice customers into purchasing a product when all they have is standard product photography that presents no thought or identity to them. It can help your eCommerce business stand out from the product-on-white crowd if you use product photography in marketing so that customers can see how it will relate to their lives, too.

Using product photography in eCommerce marketing is a great way to help your product stand out from your competitors. It can also make it easier for customers to imagine owning and using the product in their lives, which makes them more likely to buy it from you rather than somewhere else.

This is where getting creative can really bring life to your product photography. For example, if your product is a product that’s meant to be used outdoors, such as camping gear or hiking equipment, product photography can help show how it’s used in everyday life. Instead of product shots on white backgrounds, consider setting the product outdoors and showing its use by taking product photos out in nature. If your product is a home decor product, product photos in a home may be the way to go.

Product photography can also help show product identity and purpose when they aren’t used in everyday life. For example, product images set inside of a home that feature product photography can still help customers imagine owning and using the product. However, it’s especially helpful if you add product-on-prop product shots that give the product a personality and highlight its benefits.

How to Edit Product Photos

Outfit your product photos with product image editing software such as Photoshop or Lightroom for product photography that really stands out.

You can even use product photography in marketing without editing the product images themselves. However, product image editing software like Photoshop or Lightroom makes it easy to give product images an edge that shows off their premium quality. For example, product photography in eCommerce marketing is much more premium when you edit product images with product photography software that has the ability to sharpen product images.

Professional product photography is best for eCommerce product marketing. A product can’t stand out if it doesn’t look great. That’s why product photography needs the same amount of attention as product marketing does. After all, product photography is used in product marketing! So make sure your product image editing software uses product photography software to really bring life to product images so that product marketing can stand out with product images.

Product photos are just one part of your product marketing strategy, but they’re an important part. That’s why you need product photography that stands out from the competition, whether it’s product images on white backgrounds or product-on-prop product images.

If you use product photo editing software to give product images an edge, product photography can help your eCommerce business stand out from the product-on-white crowd while also helping customers imagine owning and using the product in their lives.

Consider Product Videography

Why not take it one step further and create a video that shows your products off? Video is the fastest-growing online content type. So product videos are a great way to give product marketing an edge and really catch viewers’ attention when they’re scrolling through their social media feeds.

A product video is also perfect for eCommerce product marketing because it allows you to give product images a voice by creating product videos that explain how to use your product and why it stands out from the product-on-white crowd.

Keep product photography and product videos in mind when creating product marketing materials, such as product images on white backgrounds and product-on-prop product photos, so you can add another element to your product marketing strategy that shows off your products in a way no other eCommerce business does.

Hire a photographer

If you don’t have the ability to take product photos that you and your company can be proud of, consider hiring a company to do it for you! C&I Studios is one of those companies. You can also look for freelance photographers that have the necessary skills and equipment, too.

Not only can they take the product photos for you, but many of them also offer editing services. Just make sure that you’re asking the right questions before signing a contract with them.

By hiring outside of your company, you can be sure to hire someone who knows what they’re doing, who may have ideas that you didn’t think of, and has all the right equipment to make your products really stand out against your competition. Collaboration is one of the best things you can do to keep the creative juices flowing and be able to get the best end product possible!

 

Now that you have a few tips and ideas on how to get a leg up with your product photography, you can go out and make sure that your products are represented realistically and enticingly for your customers. You’ll be able to boost your sales by directly posting these photos on your eCommerce site but also bring in new customers with refreshed marketing content!

Next up on our Filming Location series, let’s talk about finding filming locations in New York City!

As a New York City business owner, you already have your hands full. The last thing you need is to be bogged down with finding the right filming locations for your video marketing campaign. Fortunately, you can count on us at C&I Studios to help you out! Not only can we give you a few tips and tricks in this blog post, but we also have a studio in New York City and can help you to produce your video marketing content.

Fortunately, New York City is a diverse landscape that offers a wide range of filming locations for just about every occasion. When it comes to New York City filming locations, you have various options. New York City filming locations can include city streets, restaurants, retail stores, professional offices, and even private residences.

But how does one go about finding the right place to film marketing content? Through research and scouting, you’ll be able to seek out the right places that fit the theme and tone of the videos you want to create.

Read on to learn about how to find all the New York City filming locations you can have access to as a video marketing New Yorker.

Research

Your first step should always be to do some research on filming locations, no matter where you want to film. Research before booking a place will really set the stage, if you will, for the entire production. You’ll be able to budget appropriately, know what to expect from the venue, and be able to plan for any issues that may come up with the space such as the weather if it’s outside.

Not only will location scouting save you time and headache, but it can also give you inspiration on how to present your message in an engaging way that will reach your audience.

Online

Starting your research with a simple Google search is probably one of the smartest things you can do. You’ll be able to create a list of places to look into further, find out if something is in a public space or not, and get some price estimates.

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation gives great guidelines on what locations are available to film. Also, the New York State Film Commission has a New York City filming page that contains everything you need to know about New York’s filming policies. The New York City Office of Motion Picture & Tv Development website also does an amazing job at providing New Yorkers with New York City filming deals.

But there’s more! New York State has a New York City filming FAQ webpage that covers some of the most popular questions asked about New York City filming.

Lastly, NewYork.com offers an extensive list of New York City filming locations for you to check out as well as New York City filming deals. New York City Filming Locations is also a great site that allows New Yorkers to check out New York City filming locations and New York City film permits.

Word of Mouth

If you haven’t asked anyone about possible filming locations, what’s stopping you?

New York City is full of entrepreneurs who are looking for video marketing New Yorkers to film at their place.

When asking around, be sure to reach out to businesses that have a similar theme or style as you so you can get an idea of what the vibe will be like when the two of you work together. You’ll also want to see if the location has any specific requirements that may affect your video shoot, such as parking or additional fees.

Social Media

Speaking of word of mouth, New Yorkers love using social media to spread their message and tell a story. Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram are all great places to find New York City filming locations in New York City.

You may not think it, but New York City social media influencers are often looking for New York City filming locations to host their next Instagram shoot. Social media can be a great resource because so many New Yorkers use it as an outlet to share their business story. New York City filming locations will be easy to find if you ask around on social media or see who’s using New York City filming locations for their shots.

Scouting New York City Filming Locations

Sometimes finding the right place to film your video content means going out into the field to find the right place. This is called scouting. You’ll go to each place, find out what about it works, what doesn’t work, any costs, and any other information that you’ll need. Think of it as a job interview, but for a location.

You should bring a checklist of the necessary amenities you’ll need for filming. Things like access to electricity, bathrooms for your talent and workers, space to move and set up are all important things you should be looking out for. There may even be amenities you need that are specific to the video you’ll be filming.

Working

When you’re out and about already working on another video production, you can easily come across new possible filming locations. New York City has a variety of different neighborhoods that were built for specific New Yorkers. New Yorkers are passionate about their boroughs, so finding New York City filming locations near you shouldn’t be too hard when you’re already out in the city working.

Hire a Company

Hiring a company, like C&I Studios, to do all of the hard work for you will take a huge weight off of your shoulders. Some New York City filming locations may not be easy to find, but the city has some great facilities that New Yorkers can use for their video productions. New Yorkers and film production companies like C&I Studios will take care of the New York City filming permits and set up the New York City filming location for you so that you don’t have to worry about a thing!

C&I Studios knows all of the ins and outs of the New York City area. We know what filming locations would work best for you, your company, and your industry. We can take care of everything from booking the right location to everything in post-production. It’s important that you hire a company that really understands not only New York as a city, but also your industry’s marketing needs and how to truly create amazing videos for many different uses.

What types of places should I consider?

New York City is huge. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of possible places to film marketing content for your business. There are many different kinds of places to consider for your video shoot.

Consider the Picturesque

If you’re creating a video that very clearly takes place in New York City, you want to consider the sights and scenes that automatically come to mind when you think of New York City. New York City’s skyscrapers, New York City’s bridges, New York City’s outdoor sidewalks are just a few places you might be able to find New York City filming locations for your production.

Some New Yorkers have beautiful gardens that are perfect for video marketing shoots. Others will have rooftop views that overlook New York City’s skyline or New York City subway trains that are just waiting to be filmed in. You may not think of New York City filming locations when they first start creating their video marketing campaign, but those who do take the time to find the perfect filming locations will ultimately have a more New York City-centric video about their business, which is ultimately the goal.

Think about what represents New York City. Is it the Statue of Liberty? Chrysler Building or Empire State Building? Or is it the green scenes of Central Park? Write down the places you automatically think of that fit the vibe of the video or campaign you want to create.

Think Outside the Box

When New York City businesses choose filming locations, they think outside the box to find a location that fits their message. For example, a New York fashion design company may film a fashion show in an odd location for the subject such as the New York Public Library. New York City filming locations don’t have to be traditional New York City landmarks. They just have New York City-inspired or New York City-specific features that will help New Yorkers remember why they enjoy your business so much.

Think Outside the City

If New York City is your location of choice, New Jersey is also an option. New Jersey offers filming locations that New York City businesses can access for their video marketing campaign. New Jersey sites include beaches, service stations, diners, and so much more.

When you are ready to film a video marketing campaign, New Jersey filming locations such as colleges and universities can serve as filming locations for your video marketing production.

With New York City and adjacent filming locations at your disposal, you have the freedom to explore a variety of options. Before making a selection, be sure to determine what kind of atmosphere you need for your New York City video marketing campaign. New York City can be noisy, crowded, and full of New York City traffic.

 

Now that you have a few ideas of where to look, what to look for, and to make sure you’re getting what you need out of a filming location, you’re ready to go out into the City to find the right filming location for your video production!

Think about the e-mails that you receive from your favorite stores and restaurants. How many of them do you ignore? How many of them do you open and then close quickly? And then how many of them do you actually read and engage with?

The ones you’re opening and engaging in, clicking links, and actually making a purchase, what do they look like? Do they have fun pictures of their products? Or are you watching short videos?

We bet it’s the former.

In e-mail marketing, words are your best friend. When you just have a short headline to get someone’s attention and then a few paragraphs of text, it becomes really easy for them to bounce from the e-mail quickly or just ignore it completely. But when you add a video to your e-mail campaign, success rates shoot through the roof.

Video e-mail marketing works for two main reasons. The first is that when you have a video in front of your e-mail, the person receiving the e-mail has to at least give it a few seconds before they can hit delete. So if your e-mail headline was ‘20% off today!’ and then your e-mail body text said ‘Click below to shop our sale!’, your e-mail will have been deleted before they have a chance to see the 20% off deal.

But with a video e-mail marketing campaign, not only do you get that e-mail in front of them because it’s being watched, but when people are watching the e-mail video, they are also more engaged. There’s no way that someone can read e-mails while watching a video e-mail campaign, so unless they want to turn off the e-mail altogether, they have no choice but to pay attention.

It might seem like people aren’t interested in e-mails anymore, since every e-mail you get nowadays is just a ‘special offer’ or an e-coupon for something. But e-mails still have the potential to be one of the best lead generation tools out there, as long as companies are doing e-mail marketing right.

All e-mails still have to follow the basic e-mail marketing rules. One of those rules is knowing your audience. So if you know that your e-mail video sales campaign is targeting very tech-savvy people, then it might be more effective for you to get straight to the point in your e-mail and skip over the intro video.

But e-mail marketers need to be careful about how they are using e-mail video marketing campaigns. If the video is too long, it will frustrate your e-mail audience and give them a very good reason to delete the e-mail right away. Always keep your e-mails short and sweet. You don’t have much space to work with, so cram as much information as you can about your e-mail campaign, video included, into that e-mail.

E-mails are still a viable lead generation tool if you are doing e-mail marketing correctly. When using e-mail marketing campaigns to generate sales, use e-mails that have short videos in them to grab the attention of people reading e-mails and make sure that e-mails follow e-mail marketing best practices.

What is it about videos in e-mail marketing campaigns that draw people in?

Currently, marketing e-mails are rather monotonous. Filled with pictures of products, usually being modeled by the same types of models from store to store. There might be a few links to click on to take you to said products in hopes that you’ll purchase them. But, other than a subject stating that the store is having a sale, what is there to convince you to make the purchase?

E-mail marketing analysts have noticed is that e-mails with videos in them experienced a much higher success rate than e-mails without videos. What this means is that, of the e-mails sent out, e-mails with videos were opened and time was spent reading them more times than e-mails without videos.

Videos offer more than just words on a screen. Videos allow you to see the products in action, hear testimonies from past customers, and so much more.

When people are watching video e-mails, they are engaged in the e-mail. It’s almost natural that when people watch e-mails that e-mail then becomes more successful than e-mails without videos. This is what e-mail marketers need to keep in mind when planning an e-mail marketing campaign. By placing a video in their marketing e-mail, you’re raising the possibility of consumers clicking through to make a purchase.

What types of videos should I include in a marketing e-mail campaign?

First, you’ll want to know what kinds of videos do best for the industry you’re in. You’re not going to want to place videos that have nothing to do with your company or what you’re trying to sell in your marketing e-mails. That will get people to unsubscribe faster than a cat on a mouse. And you definitely don’t want people to be unsubscribing from your e-mails!

Instead, you want to make sure your videos are relevant, especially to the reason you’re sending out the e-mail in the first place: to sell something.

The videos that work here the best are videos that showcase what you’re selling in a positive and informative light. These e-mail videos should include some sort of customer testimonial or a video showing the features of the products being sold.

If you’re e-mailing your e-mail marketing campaign to customers, then making e-mails with videos that show why people need your product and how it can benefit them will definitely make a good impression.

Are you letting people know about the latest and greatest product you just got in? Consider a quick unboxing video!

You can unbox any product! From opening the latest shipment of books or shirts that you’re about to put out for display or there’s a brand new sewing machine on the market that you want to show off, an unboxing video will draw in people who want to purchase the merchandise. This especially works great for expensive investments, like a sewing machine, where people will want to see what comes in the box with the machine- is it worth the investment before they make the purchase?

Other videos that work perfectly in a marketing e-mail are testimonials from past customers.

Testimonial videos, or reviews, really help to build trust with prospective customers. You’re going to have a much better e-mail marketing campaign if you have a customer that’s saying “I bought this product and it was the best purchase I ever made!” over just a picture of the product. It gives a sense of genuineness from someone who has no connection with your company, so people feel as if they can trust your marketing e-mails more often.

The last video that e-mail marketers should consider is a how-to video. If you have a product, service, or even an e-book you want to promote, showing people how they can use it will make the e-mail successful in many ways.

People love being able to see a product being used. It doesn’t have to be anything big. It should be a short video, after all. How to e-mail market videos are great because of the fact that e-mail marketers can sync it with e-mails they’ve sent out before. It can be a type of follow-up e-mail where people have shown interest in the e-mail but didn’t click through.

There are many types of videos you can include in an e-mail marketing campaign, too, so don’t feel too limited to this list alone.

How long should a video meant for e-mail marketing be?

You’ll want to include videos that are short. There is nothing worse than e-mails with huge videos in them. People have busy lives and their e-mail inboxes are filled with e-mails from all sorts of companies they’ve already bought from or are not interested in buying from right now. Don’t make their e-mail reading experience any different than it already is.  Linking GIFs in your email with a play button on them, can keep your emails small in size, but have the motion needed to get the attention—and the click—to actually engage with your video.

Short videos work best in e-mail marketing campaigns. But how short is “short”? Well, e-mail marketing videos should be around 20 seconds long or less. If you want people to watch your e-mails, don’t make them work too hard for it!

They’ll appreciate the fact that your e-mail doesn’t take up their entire e-mail reading time. Keep it short and simple for e-mail marketing success!

How can I create these videos?

You could take the time out of your day to film a video yourself. But you’re probably lacking in a proper setting, professional equipment, and post-production software and skills to create a professional video that will really bring the customers into your store. That’s why we highly recommend hiring a professional video production company like C&I Studios.

Video production companies have skills that they’ve honed for years to know the best way to get the perfect shot. They have the means to hire talent that will really make your products look and sound amazing without overshadowing them. They know the best places to shoot the video you are envisioning and likely have access to them. They use only the best professional equipment and software and work amazing post-production magic to bring you only the best, most polished videos.

It’s truly an investment. Not only in money but time and energy.

Do you know what’s also great about hiring a professional company? They usually offer more services than just video production. C&I Studios offers many other content creation services that will only benefit your marketing strategy.

In Conclusion

Adding videos to your e-mail marketing campaigns will only add to your revenue. E-mail marketers want e-mails open. E-mail marketers want e-mails clicked through to their websites. Keep e-mail marketing videos short and sweet so that they are read by the e-mail recipient without overwhelming them. Then e-mail marketers will earn more e-mail campaign success.

And we want you and your business to be as successful as it possibly can be!

So, when you’re ready, give us at C&I Studios a shout. We’re ready to get started making amazing videos for your company to use in your e-mail marketing and everywhere else videos are posted! Don’t wait too much longer- you don’t want the competition to get a one-up on you!

Every commercial video production is different; sometimes they can be humorous and light-hearted, other times serious and thought-provoking. It all depends on the commercial’s intent: whether it’s to promote a new company, improve interior design, or educate consumers about gluten.

Commercial productions can also vary in cost and length. Some commercial video productions clock in at a few minutes while others can be up to an hour. It all depends on what the commercial is trying to convey and how they want it to look visually, and, ultimately, where the commercial will be for people to view it.

In any commercial video production, there are a few key components that will make the commercial a success for your company:

Familiarity with Company’s Product or Service

The commercial must be clear in what it is promoting. Being familiar with your product is a key component when commercial video productions are being created. If the commercial isn’t relatable to the company’s audience, then they will have no interest in what you’re trying to promote and it won’t be successful.

Of course, there are rare exceptions to this rule, and it can only be broken by well-known brands. Take for example Apple’s commercial productions. Their commercial productions are not solely about their products, but more of an emotional statement about who they are as a company and what their customers can expect from them. Or, maybe even think about the absolute nonsense that was Mountain Dew’s Puppy Monkey Baby commercial. Disturbing? Yes, very much. But it was- still is- memorable. And that was exactly the point of that commercial.

A successful commercial video production that promotes a product instead of a commercial agency is the one created by Dollar Shave Club. The commercial does it job in letting the audience know that they sell razors and other men’s grooming products. It is well-known for it’s humorous commentary about what’s going on in commercial video production through a comedic lens. But it’s the perfect example of a well-informed commercial.

 

Clarity of Message/Goal

The commercial must be clear in what it is trying to convey. If a commercial is meant to inform the consumer about the product, it must be clear and concise. There shouldn’t be any confusion as to what exactly it is that you are promoting.

Make sure the commercial video production is well thought-out. The commercial should include all the components that explain to the audience what they are promoting without sounding pushy or sales-driven . If you want to create a commercial video production that informs the audience about your product, make sure it is evident without even having to say it. It shouldn’t sound like an infomercial; instead, it should be similar to the commercial you see on T.V for Tide laundry detergent. They don’t outright talk about what they are trying to sell, but you can tell that they are marketing a product.

Creating commercial video productions based on this concept is all about subtlety. You want to create something so convincing and professional-looking, the commercial doesn’t even sound like a commercial anymore. The commercial should be informative and interesting enough where people would share it without thinking twice .

Get Creative

Creating commercial video productions is not always about advertising a product. Sometimes, commercial video productions are used to enhance the overall atmosphere of an organization or company. Take for example commercial video productions that promote interior design companies .

If commercial video production is meant to inform viewers, there needs to be a creative way in which they convey their message. That is why commercial video productions are unique in their own way, because it uses a creative concept to create something that will separate them from the rest.

This allows commercial video production agencies to experiment with their commercial by utilizing different kinds of styles in order to come up with something that’s engaging and interesting for the audience .

For example, when commercial video productions aren’t meant to sell a product, commercial video production agencies sometimes like to experiment with the commercial by having no dialogue at all.

Think about your favorite or even the most memorable commercials out there. They’re all creative in some way that makes them stand out. It’s possible to be creative and sell your brand or products, so don’t be afraid to try something different!

Hooking Audience with a Short Intro

The commercial production must catch the audience’s attention in a quick moment. This can be done through title cards, intro music, or captions. If there is no hook, then that commercial will not benefit your company and it decreases the commercial’s chance of being successful.

Just like in commercial video production, there have to be some sort of hook or an introduction so that people will sit through the commercial. Once you get their attention, it’s much easier to give them the information they need without even having to say anything. Think of what would make you want to sit through a commercial and use that element in your commercial video production.

Commercial Intent: Branding vs. Selling

One major component to creating commercial video productions is to establish what commercial intent the production has. Commercial intents can be divided into two categories: branding and sales.

Branding commercial video productions will only establish the company’s image without promoting a product or service.  This commercial type will work when the commercial is introducing a new company or establishing an existing one. This commercial type also works when a commercial has a specific purpose to raise awareness.

You’ll see these types of commercials during events like the Super Bowl, when a company doesn’t need to have a specific product to sell you, but to get you to think about their brand.

Think about Budweiser or Anheuser-Busch commercials. Many of them only feature the Budweiser Clydesdales pulling their easily recognizable wagon bearing the company’s name and logo, specifically Super Bowl commercials. These productions are more about the horses and the brand of Anheuser-Busch, which owns Budweiser.

Many branding commercials are created by brands that are already well-established. If you’re a new company, it’s not wise to put out a branding-only commercial that doesn’t talk about your products.

Selling commercial video productions will promote the company’s new or existing products and services, giving evidence of its benefits. This commercial type will work best when advertising something that is new or hasn’t been advertised yet.

Automobile commercials are some of the best examples of commercials that work to sell products. They tell you all about the newest cars and trucks available, showing off all of the possible features and might even tell you about the latest deals happening. Everything in those commercials are meant to get you into the dealership to either lease or purchase a new vehicle.

If you’re just beginning commercial video production for your company, you should focus on creating sales commercial productions. If there is no evidence to support your product’s benefits, then why promote it?

Clarity of commercial intent will determine the commercial video production’s success or failure. It is important to know how to categorize what commercial type your commercial fits into before you begin making commercial video productions.

Music

The commercial’s music should match the commercial’s intent. If the commercial intent is branding, then mellow music should be used to establish a certain mood or feel in commercial production. However, if commercial intent is to sell a product or service, commercial music should be more upbeat style since that type of commercial will feature products and services that already have established benefits.

Call to Action

At the commercial’s close, a call to action or commercial intent should be clearly stated. If commercial intent is sales, then it will benefit your company more if a product or service is being promoted and there is a specific call to action for potential consumers.

In commercial video productions, make sure that all commercial components are in place to ensure commercial success.

By following commercial intent, commercial music, commercial length, and commercial video production components your commercial will be successful. Follow these tips for commercial video productions to ensure that your commercial’s intent is clear and there is a call to action that will benefit your company the most.

Some commercials use popular music to draw people in to pay attention. It’s important to know your demographic when choosing popular music, too.

An example: Kroger has recently been using music that was popular in the 2000’s. Why? Because they want millennials, who are now middle aged, caring for families, and doing the bulk of grocery shopping these days. So, they’re playing music that Millennials would have heard at school dances or on the radio to appeal to their nostalgic side.

Other music choices sometimes have to do directly with the products the company is trying to sell. Chevy used to use Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” to describe their trucks. It ended up becoming synonymous with the brand because it was so popular.

So…

What makes commercial video production so hard and complex is that commercial intent must be clearly conveyed so the company and its customers know what they are getting. A commercial video production could be successful in one commercial intent and flop in another.

Now that you know the basics to making a successful commericial production, you need to go out there and create!

If you need assistance, and you should very much consider it, hiring a professional video production company like C&I Studios will make your commercial production truly amazing.

We have all of the skills, knowledge, and equipment possible to create commercial productions that are sure to be successful for your company. We’ve worked on many commercial productions thus far and are already ready to create more for any company, big or small, new or well-established.

We’re here when you’re ready to take the plunge and create a masterpiece that will boost your sales. Contact us to get started.

Commercials are one of the most demanding video productions you can work on. You’re expected to deliver a commercial that tells a story and builds a relationship with potential customers in 30 seconds or less.

Commercial video production is a competitive business. You have to find a way to stand out from the crowd and deliver video footage that grabs attention and keeps it. One of the most effective ways to do so is with custom-built sets.

So what exactly are custom-built sets?

They are sets designed and built specifically for a single video production, or even a series of video productions. They can be an actual set or a location that has been transformed to match the vision of the video producer. The video can focus on just one custom-built set, or several may be used in the video. In some cases, multiple custom-built sets will appear in a single video production.

Custom-built sets are ideal for video productions with a specific artistic vision – commercials, music videos, television series – and they also work well for video projects that showcase a product or service. When you need a controlled environment to shoot video footage, custom-built sets can be the ideal solution.

Custom-built sets can be built on a sound stage, in a commercial video studio, or on location where the video will be shot. They are literally customized to suit the needs of the video production at hand and can be easily portable, a permanent fixture, or something that’s easily torn down at the end of the day.

The custom-building of video production sets has many benefits to the production itself

Here are just some of them for you to consider:

Creativity

When video producers build custom video production sets, there is much more creativity involved. Different video projects call for different video footage. When video producers are working within a limited budget, creativity is important in bringing video ideas to life. They offer more angles and offer video producers more choices, which often leads to video footage that is more dynamic.

Custom-built video production sets are more interesting to the viewer, too. They’re guaranteed to be different and personalized to the video production at hand. No other company will have the same exact set. If they do try to recreate it, it will only be similar, not a perfect recreation.

Reality

When video producers are working with video footage, they want it to be as real as possible. Custom-built video production sets help video companies create atmosphere and mood in their video shots. It’s much easier to give the video a sense of realism when the set is created for that video project alone. Portability

It’s one thing to have video footage taken in an actual location. It’s another to take video shots in custom-built sets that are easy to transport. This is very important when you need video footage for multiple locations or simply need video footage quickly and efficiently.

Variety

The more creative you are with your video production sets, the more variety you’ll have in video footage. It’s never a good idea to reuse video footage over and over again. Make video production sets unique each time, even if you’re only changing something small each time. It will still make it new and interesting.

On a video shoot with several video production sets, video producers can mix and match video shots taken from different custom-built video productions to create a variety of video footage. Most video producers like to do this with video footage of different places.

Video production sets also offer video producers the ability to spot details that might not be visible in video shots taken at actual locations. There is more control when video shots are taken on an actual set, rather than out in the real world.

Time

Most video productions require video footage that is shot quickly and efficiently. Custom video production sets are perfect for video producers that need video shots taken in a timely manner. Video producers can go into the video production set, shoot video footage, tear down or pack up video equipment, and be ready to move on to the next video location.

It can take some time to build an elaborate set, sure. But you can build whenever you need to, change things in any amount of time you have. It can be as quick or slow as you choose it to be!

Control

You have all of the control over your custom-built sets. You can control the budget, timeframe, design, and supplies, who works on it, how much it’s used, who uses it, and really every other aspect of what goes into building the set.

The video production gains better control over the video environment with custom-built sets. You’re able to place the set wherever you need it for the best lighting and sound. Plus, you can choose where to place items within the set so they are best for video production.

Custom sets can be as big, little, simple, or complicated as you want them to be. It just depends on the video production at hand, and what you want it to be. Custom video production sets are great for commercial video productions because they can be built with any budget in mind, and they give video producers more control over the video environment to create better videos.

You can control really any other aspect of custom building a set, too. You have a better idea of what video footage you’ll need, so video producers can build video sets that are as efficient as possible.

Flexibility

Virtual sets are often created with video editing software, but to get truly dynamic video footage, you’ve got to have real-life custom-built video sets. Your video producer has the flexibility to create the exact set they want and to move it around if necessary. If video producers want to change something from video shot to video shot, a video production set is the way to go.

You don’t have to wait for approval to change something about the set. As previously stated, you have the control over every aspect, so you can be as flexible as you want to be.

Creativity and budget control are two of the biggest benefits of custom-built video production sets, and being able to be flexible with them will allow you to really create an amazing, dynamic set. They offer more angles and allow video producers to have more creative input over their video shots. If you want your productions seen in a video company so video productions are dynamic, custom video production sets are the way to go.

 

Custom-built video production sets are an excellent way for video producers to maximize their video production efforts. They offer more control over video footage, which can potentially result in video footage that turns out more dynamic and interesting.

These benefits translate into better video productions that will get video producers and video production companies noticed by their audience.

Companies like C&I Studios can easily create custom-built sets to really create amazing videos for your marketing efforts. We offer video production services of all kinds, and that includes custom sets that work for your specific needs as they apply to your marketing content creation.

If video productions are going to be used for commercial advertisements, make sure they’re as effective as possible by using custom-built video production sets. They will help video producers create more dynamic video footage that video audiences will love. You can’t go wrong with custom-built video productions.

This strategy is an effective way to increase video production revenue. It can mean bringing in video productions that you might not otherwise be involved with, especially if they are commercial video productions. And we all know that video is some of the most effective marketing content out there. If you’re not creating video footage to share with your audience and customers, then you’re missing out on a lot of potential revenue. Videos allow for more engagement and are more memorable than just graphics and photographs alone.

In Conclusion…

Custom-built video production sets offer benefits to video production companies in many different ways. They provide video crews with more creative control over the video environment and give video production companies the ability to quickly video footage in a variety of video locations.

Custom video production sets can be transported easily for more video shots, and they offer video companies the ability to spot details that might not be visible in video shots taken while out in the real world.

Although it’s easier to use video footage from actual locations, video producers know that the more creative control video sets give video companies allow for video footage that is truly dynamic.

This strategy can be an integral part of video production revenue, but video production companies have to be willing to put in the work necessary to bring video productions to the next level.

The next time you start working on video production, consider custom-built sets. They will elevate your video production work and help you grab your audience’s attention.

If you’re looking to create amazing video footage to share with your customers and online audience, give us at C&I Studiosa shout! We can’t wait to help you create the marketing content of your dreams and help you to bring in more sales today!

If you work in marketing, you most likely know that video marketing is huge right now. It’s bringing in the most engagement and sales to every company that uses video in their marketing strategies.

There are many reasons for this. It’s easy to share, it’s easy to engage with, it’s just easy for the consumer. Video content is more popular than ever, with your customers in mind in particular. They’re used to video in their daily lives and they want to engage with it when they’re shopping for products online, too. It might not be the easiest for you to create the video content, but it’s completely worth it since it’s what your customers want to engage with the most.

The point is, if you’re not making use of this trend, your business is going to fall behind. And quickly.

You might already be creating video content and finding it successful among your local customer base. But local customers aren’t always enough to really make your company as successful as it truly could be.

But what about international customers? You have the potential to reach millions, even billions of potential customers with the power of video marketing.

There are lots of ways that video marketing can help you increase international sales. Here’s how.

Make Your Product Look Great

Your competitors already have videos, so you need to keep up. Show off the benefits of your products and make them look great with high-quality video. If you have the budget for this, consider hiring a video production company to film at your business.

If you’re on a tighter budget, don’t worry. YouTube videos are free and you can use screen capture software or a webcam to create compelling how-to videos. You can even show what your product looks like in use over time by doing timelapse videos of its creation.

You can even try different settings to show how versatile your product is. You want to reach customers who live in rural, suburban, and urban settings, so show your products in those types of places! Show off different people using it, wearing it, loving it.

Make your video and products look as professional and polished as possible while also making sure that you’re filming it in a way that your customers will see themselves owning it, using it, and raving about it once they have it in their hands.

Help People Learn More About Your Business

You can use videos to tell people about your company’s story or to show the personality of your business. You want potential customers to really connect with your business, to form an emotional attachment where they’ll want to support your company and keep coming back.

Of course, your video needs to be professional and polished to make a lasting impression. You should start out with an introduction that explains who you are and what you stand for. Use this time to show off the personality of your company and how it’s different from others in its industry.

Customers want to know about your company culture because they want to know who they’ll be working with if they do business with you. This is also a great video opportunity to share your heart, your passion for what you do, and the goals you have in mind for the future of your company.

Create a video tour that shows off different parts of your company. You’ll be telling the current story of your company this way. For example, if you have an office, show off where everyone works and talk about what they do every day. If you’re a creative business, show behind-the-scenes of how you work and create ideas with your team.

Customers love being able to see behind-the-scenes and get to know your company inside and out.

Communicate Effectively

To really break into the international market, you want to make sure you can communicate with your customers no matter where they’re based. Video is the best way to do this.

This means adding subtitles and translated video descriptions along with your original language content. It also means writing different video titles and descriptions for every location you want to target so that they will show up in local search results. Video can be a great asset for international marketing strategy, but it’s never going to show up in Google search results unless you take the steps to do it right.

However, don’t worry about making every video available in every language right away so that everyone can access it. You can set up translations for the most popular world languages to start. A lot of international customers will be bilingual, so you can still reach them. If your video is relevant to a specific culture or area, target the content only at them instead of trying to appeal to everyone. It’s more effective and makes less work for you.

Before You Export, Make Sure Your Video is Mobile Ready

Although a lot of videos are created on desktops and laptops, mobile devices have become the more popular avenue to view video. In fact, as of January 2019, YouTube reports that people watch an average of 60 percent on mobile devices. And this number continues to grow as the popularity of mobile phones increases.

But you can’t just upload your video to YouTube and expect it to be mobile-friendly. Make sure that the text is large enough, the resolution is high enough, and that any animations or graphics are optimized for mobile before uploading.

Other social media apps, like TikTok and Instagram, are more aimed at those who use mobile devices since they began as smartphone apps! Make sure your video is optimized for these platforms if you want to reach the growing mobile market.

Even though we’re talking specifically about videos, it’s important to know that you shouldn’t stop there when it comes to making your marketing content accessible on mobile devices. After optimizing your blog posts, website pages, social media posts, and videos for mobile devices, even more people will have access to them in their daily lives. As long as you’re creating quality content that’s relevant to your target audience, it doesn’t matter where they’re watching.

Make Your Videos Easy to Find in Search

Once your videos are ready, make sure they’re easy to find! To do this, focus on the most popular video hosting sites.

YouTube is the biggest platform for free video hosting, but it’s not the only one. Other popular options include Vimeo and Wistia. These are all great choices because they give you access to a built-in audience. But the most popular video hosting sites aren’t the only ones you need to be thinking about.

Even though Facebook is mainly a social media site, it’s also one of the best free video hosting options out there. It may not seem like it at first, but Facebook actually has more than 2 billion users — that’s almost half of the entire population of the planet!

Whether you choose to host your video on YouTube, Facebook, or another platform, make sure that you fill out all of the necessary information and tags. This will help people find your video when they search for it in their favorite search engine.

You can never be too thorough when it comes to adding information to your videos, no matter where they’ll be hosted. There are a lot of different video-hosting options out there, but make sure that your international audience can find your video before you upload it to a new site.

The key to international marketing strategy is by targeting a specific audience, which includes making your content accessible around the world. It’s not enough for your video to be hosted online — you have to make sure that anyone can watch it no matter where they are or what device they use.

Build Credibility With Video

How do customers know that you’re a reputable company? If they’re based in a different country than where your company is, it can be a little more difficult for them to trust your company’s credibility.

Video marketing can help you get around that. You can use video testimonials from international customers to get the credibility boost you need or even interviews with key employees who discuss the history of your company.

Use video marketing to build credibility. If you have an office, take time-lapse videos of the day in the life of your business or do recordings of staff meetings that can easily be translated or captioned. Let potential customers see that they can place their trust in you.

Get the Word Out With Video

Now that you know how to communicate with your potential customers, it’s time to get the word out about your business and products. You won’t sell anything internationally if you don’t actually share the information with potential customers!

Once you have your video marketing created, post links to it on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Videos do especially well to reach international markets on TikTok, too! Instagram used to be mostly for sharing photos, but they’re expanding the ability to share videos on their platform and cross-post, so don’t count them out!

You can also make an embed code that will let viewers use your video on their own blogs or websites too. Even e-mail! E-mails can be easily shared by a simple forward from the recipient to people they believe would enjoy or get vital information from the content within the e-mail. But, we’ll get more into that in a minute.

You really want to make sure that what you put out into the world will be shared. When people share your video with others, this increases your exposure and gets your business more customers. With each share, the potential for purchasing and more sharing is there. You want your videos to be something that others will share, even if they can’t afford your products or services at the moment.

Drive Traffic With Videos

Did you know that people can spend up to 80 percent more time on a website after they watch a video about it? That’s a big deal! If your goal is to increase international sales, drive traffic from YouTube videos by including your product in the video frame. Then use annotations to link to specific products on your eCommerce site.

Make sure you have an opt-in form for e-mail marketing and links to all of your social media outlets on your website so viewers can sign up to learn more about what you’re selling and get updates when there are video announcements about new products. This will help you retain traffic going to and from both your marketing efforts and your eCommerce store and, if it’s separate from your store, your website.

Promote With Video

If you don’t already use email marketing, start now with video! You can make actual videos (with annotations to let people sign up) or use video screen capture software like Camtasia to make simple tutorials.

Once you’ve created your videos, promote them with email campaigns and send links to social media sites. Then, track who views your video content and collect their contact information for future marketing efforts including paid advertisements.

You’re ready to boost your International Sales with Video Marketing

Remember that international customers are looking for products just like yours on the internet. Video marketing is a great way to attract people who speak their language and want what you have to offer. If you need help, video production companies can create compelling video content for your website at affordable rates.

If you’re in need of help to create amazing marketing videos that target international customers, C&I Studios knows exactly how to approach the job. As a professional video production company, we make it our business to know the latest and greatest trends not only locally but also internationally. We offer more than just video production services, too that can boost your reach and sales, so be sure to check them out!

Contact us to get started today!

Visibilty on the internet is absolutely crucial to a company’s success in today’s online-based world. Everyone uses their smartphones or computers to shop for new products and look up businesses that offer services they need, so you want to make sure that your company is easily found online.

But it’s not quite as simple as making a website and wait for people to stumble upon it. The internet is filled with other companies competing for attention, and standing out can be difficult. How can people decide to give your company their money if they’re seeing other companies first and more often? The simple answer is that they won’t.

However, by following these tips you should be able to increase your online visibility, and with an increased online visibility you’ll find that you’re bringing in more money!

1) Make social media accounts for your company

We know you’re probably tired of hearing this one, but it bears repeating.

Social Media is going to be your best friend for getting the word out about your business. But, there’s a catch to it. You have to keep up with it! You need to be updating, posting, sharing, and engaging with your content and your followers almost constantly.

Constant updates will show your potential customers and clients that you’re present. You’re there to hear their concerns, answer any questions they have, and you’re presenting them with new information about your business! It’s really a win/win situation.

But more important than constant updates is that the content you’re sharing is high quality. Visually stimulating images and videos will catch the eyes of your potential customers more often, draw them into following you and convince them to shop with your company. So, you want to make sure you’re using the best technology, hiring the right people or company, and really spending quality time on creating amazing content to bring in new followers!

2) Add social media buttons or widgets to your website

Now that you’re set up on social media, it’s time to connect your website to it so that your customers can share your website with their friends and family on their own social media profiles.

If they’re able to share your website on their social media, all of a sudden you have a whole new group of potential customers that could be coming in!

Adding a button also allows your customers to follow all of your social media platforms! They’ll be able to connect with you in more ways than just your website, see all of your social media posts, and be able to direct themselves back to your website whenever they need to!

3) Invite bloggers and internet personalities to review your product

Ok, let’s call them what they are- social media influencers. They’re not always blogging. They can be vloggers, Instagram Models, or celebrities of any level that are willing to experience your products or services in order to give a review in any way they put out content.

You’ve seen the posts they do on Instagram or TikTok where they talk about their new favorite products and the like. You can partake, too, and get them to help you out for a fee or free product.

If they like it, they’ll talk about it on their blog or videos and stories which will bring you more ratings and visits. If they have a coupon code to give out to their followers, you will find that their followers will come and purchase right away while the sale is going on.

4) Try paid advertising

While you can get significant results from free platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. But sometimes that’s not enough. Sometimes you need to pay for the platform to promote your ads and posts.

If you pay for internet marketing services, your ads will go on different platforms that are more popularly visited or viewed by people of the demographics you want to attract. Google ads can be a great way to increase online visibility. There are also smaller sites that offer internet advertising that you can use to gain more traffic.

Ads might be costly but they’re worth it in the end. If someone sees your ad and goes directly and purchases something right away.

5) Try blogging

While vlogging (video blogging) may be more the norm these days, it’s important to not count out old-school blogging when it comes to increasing your online visibility.

If your business does something interesting or unusual, writing a blog about it is a great way to generate interest in potential customers. It has the added bonus of creating internet content for search engines to pick up and boost your ranking.

If you’re going this route, make sure you don’t waste your time and energy. Research the best blogging practices to get your blog noticed and picked up by search engines. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is something that is always changing – like social media algorithms – and it’s important to stay up to date on the newest guidelines. Most copywriters have that information if you’re hiring outside of your company. It doesn’t take up too much time to stay on top of SEO information, and it’s worth every minute of it!

Blog posts can be about anything to do with your company. A product review, a story, anything can be turned into a blog post!

6) Write internet articles

Articles are different than blog posts. Articles are meant to inform the masses, but not posted on your own blog.

Writing internet articles for corporations about news in your industry or directly about your company can be a great way to increase online visibility. You can also write web content or electronic books and sell them on your website.

Writing articles will show potential customers that you’re an authority in your industry, that you know what you’re talking about, and can answer any question they throw at you.

You can write internet articles which are then submitted to websites that are similar to yours, news outlets, or write content for sites like Buzzfeed.

7) Join internet forums that are related to your industry

Places like Reddit are a different kind of social media where your customers are directly asking questions and for recommendations about companies just like yours. You can easily engage with potential customers in any internet forum that’s relevant to your business or industry.

Internet forums are also a great way to find out what your competitors are up to. If you join, you can also leave comments and start internet debates about your company that will bring more internet traffic. Just like internet articles, internet forums are a great way to increase online visibility.

8) Create an internet reputation section of your website

The more your current customer base can review and share their opinions about your company, the more views your company will get.

Having internet reviews on your website is another great way to increase online visibility. Reviews not only boost your internet presence, but they also provide social proof and validation for customers who are reading internet reviews before making a purchase.

Having a section on your site of customer reviews and testimonies shows them that you care about their opinions. It also shows potential customers that you’re interested in what they have to say.

The internet is full of internet trolls, so don’t worry about the negative reviews. Putting them on your website gives potential customers a realistic view of how your company runs and benefits them!

9) Sponsorships

If you listen to podcasts or watch YouTube videos on the regular, you’ll notice that outside of paid advertisements on the platforms they’re posted to, the performers will talk about their sponsorships.

How do sponsorships work? Well, they’re going to cost money, but it’s completely worth it. Your company pays the creators to talk about your products and services. It’s a lot like getting an influencer to talk about your products, but there’s a guaranteed audience.

Sponsorships help fuel not only the artwork that these creators are putting out but also increase the visibility of your company. Popular podcasts sometimes have multiple sponsorships that they cycle through throughout their shows. It’s incredibly beneficial to your visibility!

10) Make internet videos of your company

Video marketing is one of the best ways to get your content out there. Using internet videos to increase internet visibility is one of the best ways for even small businesses to get in front of internet users.

Make internet videos that are concise, creative, and fun! These internet videos can be shared on social media platforms like Facebook or YouTube. You can also host them on your website or blog where you write internet articles about

YouTube can be a great way to increase online visibility with video content. Videos about your company are more likely to pop up in internet searches than text. TikTok is also a great place to post video marketing content in order to reach a very large audience.

And there are so many different types of videos that will work for all industries! If you need help figuring out what kinds of videos are relevant to your industry, check out our blog post that will help guide you!

12) Keep internet business information updated on your website

Making sure you have the correct information on your website and on your social media platforms will help you retain and gain new customers. Throw out old outdated versions of documents, press releases, and internet advertisements. Not only is this more aesthetically pleasing, but it also makes internet searches about your internet company more reliable since internet searchers can easily compare what you’ve changed.

Having internet business information up to date is important for your online presence. Having outdated internet business information shows internet users that you’re not current and they may go elsewhere.

 

The internet is vast and deep. It can seem intimidating to get your business in front of many people on the internet. You need to make your internet presence stand out. If you want more traffic, try using internet marketing strategies like the ones listed above to increase online visibility! It’s easier than you think!

Seeking out the help of a professional marketing company to create amazing content for your marketing strategy can really help increase your online visibility. Companies like C&I Studios will help you to create amazing content and can help you with your marketing strategy in order to get the most visibility out of it.

Here at C&I Studios, we offer many different services such as video production, photography, and so much more to help you create amazing marketing content and get it in front of your target audience and beyond! When you’re ready, we are here to help you with your marketing content! Contact us today to get started!

As video marketing grows in popularity, the importance of knowing video trends is absolutely crucial to the success of your video marketing efforts. You should make sure you know the latest trends in your industry as well as in video marketing as a whole.

Just like video marketing itself is evolving, it’s important to keep an eye on new video trends that are continuously emerging to help you prepare your video content.

The following video trends will continue into 2022 and beyond, so pay attention and take notes. Add these ideas to your video marketing plan for continued video success!

Video content comes in all shapes and sizes (but they’re not all video ads)

From Facebook Live videos to YouTube video tutorials, the video content that’s taking over social media isn’t just ad video content. In fact, video content is video blogging, video tutorials, video news reports, video interviews, and branded video content.

Think about all of the different kinds of videos out there. Think about what is relevant to your industry, what will get your audience to engage with you the most. If you’re in need of ideas on what the best type of video to market your business in your industry, take a look at our previous post here.

Live video content continues to grow in popularity

Let’s talk about one of the most nerve-wracking types of video content to put out there. Rip the bandaid off, if you will.

Live video is video content that’s broadcast live through video streaming services like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch. This video format is especially popular in sports where you can get in-the-moment reactions from players and team managers.

A lot of eCommerce stores like to host live sales, too. This started to gain traction with Multi-Level marketing companies, but many other eCommerce stores have found a lot of success with this tactic. It’s fun because you can get your customers to purchase the merchandise right away, maybe even start a bidding war over sought-after items!

Live videos work great for unboxing videos. If your store just received a shipment of long-awaited merchandise, you might consider starting a live video to show your customers the goods! This is especially popular with indie bookstores, quilt shops, and other hobby-type businesses.

Live videos engage your viewers instantly. You can ask them questions, let them ask you questions, and get instant opinions from the audience. On platforms like Facebook, your live video will stay up even after the live event has ended, so people who couldn’t tune in during the live event can still go back and watch it over and over again!

Storytelling video content wins video marketing campaigns

Stories are becoming the focal point of video content, and video storytelling is leading the charge. Customers want to connect with the business they’re giving their money to on a personal level, and that’s best done through sharing stories.

Video stories convey information that’s engaging to viewers because it puts them in the scenario with the people onscreen. It allows them to connect with the company as a whole as well as its employees and the products and services.

What kind of stories work the best to make a video campaign successful?

Start with the story of the company. How did it come to be? How did you get the business off the ground? What is your favorite product that you sell or make? Your customers love hearing how your company came to exist.

From there you can tell any story you want to, as long as it’s relevant to your business. You can have your customers tell their own stories of their experiences with your company and/or products, too! Testimonial videos are great for business. They offer both a review and a personal recommendation, both of which bring in a good amount of business.

‘Virtual reality’ video becomes a video storytelling trend

If live video is the future of video marketing, virtual reality video will be the future of video storytelling. These next-level videos put you in a 360-degree scene right from your mobile or desktop device. This video format works well for all kinds of video content, from video ads to video blog posts. Here’s an example of a video tutorial with the video shot in virtual reality video format.

You can create some really cool content with virtual reality! You’ll be able to really immerse your viewers and customers into the world you create.

Sure, the technology to create virtual reality type content can be expensive, but if you’re in the position to invest in it, or even pay a company to help you create this new content. It’s certainly worth looking into if it’s relevant to your industry!

Video ad spending continues to rise

While there are many inexpensive, even free, avenues to get your video marketing campaign out there into the world, paying to promote your videos or pay to have them advertised in other places. Television commercials and ads before YouTube videos are still important and bring in a lot of business to companies that pay for such advertising.

It’s worth the investment to pay for promoted advertising! You’ll be able to reach a wider audience without much effort, boosting your sales in both the short term and long run, so long as you keep up on these advertisements.

Video marketing might be rooted in social media marketing for now, but video advertising is still around and growing stronger every year. Think about the Superbowl and how important it is to have a fantastic commercial ready to go for during the program- that isn’t going away any time soon!

Brands are continuing their video content dominance on social media

You’ve probably heard this way too many times, but it bears repeating. You want your videos on social media as much as possible! Seriously, if you’re not using social media to your best advantage, what are you doing?!! Every popular social media platform has made room for video content to exist. You’ll find videos on your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram feeds and that’s just the beginning of it. Video content is growing video engagement rates and video content will continue to be video marketing’s most powerful tool.

Businesses are leading video content creation with video blogging, video tutorials, and branded video content for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Periscope, YouTube, Twitch, and more. In fact, video tutorials are responsible for a large portion of YouTube video traffic.

Social media is where you will find a large portion of new customers, especially if your current customer base is able to engage with your videos. Once they engage, the video is put in front of their friends and followers, growing your viewership easily!

YouTube video trends

As video content continues to grow, video algorithms are getting stricter and stricter. This means that video engagement is more important than video views- you want your video not only seen but also engaging to the viewer. You can encourage viewers to watch a video further or subscribe by using a call-to-action within the first few seconds of video play.

YouTube will also continue to feature video content creators who work with the video platform directly, as opposed to those who use video content as part of a larger marketing plan (like video blogs). This means that video producers will start to create better quality video content more often, making video trends for 2022 incredibly exciting!

Since video engagement is so important on YouTube, it’s not uncommon for video bloggers and other video content creators to produce multiple video projects per week. This quantity over quality trend should continue into 2022!

Video content continues to dominate mobile video viewership

Let’s take a look at how people interact with social media. They’re usually viewing on their smartphones. People are more likely to own a smartphone than a computer these days since you can do almost anything on a phone that you can do on a computer.

Mobile video viewing is dominated by video news reports from channels like BBC News, video-based social media posts from the likes of BuzzFeed, and video clips from online video culture shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. As video content grows in popularity, video will be the dominant force of mobile video viewership.

You should be making sure that your videos are easily viewed on mobile devices before you post them since that’s how most people will be viewing them. You don’t want them to have to squint at the screen to see something important, you don’t want to be screaming profanities throughout the video in case your video is viewed in public, either.

TikTok isn’t going away any time soon!

If you really want your video marketing efforts to be successful and stand out, you want to make sure you’re using TikTok to your advantage. This app isn’t going away, it’s only growing in popularity and it’s incredibly versatile for any industry.

TikTok has a large generational following, mostly full of Generation Z. But, that isn’t to say that other age demographics aren’t present on the app! There is certainly a large group of Millenials and Gen X present and creating their own content.

If you’re not on TikTok with your video marketing strategy, you’re missing out on a huge audience and the ability to see the latest content trends. TikTok is great for engagement and live videos, making it perfect for video content of all kinds.

If you need help getting started on TikTok, we reccommend checking out this previous blog post where we give you a few tips and tricks to utilizing this awesome app.

 

Creating engaging and informative video content is important to your marketing strategy as a whole. It’s video marketing, it’s video content creation, and it is video engagement. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, video is the way to go.

If your company isn’t making the best video content it can, with video marketing, video content creation, and video engagement in mind, you need to get on the ball. If your company is already video-ing all over the place, we’d love to hear what video content trends you’re paying attention to and which ones you think will be popular video marketing trends for 2022!

Are you ready to make some video content for your marketing strategy? Call on C&I Studios! We have services to fit most any budget and needs, from equipment rental to complete video production. It’s what we do, and we do it best!

You have the script written. You hired the talent. You’re almost ready to film your latest marketing video. What’s left? Choosing a filming location, of course!

If you haven’t read our previous blog post about how to find a great filming location, you can check it out here. You’ll want to check that out as well as this post in order to be as well-informed about choosing a great filming location as possible!

It might sound like one of the easiest steps to video production, but a lot can actually go wrong in this step. As filming locations are extremely important in marketing videos, be sure to do your homework before choosing one!

1. Choosing the wrong filming location for the video’s theme or aesthetic

Filming in the wrong place will only lead to more problems than you can imagine. If you’re filming a video with “home” as its theme, for example, filming outside might not be the best idea as it won’t convey the same warmth as filming inside would.

You also want to consider your current brand aesthetic. Is all of your current and past marketing more on the industrial side? Exposed pipes and brick and cement floors? If so, you probably don’t want to film a video in a cozy home that you might find Martha Stewart in. That is, unless you want to completely re-brand your company, but that’s a discussion for another day.

It’s important to consider all of this because otherwise your videos won’t be recognizable to your brand. Viewers won’t make the connection as easily and you might lose followers if they followed you for a certain aesthetic and you’ve now flip-flopped on them.

2. Choosing a filming location without considering filming conditions

Each filming location has its own set of circumstances and you need to know about them all before making your decision on how and where to film:

• Is filming restricted? (no filming on Sundays, no filming in front of the city hall, etc.)
• Is filming allowed outside of certain hours?
• Is filming allowed only with a permit?
• Can you bring the equipment you need?
• Are there any filming restrictions (no filming with an iPhone, filming is not allowed in this area at all, filming after 10 pm is restricted to videographers with insurance)?

It’s important to consider all of these questions or else you may find yourself running into metaphorical brick walls and red tape when you’re actually trying to film or posting your finished video. You might also face legal trouble if you don’t make sure everything is in order ahead of time, and nobody wants that!

3. Choosing filming locations that are too expensive

It would be great if filming was free, but unfortunately, it’s not. Sometimes you have to rent out a studio or pay for a permit in order to film in certain locations, and you need to make sure that’s within your budget. You should also make sure that you’re not blowing your entire budget on a filming location, or else you won’t be able to afford the rest of the video.

Look for filming locations near you (a lot of them will actually film for free) and only consider filming locations that will fit within your budget. It is better to be filming inside a typical home rather than filming in an expensive house or filming outside and getting fined for filming without a permit.

4. Forgetting to include other elements in filming location research

When choosing filming locations, don’t forget about other elements (such as the filming equipment and filming permits) that you might need in order to film in a specific location. Before filming, find out whether the filming location provides any equipment (tripod, etc.) and what filming permits are required.

If your location is outside, make sure you have the proper lights for outside shoots. If you need to travel, make sure you have a vehicle that fits all of your equipment. There are ways to work around everything that comes up, but only if you’re prepared ahead of time.

5. Not taking into consideration filming limitations

As mentioned before, each filming location has its own filming conditions such as restrictions for filming with an iPhone or filming only outside during the day. So, make sure that you find out about filming limitations and choose filming locations accordingly!

Limitations can be anything that makes it difficult to film.

How easy is it to get to the filming location? Can you easily get your equipment there? How long can you stay and film? Are there any time constraints? How easy or difficult is it to set up? Is there electricity available for your crew to use? Is weather a factor? Does the location already have set pieces or props available for you to use?

There’s even more to consider. These questions are just a starting point. Make a list of important limitations you might come across with the locations you’re considering. Even if you use a location that has limitations, knowing them beforehand can help you plan accordingly so that they don’t affect your filming too much.

6. Not taking into consideration filming restrictions

Restrictions for filming locations can mean anything. Public places might restrict filming to require permits, or restrict you from filming at all. Renting a studio restricts you only to one place.

The point is, filming restrictions could affect filming in a number of ways. If you’re filming in a public place, filming restrictions might be more lenient than renting out a studio. The same goes for filming equipment – it can often mean less if you’re filming outside or inside the home versus filming inside a studio location.

While there isn’t anything you can do about filming restrictions, it’s important to consider them when choosing filming locations.

7. Forgetting to do filming location research!

Since filming locations are so important, many overlook this element when filming videos for their marketing campaigns. But keep in mind that filming locations can also be researched online – and this is how filming locations should be chosen! All filming locations should be researched and then ranked according to factors such as filming conditions, filming restrictions and filming cost.

This way not only the perfect filming location will be found for marketing videos but also all filming mistakes can actually be avoided!

8. Not considering the safety of others

Making sure a filming location is safe for everyone involved should be your top priority when scouting out locations. In an unsafe location, people could get hurt, which could hurt your business.

An example: filming in a public place like a parking lot can cause danger to everyone. Not only could filming equipment get damaged, but people and vehicles on the road could be affected during filming.

Make sure you also have the proper insurance in case the location has some unexpected safety issues, too. You never know when an accident will happen, so it’s in everyone’s best interest to make sure you can take care of business if the worst happens while filming is happening.

9. Choosing filming locations that are too messy

This kind of goes without saying, but it’s worth mentioning. Make sure your filming location is clean!

Unless you’re making a commercial for cleaning products, showing dirty dishes, grody floors, or stained furniture is going to turn potential customers away. No one wants to look at a dirty setting, so don’t show it off unless you’re going to be cleaning it up during the video.

10. Choosing filming locations that are too dark

It can be difficult for video marketing to film in a filming location that is too dark, especially if you don’t have the right lighting equipment or can’t bring it with you. You want to make sure you can get the right lighting for the subject of your video from your location before you bring in extra equipment.

Without the right lighting, your time spent filming might go to waste. This will make it harder to capture the important elements and the quality of the filming will go down. You can’t always fix lighting issues in post-production, and even if you can it will come with a hefty price. Make sure filming locations aren’t too dark and use filming equipment such as lighting or filming lights if necessary.

11. Not being able to bring the right equipment

Many filming locations are poorly lit which is why filming with the iPhone camera can lead to filming mistakes such as filming in too dark a location and filming only while capturing certain elements (for example, while filming a video advertising an apartment). Make sure that filming equipment such as lighting and filming lights is brought with filming locations.

You also want to make sure you can bring in the right cameras, sound equipment, and anything that will enhance your video before post-production gets their hands on it. You want to be able to film the best video possible before taking it for editing! It will save you money!

12. Not hiring a professional video production company to do it for you!

We get it. You’re busy running your company and can’t take away the time to research filming locations and make sure everything is in order before your company films any videos. That’s why you should consider hiring a company to do it all for you. It’s worth the investment!

By hiring a company that can take care of every step of video production for you, you’re delegating some of the hardest work out to people who are well-equipped for it, not only in actual equipment but also in knowledge of how to go about video production. C&I Studios has the means to make your video marketing efforts shine! We do it all from writing scripts, to finding the right location, to the actual filming, and everything post-production!

If you’re curious to see what exactly it is that C&I Studios offers, you can take a look at our available services. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have, too! We want your marketing efforts to be successful!

In Conclusion

You want to make sure that your filming experience goes as smoothly as possible, and by making sure you’re avoiding these mistakes, you won’t run into any snags!

Be kind, professional, and informed. Remember this is marketing for your company, not against it! Be prepared to be able to answer any questions -for filming locations AND filming mistakes!

You want filming locations that fit the tone of your video marketing campaign (which is why filming locations should always be researched beforehand). You also want filming locations that are accessible, filming locations where filming can take place at any time of day or night (which is why filming restriction times should be considered when choosing filming locations).

You also want filming locations that are tidy. Make sure filming locations are clean and ready to present in your videos without being too messy! You also want filming locations that are well-lit filming locations where filming is allowed with filming equipment such as cameras, filming lights and filming permits – which is why the perfect filming location should be researched online.

Make sure filming isn’t restricted by a filming permit before you go ahead with your video marketing campaign, and make sure that the best filming locations are chosen for video marketing campaigns!

So, go ahead and shoot us here at C&I Studios a message to get started on your latest video marketing campaigns!

As with any kind of technology and marketing, the industry of marketing photography and its trends are always changing. It can be difficult to know which trends to pay attention to, which ones to be trying out for your company’s own marketing photography, and what your target audience will respond to positively. Photography trends can actually make a huge impact on a company’s marketing efforts. Photography is one of the best ways for a business to show their work and highlight what they offer, as well as connect with customers on an emotional level.

Photography is one of the best ways for companies to allow potential customers to connect with their brand on a personal level and therefore, it’s important for businesses to keep up with current trends. Photography trends are constantly changing, so it’s important for businesses to stay up-to-date in order to reach the widest range of potential customers.

Hiring professional photography services, such as C&I Studios, opens up more opportunities for businesses to do digital marketing that showcases their products and services. Photography trends will also change, so it’s important for companies to pay attention to what is popular right now and then adjust accordingly as that changes. Photography not only allows a company to show off their final products or the processes used to create them, but it can be an effective marketing tool by itself.

The companies that are successful in marketing will be those who pay attention to what is popular among not only their own industry but also industries adjacent to theirs and adjust accordingly. Photography trends could include anything from which kinds of photographs resonate the most with customers, to what colors or types of scenes they tend to respond more positively towards. Photography trends will change over time, so it’s important for businesses to keep up with the latest marketing trends.

The following are photography trends that companies should be paying attention to, as these will likely have a significant impact on their own marketing efforts.

First, let’s talk about the subject of your photography. Trends in the subjects are some of the most obvious trends that you can point out, but editing trends should also be taken into account. Trends in who is portrayed in a photograph, how the photograph is set up with the subjects are both equally important to pay attention to.

Subjects

Deciding on a photograph’s subject should be somewhat determined by your industry. If you sell products, you want to make sure the products are in the shot. If you’re selling an experience, make sure to highlight the place and the action! But what else is important to the subject of the photograph? Let’s take a look at all of the different kinds of subjects that you can feature in your company’s marketing photography:

Photography of People

As people tend to respond better emotionally when they see other humans in advertising, this is a trend that companies should definitely try. The use of photography featuring actual people allows for a more relatable marketing message and can help convince customers to engage with a business by either purchasing their products or using their services. People also have a tendency to connect more positively to images of other people, as opposed to those that only feature a product.

Photography of Color

Color is another element in marketing and photography trends that businesses should pay attention to, as it has been shown to have an impact on customers’ buying decisions.

Photography featuring certain color tones will attract specific groups of consumers based on research about their preferences. For example, warmer colors are best for selling luxury brands, while cooler tones are better for selling sports apparel or other products that have a more youthful appeal.

Photography of The Environment

One trend that companies should pay attention to is the use of natural imagery. Photography trends have shown that images portraying a location where a business operates tend to be more successful than those with digitally altered scenery. Images featuring actual landscapes can show off a company’s products in a setting that customers will already recognize and also provide an image of the surrounding area where they might be looking to spend their time.

Photography of Lifestyle

Lifestyle photography trends show people’s daily lives, so businesses can use this style in order to give customers an idea about the types of activities that are involved with using a product or service. Photography showing people enjoying themselves at an event can increase attendees’ interest in that event and also help customers see how they can use a product or service to enhance their own lives.

Photography of The Home

Companies can use photography trends to enhance their marketing by utilizing images showing the home as a symbol for happiness, warmth, and family values. Photography showing kitchens has been shown to be particularly effective in marketing products that are used in this area, while family portraits have been shown to be one of the most popular types of images used in marketing.

Photography of Animals

Using photographs with animals appeals to customers’ emotions in a positive way and can make them feel like they would enjoy owning such an animal. Photography trends have shown that images featuring dogs especially get higher engagement on social media, while images of puppies are some of the most popular among consumers on Instagram.

Photography of Products

It’s important for every company to show off its products in an attractive way that draws attention to them and appeals to customers’ emotions. Photography trends have shown that close-up shots can be especially effective in this area, as they give customers a clear view of the product’s details and textures. Although it might be tempting to use stock photos, companies should take advantage of photography trends and show off their own products in an original way that will set them apart from competitors.

Photography by Customers

The final trend to pay attention to in photography is the use of images that are taken by customers themselves. Photography trends have shown that user-generated content has been one of the most successful ways for companies to market their products or services online, so businesses should encourage customers to send in photos they’ve snapped of their experiences with a company’s product or service.

Photography of Food

Photography trends have shown that images showing off the details and textures of food items are incredibly popular on social media, so businesses can use this strategy to market their menus through online channels. Images featuring dishes that are aesthetically pleasing and look delicious enough to eat tend to be most popular with customers, so restaurants should put an effort into ensuring that their photos stand out in this area.

Photography of Action

Photography trends have shown that using images that feature movement and speed can be a successful way to catch the attention of audiences online. With this in mind, action shots showing products with their features in use can help companies explain how their products work and why customers should buy them. While it might be tempting for companies to edit additional effects into their photos, they should try to take advantage of photography trends and capture these moments in real-time.

Photography of Emotions

This trend can meld into any of the other trends. Photographs that evoke an emotional response can be of any subject. It just has to connect with your audience in the right way.

Although it’s important for any kind of photography used as marketing to show off a company’s products or services, images that also elicit an emotional response from consumers will be even more effective. Photos showing people enjoying themselves at a restaurant, for example, will make others want to visit that location and have a similar experience. Photography trends have shown that images evoking a wider range of emotions tend to be more successful, so it’s important for companies to pique the interest of customers by showing how they could benefit from their product or service.

Editing Trends

Trends in how photographs are edited are also important to pay attention to. Photography trends have shown that images showing off moods or emotions can be especially effective if they have been edited to appear more dream-like. Photography trends have also shown that vintage effects are popular with consumers, so businesses shouldn’t neglect to edit their photos accordingly in order to take advantage of this trend.

Filters

Editing trends can include adding filters to your pictures. Filters have been around for a very long time, long before they were added to social media platforms like Instagram or Snapchat. Digital photography has always allowed us to lay a filter over the photograph in the editing stage.

We don’t mean adding animal ears and a slobbering tongue to a photograph. We’re talking about filters that make the photograph black-and-white or with different colors emphasized by slightly desaturating others, among other things.

Photography trends have shown that black-and-white photos are also highly popular with customers, so businesses should take advantage of this trend by editing their promotional images accordingly.

Special Effects

You can easily turn a photograph into a video these days with the click of a button. You can add looped motion to make water ripple or clothing float in the wind. Photography trends have shown that we currently enjoy seeing life-like images that look as though they could exist in the real world, so businesses should do their best to incorporate special effects into their photographs accordingly. Make your products sparkle, literally, with special effects or even turn them into 3D images through special effects.

Photography trends have also proven that videos are more popular than ever with customers, so companies should consider how they can utilize both formats.

 

With these photography trends in mind, companies can take advantage of the incredibly high number of people who use social media to market their products and services every day. Whether it’s through videos or images, companies should take advantage of photography trends to reach audiences in new and innovative ways. Photography trends will continue to change as we move forward so it’s important for companies to stay up to date on the latest styles and techniques. Photography can be a successful way to capture emotions and memories, so if you want your business marketing strategy to be successful, it’s important to keep track of the latest changes in the industry.

So, tell us, what trends are you seeing in photography right now? Are there any you want to try out but either don’t have the know-how, equipment, or workforce to do so?

Contact us at C&I Studios! We would be honored to help you with your company’s photography. Our company has been able to provide photography services from renting out equipment to renting out studios to even taking care of the entire shoot for you! We would love to work with you and your company, so please drop us a line!

Finding a filming location can be one of the most stressful parts of creating video marketing content. There’s a lot that goes into your search and research.

But what does it look like to find filming locations in specific places, like Los Angeles?

We’re going to be posting a series of blogs about how to locate the best filming locations for your video marketing endeavors in your neck of the woods! Every city has different types of filming locations available. And today we’re looking at LA!

The Los Angeles area has a lot of different filming locations that you can take advantage of. Whether you’re looking to have the iconic Hollywood sign in your shot, or you’re trying to put together a following by being located near Venice Beach, Los Angeles is an amazing place to film your videos! Los Angeles has filming locations for everyone.

But don’t limit yourself – Los Angeles has tons of other great filming locations that are just waiting to be discovered!

How do you find the best filming locations in Los Angeles, though? And how can you get access? After all, these places are often not open to public participation. If you’re in Los Angeles and looking for a place to shoot video content, take our advice: Los Angeles really does have some of the best filming locations- you just have to look for them!

Research

Start researching LA filming as soon as you know that you’re going to need a filming location. Sometimes you need to know the location before you start writing a script, sometimes you don’t know what kind of location you need until the script is written. All that matters is getting your research started as soon as you possibly can.

But how do you start researching? There are a lot of ways to research filming locations.

Word of Mouth

If you’re looking for great Los Angeles filming locations, your best bet of a first step is to talk to the locals. Research like this will help you to find the hidden gems that other companies might not use as often, really making your content stand out.

Talk to as many people as you can and spread a wide net in order to figure out what kinds of places are available for filming. You never know who might have the hookup on an awesome place that you wouldn’t have known about otherwise, that maybe no one else in the industry has used in their videos yet! You might even come across places that don’t cost anything or have too many hoops to jump through in order to start filming!

Online

Another great way to find Los Angeles filming locations is to do online research. Search on Google for the best Los Angeles filming locations that you can access, and see if there are any unique places that you haven’t seen before or places that are easily recognizable, depending on the aesthetic you’re going for. Los Angeles has a lot of different neighborhoods with their own style and vibe, so finding great Los Angeles filming locations is as simple as knowing where to look.

If you’re looking for something that screams “Los Angeles” for your filming location, your best option might be to head toward the center of Los Angeles. Los Angeles has a central business district that contains some of the most iconic Los Angeles filming locations in history! There’s no reason why you can’t follow suit and create some classic content. A lot of viewers respond well to recognizable scenes. Nostalgia and familiarity can do wonders, depending on your demographic.

You might come across helpful sites like the California Film Commission which can help you to work through every stage of finding the right place to film your video(s)! You’ll be able to look through the permit process, learn about tax credits, and so much more, which is a great asset to have in your back pocket.

There are also great websites like Peerspace or Giggster that list locations that you can filter by type of location or even view on a map.

Never underestimate the power of Google, or any search engine! They’re there to help you. Los Angeles has a lot of Los Angeles filming locations, but you need to know where to find them.

Social Media

You can also use social media such as Twitter or Facebook to help you with your research into Los Angeles filming locations. Hashtags like #filminglocations and #lahelp are great for Los Angeles filming locations, and they can help you to find Los Angeles filming locations that are frequently used and available for renting.

Social media helps to connect you with people who either have access to amazing filming locations or know people who do! Los Angeles has a lot of history and a lot of people who are willing to help you, as long as you’re able to do your part.

Scouting

After you’ve done some research and maybe know what kind of places you’re looking for, you’ll want to visit them in person to make sure they’re going to be the right fit for your filming needs. Scouting is a very important part of the process, so don’t skip it!

You should bring a checklist of the necessary amenities you’ll need for filming. Things like access to electricity, bathrooms for your talent and workers, space to move and set up are all important things you should be looking out for. There may even be amenities you need that are specific to the video you’ll be filming.

Scouting out locations may even lead you to other locations that you wouldn’t have known about in your initial research. Los Angeles filming locations can be in the middle of residential neighborhoods or hidden in plain sight. Scouting will give you a good idea of what Los Angeles has to offer and how accessible it all is for you!

Working

Finding the best filming locations doesn’t always happen in the way you’d think. Sometimes it takes actually being out in the field, working on another set, to come across something special. Only you know your Los Angeles filming locations needs, so don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Los Angeles has a lot of resources for helping people in the film industry. It’s the home of Hollywood, of course!

Los Angeles filming locations are waiting to be discovered. But you have to know where to look. Los Angeles is a big place with tons of Los Angeles filming locations, so finding the best Los Angeles filming location can take time and patience. Los Angeles has everything from beautiful beaches to busy downtown Los Angeles filming locations that continue on into the late hours of the night. Los Angeles is alive, and Los Angeles filming locations are the heart of it all. Los Angeles has its Los Angeles filming locations – you just have to know where to look!

Hire a company

Hiring a company, like C&I Studios, to do all of the hard work for you.

C&I Studios knows all of the ins and outs of the Los Angeles area. We know what filming locations would work best for you, your company, and your industry. We can take care of everything from booking the right location to everything in post-production. It’s important that you hire a company that really understands not only Los Angeles as a city, but also your industry’s marketing needs and how to truly create amazing videos for many different uses.

And there you have it—your Los Angeles filmmaking process, from researching Los Angeles filming locations through actually using Los Angeles filming locations! Los Angeles is an amazing place for video marketing content, so locations are incredibly important. Los Angeles has history, Los Angeles has life, Los Angeles has fantastic filming locations! Los Angeles is waiting for you to find them all.

Locating the best Los Angeles filming location is just one piece of creating an amazing video marketing campaign that will have your audience captivated.

As an eCommerce brand, are you using every marketing outlet that you can be to promote your brand and products? Take a minute to think about what’s missing from your social media presence- You have a Facebook page with all the essential information? Check. An Instagram that shows off your brand’s aesthetic? Check. Twitter to update your customers quickly and efficiently? Check. TikTok? No?!!

Well, you should get on that. Right away! Today!

Of course, you’re probably asking us “Why?” And we’ll honestly answer with “Why the heck not?!!” Because there is no wrong answer as to why you should be creating TikTok content as an eCommerce brand!

You’ll be able to Expand Your Audience

If you’re thinking “TikTok isn’t where my target audience is hanging out,” you’re wrong. TikTok isn’t just for the kids to lip-sync or perform dance challenges anymore. TikTok is a space for everyone. Tiktok is for brands to create new types of content and engage with consumers in a way that they’re accustomed to seeing on other social media platforms.

TikTok videos can be shared to Tiktok’s various “arenas” that are created for different audiences. Tiktok is even used by more and more influencers to cross-promote their content on their other social media platforms! TikTok is a great way for you to expand your audience by targeting the different arenas and just letting your video engage with anyone who wants to.

There are so many different “arenas” of TikTok that have many different audience demographics. You might find yourself in BookTok where creators and viewers talk about their favorite books and give reviews and recommendations about the latest releases. You might come across the Cosplay Corner, where creators show off the different costumes and characters they perform as. And then there’s even a place where Science oriented people share random scientific facts! There’s a place for everyone on this app, from farmers to beauty influencers, and all of them are potential customers or business partners for your eCommerce brand!

You’ll be able to Find New Customers

So, what does a larger audience mean? It means you have more potential customers to sell your products to! Not everyone viewing your videos will be a paying customer, and that’s to be expected. Everyone has different needs and interests, but they might know someone who will purchase your products and will share your videos.

TikTok is filled with creators, viewers, and even brands that are looking for new ways to connect with you. TikTok is a place where something “viral” happens every few minutes. TikTok is the perfect platform for your brand to expand your reach far beyond what your eCommerce site could ever hope to do. TikTok is an opportunity for you to jump into the TikTok community, find your ideal customers, and create a deeper connection with them. Brands are able to identify their TikTok influencers in order to promote their products through shout-outs in TikTok videos.

TikTok Content is easier to Create

Brand-related TikTok accounts have the same follower engagement as many of your social media influencers, but TikTok accounts are much easier to manage. TikTok creators can make multiple short videos in a day rather than having to film an entire music video or long-form content.

It’s easier to edit, too, with so many built-in editing features. TikTok creators and TikTok brands can create and share videos quickly and easily, which is perfect for short-burst marketing like TikTok content. TikTok allows you to post as often as you please without worrying about the exhausting editing that much longer pieces of content required.

Even if you don’t have the time to create TikTok videos, you can easily farm out the work to a company that creates video content professionally, like C&I Studios. It just can take one day of filming to create a lot of content for your channel!

You get to create engaging content that you might not have tried before

TikTok is more than just dance challenges and silly skits. It’s full of interesting content. It’s a place where you can experiment with different video styles and formats, so long as they’re short and can be uploaded to TikTok.

If your company is employee-oriented? Get them in on the videos! You can post quick product reviews, how-tos, unboxing videos, and even show your products in use! You can have customers in to talk about their favorite products, talk about their experience with your company as a whole, or do anything that’s relevant to your brand.

You want to create content that people will want to engage with via likes, comments, and shares, but also with TikTok features like stitch and duet, where other creators will create along with your original content! TikTok creators love to riff on TikTok videos, and it’s a great way of getting creators involved with your brand.

All these TikTok features brought together create a rich TikTok community that loves interacting with brands through TikTok videos! TikTok is a place where you can find your next customer or collaborator, tap into an already-growing community, and experiment with TikTok video content to increase your brand’s TikTok views! All it takes is one hit TikTok video for you or your brand to go viral.

You can show off your products in creative ways

With all the different content types that you haven’t yet tried, there are a lot of ways to show off your products that you still need to try! You never know when something new might really work out for your brand. TikTok is a place where showing off your products in new and interesting ways isn’t just possible, it’s encouraged!

If you’re finding that the videos you’ve been creating are tired or old hat, it might be worth integrating your products into fun skits or sending out your products for influencers to review on their own channels. TikTok influencers are often paid to do those reviews, and they’re usually quick and easy for you to create. (Sometimes you don’t even have to create them- that’s for the influencer to do, depending on your contract with them!).

TikTok videos can be shared on other platforms

Just like YouTube, TikTok videos can be shared to any other social media platform with just the click of a button. TikTok is a great way for you to cross-promote your TikTok videos on your other social media platforms to increase your views and engagement! TikTok videos can be shared in TikTok stories, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even Whatsapp.

When your video is shared, it automatically applies a watermark with your TikTok handle, so you know your videos won’t be stolen on other platforms. It automatically redirects viewers to your TikTok profile, too, so that they know where to find more videos like the one they just watched and potentially follow you!

Cross-posting is always in your best interest, even if you think that you’re posting too much. You probably aren’t. It’s actually difficult to post too much to any social media, but it is possible. You don’t want to post everything all at once to every social media platform. Instead, post something on TikTok one day and then share it to another platform the next day, and another the day after that. It increases the chance that more and more people will see it, and you’ll want to pay attention to your analytics in order to figure out the right strategy for cross-posting for your particular brand.

TikTok videos can be shared on TikTok itself, too! You can make your TikTok content go viral all over TikTok with one easy click! And TikTok is a community of very engaged users. You should be engaging with your own content via the features TikTok has like duet and stitch in order to update old videos and riff off of your own content.

It increases your chances at going viral

Tiktok is also easy for consumers to engage with- viewers who react or share a TikTok post will automatically send the post to their friends who use TikTok, who may then engage with it again, and the post spreads virally within TikTok until it reaches a TikTok celebrity or TikTok creator that sees a good fit to collaborate on a video. This is the perfect time for your eCommerce brand to get in there and start looking for its TikTok celebrities! Tiktok celebrities have millions of TikTok followers, and if you’re the brand that TikTok celebrities collaborate with, your eCommerce brand name is going to be sent out to millions as well!

Think about products that have gone viral thanks to this platform? Those booty lifting leggings, that crazy hula hoop that slims your waist and trains your abs, Squishmallows?! They all took off thanks to TikTok, and your products could easily be next to go viral!

So, what are you waiting for?

Now is the time to get started. Go and create a TikTok account today and start looking at similar brands and how they’re using TikTok. What types of videos are they putting out? Which ones are getting the most engagement? Who has the most followers and how are they engaging with those who comment on their content? Look at everything and anything!

You’ll find that creating TikTok content will increase the views and engagement you see on all of your TikTok videos., TikTok content even has the potential to create TikTok celebrities, which is worth more than just increased views! Tiktok celebrities have millions of TikTok followers- and if they partner with your eCommerce brand in a video collaboration? Your brand name will be sent out to those million TikTok followers as well.

It’s all about TikTok right now- TikTok has over 1 billion users, who are engaged on the platform. Tiktok is growing at an exponential rate, and it’s the social media where brands should be spending their time! Tiktok videos get 10 times more unique views than other video content on other networks like YouTube or Facebook.

When you’re ready to get started on TikTok, be sure to check out our previous blog post with tips and tricks to make your endeavors successful. We want to see your brand succeed!

Are you finding that you still need help? C&I Studios is here for you! We are a professional marketing firm that specializes in Video Production. We love creating videos for TikTok and helping brands to put their best foot forward in the marketing world. Contact us today to inquire about how we can collaborate together and create amazing TikTok videos and so much more for your eCommerce brand!

Planning out your marketing content is essential to making sure your marketing efforts aren’t going to waste. Knowing your strategy is key in making sure everything runs as smoothly as it possibly can.

You’ve probably heard the saying, content is king. While content marketing has been around since the beginning of time, it’s really become popular in the last decade with the internet becoming more content-driven. You don’t want to have to be coming up with marketing content on the fly. That leads to messy content that may not perform as well as it could or it could even reflect badly on your brand.

With content marketing being so important in today’s marketing strategies, it’s no wonder that content strategy is becoming a buzzword in content marketing circles. Here are some important reasons why you should be planning your content strategy too…

1. It Gives You Focus

Having a content strategy ensures that you always have content in the works. This content can come in different forms, so it can be simple things like blog posts for your website or more complex projects like eBooks. When you set out a content strategy, you’ll know where to focus your efforts and what content is most important to move forward with.

2. It Creates a Foundation

With content marketing being so important in today’s marketing strategies, content strategy is becoming more and more of a buzzword. When you have a content strategy in place, it gives you the foundation to start creating content that meets your content objectives. This content will also meet certain standards, like SEO standards or just writing standards.

3. It Creates Consistency

Content consistency is important in content marketing, especially when it comes to content promotion. When you have a content strategy in place, content creation and content promotion become much more consistent. With content marketing being all about building relationships with your audience, content consistency is key for building up that relationship between you and your readers.

You want to establish how much and how often you’re going to post. Most social media platforms recommend businesses post at least once a day to keep any sort of traction they may have and gain viewers. Remember, though, more content doesn’t necessarily equal more success. Your content strategy should be prioritized so that you can allocate your resources accordingly and ensure high-quality content is being put out there for your customers to read.

4. It Sets Expectations

Setting content marketing expectations is very important when it comes to content strategy. By setting content marketing expectations, you can make sure that content writers are on the right track with content promotion and content creation. You can also make sure that the content team is staying on top of deadlines, scheduling content for upcoming months, or even planning content that may not have a deadline just yet.

You can use content strategy to set content goals and content deadlines, which will create content marketing expectations for the future.

5. It Keeps Everyone on Track

This may be one of the most important aspects of the content strategy plan- keeping all of your employees on the same page.

Whether you have a content team or just one content writer, content strategy planning keeps everyone on track by setting content deadlines and providing content writing guidelines. This content writing guideline includes content marketing tone, content formats, content length, and content promotion. It also includes the content strategy itself, which is an important part of everyone’s content marketing efforts.

Making sure everyone has access to the plan is important so that your people can stay in the loop without having to track it down. Transparency is key when it comes to content strategy; you want everyone to know where they should be focusing their content marketing efforts.

6. It Brings Everyone Together

One of the most important aspects of content strategy is that it brings everyone together, especially marketing and content writers/promotion staff.

With content marketing playing such an important role in content marketing, content strategy gives content writers and content marketers a way to work together without strife. They can plan content creation which will make content promotion much easier. Content strategy planning is especially beneficial for content writers who are not very familiar with content promotion but need to be involved with it anyways.

It’s also important that everyone knows what the plan entails- from content marketing content inspiration to content writing guidelines. Having a happy and harmonious workplace allows for more creativity when it comes to marketing ideas!

7. It Provides Useful Analytics Metrics

This is perhaps the most important reason to make a content strategy plan!

When you have your content plan in place, it provides useful analytics metrics for tracking your content marketing efforts and content performance. You can use content strategy to set content goals and content metrics, which will provide you with content marketing KPIs (key performance indicators).

You want to keep track of engagements such as likes, comments, and shares and how they change based on the type of content you’re putting out, when you’re posting it, and where it’s being posted and shared.

Keeping track of analytics is key to making sure your future marketing is performing well. By knowing the metrics of each post’s engagement you can see what’s working and what isn’t as far as the content and the times and where you post the content.

Content performance tracking data will also give your content writer’s content marketing goals to work towards. This is especially true when they are on an SEO content writing side of things because you can see what content comes up on the first page and work that into their content strategy plans for content creation.

8. It Provides Useful Content Marketing Inspiration

When you have your content strategy in place, it provides inspiration for upcoming posts and future content. If you’re struggling to keep your content fresh, planning out your current strategy will allow you to see what might be missing and where you can add new ideas in.

With content promotion becoming such an important aspect of content marketing, content strategy provides a way to stay on top of things as far as what’s working and what isn’t so that the content team can come up with content marketing content inspiration for the future.

9. It Creates a Better Content Marketing Workflow

When you have content strategy in place, it creates a better content marketing workflow and content writing process that everyone is familiar with and understands.

If your team lacks communication and content promotion skills, content strategy planning can help to bring them up to speed and increase content marketing performance. Content strategy planning will allow content marketers to stay up-to-date on content promotion as well as content marketing content inspiration.

10. It Provides a Clear Vision of Your Content Marketing Strategy

When you have your content strategy plan in place, it creates a clear vision of where your business is going with content marketing.

Content strategy planning allows content marketing content inspiration to be shared and put in a content marketing content writing format for future content marketers to follow. This provides a clear vision going forward so that everyone knows how content promotion is supposed to work.

When you have a content strategy in place, it will allow everyone on the content team to know the content writing style and content marketing content writing tone. It makes content writing processes easier and content marketing content inspiration more obtainable.

11. It Can Help to Increase Your Search Engine Ranking

To increase your search engine ranking, you need to have good content on your website- content that provides the right information to the people who are searching for it.

Content strategy planning allows content marketers with content writing skills to produce better content that is optimized for search engines.

This is because content marketing content inspiration and content promotion strategies are laid out ahead of time so content writers can focus on writing quality content that provides the right information- rather than trying to find a way to promote it afterwards.

12. It Keeps You Organized so You Can Manage Content Marketing Projects More Effectively

When content strategy planning is in place, content marketers can keep organized and manage content marketing projects more effectively. This makes content marketing content writing more efficient and content strategy easier to follow for everyone involved. Being able to prioritize different projects allows your employees to put their best efforts into each project, ensuring that you always get the best content for your marketing plan.

Having a content strategy in place allows content writers, editors, and content managers to organize content according to different types of content.

13. It Keeps Content Marketing Projects on Schedule

Content strategy planning allows content marketers to keep their content marketing projects organized and on schedule, instead of throwing things together at the last minute when they have a strict deadline for content writing.

Content strategy tells whoever is working on it when exactly to post it and where. It makes sure that there is a schedule and nothing gets skipped over or forgotten.

However, it’s important to make sure your schedule can be flexible if need be. You never know when something exciting will happen, or maybe you had a new idea that you want to implement either immediately or within the next couple of weeks. A little bit of wiggle room can go a long way, even if you never need to use it.

14. It Assigns Responsibility and Creates Accountability

If content strategy planning is in place, content team members can be assigned certain responsibilities and become accountable for the content they post.

This helps content marketers keep content writing projects on time by having content marketing content inspiration to go off of when it’s time to write a blog post or article. This also helps content marketers with content writing skills to blog more efficiently.

You’ll know exactly who to talk to about certain content projects, whether it’s fixing a problem, giving feedback (both positive and negative), or asking their opinion on an upcoming project of a similar caliber.

 

Once you have your content strategy in place, it’s time for the next step: creating content. It’s important to make sure that your content is up to par before publishing it. Hiring professional companies like C&I Studios is one way to ensure content quality standards are met. We have an extensive portfolio that you can look to for ideas on what we can create together. It’s important to us that the content we create for you is highly personalized and up to your brand’s standards and aesthetics.

It’s also crucial to your strategy to make sure you’re promoting content effectively, which requires a content marketing plan. We can also help with that and any other marketing service you require!

Not sure where to start when it comes to content strategy? Contact us today!

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!

So, you’re new to the idea of posting to TikTok, but realize you should be using it to gain potential customers. You know it’s a video-sharing app and you know you should be using it to promote your business, but you’re not too familiar with it or how to really get started, let alone how to gain a good following. It can be intimidating, we know. That’s why we’re here to help.

TikTok is the video-sharing app that’s taking over Generation Z’s feed. Younger audiences can’t get enough of TikTok and professional brands are quickly following their lead, racing to become video marketing leaders on the platform.

Getting started on TikTok is as simple as opening the app and posting a video with your favorite song or dance track. There are no official video marketing rules for TikTok, though you may want to follow a few guidelines to really get your videos viewed, liked, and shared. In fact, you can begin sharing video content immediately!

If you’re interested in getting started with video marketing or pushing your video marketing strategy for your business onto TikTok, we’ve got some video marketing tips to help get you started.

Without further ado, here are 10 tips to get started on TikTok:

1) Find your niche

There are many different areas and topics being posted about on TikTok. Some of these topics, considered TikTok Niches, have a cute name like “BookTok”. Niche spaces include topics like books and book reviews, cooking/baking, skits, lip-syncing, cosplay, and so much more.

To find your video marketing niche, search the hashtags and explore some of the video content that is being posted on that topic. Think about what makes that video special or why people would share it. Explore your “For You” feed, engage in content that you believe is relatable to your company and brand.

You can belong to more than one niche, too! By creating content for more than one niche, you’re casting a wider net.

However, it’s unwise to post niche content for the sake of posting niche content constantly. Focus on what you love, what your brand is and what you want it to be, and your video marketing niche will fall into place.

2) Get inspired by others

As you get more familiar with TikTok, it helps to watch other videos regularly. Explore the video content that’s being posted around a specific video marketing niche. You can browse by hashtags or channels on TikTok to find video ideas of what people are posting about. Find popular influencers and creators that have large followings to see what they do to be successful. While what works for each creator may not be what works for you and your brand, it’s worth understanding why each popular creator has such a large following. Are they keeping up with dance challenges or are they telling entertaining stories? What kind of hashtags do they use regularly? It’s all important information that you should be researching.

You don’t have to watch every video posted on TikTok, but if you find video content that is really inspiring to you it may be a good idea to keep an eye out for video marketing inspiration. You can video-market with video content inspired by other TikTokers!

3) Engage in the community

A part of being a successful video marketer on TikTok is having an established video marketing community. You can create a video and keep it as a video draft for future video marketing, or you can post now and engage with the video’s comments.

TikTok is really engaging because videos are posted quickly and people watch video content immediately — so there’s not much time for engagement within that period. Because TikTok is video-based, video comments are important to consider before posting a video. They’re the only way you’ll be able to engage with video content on TikTok aside from a Like. Likes are impersonal, but comments allow you to really get to know other creators and viewers.

When videos on TikTok, engaging with video content immediately after it’s posted is key to getting it on more people’s feeds. If you really enjoy video content that has been shared by another creator, comment on the video and tag that person in your video comment so they can see it! It really pays to have quality engagement within the TikTok community.

4) Post regularly

According to TikTok, users who post more video content see at least 30X more video views than those who don’t. Posting at least once a day is recommended by TikTok, but posting more can really boost your views and engagement.

The more video content you post on TikTok (and the video-based social video platform in general), the better chance you’ll have of growing your following and video marketing community. Consider posting two to three times a day to start! We know that can seem like a lot, but it will be worth the work to post so often so that you’re reaching as many potential customers as possible.

Also, it’s important to be consistent when posting videos. Posting near the same times each day really gets a consistent viewership. Making sure to post the same amount of times a day is great for grabbing more and more viewers. Different demographics are online at different times of the day- parents of young children are usually online more often after they put their kids to bed, people who work the 9-5 grind or are in school find time in the early mornings, lunch breaks, and after work to check their social media feeds, and so on. You can do research on the specific demographics to see when they’re more likely to log in and peruse their TikTok feeds.

When video marketers first join TikTok it can be hard to post video content regularly because video length is limited. The video must be at least 15 seconds long, but there’s no maximum time limit. If you find the video content that works for your brand, you’ll want to continue sharing video marketing best practices!

5) Be authentic

Remember that TikTok is a social video-sharing platform, so it’s important to be authentic. Video content on TikTok is video-marketing best practices, not video marketing for Dummies. Video content on TikTok should be video marketing made easy with a video that feels like video marketers are speaking directly to you!

Posting videos that you have to put a facade on for won’t get you very many subscribers. In fact, it might lose you followers if you aren’t truthful to your brand or services.

If your video content feels fake or forced, it likely won’t be successful on any social media platform, let alone TikTok. People on video marketing platforms like TikTok want video content that’s exciting, entertaining, and engaging.

6) Show up often

Every video you post has the chance of being viewed by someone new. If your video is exceptional, it’s possible that followers will see it more than once! This means that if you want to have a video marketing strategy on TikTok, being active on the platform is essential. Your video can be seen by people all over the world, and video views will be video marketing best practices. It’s important that you’re always available with more video content and engagements!

Comments will come in at any time. It’s in your best interest to pay attention and engage with video content when it comes in, if possible. Depending on your content and how you engage with your viewers, these comments can be good or bad, so it’s important to keep an eye on them, as they come in so that you can smooth over any issues your viewers may have.

If your channel takes off, it’s a good idea to have more than one person available to monitor and field interactions so that you can keep up with comments. It’s also important to make sure everyone who has access to the TikTok account has the same information in order to answer questions without confusion.

7) Get connected and stay connected

Your success as a video marketer on TikTok will depend heavily on your ability to establish connections and relationships with your viewers and other creators. TikTok is a community and users want to feel a part of something — so video marketers who take the time to connect with their video viewers and other creators on TikTok will have better results overall. Creators supporting other creators is

Most people use TikTok’s “Following” feature to help them stay connected with creators they enjoy watching. Every time you post a video, followers will receive a notification from your account. You should be able to follow creators and businesses you enjoy watching and can relate to, and other TikTokers should be able to follow your account if they enjoy your content.

8) Collaborate on video marketing content

Sometimes it can be more fun to video-market collaboratively! Two or more video makers can join forces to create video marketing content that is really unique, interesting, and engaging for followers. You can work together to come up with new ideas through online relationships or even work in-person and film together to appear in each other’s videos. A lot of current influencers like to collaborate and appear in each other’s videos in order to share followers.

8) Be unique

Just like your video marketing niche, make sure your voice is unique on TikTok. This will help drive video views and clicks to your website. Uniqueness can be applied to any part of your video- in content or editing! Using filters or creating content people haven’t seen before or has a twist can make your content stand out against your competition.

It can be hard to be video marketing best practices and unique at the same time, but it’s important not to try to fit in 100%. If you stick out among companies and channels that are similar to yours, video views will come!

9) Use hashtags

TikTok’s “For You” feed is sorted by what users watch most, but TikTok also sorts video content by hashtags. Hashtags are keywords that accompany your posts. They let video marketers find video content that they might not have otherwise seen.

Hashtags are video marketing best practices! Don’t forget to use them when you post video content so that your video can be found by other video marketers, which helps expand your reach! You can also search keywords video marketers commonly use, like hashtags for “video

TikTok video content with more video views are video marketing best practices, which is why it’s important to use video marketing strategies like using hashtags to your advantage! Use relevant hashtags in your video titles and video descriptions so that your video can show up on TikTs feeds for these search queries!

10) Outsource to a professional video production company

If you’re video marketing best practices and video marking is outside of your video area of expertise, it might be time to consider outsourcing video content creation and management. C&I Studios is one of those companies that is ready, willing, and able to work with you for all your TikTok needs!

An outsourced video marketing team can help you with:

• building and growing your audience (brand awareness)
• video content (ideas, video edits, video updates)
• video management (commenting on videos, responding to comments, posting regularly)
• video analytics (assessing ROI, reporting to clients)
• new ideas to keep your channel fresh and relevant to the TikTok algorithm
• filming and content creation

A strong TikTok following is important for growth and engagement because it gives potential video viewers, but we know it’s a daunting task to many. That’s why we recommend asking for help if you need it!

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Anyone who utilizes video marketing knows how important it is to have successful video marketing campaigns. It’s important to pay attention to the current trends and stay informed on the newest and best practices for getting your video in front of not only your target audience but as many people out there as possible. Everyone is a potential customer!

If you’re still not quite sure how to approach TikTok, or video marketing as a whole, reach out to us at C&I Studios. We can’t wait to help you tell your story to the vast audience of the internet!

We offer more than just video marketing services, too. You can see all of the marketing support we offer businesses like yours here. We’ve worked with many companies to create amazing marketing material and campaigns, including TikTok videos, and we can’t wait to work with you!

An animated explainer video can be a huge asset to any company’s marketing strategy, but only if the video falls into that sweet spot of being informative while also being entertaining.

But, first, what exactly is an animated explainer video, and what can it do to benefit a video marketing campaign?

An animated explainer video is a short, animated video that addresses the key points of an online product or service, typically in 60-90 seconds. The video is usually animated using characters and scenes to make it fun and engaging for their audiences. Think about that scene in the original Jurassic Park movie from 1993 where the animated character, Mr. DNA explains the creation of the park and its residents to the main characters (and thus, the audience). It’s a perfect example of a successful animated explainer video: it grabs the attention of its audience while explaining important information and continues engagement by being memorable.

Animated explainer videos can be extremely effective when it comes to highlighting new products/services or promoting special offers. Besides animated explainer videos, animated video marketing is also a popular method for attracting and engaging more of your target audience.

Animated explainer videos are great for grabbing the attention of many different target audiences. The animated video format is much more interesting and engaging than reading through a long blog or article. Just like any other video marketing, animated explainer videos can attract more potential customers to your business while also creating a stronger relationship with the existing customers.

How does animation benefit the explainer video?

Animation is more memorable than video clips with animated characters are more likely to be remembered by its audience. People remember animated videos because animated characters are created solely for that video, which means their personalities will resonate with the intended audience once they see it.

People also remember animated videos better because animated video marketing has less information overload. When an animated video is less cluttered than a video with real people, the animated video marketing has more time to get across key points of your product or service.

Now that you know exactly what animated explainer videos are and why they work, let’s take a look at 10 elements and tips that will guide you in making a successful Animated Explainer video for your company that won’t get lost in the mix of other animated explainer videos:

1- It should include animation

This one is pretty obvious, but an animated explainer video should always include some sort of animated character(s) to help engage the audience at first glance, and throughout the entire video. A simple animated character can do wonders for grabbing your target audience’s attention right away, making them more likely to keep watching until the end of the animated explainer video.

Animation can be extremely effective when it comes to helping your animated explainer video stand out amongst all of the other animated explainer videos on the web, but only if it is used properly. While animated characters are important, so is animation quality. The animation should be smooth and well-designed. It’s also important to use animated design elements that match the tone of the animated explainer video you’re creating. For example, if your animated explainer video is more of a serious and informative type (like an animated explainer video on how to use a certain product or service), then it’s best to avoid using animated characters that may distract from the main idea behind the animated explainer video.

2- A Strong Script

A strong and relatable script is the foundation of every animated explainer video. Whether you’re marketing your animated explainer video on YouTube, Facebook, or any other social media platform, a well-written animated explainer video will keep viewers hooked from start to finish. The animated explainer video script should be short and snappy, leaving your audience wanting more. This doesn’t mean that animated explainer video scripts shouldn’t include a main message or idea, but the animated explainer video script definitely shouldn’t drag on.

3- Keep it Short and Sweet

Another important element every animated explainer video should have is brevity. The animated explainer video should include all necessary information, but it should be quick to get through at the same time. As previously stated, a video around 60-90 seconds is usually a good length for this type of video. A long animated explainer video will lose viewers quickly no matter how engaging the animated characters are, so keep your animated explainer video short and sweet instead. Of course, animated explainer videos that are extremely short will also lose viewers just as quickly if they are not interesting or engaging enough.

4- Add some humor if possible

This is an element that animated explainer videos can easily incorporate through animated characters, voice actors, and/or animated video backgrounds. Using animated comedy elements will keep your audience on their toes while watching your animated explainer video. You don’t have to make them laugh hysterically, but a simple animated sound effect or animated character could keep your animated explainer video from being boring.

5- Keep the text to a minimum

While animated explainer videos are much more engaging than any other type of form of media, it’s important to use exactly as much animated text as needed. Avoid using too much animated text in your video. This isn’t to discount using captions, but we will get into that in a minute.

Moving text can be difficult to read for many and trying to pay attention to it distracts them from the rest of the video. Neurodivergent people who have dyslexia or ADHD, for example, may not be able to follow words that bounce and spin around the screen easily, and they may miss information that is being relayed. Animated text also doesn’t allow for easy translations into captions that benefit those who speak other languages or are either hard of hearing or deaf and cannot watch the video without captions.

6- Use Captions!

If animated explainer videos are meant to be viewed on the internet, make use of captions. Using animated text for captions is very helpful since you can add it in after completing your animated explainer video and edit them if necessary before publishing. Captions will help viewers with hearing or sensory issues understand what’s going on throughout the animated explainer video.

It also helps those who may not speak the same language as you and your company be able to translate your video easily, creating a larger audience for your business.

Captions also help viewers that are watching on their mobile devices, since animated explainer videos can be difficult to watch on a smaller screen or are in a public place and can’t listen to the audio out of respect of those around them.

7- Incorporate animated backgrounds creatively

When you’re animating the background of your animated explainer video, make sure it’s done with care. How animated video backgrounds are animated (with characters moving, animated text popping up, etc.) is just as important as the animated video backgrounds themselves. Too much animation can take away from the character the audience is supposed to be paying attention to, so finding the right balance is important.

8- Customize the animated explainer video to your business/brand/product

One way you can keep animated explainer videos more engaging than other animated marketing is through customization. While many animated explainer videos are just animated characters moving around on a plain white background, this doesn’t mean that animated video backgrounds have to be boring or simple. In fact, animated video backgrounds can add a ton of life to animated explainer videos when animated characters are moving around on them.

9- Use animated video stock footage for transitions between scenes

Transitions in animated explainer videos aren’t just limited to animated characters going from one spot in the video to another or animated text popping up and disappearing. You can also use animated video stock footage to transition between animated explainer video scenes. Using animated stock footage of clouds moving, animated text flying on and off-screen, etc. can help keep things interesting for your audience as you move forward in the animated explainer video without distracting them too much from the animated explainer video as a whole.

By using stock footage, you’re saving a bit of time and money while still including great content. However, it’s good to be sure you’re not going overboard with stock footage.

Using animated video stock footage too much can get annoying for your audience. Avoid using animated video stock footage just for the sake of using it and don’t use more than two animated video stock clips throughout the animated explainer video unless absolutely necessary. While it can save time and money, it allows your video to get lost in the noise of other videos that use the same footage. It also can overwhelm your audience with too many moving parts.

Using too much stock footage shows your audience a lack of creativity and laziness. These are not things you want to convey to potential customers with anything you put out, as it sends the wrong message and turns customers away from wanting to work with you.

10- Consider Using a Video Production Company

Many animated production companies offer animated explainer video services for clients that are interested in getting their animated marketing efforts off the ground. These companies can help you with any amount of work in order for your animated explainer video to be successful. C&I Studios is one of these companies that are happy to work with you in order to create an amazing animated video for your marketing campaign.

In order to create an animated explainer video that engages your audience and sells your product or service, you need to have a plan from the very beginning. Perhaps you don’t know where to begin or you don’t have the time in the workday to create a solid plan. This is where a video production company comes in. Professional video production companies understand the animated explainer video market, animated video trends, all kinds of video content creation, animated video stock footage usage, animated video voiceovers and how animated videos are consumed by your target audience.

Here at C&I Studios, we offer animated explainer video services to our clientele. We know animation, animated backgrounds, animated video stock footage, animated characters, and more. All you have to do is tell us the ideas you have for your animated explainer video, explain the goals you wish the video to achieve, and we can take it from there!

We offer many services for video production that will help boost your marketing efforts, not just animated explainer video production. You can take a look at every service we offer here.

 

In conclusion, animated explainer videos are animated marketing videos that typically use animated characters and animated video backgrounds to demonstrate a product or service. We’ve learned that there is more to animated explainer video creation than just having animated characters and animated video backgrounds, though. In order for an animated explainer video to be successful, it needs to include certain elements such as personalization and a strong script. We’ve also given you a few tips to making sure your animated explainer video is a success such as how much is too much animated stock footage and that using a professional video production company, like C&I Studios, can really help you with creating your video.

Contact C&I Studios here to see what we can create together to boost your company’s marketing campaign today!

Everybody knows that video marketing is best for engagement and reaching consumers. But what type of video content should you create that will suit your company’s industry the best? It’s not always a cut and dry answer as many different kinds of videos work well for multiple industries. However, what types of videos are most commonly seen as the best type for certain industries?

Here is a list of video types that perform best in each industry:

1) Entertainment Industry: Short and Fun Videos That Capture People’s Attention

What do you think the highest viewed YouTube video of all time is? It’s “Charlie Bit My Finger” which has more than 815 million views! This video might not be the most illuminating or informative, but it proves that the entertainment industry loves videos that capture their viewers’ attention and make them laugh. A video of a kid laughing at his brother biting him will always be relatable and humorous.

Entertainment doesn’t just stop at funny videos. Companies in the entertainment industry thrive on hit songs, music videos, and dance choreographies. Companies should take advantage of this by putting out engaging content that entertains audiences. These videos can spread like wildfire, especially on platforms like TikTok if you allow other users to use your music or engage them in challenges on choreography.

There’s also been a large uptick in true crime and other story-telling entertainment. These types of videos are being watched more than ever thanks to the success of channels like Buzzfeed Unsolved, which explore unsolved mysteries.

The entertainment industry is very diverse in topics that can be covered in videos. Videos that entertain are videos that win.

2) Technology Industry: Videos That Increase Productivity or Improve User Experience

In the technology industry, videos that increase productivity or improve the user experience work best. Video content could show a new piece of technology being used in a specific way to solve a problem. Videos could also show off a new feature or design to convince people that they need it.

A company might also consider how their product or service can positively impact users’ lives and save them precious time and money. Technology can be seen as an investment depending on how it works to save the user time and money, even though technology advances quickly these days and will need to be updated sooner rather than later. Understanding the importance of a piece of technology is crucial to a customer when making a purchase.

3) Education Industry: Videos That Are Informative or Educational

People in the education industry know that video marketing can increase their web traffic. This demonstrates the importance of video content in this space. With virtual learning becoming more and more relevant, educational videos and content are more important than ever.

This can also be a very content-specific industry, as there are many types of videos that could be used to inform and educate audiences. Videos explaining new learning techniques or educational theories can help users understand how to use their education products more effectively.

Making the educational experience more engaging is something companies should strive for by introducing informative video content.

Education and training videos can be educational and give value to end-users. These types of videos benefit the education industry because they inform viewers about topics that interest them and help students remember content better. Educational videos can range from tutoring for any age of student to courses for professionals to how-tos for hobbyists.

4) Financial Industry: Videos That Are Helpful, Simple, and Accurate

Producing as many as 8 videos can boost your lead generation by 96%. The financial industry is no different. Ultimately, video content in this space should be simple and accurate so consumers understand the information you’re sharing with them. It’s also important to make sure the video is helpful and in some way solves a problem your consumer might be facing.

Videos types that best portray these ideals could be how-to or Q&A videos. When you’re looking for a company to help you with your taxes, for example, you want someone who knows what they’re doing and can explain the information back to you in ways the general public will understand. You want to be able to easily find the information you need, too.

5) Health Industry: Videos That Are Informative and Related To The Consumer’s Daily Life

Videos that relate to the daily lives of consumers perform best in this industry. For example, imagine you’re considering getting braces but don’t know if it’s worth the investment. You might search for a video that explains what you can expect after getting braces and how your daily life will change as a result. This kind of video is perfect for this industry because it provides consumers with the information they need to make an informed decision on any health-related purchase.

Fitness videos also fall into this category. If you’ve got a product that can help people work out and be healthy, then videos that show what working out is like when your product is used will perform well. In today’s world, going to the gym isn’t always available, so being able to put out fitness videos that show potential customers how your company approaches at-home fitness can really reel in new customers.

6) Professional Services Industry: Videos That Are Informative and Convey Professionalism

When consumers search for a service, such as legal services or professional consultancy, videos that provide helpful information on the subject matter demonstrate you’re a credible business. Being trustworthy is crucial when it comes to this industry. Consumers are likely to hire consultants who they know will help them make informed decisions and get the results they’re looking for.

For example, testimonial videos work great to put the services your company provides in a positive light. These types of videos are helpful because they show people using your services and how positive the experience was. These videos could also be success stories or similar customer-oriented content. It’s important for the customer to be able to see how the service can benefit them, so having positive outcomes presented in easy-to-consume media is crucial.

7) Retail Industry: Videos That Are Informative and Convey Good Customer Service

Consumers who search online want to know everything about a product or service before making a purchase, so videos that convey good customer service will go a long way. Good customer service includes friendly employees who are well informed on what they’re selling as well as is relatable to the customer.

For example, imagine you’re considering buying a new product and want to know how it will fit into your life. You might search for a video demonstrating the product in use or a review of the product from a consumer who has tried it before. This kind of video gives you all the information you need to make a decision on whether to purchase. It may also give you more reasons to purchase, having not known previously some of the benefits to making said purchase.

Simple unboxing videos can also bring awareness to new products that your retail space is carrying. The excitement of a consumer receiving the product for the first time can engage potential customers.

Additionally, be sure to highlight strong points of your company’s retail space. What makes it unique from other stores? How will consumers benefit from shopping there? How might this shop benefit the community it exists in? Answers to these questions should be addressed in videos that induce purchase.

8) Beauty Industry: Videos That Are Entertaining or Just Plain Pretty

Everyone loves to be entertained. They also love seeing beautiful things, whether it’s pictures or video content of different landscapes or makeup tutorials. Video marketing in the beauty industry is all about being entertaining and capturing people’s attention while at the same time inspiring them with something beautiful.

For example, imagine you have a series of videos for your business that show customers how to pull off different hairstyles or makeup looks. You could put these videos on YouTube and link back to your website so people can find out more about the products they need to complete each look.

It’s entertaining content that inspires consumers, too. In recent years, YouTubers who do makeup tutorials have begun explaining true crime stories to entertain their audience and cross over into two niches instead of just one.

9) Sports Industry: Videos That Are Informative, Inspirational, or Entertaining

There are a number of different types of videos that perform well for this industry — informative, inspirational, and entertaining.

When you’re looking to hire a sports trainer, for example, you want to know if they have the qualifications and expertise needed to help you achieve your goals. You also want them to have the right level of enthusiasm and good people skills. A video demonstrating a sports trainer at work provides all of this information in one go. In fact, it communicates more than just words could do on their own, which is important for this industry.

Inspirational videos that show athletes going from nothing to success also perform well here because they both inform and inspire. Inspiration can come from athletes performing well in their respective sports, but also in anything they do outside of their jobs that gives back to their community.

10) Transportation Industry: Videos That Are Informative and Convey You are an Authority

Consumers in the transportation industry need to know everything about the vehicles they’re considering purchasing or the service they’re looking to hire. They want to be able to trust your business is an authority on what you’re selling.

For example, if you’re looking for a new car, you want to know the history of the model you’re interested in. A video that provides this information demonstrates your company knows what it’s talking about. This is also true if you’re selling commercial vehicles or specialized machines.

Videos that are informative and convey authority on your brand perform well for marketing in any industry, but they are particularly important when it comes to this industry.

You can also think about videos that are informational or entertaining in the travel industry, particularly with tourism destinations. Make sure to show people having fun and staying safe in your videos having to do with tourism, as fun is the main reason for this kind of travel and safety is one of the greatest concerns when traveling.

 

 

So what do you think will be the most effective video content to elevate your company within your industry? Think about all of these possibilities and more as you’re creating your content strategy. The most important thing to remember is to focus on what your audience wants to see. The more you know about them, the better equipped you’ll be to create videos that perform well for marketing in your industry. Keep these tips in mind as you produce content and see which ones resonate most with your target market!

You don’t have to limit yourself to these ideas, either. Get creative and explore more of what your target demographics are reacting to. Don’t give up if any of your videos flop, either. Keep trying new ideas to find your company’s niche in the world of video marketing. Video marketing is a fantastic way to build brand awareness and increase conversions online.

Here at C&I Studios, we focus on your brand and what your target audience wants to see. Hiring a professional service like C&I Studios will make sure to help you create videos that will grab new potential customers and really make a mark in your industry.

If you’re looking for help producing some video content, check out our Video Production page for more information and check out the many other services C&I Studios has to offer!

There are several ways TikTok can be used to get your message, music, or art out into the world. It has 800 million users that watch more than 40 billion videos every month, based on TikTok’s statistics. With so many users, you’re guaranteed to get your videos in front of a lot of viewers if you take care to create great content and support it with specific steps that utilize the TikTok algorithm to the fullest. You just have to understand how to get your video on people’s feeds.

Here are some TikTok tips on how to make sure you hook in your audience and keep them coming back for more:

Post often!

TikTok is a platform for telling your story so it’s only natural that you’d want to upload as much content as possible. But, TikTok also wants to keep audiences coming back for more! With TikTok’s algorithm of showing videos based on who TikTok thinks will like it and who TikTok thinks you will like, TikTok does not want to show your audience the same video twice. So, TikTok recommends you post as much as 10 times a day!

Yes, you read that number correctly. 10 times per day! With so many users posting so many videos, it’s easy for one video to get lost in the algorithm. So, if you want to make sure your audience sees your video, it’s best to post multiple times per day.

Of course, posting often doesn’t mean you should let your content suffer. You want to make sure your content is still worth looking at and subscribing to in order to retain viewership. If you have subpar content, not many people will want to subscribe to your account no matter how often you post.

If you need to only post once per day in order to put out fantastic content, it’s better than posting ten times a day with meh content.

Keep it Short and Sweet!

TikTok’s algorithm looks at how many seconds people stay on your video and if they watch until the end. Shorter videos are more likely to be watched in their entirety. The shorter your video, the higher TikTok’s engagement rate.

15 seconds is the minimum length of a video for TikTok, but you can record as much as 1 minute. But, TikTok recommends making your video about 30-45 seconds for optimum engagement. It optimizes the amount of time you can provide information and entertainment while being able to keep a viewer’s attention.

A lot of posters who tell stories or create videos showing how they create a product may do videos in parts. They keep each video short, but it leaves the viewer wanting the rest of the video, making it more likely that viewers will subscribe in order to be alerted that you posted the follow-up video. It’s a great strategy to get in front of a lot of viewers.

Provide Calls-to-Action!

A call-to-action is any action you want someone to perform when they watch your video, such as watching another one of your videos or subscribing to your account. TikTok allows you to place calls-to-action at the end of your video.

This is an important step to increase engagement because people are more likely to perform the action if it occurs right before they leave the app. If you don’t want them to miss out on your content, put that call-to-action at the end of your video! Have them subscribe to your content, comment on their own opinions or answers, or share the content with other people.

The more engagement of any kind, the more likely your video is to be put in front of a lot of viewers.

Use hashtags wisely

Hashtags are a great way to get your videos in front of more viewers, so be sure to use them correctly. But unlike other social media platforms you only have 15 hashtags at a time, so make each hashtag count!

It may be wise to see what hashtags are trending, even if they don’t have much to do with your video they can be helpful to get your video in front of a large audience. However, you do want to make sure to use relevant tags in order to keep your post on-brand and in front of the people looking for videos like yours- your target audience.

Make sure they’re sharable

If you create engaging content, people will want to share your videos with their friends. This will help TikTok’s algorithm see TikTok’s engagement on TikTok and TikTok engagement with TikTok is good, TikTok will show TikTok to more people.

Some people like to be able to text videos directly, others share via the TikTok app, but you should also consider making sure people can share to other social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

One of the great things about TikTok is that if a video is shared, people who may not already be signed up for the platform can still view the content. This feature really helps TikToks go further as far as viewership compared to platforms like Instagram.

Let people find you

TikTok’s algorithmic feed is not like other social media platforms, where if you follow someone you’ll see their posts. TikTok shows videos to people who are not following the person who posted it, but want to watch videos from the same kind of users.

If you want to be able to connect with a lot of people, TikTok suggests that you post something that will appeal to the largest audience possible. For example, if you’re trying to appeal to hobbyists, show the process of making your products, or if you want to appeal to gen z, participate in dance challenges!

Use TikTok’s promotions feature

TikTok offers a promotion feature for brands who want to grow their TikTok audience. If you are a brand, TikTok offers incentives for TikTok videos with large audiences to post about your product or service on TikTok. If you’re scrolling through your own personal feed, you’ll see videos that have the “promoted” tag. This is how your video will appear if you use this feature and it will be put on more feeds than if you did not promote it.

Granted, this is not a free feature. It costs some money, but it’s worth the cost, as this route can get you both more followers, more clicks to your website, and therefore more purchases.

Use TikTok’s tools to your advantage!

TikTok is constantly coming out with new features to help users make their content better and more engaging, so be sure to use them! Some people like one-on-one messages while others prefer the community feel of TikTok’s comments. It’s worth looking through all of the filters, buttons, hashtags, and any other feature TikTok offers on a regular basis to know what you can utilize.

These tools don’t appear on accident. They’ve been developed with TikTok’s creators in mind to help them boost their views and engagement. So keep TikTok’s tools in mind when creating new videos and see what works for you!

Make your videos personal!

Personalize your TikToks so viewers can get to know your brand. Sincerity is important when making your content relatable and fun. This can be done in a few different ways:

Repost your most popular TikToks/videos with their original hashtags and comments. Some creators even go so far to recreate old videos that did well in order to update them and make them more relatable to the current time. Technology and internet trends move fast!

Post behind-the-scenes videos of what goes on in the day of someone who works at your company. Things like meetings, conversations, decisions that are made will give people an idea of what it’s like to work at your company. This helps your potential customers get to know the human side of your company, not just the social media marketing side. People react well to knowing the humans behind the scenes.

Post to TikTok stories and TikTok live, which can be acquired through TikTok’s promotions tool. Get creative with it and see what kind of engagement you receive! Going live allows your followers to interact in the moment and make them feel heard and seen. When a company makes a customer feel special, it goes a long way in terms of return sales.

Keep your audience in mind

TikTok is not just about you and your video, it’s about the community.

Remember to stay relatable and never pushy. When you post a video on TikTok, remember that there are thousands of people out there who were not your first choice viewers watching your video, but they may be interested in your brand, too. Being able to appease both your target audience and those who may not be but will see your videos can open up your customer base. But, first and foremost, post content that is relevant and interesting to your target audience so they will want to watch more videos from you.

Look towards the Influencers- Take note!

Some examples of great TikTok influencers include: Patrick Starr and Jérôme Jarre who use TikTok to share their passion for makeup and fashion with followers. Lilly Singh, a Canadian comedian and YouTube star, uses TikTok to create videos that dance across age groups and audiences while still remaining relatable.

There are so many TikTok influencers out there to follow! Look around! You’ll find some who have content that is relatable to your business and you can take inspiration from. Whether they’re doing challenges that you want to try or you see them using music that would sound great on one of your videos, the inspiration is endless and worth looking towards.

Have fun!

TikTok is meant for people to express themselves through video, music, and art. It’s meant to be fun and engaging. In today’s world, entertainment is needed, and anything you can add to the community is welcome.

When viewers see that you’re having fun creating, they have fun viewing. They see that you’re sincere and relatable, something that will always draw in more viewers and subscribers. It all comes down to authenticity and engagement.

If you can make your viewers feel like they’re a part of the TikTok community, then you’ll see your views and engagements grow just as much as your subscriber count. Be relatable, be fun, and most importantly: be yourself! So make sure to have fun with your TikTok and enjoy the ride!

Ask for help

Making a bunch of short videos that are engaging can be a daunting process. It can take hours out of your workday and TikTok promotion can quickly become overwhelming.

Consider hiring a professional video production company to help you create content. Companies like C&I Studios understand the current trends in social media like TikTok and can make sure your content is being put in the proper channels.

C&I Studios creates all sorts of videos for marketing purposes. It’s worth checking them out if you don’t know where to start or just don’t have the time or energy to create as much or as often as you need to to be successful on TikTok.

So give TikTok a try! It’s always changing, which means you can take advantage of that. Experiment with its tools and features, but most importantly have fun! There are plenty of opportunities out there for TikTok creators to become TikTok influencers if the right content is supplied.

And TikTok is still growing, so you can come on board with TikTok any time, it’s not too late! It may look daunting to begin with, but it’s easy to get started and to have fun creating content for potential customers to enjoy.

Video marketing campaigns are delivering positive results for businesses across the globe. If your company isn’t utilizing this medium for marketing, you’re missing out on a huge audience and therefore missing out on a lot of potential income.

Video is one of the most persuasive mediums to use when communicating with your company’s target audience. A video allows you to show off your business in action, share testimonials from satisfied customers, and build trust through authenticity. Video can also be a powerful tool that helps you increase sales leads, improve customer retention, and launch a marketing campaign that really stands out.

Knowing how to create a video that makes your business stand out is half the battle. In this blog post, we will guide you through making sure you’re creating the best video that will showcase your business in the best way.

#1: Plan to use video as part of a multi-channel marketing campaign

In addition, video marketing campaigns can be used as an effective medium for communicating with customers on other platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest. By posting your creative efforts in multiple places, you’re putting your company in front of a larger audience.

A video can also be used as a marketing tool to spread via email, with customers forwarding your video to friends and family after they enjoy the video you created. A video is a great promotional tool because it allows businesses to show off their products and services without requiring customers to read through a long sales pitch. By “going viral”, you’re able to reach audiences that you may not have thought about targeting, which will boost your sales and show you who else might make a great target audience for future marketing endeavors.

#2: Set video marketing objectives for your business

It’s important to set video marketing objectives in order to track your video campaign metrics and ultimately determine its ROI (return on investment). For example, you may want the video to increase website visits, engagement, video views, or lead generation. By making sure everyone involved in the video productions process understands the goal of the video, which is more than just stating, for example, that you’ll be reviewing a product, every person working on the video can make sure that their part of the production process is working to hit that goal. If someone in post-production doesn’t know that that one of the objectives of the video is to gain subscribers, they may not think to put subscribe buttons in multiple places in the video itself when adding in graphics and buttons, rather than placing just one button at the end of the video.

In addition, video marketing is a powerful tool for branding your company, which makes video objectives beneficial to set even if they do not directly relate to the bottom line. A company that wants to portray a professional brand wouldn’t want to put out silly TikToks that show their employees dancing the latest choreography; it’s not on-brand for them and would confuse their target audience, maybe even losing potential clients if they did so. Making sure videos are portraying your company’s brand is important.

#3: Set video production cost goals

Prior to shooting any video content for your business, it’s important to establish video budget constraints based on the video marketing objectives you’ve set. For example, you may have video marketing objectives that require video production costs to stay under $100 or $500. These video marketing video cost goals should help guide your video creation process while still allowing you enough room in the budget for post-production editing, graphics, and distribution to social media channels.

You may also consider hiring a video production company to do all the hard work for you. If you decide to go this route, you’ll want to make sure your budget can handle it. A video production company will also be able to give you good video marketing advice based on the video marketing campaign objectives you’ve set.

#4: Determine video marketing video length

There is no magic video length that works for every business, however, there are certain best practices to consider when creating a video. A rule of thumb is the shorter the video, the more likely it will be watched to completion by your target audience.

According to a 2013 video marketing statistics report from Vidyard, 87% of video ads on Facebook are watched to completion. Vidyard also found that video marketing campaigns with video ads of 90 seconds or less deliver 60% more leads than video campaigns with video ads longer than 90 seconds. Another best practice is to keep your videos around two minutes or less, as viewers begin to drop off after the one-minute mark.

You should also consider what social media platforms you’ll be posting your video on as far as their restrictions on video length. TikTok only allows video to be 60 seconds long at maximum, while YouTube video lengths vary from video to video. YouTube videos can easily be shared via other popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. For video marketing on YouTube, video length can be determined by video content. In general, shorter videos have a higher watch time and retention rate.

#5: Choose the right video format

It’s important to choose video file types that are compatible with your video marketing platform.

Square video for Instagram is the most popular video format. This is because it fits perfectly with default video formats on mobile devices, which makes it easier for users to share across their social channels without having to crop video.

You should also consider video file formats for video campaigns on other platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter, too. For video campaigns on Facebook, you can use video file formats of .mov, .mp4, and .m4v. On YouTube, by default videos are posted as an MP4 video file type that allows for high-quality playback of video with sound.

For video marketing on Twitter, the video should be at least 10 seconds long to be counted as an official video post. Videos that are too long won’t be retweeted, either.

It’s important to not only know your audience but also know the platform to which you are posting.

#6: Determine video marketing video content

Once you have figured out video length, budget, and objects, it’s time to start creating great video content. There are a few best practices for video marketing content that will keep viewers engaged and motivated to take action.

What type of content would best suit your business? Do you sell products that customers would like to know about before they purchase? Create a How-To video  on how to use it, different ways to use it, or how to unbox it. Do you provide specific services that customers would benefit from seeing your company’s process? Create a video that showcases your workplace in action. Do you have happy customers and want potential customers to know about their experiences? Tape a testimonial video to share past clients’ opinions on your company and the services and/or products you provide!

There are many options for content and it doesn’t hurt to get creative. Creativity doesn’t have to mean unprofessional, either. Not sure where to start with content ideas? Talk to a professional video production company like C&I Studios to get started.

#7: Create a video that shows your business in action

It’s not always wise to create a video that looks like a company commercial. For some companies, this will work as a great introduction, but it’s not what you should be putting out all the time.

Instead of just talking about what makes your business great, show off the people who work there and what your business is capable of. This video marketing video content approach creates a video that quickly establishes trust while showing the brand in an authentic way.

Another video marketing video content best practice is to show off your business by showcasing its products or services. For example, if you’re a food blogger who runs cooking videos on YouTube, shoot some video showing a cooking video being created. Many customers react positively to videos of your employees and coworkers behind the scenes. It humanizes your company, reminding potential customers that you’re not just a business, but people, too.

#8: Test your video marketing content

Before you launch a video marketing campaign it’s essential to test different video marketing video content on your target audience to know what video marketing video content resonates most.

You should also consider testing video marketing video content on other video platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. By testing in multiple places, you’ll be able to gauge where your videos will work best while also learning how to tailor your videos to the specific platforms you want your videos posted to reach your target audience.

#9: Analyze video marketing video content success

Don’t be discouraged if video marketing video content doesn’t take off right away. Video marketing takes time, so it’s important to give your video content ample time before you start to analyze for success. When you do look back on how your video performed, there are a few ways to measure video marketing video content success.

Did video marketing video content get enough views? Or did it exceed them? Sometimes, video marketing video content spreads slowly and gradually, so there’s no reason to lose hope if you don’t see a huge spike immediately after posting your video online.

Are the comments on any of your videos positive or negative? Negative comments can pile up, but video marketing video content success lies in how you handle them. Reply to negative comments with video marketing video content responses explaining your side of the story or offering ways to rectify an issue. It’s not always wise to just delete any sour comments- responding shows your audience that there is someone behind the scenes who is willing to address any and all concerns.

Is there any video marketing video content engagement? Video marketing video content engagement is seeing your videos shared on your social media platforms and video platforms. The video content becomes effective when it is shared and viewed by others, driving up video marketing video content views and video marketing video content success.

#10: Repurpose video marketing video content

You can always repurpose video marketing video content to see whether other audiences respond positively to the same video marketing video content you posted online. Repurposing video marketing video content is adding video marketing video content to different video platforms. For example, if you create an explainer video for your business website, post the finished video on YouTube and share it through email newsletters or on social media platforms. If you get a good response, repurpose your video to other platforms so you can reach video marketing video content and video marketing video content success. Repurposing video marketing video content is the process of showing your video to different audiences, so don’t hesitate if you think one video can reach multiple demographics.

#11: Think beyond social media

One of the easiest ways to create video marketing content is through social media specifically. It’s also the easiest way to share videos with potential clients inexpensively. However, video marketing video content success doesn’t end with social media- you need to be able to imagine video content that goes beyond simply trying to increase your video presence on social media platforms.

Videos can be placed on websites, blogs, and e-mailes, so video marketing success doesn’t stop at social media. Consider video content that can be repurposed for different video platforms and video marketing video content ideas that go beyond the social media box.

Consider hiring a professional video production company

C&I Studios offers video production services to companies of all sizes. If marketing via video seems like a foreign language to you, we can help.

From doing all the hard work from start to finish, C&I Studios is here to support your business with whatever you need in order to create amazing video marketing content. We provide services from writing scripts and hiring talent to post-production aspects like editing and animation to make your video marketing content perfect. Contact us for your next project.

Everyone knows how important video content is for marketing your product or service, but how do you get started? Some of the most obvious video topics for businesses just starting out are unboxing videos to showcase new products and how-to videos.

How-to videos are an excellent starting point and can be extremely helpful for many types of companies, no matter if they sell products or services. They’re informative on the basics of any product or service and can showcase uses and functionality that may not be as well-known to the general public.

With how-to videos , you’re able to do a few things:

1.  Educate your customers on how they can use or interact with your product
2. Increase how often customers use your product (typically through swarming audiences who want to learn how to properly use the product)
3. Teach how to use your product in a way that is going to save anyone who watches how to get the biggest benefit — whether it’s saving time, saving money or simply how to be more efficient.

There are many other benefits, but these three alone should provide you with what you need to get started thinking about how how-to videos can be beneficial to your own video marketing campaign.

But, how do you make a successful How-To Video that really stands out against other similar companies’ video marketing campaigns?

Some how-tos are how-to guides that show the viewer how to do something; while others are how-to reviews that tell the viewers how well a product or service works once it is used correctly. Then there are how-to compare videos that help customers to see how one product or service is better than the competitors’.

Having great video content like this on your website, social media channels, and blog is a powerful draw that will keep people coming back to you for how-to help as well as any other informational videos you create.

So, how does one begin making a how-to video?

A Great Title is a Great Start

But how do you make sure your how-to video captures the viewer’s attention from the beginning?

First of all, it must have a good title in order to get viewers to click on it. You want a title that is quick and to the point about how to do something or how well a product works. Keep it simple with the most basic of information and keywords so that it can easily be pulled up in a search. Searchable content will bring more attention to your other marketing efforts, too.

Presentation is Everything

The most important aspect is how you present your how-to video. For example, an unboxing how-to video should have a clean background with the camera placed correctly so it doesn’t focus on anything but the object being unwrapped.

No matter how you are presenting, whether it is how to use a product or how-to review, show that you are trustworthy and knowledgeable about your how-to guide. If the viewer follows along with how you present the video, they will gain faith in what you have to say which will make them much more likely to follow your advice.

Another way to help gain viewers’ trust is making sure your how-to video doesn’t feel too long or drawn out. Viewers have short attention spans and they need a how-to guide that gives them the information quickly without feeling like a sales pitch.

A how-to video should never sound like a commercial, so focus on how to make it informative and how-to focused rather than on how well a product works or how it can benefit the customer.

An Engaging Closing is Key to Successful how-to Videos

No matter how how-to video is presented, one of the most important aspects is how it ends.

Ending your how-tos with a call to action will help drive potential customers to your website where they are more likely to make a purchase.

You want how-tos to be an informative and educational video marketing campaign, so calls to action should not include deals or discounts. Instead, they should engage the viewer and motivate them to make a purchase without feeling like you are trying too hard.

Calls to action can include contact information, interactions such a polls for your next videos, or how-to subscribe. The how-tos should not be overly salesy as how-tos are meant to drive potential customers back to your website rather than try to make a sale from how-tos themselves.

Including calls to action helps you maintain subscribers and followers who will continue to engage with your content.

Interactivity Can Be a Game-Changer

Another aspect that can make how-to videos stand out is how interactive they are. You can do this by creating how-to polls or how-to surveys, which will help the viewer gain more ownership over the how-to video content and make them want to participate in it even if it is how-to reviews. Interactive how-to reviews will make your how-to guide a more engaging video marketing campaign and can help you to rank higher for how-to keywords as well as other search terms because the how-to videos are interactive.

You also gain engagement from potential customers when you ask for their opinions on what they want to see and learn about. This can be how-to advice that is specific to the viewer’s how-to guide or how-tos that are not about any one how-to video in particular.

Adding an interactive component really shows your potential customers that you care about their wants and needs out of a product or service. It will also gain you how-to followers and how-to subscribers who either want to participate in how-to polls or how-to surveys or just share the how-to video with others.

And because your how-tos engage and inform your potential customers, they will be more likely to make a purchase from you rather than any of your competitors.

Consider Filming A Series

When your how-to videos focus on the basic use of a product, it might be worth your time and effort to create a series to follow up that shows more specific features and how to utilize them. For how-to videos to be effective, you should aim for how-to series’. Having how-to guides that each talk about a different aspect of your product or service will keep viewers coming back to learn more about how well your items work and what other uses they may have.

If you show potential customers how a product works in a simple how-to video, it’s a smart idea to follow up with how it can be used to save time or money in a how-to guide, it will keep your viewers coming back for more. Showing them more than just the basics will show potential customers that you value their time and energy by making it easier to access information about the products your company sells and the services your company provides.

Shorter videos that highlight one aspect of a product tend to bring in more views by people looking for specific features of the product. With multiple shorter, specific videos on products, customers can easily search for videos they specifically need via keywords, but will also perk their interest in other aspects of the products by showing them that there is a series based soley on one product. By creating a how-to series, you are catering to your customers in a way that will keep them coming back for more how-to help.

Longer videos tend to lose a viewer’s attention if they aren’t finding the exact information they’re looking for quickly and easily. When their interest is lost, their business is lost.

If you have the time and resources to create how-to videos for all of your products or services, then go ahead and start with how to use your product or how well it works once used by the customer. These how-to guides will be the most helpful to your customers and they will bring more attention to how well your products work which will encourage them to buy from you again.

Customers Will Return to How-To Videos

Finally, how-to videos are watched and re-watched again and again by potential customers. This means that how-tos will be shared with friends, family members, clients, etc. because how-tos indicate value to the viewer. If how-tos tell them how well a product or service works then they can pass it along to their friends and family members. This how-to video marketing is how many companies began, and how-tos continue to be a popular way for marketers and businesses to gain more traffic and sales.

The focused content in these sorts of videos allows you to create trust with potential customers and provide them the how-to clarity they need to make an informed purchase. Focusing on one product or service while also making sure your potential customers have any and all information they need before making a purchase will create a trusting rapport before you ever meet face-to-face.

In this respect, you don’t want your information to be stale within a few months. Instead, you should be focusing on information and content that will hold true for a long time. Again, it’s not wise to talk about current deals or sales going on at the time you upload the video. Someone who views the video a few months later will be disappointed that they can no longer get that same deal and that will reflect badly on your company as a whole. Instead, ask them to contact your company directly to talk about any deals you may be hosting, have them subscribe to other marketing campaigns, such as a newsletter or your company’s social media accounts to see the latest and greatest sales.

Consider Hiring A Professional Video Production Company

We understand that creating videos can be intimidating if you’ve never done it before. We also cater to those who may be too busy to do every step themselves. That’s why if you’d prefer to have a how-to video created for you, C&I Studios offers video production services of all kinds to boost your video marketing footprint. Whether you want how-to videos or company overviews filmed from us, or you just need to rent the best equipment possible, we can and will do it all.

With our video production services we will take care of as many aspects of the video creation process as you need. We will create how-to videos for your products and services, help you to market your how-to videos both on and offline, and create how-to series’ that keep people coming back for more.

Professional video production companies take the guess work out of video content creation. We do all of the hard work for you, from writing scripts and finding the perfect filming location, to finalizing video production with professional editing services. Our how-to videos are guaranteed to be engaging, informative, and sure to help boost your overall marketing campaign for years to come.

 

In conclusion, how-to videos give a face to your business and a personality that is separate from the company itself. This is how how-to videos differentiate themselves from most other marketing formats and how they allow companies to connect with potential customers. How-to videos allow a company to become a brand that people can trust, and how they play a large role in creating one of the most important aspects any business needs: connections.

In this article you learned how how-to videos help businesses attract customers and how how-to video marketing helps companies gain traffic and sales along with establishing a positive reputation. You also learned the most important elements to consider when creating a how-to video for your company. From making your videos easy to find to making sure your potential customers can interact with your company through these videos, you now have the basic information to create your company’s own how-to video marketing campaign that will bring in many more potential customers.

So don’t wait any longer, contact C&I Studios today about creating how-to videos that can and will grow your business. We look forward to creating amazing how-to videos with you in the near future!

Taking care of your camera equipment is very important if you want it to function properly, whether you’re purchasing your own equipment or renting from a professional video production company like C&I Studios. Every lens, no matter which manufacturer made it, needs some care and attention in order to keep them in great working condition. Cameras are very expensive pieces of machinery- perhaps the most expensive equipment in your arsenal-, so why not try your best to take care of them?

If you want to find out more about how to take care of your lenses, then you’re in the right place. Here are ten tips on how to treat your lenses like your best friend so they’ll last a long time, making your investment in quality equipment worthwhile.

Handle with Care

The simplest way to damage your lenses is to drop them or bump into something that’s solid, like a table corner. The camera will survive the impact, but the lens won’t be so lucky if it gets struck by accident against concrete or asphalt when you’re taking it out of the car. Try to be careful and mind your surroundings, especially when you’re changing lenses and transporting them between storage and filming locations.

Of course, accidents do happen, so it’s important to take care when you do drop your lenses. If you’re in a situation where you can’t grab the lens immediately, let it drop to the floor. Don’t try to catch it because that only makes the lens fly faster and increases your chances of breaking it. And if you do use a tripod outside, hold on to it tightly so nobody bumps into it by accident.

If you accidentally drop your camera equipment in a puddle of water, the first thing to do is take off the lens and then gently shake any excess liquid from it. Don’t wipe or rub it with cloth or paper – that’s just going to push water into hard-to-reach spaces inside the lens and possibly scratch the glass.

Keep it Clean

Lenses are best kept clean at all times. This is because dust or smudge can contribute to reduced image quality. Keep your lenses covered when you’re not using them to prevent dust or smudges from touching the lens.

Cameras and lenses are delicate pieces of equipment so dust and dampness sticking to the lens barrel can easily lead to scratches on the body or problems with build quality in general. The best way to prevent this is to clean the camera from time to time. You can use a blower or a special brush for that purpose. Using just any cloth to wipe your glass will only scratch the surface of it, creating tiny scratches that accumulate over time which can make video appear blurry or pixelated. If you want to clean the lens elements, use a special brush or just a piece of cotton or microfiber cloth. Don’t try to use paper towels because they’re too rough for that purpose.

If there was dust on your camera when you were changing lenses, it’s possible that some particles are stuck between the lens elements. When you start using the camera again, these particles will slowly fall out of the lens barrel and end up either on your sensor or inside one of your other lenses. That’s why it’s important to turn the camera on and inspect all lenses for several seconds before you start shooting. If you see some particles, use your blower or brush to gently remove them.

When cleaning those difficult-to-reach parts of your lens, always use a soft brush first to carefully remove any dust particles that may be present. After that, clean them with a piece of microfiber cloth gently moistened with special lens cleaning fluid. Never use your mouth to moisten the cloth – saliva is full of tiny particles and other contaminants.

Don’t wipe the front element with a tissue. Don’t be fooled by the glamour of those TV commercials where photographers clean their lenses with a simple wipe of a piece of tissue and lots of smiles. It might work for some people, but it is definitely not recommended for most lenses out there because you can damage them in the process.

If you’re not sure about how to correctly remove dirt, take your equipment to an authorized service center so they can do it for you. They will also be able to provide you with the proper cleaning gear as well as extra tips on how to properly care for it on your own.

No Touching

Don’t Touch the Glass! Some people advise against touching a camera lens with bare hands, saying that the dirt and oils from your fingers will stick to it and result in a loss of quality. We’re not going to say this is completely wrong, but if you’re concerned about cleanliness you can put on special gloves when working with the camera. Or you can use wipes designed for cleaning camera optics. It’s also worth noting that the front element of most lenses has a special coating meant to repel dust and dirt, so sticking them with your fingers won’t cause any problems. But still, it’s best to clean the front of the lens with some kind of cloth as we described above.

You can also damage your lens if you constantly touch the glass with your hands because there is a possibility that those tiny “imperfections” on your hands will get stuck between the lens elements and cause problems during image capture. There’s been many an occasion where people have thought they’re touching the camera lens, but actually, touch some other part of the camera and end up leaving a smudge or fingerprint on it.

Keep it Covered

When you’re not using a camera, keep the lens protected with a special cover over it so dust and sand won’t stick to the glass or get inside. Also, take care of proper storage when you’re not shooting because humidity will cause moisture to build up in the lenses and damage them too.

It’s best to use a special case for protection from dust and moisture, but if you don’t have one, make sure you put your camera in a safe spot where it won’t get banged around or exposed to the elements.

Keep it Dry

High humidity is one of the biggest problems with camera lenses because moisture gets inside when they’re not protected properly. When you’re shooting in the rain or near a high-humidity area, make sure to change your lens frequently so that water doesn’t have a chance to penetrate into the different parts of the lens body. Before you change lenses, shake off any water droplets so they don’t get your fresh lens wet. If you’re in an area with drastic weather changes, it is especially important to make sure your equipment is dry. Any water that freezes will expand and crack the lens’s glass and plastic components, rendering it completely ruined.

Be Careful with the Hood

There are two types of lens hoods: fixed and detachable ones. If you choose a detachable one, be careful when you take the hood off and put it back on because if you don’t do that gently, your lens may sustain some damage. Also, keep in mind that a fast-rotating lens hood can cause camera blur if it hits another object while rotating, so if you’re using that type of hood on your lens, be extremely careful when you attach it to the camera.

When attaching a hood, first check to see if the direction of rotation is correct. If you attach it incorrectly and turn on the camera, your image will be blurred from the camera shake because the lens won’t have enough time to adjust itself back to its normal position.

Pack Light

The more equipment you have with you, the more likely it is that something will break or get dirty during transport. Don’t pack too many lenses in one case because there’s a greater chance of damaging them while you’re carrying your camera rig. Carrying too many objects at once leads to a greater risk of dropping them. Make sure your camera bag has special compartments for holding lenses.

Also, make sure you use a special case for transporting lenses that will protect them from airborne dust and contaminants. Don’t just throw them into a bag because it doesn’t offer any protection at all. The lenses themselves can be heavy and cause a lot of damage to each other and anything else in the same bag if not properly packed and protected.

Keep in mind that when you’re packing to go shoot somewhere, the lenses are much more likely to break if they’re packed on top of other equipment. It’s best to place them in a special case and then put them on the bottom of the camera bag where they’ll be less likely to get damaged.

Be Aware of Temperature Changes

Rapid temperature changes may result in condensation forming on the camera and lens surfaces. To avoid condensation while going from a warm room to cold outdoor conditions, simply put the camera with a lens attached into a plastic bag before leaving home. This way, any moisture that forms on your equipment will be absorbed by plastic instead of glass or metal elements. Every little bit to save your lenses from the elements helps.

Try not to expose your camera equipment to excessively high or low temperatures. If you’ll be shooting in hot weather (over 95 degrees Fahrenheit/35 °C), make sure you let your camera and lenses rest in the shade when you’re not using them. Extreme temperatures can cause internal glass elements inside the lens to crack if they’re exposed for too long and warp any plastic components.

Follow the Manufacturer’s Instructions

One of the first things you should do when you purchase new lenses and camera equipment is to read the manual that came with it. Always read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using and storing your equipment for best results and to avoid problems with it in the future. Keep your lenses clean, dry, and covered when you’re not using them because that will make them last longer. Make sure to keep any caps or special covers on as instructed.

Upgrade Your Lenses Regularly

If you want to make sure your lenses are in the best possible condition, buy new ones regularly because older lenses are usually more prone to damage. Newer versions are made with better materials and technology that extend the life of your camera’s glass components. Make sure to put your lenses through routine tests before each shoot so you don’t use them when they’re not 100 percent functional.

One thing you should always pay attention to is your lens elements. If they’re filthy, smudged, or damaged in any way, it’s time to upgrade your lenses because that can have a very negative effect on image quality.

Of course, if you’re renting your equipment, you can easily trade your lenses in when the company you’re working with upgrades their stock, making it very easy for you to make sure you’re using the best possible equipment available to you and your production team.

 

Taking care of your equipment is not only important in order to take care of your investment, but also to make sure you’re capturing the best quality video and photographs possible. With better-cared-for lenses, you’ll have less re-touching and editing your team will have to do, which will save you money in the long run. Always focus on protecting your lenses rather than the camera body itself because your video will suffer if there’s any damage to it. Follow these tips and you’ll have a much more enjoyable experience with your camera equipment.

Whether you’re purchasing your own equipment or renting from a company like C&I Studios, taking care of your lenses is the most important aspect of camera care and will save you money and strife. Don’t neglect your lenses because they’re the most expensive and vital component of your camera rig. Treat them right and you’ll never miss a shot again.

 

The TikTok revolution is upon us, and it’s important that marketers take notice. TikTok is a short-form video social network where users can record 15-second clips (called “Takes”), set them to music, add effects like fast fades or jump cuts, and share them with their followers. What makes TikTok unique is its emphasis on creating original content; unlike many other platforms with 100 million active monthly users, TikTok doesn’t rely heavily on repurposing existing content or utilizing popular influencers to push their product.

As anyone in marketing knows, the key to success in marketing lies in understanding your target demographics’ behaviors. TikTok has taken this philosophy one step further by not only finding out how young adults are using the TikTok platform but by supporting and fostering TikTok creators (users who make high-quality TikToks such as dances or comedic skits) through its Creator Council. TikTok gives these influencers a place to meet other users, upload their content, and connect with brands interested in reaching TikTok’s audience of 100 million active monthly users: Generation Z.

Taking advantage of Tik Tok’s momentum can be a smart business move. It provides you with a unique opportunity to reach a large audience that you may not yet be In this post, we’ll explore the benefits of using a professional service to create branded content to post on TikTok and how to go about finding the right service for your brand.

 

Why you should use a Professional Marketing Service to create your brand’s TikTok Content:

Using a company of professional videographers allows your brand to stand out from the rest. TikTok is full of user-generated videos, so it’s important to make yours unique. TikTok users are quickly able to recognize which videos are made by professionals and which aren’t.

Reputable content marketing firms will create the TikTok video for you using professional backgrounds and equipment. They will produce a high-quality content piece using TikTok’s own filters and effects—as well as your brand colors and logo—for use on TikTok or any other social platform, such as Instagram or Facebook. This way, TikTok users can relate to your videos right away and feel even more connected with your brand because they were made specifically for TikTokers.

 

Choosing the right service for your company and brand:

TikTok’s emphasis on creativity and making cool TikTok videos means that when looking for TikTok content marketing agencies to create TikTok videos for your business, you should look for one with a team of people who specialize in TikTok video creation. And don’t be afraid to ask the agency about its own current TikTok presence. It’s important that TikTok videos are made by TikTok users who understand TikTok culture, so choosing an agency that has both successful previous clients and a current and relevant presence is important.

You should look for TikTok video marketing agencies that are Tik Tok’s preferred partners. TikTok has recently established a network of TikTok content creation agencies, and these companies have the Tik Tok stamp of approval.

 

Look for an Agency that is familiar with TikTok’s demographics.

Finding TikTok-certified agencies can be a challenge, as TikTok is still relatively new and not yet widely known outside of the Gen Z demographic. TikTok has publicly announced its plan to work with agencies that specialize in TikTok video creation, but in the meantime, there’s no single database of TikTok-certified videographers. To make sure you’re hiring a TikTok-certified Tik Tok content marketing agency, however, you should look for one that posts original Tik Tok videos to TikTok on a regular basis. Only Tik Tok content marketing agencies with a Tik Tok presence on Tik Tok can really understand the platform’s audience and TikTok culture, which means they’re best equipped to create quality TikTok videos for your business.

Using a company of professional videographers allows your brand to stand out from the rest. TikTok is full of user-generated videos, so it’s important to make yours unique. TikTok users are quickly able to recognize which videos are made by professionals and which aren’t.

Reputable content marketing firms will create the TikTok video for you using professional backgrounds and equipment. They will produce a high-quality content piece using TikTok’s own filters and effects—as well as your brand colors and logo—for use on TikTok or any other social platform, such as Instagram or Facebook. This way, TikTok users can relate to your videos right away and feel even more connected with your brand because they were made specifically for TikTokers.

 

Companies that work with TikTok Influencers to create branded content have a higher chance of going viral.

On top of looking for TikTok video marketing agencies that do their own heavy TikTok promotion, they should also be working closely with TikTok creators and TikTok influencers to make sure your videos stand out in the TikTok universe. TikTok influencers are TikTok users who have large TikTok followings, and by working with them, TikTok content marketing agencies can help your company’s TikTok videos go viral.

 

What kind of questions should you be asking a Marketing Service when deciding who to hire?

– What TikTok video creation services do you offer?

– How many TikToks have you produced in the past month?

– Have your videos gone viral on TikTok before? If so, how many times and for what brands?

– How many clients do you currently have that your company creates TikTok content with?

– Do your TikTok videos follow TikTok’s guidelines and rules?

– What specialties does your company have besides TikTok content creation?

– How much would it cost to produce one TikTok video for my brand?

– Have you worked with already-established TikTok Influencers before? Who?

 

In conclusion:

Hiring a professional marketing agency that specializes in TikTok content creation is a great way to stand out in TikTok’s sea of user-generated videos. TikTok video marketing agencies are TikTok video experts, with years of social media marketing experience and plenty of successful TikTok videos under their belts that they can put your brand on the map with.

C&I Studios offers all kinds of marketing content creation services, including TikTok content creation. We would love to discuss what you and your brand needs to be successful on TikTok as well as any other social media platform.

Your filming location is one of the most important elements to consider when planning your video marketing campaign. In order to get the best filming location for your video, you must consider a few key factors. It is important to plan filming locations before filming even begins.

Your filming location should embody your brand. It is important to research filming locations thoroughly so your filming location fits your specific business model and overall message as a company. Your filming location can set the scene for all of your video content, present and future, which means that it will play an integral role in capturing the attention of viewers.

What should you consider BEFORE you start searching for a filming location?

Before you begin searching for the perfect filming location there are a couple of things you should be taking into account.

First, what is the tone of voice of your company? Is it warm and welcoming or corporate and formal? Second, what kind of message do you want to convey about your company? Warmth and friendliness can come from filming in a homey and inviting location, while formality can come from filming in a more professional office space.

Secondly, you should put into consideration that the filming location is often the first thing that viewers see when viewing your finalized video. Are you filming your video in a room? All of your surroundings are caught on camera. Are you filming outside? The surrounding landscape must be taken into consideration.

Finally, filming locations are often the most expensive part of filming your video. You should spend some time deciding how much you are willing to spend on filming locations before filming even begins. What is your budget for this video marketing campaign as a whole? Knowing how much you can actually spend between all elements of the video is important when figuring out the budget for your filming location. You don’t want to spend your entire budget on just one element and allow the rest of the video to suffer. You could be renting an amazing set, but the editing process and film’s wardrobe may not get the attention they need to create a great video.

All of these factors can affect how well your video performs, so it is crucial to choose filming locations that are aesthetically pleasing and fit the tone of your company’s brand. If filming your video in a location that is not aesthetically pleasing, you can still edit the video so that it looks good, but that will take more time, people, and money to edit into something that viewers will enjoy.

Now that you know what to consider when finding a filming location, you can really dive into your search.

Where should I start?

Start by visualizing how you want the finished video to look. What local places have that aesthetic and ability to host your crew? Are you visualizing something indoors and homey, or are you wanting something bright, cheerful, and outdoors?

Creating the “perfect filming location” in your mind before filming will help you avoid filming in an unsuitable place when time is of the essence. By knowing what filming locations you are looking for, it will prevent you from having to waste valuable time filming at a bad filming location after scouting out several different places during your filming location search.

Having filming locations already planned out will help the filming process go more smoothly. It may even save you money, as filming in a public location can be free or cheaper than filming on private property. By having filming locations picked out before filming starts, you are saving time and money by being prepared ahead of time so filming can begin when it is scheduled to.

That being said, finding a great filming location for your video marketing campaign is not always easy.  The filming location you choose will need to have the right setup in order for you to get your message across. If filming in a public location, it is important that filming happens during off-hours so as to reduce interference with other people’s lives and activities.

The best filming locations for video marketing campaigns should allow you to set the scene without having to spend hours filming additional footage. It is also important that you don’t have the glare of street lamps, security lights, or buildings right outside of your filming location window.

Public vs. Private Property

Getting access to filming locations may be easy or difficult depending on the type of filming location you are looking for.

If filming in a public space it is important to think about your filming schedule and make sure filming is done during off-peak hours so as not to inconvenience anyone. However, filming in a public space may require filming permits, which can be an unexpected extra expense that you should account for. Filming in public areas can be free or cheaper than filming on private property, but you take the risk of having large crowds gather around your filming location when you film in these types of places. Public filming locations can also cause problems if there are local ordinances preventing filming in certain locations.

Public parks can make a great filming location. They’re already well-maintained by the local government and, depending on the size of the park, can host a large crew if needed. Depending on the area, you can find public places with different types of flora and scenery, if needed. Beaches, forests, or a lovely green lawn all set a different stage.

If filming on private property you need to get permission from the property owner or manager before filming, especially if there are any cameras or security personnel that will be present during filming.  It is also good to get contact information for the property owner in case of emergencies during filming. It may be as simple as calling up a business and asking to film at their location, or it could require signing an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) if filming on someone’s personal property.

Private properties range from private homes and gardens to filming studios.

Filming in a private home can be a great filming location if the homeowner is willing to have filming done on their property. In this case, filming in a private residence may not require filming permits or any additional permissions from the local government. However, filming in a private home requires you to maintain good standing with the homeowner’s neighbors who may see filming take place.

Film studios, on the other hand, often allow filming without filming permits and are a great filming location in general as they usually have the proper equipment available for use, too. However, you want to consider the cost of renting a studio as they can take a big chunk of your budget.

When filming your video marketing it is vital to not only look for the perfect filming location but also make sure that you can film there legally and stay within your budget.  You don’t want to be filming an awesome video marketing campaign and have all of your videos taken down because they were filmed on private property without the consent of the owner. You also don’t want to be banned from a perfect filming location in the future because you didn’t go through the proper legal systems to be able to film there.

Outdoor vs. Indoor Locations

It is important to think about filming location based on the type of video you are filming.  For example, filming an instructional video in a public park may not be the best idea if it will be raining or if there are large crowds of people that would get in your way during filming. Similarly filming an interview with just one person inside of a busy retail store may not be ideal, as you risk filming other people that are shopping in the store.

In order to prevent filming from being interrupted by crowds of people or poor weather conditions, it is important to think about both indoor and outdoor filming locations before filming your video marketing campaign.  You should also look to filming locations that can accommodate a large filming crew if needed.

Lighting is also important to consider when deciding between indoor and outdoor venues. In order to create a professional filming environment, filming during the day with natural lighting is typically more preferable to filming at night.  Filming at night may require additional equipment and lights which can end up being a hassle if filming late into the evening.

When considering indoor filming locations it is important to think about how many people will be filming in the space at the same time. Will filming take a long period of time and will other people need access to the filming locations during filming? These types of logistical questions should be considered before filming even begins.

By considering filming location based on filming schedule and logistical concerns you can ensure that filming for your video marketing campaigns is an enjoyable experience for both the crew and the viewers.

Local or Travel?

How far are you willing to travel for the perfect filming location? While filming in your hometown may be easier logistically, filming on location elsewhere can create a more interesting filming environment for the viewer.

Filming on location not only provides new surroundings but also allows for unique shots of video marketing. Constantly using the same hometown location may become stale for your viewers.

Traveling to filming locations can be typically more expensive than filming on location locally but the cost of travel filming can really depend on what filming location you choose. Filming in New York City is obviously going to be much more expensive than filming across the street from your business, but there may be some benefits to filming in New York City. For example, filming a video marketing campaign about your credit card processing services at the Empire State building may provide a more interesting filming experience than filming across the street from your business location at the local pizzeria.

Keeping filming locations local is advantageous for controlling costs and hyping up your hometown and bringing in new business to the area. That local pizzeria may benefit from your advertising, too, and you could build a great working relationship going forward.

Other things to consider:

Having a backup filming location is a good idea, just in case you or your video marketing campaign need to film in an unexpected place. Having a list of possible filming locations to turn to when needed will allow you to have peace of mind knowing that an acceptable filming location is always available in a pinch.

It is always good to have equipment on hand just in case the filming location has poor lighting or filming needs to take place outside of your ideal filming location. Having the ability to be flexible with filming locations will help keep your video filming on track!

You should also consider the idea of being able to return and film more videos in the same location in the future. Being able to have multiple videos in a marketing campaign in the same setting shows a seamless, well-planned campaign that customers, clients, and potential; business partners will take notice of.

If you’re new to video marketing, it would be wise to hire a professional video production company like C&I Studios. We have much experience filming marketing videos in various locations and can help point you in the right direction for finding filming locations as well as help you through every part of the video content creation process. You can check out the services we offer by visiting our site here.

C&I Studios has created video marketing campaigns for many companies and we look forward to working with any business, big or small. Our video marketing portfolio is available here and you can get a grasp of what we have created in the past and what we can do for your business’s marketing campaigns.

 

By considering filming location carefully before filming your video marketing campaign, you will have a higher chance of success.  Not only will the right filming locations be aesthetically pleasing, speak to your brand’s message, and allow for flexibility, but you’ll also be able to set yourself up for filming in the same place multiple times which is ideal to show repeat customers and clients that quality videos are being produced by your business!

We all know that video content is king in today’s market. Video marketers are taking this to heart and using it to their advantage by creating video content at a rapid pace. However, video marketers are realizing that producing video content isn’t enough these days. Just because you have video content, doesn’t mean that you are video marketing. Video marketers need to create video content that is unique and appealing to their target audience in order to be successful.

In this blog post, we here at C&I Studios are going to teach video marketing newbies the advantages of video marketing with a RED camera over video marketing with a smartphone.

In the video marketing world, RED cameras are becoming very popular. In fact, video marketers that ignore this fact will be left behind as their competitors take video content to the next level. Why video marketers choose to video market with a RED camera over a smartphone is because of the quality that it offers.

What makes RED cameras so special? Is this just another fad in video marketing or are video marketers actually gaining an edge over their competitors by using RED video equipment? Why shouldn’t we continue to use our smartphones that are already easily accessible?

Let’s take a look.

Smartphones will only get you so far…

Due to advancements in smartphone technology and photo editing apps, it has become easier than ever to create videos for marketing campaigns. This video marketing trend is very powerful due to the fact that video is so effective for increasing customer conversions. They make it easy to upload directly to social media platforms such as TikTok or Instagram, too, which is certainly an asset for marketing in the field or when you need to post something quickly.

However, video marketers that only use smartphones will soon begin to see their competitors surpass them and leave them in the dust. Why is this?

Smartphones are limited with lower video quality and abilities…

If video marketers want to create video content that looks cinematic and appealing, they need to invest in high-quality video equipment and smartphones can’t cut it.

The video quality from smartphones is limited, especially when compared to video cameras. Smartphone video is also prone to shaking as the video is mostly handheld without any stabilization technology involved. This means video marketers will need to invest in video editing software such as Adobe After Effects and video stabilization tools like Warp Stabilizer, which can increase video production costs.

Sure, video marketers can create pretty good video content using their smartphones but they will never get the same results as they would using RED video equipment. Smartphone video marketing campaigns are effective but video marketers can experience much better video marketing results by using RED cameras.

What makes RED video cameras so special?

The video quality from a RED camera is superior to smartphone video. RED cameras produce footage that looks cinematic and professional while keeping your business at forefront of the video marketing industry.

Depending on the video marketing campaign that video marketers are trying to achieve, smartphones can produce decent video content. Unfortunately, smartphones only record in HD at 30 frames per second. What does this mean for video marketers? It means that video marketers will be severely limited when it comes to editing video content.

RED video cameras are the video marketing video equipment of choice because they provide video marketers with so much more flexibility when it comes to video marketing campaigns. Most RED video cameras record in 4k at 60 frames per second, also known as Ultra HD or UHD. This means that video marketers have more room for creativity during the editing process.

Furthermore, video marketers that use red video cameras can also capture video content in RAW format which allows video marketers to achieve perfect exposure and color precision while recording video footage on set.

No matter what kind of video marketing campaign video marketers are executing, smartphones simply do not offer this kind of flexibility or video quality. If video marketers want video content that can compete with video created by RED video cameras, smartphone video just won’t cut it.

The video marketing status quo is changing and video marketers need to keep up. Smartphone video marketing campaigns are effective but video marketers also need access to video equipment such as RED video cameras in order to stay competitive and relevant in the current video marketing

Video content created with RED video equipment is much more engaging. It definitely makes a video marketer stand out over their competitors and gets them closer to their quota. If video marketers don’t stand out, they will lose video marketing clients.

 

What other differences are there between RED cameras and smartphone cameras?

The video quality that video marketers can get out of RED video cameras is much better than what video marketers will get with smartphone video marketing campaigns. This means that video marketers can give their clients much higher quality video content to work with when they publish them to YouTube or Facebook video. These platforms automatically optimize video for certain devices so having the best video possible will help video marketers out a lot.

Smartphone video marketing is a great option for video marketers that want to create video content on a budget but if they want better video results then they should definitely consider using RED video equipment.

RED video cameras are more expensive than smartphones but video marketers will notice a substantial increase in video marketing conversions if they start using RED video equipment. Smartphone video marketing campaigns may work well when video marketers are just starting out but video content created with RED video cameras will help video marketers grow their video marketing business.

Video marketers using smartphone video marketing campaigns should seriously consider upgrading to RED video equipment. RED video cameras are much more versatile and video marketers can create much better video content with RED video equipment. Smartphone video marketing campaigns are great for video marketers that are just getting started but video marketers will get superior video results when they use RED video marketing campaigns.

RED video cameras are built for professional video marketing. They have the features, video quality, video content creation software, and video marketing video equipment video marketers need to get the video marketing results they are looking for. Video marketing campaigns created with RED video cameras will engage video audiences far more than smartphone video marketing campaigns ever could. If you want to make your video marketing clients happy then you should definitely start using RED video equipment instead of smartphone video marketing video equipment like video cameras and video marketing video equipment. Smartphone video marketing campaigns are great but RED video equipment is much better for video marketers that want to grow their video marketing business.

What video marketing campaigns can video marketers create using RED video equipment?

RED video equipment is great for video shoots that require a wide variety of video angles. The reason why video marketers love RED video cameras is that the lenses allow a very wide range of view, especially when compared to smartphone lenses. This allows video marketers to capture a scene from multiple video angles.

This video marketing strategy is very effective because video marketers can capture video content that is engaging from beginning to end, which increases video conversions and drives video results for video marketers.

In addition, RED video cameras are great for livestreams because most of them record in 4k at 60 frames per second, with a low-light sensor, video stabilization, and video compression. Right now, many companies and independent business owners tend to use their smartphones with ring lights to conduct live videos, but they end up looking low-quality. Live video marketing campaigns are an increasingly popular video marketing strategy for video marketers because they allow video marketers to engage with video audiences in real-time. This live video content drives search results, which helps increase traffic to your site or social media page.

Video marketers can use RED video marketing video equipment to create video content that engages video audiences. For example, most RED video cameras have 3X lens zoom, which is great for close-up video shots. This allows video marketers to show the product or service they are trying to sell in action.

It doesn’t matter if you are video marketing for a client or if you are video marketing for yourself, RED video equipment is definitely the way to go. You will get better video marketing results because video marketers can use RED video equipment to capture immersive video content that engages target audiences.

What should I look for when purchasing or renting a RED camera?

If video marketers want to get the video results that they are after then they should consider purchasing or renting RED video equipment. Video marketers can get better video marketing conversions by using tools that were specifically made for video marketing, not smartphones.

Video marketers need to look for a video camera that meets their video marketing needs. In other words, video marketers need to make sure they purchase a RED video camera that can deliver the video results they are after.

Most RED video cameras come with several interchangeable lenses but video marketers should be careful when choosing which lenses to use because each lens has a unique video effect. For example, video marketers should choose a video lens that best captures the video scene they are trying to film.

In addition, video marketers should look for a video camera that is easy to use and easy to train their employees on. Video marketing campaigns take a lot of video work and video marketers don’t need an overly complicated video camera. Essentially, video marketers need a RED video camera that they can easily set up and operate quickly.

Last but not least, video marketers should consider the video budget they have available. Video marketers can get video equipment from RED video cameras for about $1200, which is a good video marketing investment. The price of the RED video camera should correspond to how much video marketers will use it and what type of video results video marketers expect to get from using the video camera. If video entrepreneurs want a high video quality video camera then they should be willing to spend more money on video equipment.

If your company is on a tighter budget, renting equipment is another route video marketers can take in order to access the best equipment in the business. For video marketers who are video marketing for a video company, renting video equipment is a great video marketing option because video marketers can use RED video equipment without investing in the purchase.

C&I Studios offers equipment rental in certain locations. You can look at everything C&I offers for rental purposes here.

What if I want to use a professional production company?

When reaching out to professional companies that create video content for you, you want to make sure that whichever video production company you hire has access to RED video equipment because it will help them create better video content that drives video results for their video marketing clients, including your business.

If you’re looking for a professional video production company to work with try C&I Studios. All video marketers can benefit from video productions by professional video production companies. Visit c-istudios.com to learn more about video marketing services provided by C&I Studios or contact a video marketing consultant to get started today.

C&I Studios video production team is proficient in video marketing tools such as RED video equipment because video marketers can get better video results when they use video content that was created by video professionals.

Contact C&I Studios today to get started with your next video production project! Click here to get video production quotes today.

 

Company information: C&I Studios video production studio is a video production company that specializes in video marketing. Video marketers can use video content to drive video results and video professionals create dynamic video content such as movies, commercials, and documentaries. To learn more about our video marketing services, contact C&I Studios today!