Why Video Marketing?

Are you using video to market your video online, in social media, and through email campaigns?  If you aren't, you should be!   Don't just take my word for it, listen to internet marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuk.  Gary says, "If you aren't using video to market your business, you won't be in business very long"

There's several vital reasons why you need video.   First, it gives you an organic boost in search engine rankings.   Google smiles on video... since it owns Youtube.   Second, people love to watch video on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, LinkedIn and many other social media outlets.   It's easier than reading and more entertaining.  Third, video will attract, engage, entertain, and inform your audience, which will lead to opt-ins and ultimately, sales conversion.

If you are making videos yourself, or thinking about doing them yourselves, here's a few tips to help you in the process...

1. Your Website Has to be Mobile Ready

More than 50 percent of your audience is already looking at your website and social media outlets on mobile devices, and that number is going to continue to grow.  So it is vital that your website is responsive in nature, meaning it will adjust and size itself automatically to whatever device is accessing it...

 If you need help getting your website mobile ready, or "responsive", contact us at michael@kcvisualsunlimited.com or go to HBSU Web Solutions and schedule a free demo.

2:  Facts Tell... Stories Sell

 So tell a story in your next video, and use appropriate images to reinforce what you are saying. 

 3:  Some Tips to Make Better Videos

There's many ways to make videos, and some simple ways to make them better.  

Here's some video tips you can use right away to improve the quality of your own video. Watch this short video "Make Better Videos" for more insight.

Video Tips

• Pay attention to framing your pictures properly
  Fill the frame, eliminate too much head room.  Lead speakers with more room in the direction they speak.  Video is an intimate medium, so the more close-ups, the better your videos will be.
• Use microphone(s) for better quality sound
  Avoid on-camera mics whenever possible, but use them as a back-up where necessary.Use clip-on lavalier mics or hand-held mics for interviews and testimonials.
• Shoot in a bright room or outdoors or use lights                                                                                          When you have control of the situation, shoot where there is plenty of light so the pictures are more pleasing and the colors are richer.                                                                                       
• Avoid Back-Lighting at all costs                                                                                                                   Don't shoot with windows or bright backgrounds behind your subject, it will make the camera iris shutdown and your picture go dark.  Lighting should fall mostly on the front of your subject so faces are clear and colorful.                                                                                                                                        

 4:  Set Clear Objectives and CTA's

Before you shoot any video, you should establish a clear and attainable objective(s) for your videos.   What is it you want the audience to do after watching this video?  Write your objectives down with action oriented words.  Here's a sample objective.   "After watching this video, the audience will be able to identify our brand, HBSU, by name or logo, and will opt-in to our company newsletter, filling out the landing page form".

We use HubSpot for our inbound marketing plans, so making landing pages with Calls to Action is easy.   Your emails, website, landing pages, and social media videos should all have clearly marked Call-to-Action buttons where possible.   If you don't have this capability yet, use titles in your video to spell out your contact information, be it company name and address, email address, and/or phone number(s) to call.

That's it .  4 key aspects of planning and shooting great marketing videos on your own.  If you need any assistance, be sure to contact us here at HBSU.   We are always ready to help.  michael@kcvisualsunlimted.com