Three Common Flaws You Will See in Lower Quality Videos

By | SEO, Social Media, Utah, video production | No Comments

DIY video production has become more and more popular as we’ve been exposed to higher grade video equipment, editing software and production equipment. As a result, in an addition to seeing a significant increase in the amount of video content that goes out onto the internet, we also see more videos that should be high-quality but are not.

While it is true that anyone in the world can upload video content to the internet, it’s also worth noting that not every video online is going to be good or even decent. The fact of the matter is, the online videos you see that are truly high-quality are likely produced primarily by super talented professionals and video production companies.

You can’t deny that when you’re watching a poor-quality video that you just want scratch your eyes out or maybe even plug your ears. Unfortunately, in a time where we have fancy cell phone cameras and software available to create visual masterpieces, everyone becomes a self-proclaimed video expert, photographer or professional. We are here right now to help anyone to recognize common flaws and make sure they avoid making the same mistake themselves.

Not Using Proper Microphones

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in video production is poor audio recording. Just like you would invest in a good quality camera, you should always make sure to use a high-quality microphone when filming anything! Your audience doesn’t want to listen to static, poppy, unintelligible dialogue, and neither do your editors.

There are countless options when it comes to microphones; video production companies trust brands such as Rode, Audio Technica and Shure to capture crisp, clean and audible sounds.

Using Too Much Digital Zoom

Zooms and Close Up shots are crucial in video production, but there is a better way to get a closer look at that important object or person than always using the digital zoom on a camera. One other huge mistake that DIY video production individuals may make is not taking the time to physically get closer to a subject for zooms and close-ups. When you zoom in digitally, you’re basically taking the same image and stretching it out, which can lead to pixilation and a loss of quality.

Professional video production companies recommend that you get up close and personal to capture intense and beautiful close up shots; you won’t sacrifice quality and your video won’t look bad.

Editing Mishaps

This is probably one of the worst things you can do in the world of video production. Uploading footage with mistakes in the editing is probably the best way to ensure your video’s failure. You have to take all your clips and run them through an intensive editing team to clean them up; even the best video production companies have to edit their work together, and it is definitely nothing to be ashamed about. In fact, double checking your work in the editing process will not only ensure that your video comes out crisp, but also a second set of eyes on the work. This second set of eyes might provide some good feedback and thoughts on how to make the video look even better.

So, if you’re looking to create a successful visual masterpiece, you’ll want to make sure that you don’t make these three common mistakes. If you need help creating a high-end video for your brand, make sure to give us a call here at Fusion 360 Studios ⎯ video production is what we do best, and that will show in your next production.

How Movies from Before 1970 are now in HD

By | digital marketing, marketing, SEO, video production | No Comments

You may have noticed that some of your favorite old movies are available to watch in high definition or HD formats. With HD media players like Blu Ray players and streaming boxes, more and more old movies have been available to watch in HD. Many people have wondered how this is possible since HD cameras have only been around for about 20 years. Well, converting these old movies to HD is not as complex of a process as you might think. Video production companies have done some research on this process as they have transitioned from using film to HD digital cameras to produce their own video content. Here is how the process of converting films into HD is done.

In the 20th century, most movies were shot on 35mm film; bigger budget films were shot on 65-70 mm film. What people don’t realize about film is that it actually has a very high “resolution.” Film doesn’t contain pixels, it contains grains. So it can be difficult to compare analog film to a number of pixels because there are no pixels. If you had to compare them, a 35mm film translates to about 16-20 megapixels but it depends on the quality of the film. Let’s say a film translates to about 16 megapixels. 16 megapixels equals 4920 x 3264. That means old 35 mm quality film can translate to a 5k resolution in digital video. Now that’s impressive!

It’s important to remember that film and digital video aren’t really equal mediums but can be compared to serve as a frame of reference. Most old movies aren’t even scaled up as big as 5k because they don’t need to be, but it’s worth noting that they probably wouldn’t look as good as a digital camera that has native 5k resolution.

So now that we understand how high the quality of old films actually are, it’s easy to see how video production companies can go back and re-master these films in HD. As long as the original negatives have been preserved properly, it is fairly simple to re-master these films to watch them on HD media players or streaming devices. Video production companies like Sony will use restoration specialists to make sure old films are restored as best as possible and to protect the original film negatives.

When scanning film, it takes about 2 days to scan a 90-minute movie shot on 35mm film in 2k. If you are wanting to scan it in 4k it can take almost four times as long. That would mean it would take about a week to scan a 90-minute film in 4k if the negatives are in good condition.

Thanks to video production companies and restoration specialists, these old movies can continue to be cherished for generations and can be just as beautiful as if you were watching the scene being shot live. The next time you watch an old film such as Gone With the Wind on your Blu Ray player, keep in mind the process that made it possible for you to watch the classic film right in such high definition.

Five Simple SEO Tips

By | digital marketing, SEO | No Comments

SEO is one of the fundamental aspects of a successful business. Today, more people are using the internet to search for everything, from services to establishments, company’s need to have a strong online presence if they want to stay relevant. So, how do small businesses even begin to pave their path if they don’t have any SEO experience? Luckily for aspiring businesses, SEO companies are available to help with any SEO needs — that is, if they’re able to fit it into their budget.

When you start implementing SEO content to increase your online presence, there are a several ways to optimize your SEO work. Five of our tips are listed below.

Look into SEO Copywriting

Copywriting is all about creating content that helps promote your brand through keywords and hyperlinking. The one mistake that small businesses make is not taking an initiative to market themselves to potential consumer bases through online marketing. One of the simplest ways to do this is by creating a blog and writing pieces that are based off keywords you’re looking to rank in, as well as keywords that are being searched frequently when it comes to your industry. You should also link back to your website in each blog, that will help potential clients find their way to your site.

Strong written content needs to contain well-researched, relevant keywords in order to rank online. The best way to determine what these keywords will be is by brainstorming potential keywords and using a keywords research tool such as AdWords.

Urge Current Customers to Leave Reviews

Reviews rank well on search engines because they provide unique content which they can crawl. The more reviews that your company has, the more unique content you have to help your ranking. One simple SEO tactic is to have your customers leave a review about your brand, product or service to help you achieve a higher ranking through unique content.

Track Your Analytics

Programs such as Google analytics help track where your users come from as well as how they are being directed to your site, and this information in vital in crafting your first SEO strategy. It’s important for new businesses to take advantage of Google analytics to measure real-time results and help decide where investments will be best utilized. SEO companies use this software when it comes to monitoring data for their clients, so your company should too.

Up-to-Date Online Content

Marketing companies are experts when it comes to this, and it’s important for small businesses to take the same approach. Strong SEO comes from more than just blogs, a good website with relevant backlinks and keywords is also an effective way to rank your brand online. Your website should be strong on all platforms — including mobile — so you should consider looking into web services provided by most SEO companies. Aside from your website, you should also buff your social media accounts and any business listings.

Lastly, Be Patient

This is the simplest yet most frustrating SEO tip: be patient. Nothing happens overnight, especially not SEO rankings, but the trick is to be persistent with your methods and you’ll see improvement overtime. Marketing companies know that SEO is the most important aspect of being successful and every company has to start somewhere. If you’re looking to hire a marketing company to take care of your SEO needs, look no further than Fusion 360. We’re ready to help take your brand to new heights.

 

 

 

5 Social Media Algorithms Tips You Need to Know

By | digital marketing, SEO | No Comments

Building a decent sized following on social media is a lot easier said than done. Whether you’re looking to grow your following base or simply hit a certain amount of likes and shares on each of your posts, you’re going to have to put in some serious work to get the results that you’re looking for. What makes getting the attention of potential followers so hard you may ask? Social media platforms are always changing or “evolving” their algorithms, and this can make organic growth near impossible if you aren’t constantly adapting to these changes.So, do you give up or keep trying to catch up to these evolving algorithms?

If you’re feeling hopeless, you could always turn to social media marketing companies, such as us, to help grow your account. However, if you’re wanting to build your following yourself to gain some experience and a sense of accomplishment, here are tips that many social media marketing companies use to stay up-to-date with social media algorithms.

Relatable, Relevant and Retweetable (Shareable)

This may sound like an obvious tip, but so many brands forget about it; social media marketing companies make sure to always bring up aiming to creating content that is shareable when speaking to potential clients. Most social media platforms promote content that is relevant. If the content happens to be relatable to a large group of people, it becomes worthwhile to share via Twitter, IG or Facebook.

The algorithm favors content that can produce numbers and get more people involved in the platform, so make sure that your content follows these three r’s.

Memes are highly successful when it comes to all of these characteristics, especially if you hop on a trending meme.

Urge Current and Potential Followers to Enable Push Notifications

This tip is a sure way to beat the tough algorithms if anything. Think of the algorithm as a middleman; you post your content, and then the algorithm decides whether it is popular enough to include on home pages and trending pages, and also decides if it should be placed at the top of a feed. If you don’t already have an established presence, this tip is going to help your posts get as much attention as possible.

Social media marketing companies urge their clients to establish themselves with their existing following base, and there’s no better way than by having them see your every update.

Promote Your Posts

As we’ve mentioned previously, establishing yourself is going to be a tough task during the beginning of your hunt for social media glory. One way to beat the algorithm or at least catch up to it is by paying to promote specific tweets or posts that you feel are going to do well. Social media marketing companies use this strategy when building up their newer client’s social media accounts, however you should also be wary of overspending on promoted posts.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all offer companies the opportunity to promote their posts and it is definitely something that should be taken advantage of.

Interact with Your Audience

As a brand, you shouldn’t be afraid to reply to your audience through posts. In fact, doing so may help your content rank better, especially if you have a good chunk of people commenting and replying to your posts. Not only this but interacting with your audience will also help establish a relationship and keep them coming back to engage with future posts. The more engagement you can produce through interaction, the better the algorithm is going to treat you.

Don’t Forget the Tags

Lastly, use tags in your captions and posts; tags allow your post to pop up on different threads and discussions depending on who you tag, and this can easily boost your engagement rates as well as your following. Social media marketing companies, of course, are careful not to overdo it, and only tag people who are relevant to the post and who they know can bring some potential followers their way.

Tagging doesn’t have to be limited to individuals; you can tag other companies and brands that may be relevant to your post.

Algorithms shouldn’t be something to be intimidated by, as they can actually help your brand if you know how to keep up with their many changes. If you’re in the market for a social media marketing company to help grow your brand, contact us here at Fusion 360 Digital Marketing Agency! Our talented, award winning staff is ready to help take your brand to the next level.

Common Misconceptions With VSO

By | Mobile marketing, SEO, Utah SEO | No Comments

Voice search is a new and innovative way of finding information on the internet. Whether it’s Alexa or Google Assistant, many of us have used voice search at one point in our lives, or even on a daily basis. There are voice search optimization agencies (VSO agencies) that are available to other companies that need assistance with utilizing the voice search industry. This new technology is a great one for businesses of all industries to embrace, as it’s gaining popularity with great momentum, and VSO agencies are there to help companies get started.

VSO provides us with digital assistants that have a wide range of information at their fingertips. You can ask your WiFi-connected voice search device where the nearest car wash is or to wake you up at 5 a.m. and you’ll receive a human-like response almost immediately.

Since voice search is a relatively new technology, there are still some common misconceptions that many companies have about voice search. What is written below will clear up some of these misconceptions.

Voice Search is Similar to Text Search

In a search engine, one may look for ‘tourist destinations in Utah.’ In a voice search, the query will be more conversational, such as ‘What are the best tourist destinations in Utah?’ As such, VSO agencies normally advise companies to create content which is natural and conversational in a manner to answer users’ questions.

Voice Search is Focused on Keywords

Voice search is less keyword-focused than traditional search engines. Voice search is semantic and content created by companies should be in a manner that answers the users’ query. Websites should be responsive, as voice search is often done on mobile phones. VSO agencies typically advise their clients to first ensure they’ve got a mobile-friendly website before integrating voice search.

Voice search is definitely here to stay. Including structured data markup in the backend of your company website is the best way to ensure you’re not left behind. Voice assistants have changed the way we use and interact with the internet and is continuing to evolve and improve. If you haven’t already, now’s the best time to jump on the bandwagon and enlist a VSO agency.

The Role of Hyperlinks in SEO

By | SEO, Utah SEO | No Comments

When it comes to creating engaging, result driven content, SEO companies need to make sure that their writers are strategically incorporating hyperlinks into their writing. Link building is a crucial step in SEO marketing, and SEO companies need to understand how to use this method efficiently if they want to help their clients succeed.

So, what exactly is link building? The link building process is using hyperlinks to generate traffic to client’s websites, blogs, and ultimately resulting in more client/consumer interactions. If you want to bring more business to your company, you’re going to want to get in contact with SEO companies to see what services they can offer you. Here is the role that link building plays in SEO.

What is Hyperlinking?

Hyperlinking allows for the connection of two separate website, files or articles. The reason that hyperlinking is so important for SEO companies is because this is what helps bring traffic to their client’s websites and blogs. For example, if you’re writing a blog about what you should do if you’re involved in a car accident, you’ll want to hyperlink the lawyer’s website in the piece, as well as any relevant information you may have found on another blog found within that client’s site.

Link building is all about elaborating on specific points and topics and linking to convenient data. If you write a blog post without any keywords or hyperlinks, chances are that nothing will become of that piece, and you won’t see results for your clients, meaning that you aren’t doing your job as an SEO agency.

How to Hyperlink the Right Way

Of course, you can’t just start shoving hyperlinks all over your blogs, you’re going to have to be more strategic than that. SEO companies can’t afford to get blacklisted by search engines, so it’s important that they place these hyperlinks in a strategic way. For one, you have to make sure you aren’t linking to spammy or sketchy websites. Only use trusted sites and reliable sources of information.

Aside from making sure that your links are reliable and safe to visit, you have to make sure that they work. You aren’t going to reach your audience if they’re trying to click on a broken link. Also, make sure that your hyperlinks serve an actual purpose within your blog and that you’re placing them in over the appropriate keyword or key phrase. If you’re adding hyperlinks that don’t relate to your written piece at all or if you hyperlink something over a keyword that it doesn’t match, the hyperlink will be considered more spammy than efficient.

SEO companies have to take advantage of proper hyperlinking techniques because that is what’s going to help your clients stand out from the competition. If you’re struggling to bring in traffic to your site, and your business is suffering, contact us here at Fusion 360 Studios. We’re experts when it comes to SEO tactics, and we want to help your business get back on track.

Sources:

What Are Hyperlinks and Why Are They Important for SEO

https://moz.com/learn/seo/external-link

https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-link-building

The Importance of Google Analytics

By | SEO, Utah SEO | No Comments

SEO companies that hope to become successful know that they have to harness today’s most influential digital marketing tools to help in their quest to make sure that their clients succeed in their respective industries. One of these tools is the ever so useful Google analytics. This is a free tool that helps SEO companies track all data from channels that are directing traffic to a client’s website, so it’s clear to see why SEO companies should be taking advantage of this software.

So, if you’re looking for a tool to help you track all the necessary data you need to help your agency survive, consider using the tool that 50 million websites around the world use. Here is why Google Analytics is so important.

It Automatically Collects Data for You

Google analytics is set up in a way that helps reduce the stress of trying to manage all of your website data; all you have to do is set up your account and copy a simple line of code to get started. We know that SEO companies are busy creating engaging content for their clients, and Google analytics helps these agencies by removing the stress of having to manually collect their stats.

It Helps Repair Your Bounce Rates

Bounce rates are something that SEO companies need to be observant of, this is something that you want to reduce as much as possible. Bounce rates show how much time consumers are spending on your site, and if you have a high bounce rate, you’re doing something wrong with your website.

The best way to reduce your bounce rates is by making sure that your website is properly optimized and is easy for visitors to navigate. An attractive landing page and functioning tabs combined with valuable information is the best way to reduce your bounce rates.

Google analytics helps track your bounce rates so that you have an idea of how much you need to cut them by.

The Best Part is That Google Analytics is Free

When looking for digital marketing tools, SEO companies are oftentimes wary of the prices; these agency’s want to make sure that they’re investing in a profitable tool for their digital marketing needs. One of the best things about Google analytics, aside from its practicality and simplicity, is that it’s free. That’s right, you aren’t going to have to pay a penny for this useful tool, and it can only benefit you, so make sure that your agency isn’t sleeping on Google analytics.

Simplicity is Key

Google analytics is a beautiful tool in the sense that it is simple to use. Google analytics can be easily integrated with other tools and platforms, making it possible for you to put together your dream advertising arsenal.

Google analytics is a must in the world of digital advertising, and SEO companies should use this tool to their advantage, as well as to the advantage of their clients.

Sources:

https://medium.com/@dineshsem/10-good-reasons-why-you-should-use-google-analytics-699f10194834

https://medium.com/analytics-for-humans/what-is-google-analytics-and-why-is-it-important-to-my-business-8c083a9f81be

The Importance of Google Analytics

The Dangers of Black-Hat Strategies

By | digital marketing, SEO, Utah SEO | No Comments

The most important thing for digital marketing companies to remember is that they should be coming up with effective strategies to help improve their SEO game. SEO is what makes your content usable, what generates results and ultimately what the main purpose of digital marketing companies is. However, coming up with a solid strategy isn’t always a walk in the park, and some digital marketing companies, therefore, end up relying on black-hat strategies.

If you don’t know what black-hat strategies are, they’re essentially SEO practices that increase a site ranking on search engines through methods that violate the search engines’ terms of service. The problem with this is that if search engines happen to pick up on digital marketing companies using these black-hat methods, they can blacklist the company, which can quickly lead to your agency’s demise.

Here are some of the most common black-hat strategies that digital marketing companies should aim to avoid.

Keyword Stuffing

This is one of the oldest black-hat SEO strategies to date, going back to the 90’s. SEO focused pieces should include keywords and phrases that draw traffic to a specific business. For example, if one of your clients is a law firm who uses the keyword “auto accident” in their pieces, you’re going to want to make sure that you limit the number of times you use it.

The magic number is anything under two percent; if you use the keyword any more than that, your company could be penalized by Google’s algorithms. Keyword stuffing is dangerous and unnecessary, so always make sure that you’re gaging your keyword usage.

Content Spamming

Backlinking is crucial in SEO. The more backlinks your site earns, the more your website ranks when it comes to search engines. But ultimately, more links does not equal more engagement. In fact, if you use too many links, Google will mark your agency as spam, which will cause your SEO value to plummet.

Recycling Content

This one may seem obvious, but digital marketing companies should avoid recycling their old content, even if you’re using different terminology and synonyms. If digital marketing companies fail to create new content and instead lean toward reusing their old blog posts or videos, they can find themselves being blacklisted on the main search engines.

You’re going to want to make sure that your agency is following a professional, efficient and ethical SEO strategy if you want your company to succeed. Always avoid black-hat SEO strategies, or else you can find yourself struggling to stay afloat in the world of digital advertising.

Sources:

https://www.digitalsurgeons.com/thoughts/strategy/four-dangerous-black-hat-seo-tactics/

https://www.wordstream.com/black-hat-seo

23 Harmful Black Hat SEO Techniques You Should Avoid