Most often associated with both the silver screen and the rich and famous, Hollywood has quickly become one of America’s most desirable tourist destinations. However, that being said, not all is perfect in the video production paradise. In reality, it’s not all that difficult to find blatant mistakes with the community’s greatest export: movies.
Regardless of where you’re from or what your background is like, you love viral videos. Whether they be devoted to hilarious animals, adorable children, U.S. soldiers coming back from the Middle East or courageous stories of triumph, the American commoner can’t seem to get enough of them. Truthfully, as far as sound video production is concerned, there’s no greater success than an Internet video that reaches that ever-elusive state of liquid shareability.
As far as corporate America is concerned, video production endeavors are best left to those of the professional realm. However, with numerous amateur production specialists all over the country, there’s plenty to learn and implement, regardless of your level of experience. For those new to the field, here are a few helpful tips to get you started:
For marketing professionals from Utah to the farthest reaches of America’s East Coast, video production is of the utmost importance. While web development, graphic design, content marketing and public relations might be at the forefront of the marketing world, as traditional marketing gives way to that of a digital variety, video production continues to cement itself as a game changer for those willing to adapt their advertising strategies.
For marketers, little is certain. That being said, there are a handful of sure-fire ways to convert the attention of potential consumers into real revenue. The canopying answer? Video production.
1) Digital Sales Presentations
Even here in Utah, a mass delivering of consistent sales messages can be a costly affair. When executed virtually, vital sales and marketing information are transmitted at a fraction of the cost of a typical, more traditional sales call. In fact, small business profiles with videos get 30% more profile clicks, 18% more calls and 24% more sales.
2) Step-By-Step Instructional Videos
Custom-made videos, whose formation came about with key decision makers or sectors in mind, optimize efficacy and increase the likelihood of literal marketplace success. Furthermore, video in email marketing has been shown to increase click-through rates by over 96%.
3) Virtual Product Demonstrations
Technical products and complex services are made all the more straightforward by way of motion graphics, screenshots and voice-over presentations. Studies show that visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not.
4) Featured Corporate Videos
In the digital age of communication, both here in Utah and elsewhere, the Internet has quickly become the ideal platform from which branding strategies are launched. A corporate video is a simple, yet direct representation of a company’s personality, character and culture. In fact, studies show that 59% of senior executives prefer to watch video over reading text. Though difficult to master, a sound video production effort is well worth your brand’s time, effort and funding.
It seems that Internet enthusiasts simply can’t get enough of digital videos. For example, in February of 2013, over two years ago, 178 million Americans had watched just over 33 billion videos on the World Wide Web. Though the consumption of information by way of written means will never fully disappear, both the popularity and need for brands to have a sound video production strategy will only increase with time.
Currently, video traffic accounts for 78% of all Internet traffic. Furthermore, written content dominates most websites; however, before long, most homepages will be creatively dotted with instructional, advertorial and entertaining videos for potential clients.
The SEO Impact of Internet Videos
Not only are web videos useful in that users prefer to obtain knowledge through them, but they also help a business in one of marketing’s most popular subsets: search engine optimization (SEO). Regardless of the industry in which your company is seeking to excel, client access through the world’s largest search engines—namely Google and Bing—is paramount in improving market reach.
Simply put, video does nothing but help strengthen an existing SEO blueprint. Still struggling to make the leap? Presently, video results appear in about 70% of the top 100 search engine results. Additionally, it’s 53% more likely that a web page appear on Google’s first page if video is present.
The ROI Factor
For all business owners, capital is the most precious of commodities and is to be dealt with carefully. To them, the only thing that truly matters, and rightfully so at that, is a healthy return on investment (ROI). For many of a more traditional marketing background, pumping money into a video production campaign might seem like a bit of a waste.
In reality, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Digital product or service pushers, were you aware that online shoppers are 144% more likely to make a purchase after viewing a video? It’s no wonder that retail sites with videos increase conversion rates by up to 30%. Even more impressive is the fact that visitors who watch product videos are 85% more likely to buy than those who’ve viewed nothing of the sort.
Arguably, what’s best about video production comes from the heightened focus on a given audience. At the end of the day, each individual customer is a company’s biggest concern. Your target demographic feels more comfortable about investing in what you’ve got to offer when videos are part of the shopping process.
In fact, 52% of consumers claim that videos help them make smart buying decisions. Realistically, with 66% of consumers watching the same product video two or more times, it’s hard to go wrong. Whatever your business’ marketing situation looks like, it stands to benefit from what video production has to offer.
Let’s be honest: words are boring. Sure, you might be one of those people who can sit down and consume the wordiest of Charles Dickens’ novels in a matter of hours, but that’s a rarity at best. Video, on the other hand, couldn’t be sexier. Since the 1950s, television has been frying the brains of Americans from right here in Utah to the more boring parts of the country on a regular basis.
In today’s day and age, however, things have been made even more enticing with Internet videos quickly becoming all the rage for the common consumer. Where the mammoth black and white television with a grand total of one or two channels once excelled, YouTube — working in conjunction with a wide variety of social media networks — now provides entertainment for all.
Looking for an eager audience to whom your product or service can be pushed? Forget the typical living room. Your brand’s video production needs can now conveniently be met through social media.
Alright, so we might’ve changed the title from Scott Stapp’s “With Arms Wide Open” to better fit the needs of our attached infographic, but can you really blame us? Whether you’re from here in Utah or elsewhere, it’s impossible to deny that song was just gosh awful. Anyway, getting back on track, it’s insane how important video production is for both brands and digital consumers.
Not only do most of them have exactly two eyeballs, but the vast majority of the global population prefers visual stimulation as a means of obtaining information. While that most certainly applies in the classroom and at work, it also plays an important role for digital marketers looking to appeal to a larger audience through infographics and Internet videos.
From Utah to New York, celebrity cameos during television commercials are usually a great thing for eager businesses looking to quickly grab the attention of the American public. Whether it’s Shaquille O’Neal dropping a few cheesy one-liners about the aches and pains of a life after retirement from The Association or George Foreman droning on and on about the thrill of consuming red meat without fat, video production specialists love shooting with star power. That being said, a few of Hollywood’s finest has-beens would cause nothing but societal chaos if called upon to endorse a brand’s product or service.
Vin Diesel, for example, is one of those people. Sure, his abdominal muscles are just about as potent as a bottle of antifreeze, but his limited acting ability makes him a bit of a liability for video production experts. For some odd reason “The Fast and the Furious,” “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” “Fast & Furious,” “Fast Five,” “Fast & Furious 6” and “Furious 7” haven’t allowed Diesel to blossom beyond terrible cliches, angry scowls and the objectification of flag girls in bikinis.
Paula Deen is yet another celebrity who’d be wise to stay stuck between the cushions of her living room sofa. Simply put, being a crazy old racist lady isn’t as trendy as it used to be. Actually, come to think of it, Land O’Lakes butter might benefit from her raw promotional skills. Other than that, feel free to advertise via the rich and famous in Utah and elsewhere. Oh, also steer clear of Paris Hilton. She’s slipped away into obscurity and isn’t to be bothered.
When you hear the word “drone,” what do you initially think of? If you said “Star Wars,” you’d be wrong. Those were “droids.” Nice try. Anyway, the answer we were looking for was “video production.” Whether you’re shooting a full-blown Super Bowl commercial or an Internet video for your company’s latest promotional event, without a drone, those breathtaking aerial shots that bring people to tears and cause them to immediately open their wallets and purchase your brand’s products or services won’t happen.
Sure, you could employ the services of Manute Bol or use a complex arrangement of cables and scaffoldings, but the creativity of it all will always be hindered when a camera is limited by gravity. From Utah to New York, anyone worth their symbolic salt in the video production industry will have difficulty pitching a potential client when the best shots can’t be accomplished.
When asked about the reasoning behind his purchase of an extremely expensive drone, Mitch Nielsen—Junior Multimedia Designer here at Fusion 360—said, “I wanted cool diverse shots that would stand out. Mine goes within like a mile of my controller. I can get like a mile high, if I want.”
Though he might speak like a bit of a simpleton, both he and his drone produced jaw-dropping videos like this. Simply put, to go big, you gotta go drone. Okay, that sucked, but you get the point. We’re from Utah. Cut us some slack.
Dropping terms like “all-time” when speaking of an auto insurance provider just seems like such a waist, so for that very reason, we decided to stick with “in recent memory.” We’ve all seen GEICO’s various video production efforts and, admittedly, they’re pretty extreme.
Rarely does an institution see marketing success when pushing multiple branded characters to an American audience. Think about it: the Gecko, Caveman and Pig all make up GEICO’s cohort of advertorial awkwardness. The craziest thing? It works. Seriously, this sort of thing works in states both inside and outside of Utah.
As of 2010, GEICO uses six different running ad campaigns. Even more impressive, each one has it’s own unique style, tone and message. Says TheFinancialBrand.com of the insurance company’s infotainment rule breaking, “Ask any brand-builder in the world, and they’ll tell you that using a seemingly disjointed and eclectic lineup of ads is the wrong way to create a cohesive, focused brand image.”
Ya see, the key to video production engagement is consistency. From Utah to New York, in order to build an image or shape an audience’s perception of a company, what’s being seen almost always needs to remain constant so that a metaphoric link between a professional entity and its target demographic sticks. Apparently, for some odd reason, this isn’t the case for animal lovers in need of car insurance.
