5 Ways Brands Can Get More Personal with Their Customers

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The success of modern marketing today relies heavily on how a brand interacts with its customers. If a brand doesn’t take the time to get personal with their current consumer base, they’ll fail to see any growth as a business and might even lose some loyal customers to competitors — these days, it’s all about how you can make your customers feel important. Marketing companies exist to help brands achieve this personal attachment with their customers, and they know what it takes to help these brands successfully engage with their audience.

Here are five of the most effective ways to get more personal with your customers, and how improving your customer satisfaction will help you achieve significant growth as a business.

Offer Your Customers Real Value

Marketing companies know that if you want to genuinely engage with your customers, you have to lead with content, not products. If you want to get personal with your customers, you have to gain their trust first, and that starts by providing them with something of value.

Be Responsive

Another way to gain your customers’ trust and get more personal with them is by engaging in constant dialogue with them when it comes to any issues they may encounter while using your product or service. You should also make sure to keep the conversation going from the initial interaction, because these are the interactions that are going to grow your audience.

Respect Consumers’ Privacy

Consumers will most likely be freaked out and even put off from your brand if they see that you’ve obtained any outside information without consent. The best way marketing companies can get more personal with customers is by being completely transparent and up-front about data privacy and personalization practices.

Showcase your Strengths

Customers will want to get more personal with a brand that can show them what sets them apart from the competition. What is it that makes your brand so valuable? Why should the customer choose you over the competitor? Being able to answer these questions and leveraging your talent will bring in new consumers, as well as solidify the loyalty of your current customers. Marketing companies like Fusion 360 are ready to help show your customers, as well as your competitors, why you’re the leader in your industry.

Practice Great Storytelling

It’s going to take more than irrelevant pop-ups and interruptive ads to build a personal connection with your customers. Top brands like Apple and Microsoft use compelling storytelling and engaging presentations to build that trust with their customers, and your brand should do the same. Your business should be honest about the value that they can offer a consumer as well as what your company stands for. Even if it means not pleasing everybody, your brand should focus on attracting the right customers.

Getting personal with your customers and building strong relationships with them is the best way to ensure your brand’s success, and marketing companies are the best way to achieve that. If you’re looking for help with your customer engagement, don’t hesitate to contact us at Fusion 360. We’re ready to elevate your digital marketing game.

Agency vs. In-House Advertising: Which One is Best for You

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One of the biggest question that brand ask themselves is, “should we hire an agency or just build an in-house advertising team?” This may be one of the most important decisions that your company can make. Each option comes with their advantages but ultimately, this decision comes down to your budget and your workload.

So, if you’re trying to decide whether or not advertising or even marketing companies are a good investment, take a look at some of the comparisons we’ve put together in this blog to help you make a decision.

Building an In-House Team

First, we’ll start with the benefits of building your own in-house team. One of the major benefits of hiring an in-house marketing team over marketing companies is that they are a great way to maximize marketing output toward company targets. In-house teams are more capable of focusing on your consumer base 100 percent, since the team works exclusively for your brand, while marketing companies tend to focus on various different clients at any given time.

In-house teams are often described as “efficient revenue machines”, as they minimize the number of communication steps between all aspects of the campaign, which leads to faster completion times and more effective communication, which can greatly improve the quality of your brand’s work.

While building your own in-house team might seem like the way to go, you have to remember that you’re going to have to pay salaries, might have to do some training and you’ll have to invest in the resources that your team will need.

Hiring an Advertising Agency

If you’re on a tight budget, hiring marketing companies might be in your best interest; hiring an agency is the best way to get trained industry experts working on your advertising. Your brand relies on the employee’s expertise, and if you hire an advertising agency, they’re bound to put in a mass amount of time and effort into your marketing¾ time and effort that your team will now have to focus on other tasks.

As mentioned prior, marketing companies work with several different clients, and while that might mean that they can’t focus on your business 100 percent of the time, you can be confident in the fact that this alone gives them knowledge in what the best practices across the industry are, which will benefit you in the sense that they’ll. Create amazing work for your brand.

Agencies are also a great financial decision as they will cost you a fixed cost, as opposed to the salaries you’d have to pay if you built an in-home team.

If you’re looking to save money and work with experienced marketing teams that will help your vision come to life, you’re better of hiring marketing companies like Fusion 360 to help you with your advertising needs. Give us a call today to see how we can benefit your brand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Process of Storyboarding for a Brand Video

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Storyboarding, to video producers, is what script writing is to writers; while they still use the script to create a project, producers rely heavily on storyboarding to make sure that every scene comes out as planned. If you’re not too familiar with what storyboarding is, it’s essentially a sequence of images that represent the intended shots of a film. Storyboards show filmmakers exactly how a scene should be shot and framed and what camera movements will be used.

Completed storyboards should give a clear, accurate idea of how certain shots will work together, and they should be easily understood by everyone on the crew, not just the filmmaker. Now that we’ve touched on the structure of a storyboard, here is the process that video production companies follow when it comes to storyboarding.

Decide What the Goal of the Storyboard Is

Video production companies need to determine what the main goal of their brand video will be. Whether their looking to convey a brand message, promote a product or service, or simply tell the story of how a company came to be, they need to have a goal in mind.

Creating a Rough Draft

Before anything, a rough draft of the storyboard should be created. There are multiple reasons as to why video production companies start with paper first. First off, it’s much faster than trying to create some high-end mockup. This allows for the cooperation of the various teams within video production companies, such as the writers, editors and producers. Of course, designers are going to be the ones who create the final version of the storyboard, but everyone should contribute to the brainstorming. Too often, companies get caught up with trying to create something too complex, but everyone needs to remember that it is just a rough draft.

Reviewing the Rough Draft with the Team

After the rough draft has been created, the team should then review it together to see if the main message is headed in the right direction. From there, that message needs to be seen flowing well throughout each and every scene. When the team takes time to review the storyboard together, it’s easier to access what’s working and what isn’t. Different opinions can help target areas that need improvement and can reinforce strong points in a storyboard.

Getting Started on the Final Product

Once the final changes have been made to the rough draft, video production companies can start working on getting the final product created. Designers are in charge of taking the paper draft and inputting it into programs like illustrator to create a visual masterpiece.

There are several steps that go into the storyboarding process, and video production companies know that they’re all crucial in creating the best video possible. If you’re in need of a professional production agency to help you storyboard your next brand video, give us a call here at Fusion 360 Studios.

 

 

Why You Should be Utilizing Influencers

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If you log into any social media platform right now, you’ll probably see your fair share of posts by famous YouTubers, Instagrammers and Tik Tokkers. These social media superstars have managed to make a living on these social media platforms, and all by creating content that mass audiences can relate to. If you’re looking to boost your social media engagement, these influencers don’t seem like a bad option as far as marketing goes. However, many of the traditional marketing companies are yet to turn to these influencers as an advertising option.

The best thing about social media influencers is that you don’t have to get someone like Kanye West to represent your brand. Everyday people have risen up to superstar status and now amass millions of viewers, followers and subscribers. You can find these personalities everywhere. So, with that being said, your chances of landing one of these stars are pretty good if you try hard enough. Here are a few reasons you should be utilizing influencers.

You’ll Receive Better Quality Content

When you pay an influencer, you’ll also be paying for quality content, depending on the talent. For example, if you’re wanting to create an ad that is driven by humor, you should look through comedian profiles on platforms such as Instagram and Tik Tok, as they will help transform your content into comedic masterpieces. Of course, you’ll want to narrow down what your budget is going to be, as influencers range in price depending on their online presence.

If high-quality video content is what you’re after, you’re not going to regret investing in influencer something that only the best marketing companies know all too well.

Influencers Have Authority Over Audiences

These bigger influencers have a mass following for a reason — they are connecting with their audiences and building relationships with them to keep them coming back and consuming the content that they put out. When you team up with an influencer, you’re bound to reach a consumer base you would have never thought imaginable; in just one project, your business might reach as much as thousands, if not millions of potential consumers.

A survey conducted by a company called Linqia asked retailers, companies and agencies who had invested in these social media influencers if they thought it helped their business. A resounding 94 percent of them answered that they believed their sales benefitted from influencer collaborations.

Marketing companies can boost their client’s engagement by investing in these social media influencers, and it’s a marketing strategy that more brands should look into, especially with the growing influence on these social media platforms. If you’re looking to hire an industry giant to help you get in touch with some social media influencers, give us a call here at Fusion 360 so we can get started on crafting the perfect strategy to get your name out there.

The Research That Goes into Marketing

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Marketing companies are constantly researching to find new trends, come up with better strategies, and create more consumers in order to keep up with the ever-evolving advertising industry. There is a ton of research that goes into effective marketing (more than most people may have thought was necessary), and it is all crucial in providing your client’s — as well as your agency — with the tools necessary to succeed and stand out from the competition.

Research is the key ingredient found in quality content, successful marketing strategies, and effective campaigns. Without it, you’re bound to create something that won’t resonate with consumers. Here is just how much research marketing companies have to do in order to stay at the top of their game.

Primary Research

This is one of the two main types of research that these marketing companies conduct. Primary research is firsthand information that reflects your customers and your market. Primary research can be conducted through organized events such as focus groups, online surveys and phone interviews. As a result, the newfound research provides fresh details on the challenges and interests that your buyers have.

Within primary research are two categories, exploratory and specific. These subcategories are extremely useful when your brand is segmenting your market and establishing your buyer personas. The two seperate types are defined below.

Exploratory Research:  This type of primary research tends to focus more on potential problems that would be worth tackling as a tea, rather than focusing on measurable customer trends. This is usually the first step that marketing companies take before any specific research is conducted. It can involve open-ended interviews or small surveys.

Specific Research: This type of research follows exploratory research and is used by marketing companies to look into issues or opportunities that the company has already identified as important. Specific research helps businesses take smaller and more precise segments of their audience.

Secondary Research

Secondary research comes from data and public records that you have access to and use to draw conclusions. Trend reports, market statistics, industry content, and sales data are good examples of secondary research.

When it comes to analyzing your competitors, secondary research is the best form of research. There are three subcategories to secondary research that marketing companies utilize:

Public Sources: These are the first and most accessible form of material that marketing companies will look at when conducting secondary market research. Public sources of secondary information including facts and statistics from sites such as the U.S. Census Bureau¾ basically, any reputable site that can offer helpful and factual information.

Commercial Sources: These sources come in the form of market reports that consists of industry insight that is compiled by research agencies. This information is portable and distributable, but typically costs money to download and obtain.

Internal Sources: This form of research is something that you might already have in-house. Internal sources include the average revenue per sale, customer retention rates, and other historical data.

Marketing companies use these types of research to help clients succeed in competitive industries, and as you can see, it’s so much more than just googling your topic and reading an article about it. If you’re in need of a marketing agency to help your brand do extensive research to create an efficient marketing campaign, make sure to check us out here at Fusion 360 Studios.

Creating Emotions in Video

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Although it’s easy to grab someone’s attention with any type of video, one tricky part of video marketing is keeping a viewers attention. One key element in creating a “viral” (or rememberable) video is emotion. If a viewer feels some type of emotion while watching your video, chances are they are going to engage with your content and share it with their friends. So this begs the question, how do you create emotion in a video?

Video production companies are experts at sparking emotion with their content. Although creating emotion can be difficult when creating an advertisement and trying to sell a product, it is possible. Here are a few tips that video production companies use to create emotion in videos.

Tell a Story

A crucial aspect of creating emotion is telling a story. Without a story, you really can’t display any type of emotion in your video. Even if you are trying to make an ad, you have to tell some type of story. The best ads are the ones that don’t feel like ads. Depending on the type of video you are trying to make, the story you tell will vary. If you are trying to create an advertisement, tell a story of how the product or company helped out a specific individual. If you are making a brand film, tell the story of your company. Video production companies can help you come up with the right story to tell in your video.

Decide Which Emotion to Evoke

Emotion is a pretty broad word. There are lots of different emotions a person can feel, and you have to decide which emotion you want to evoke in your audience. Different emotions can cause different reactions. If you are looking to drive awareness with your video, the most impactful emotions will be:

  • Amusement
  • Interest
  • Surprise
  • Happiness
  • Delight
  • Pleasure
  • Joy
  • Hope
  • Affection
  • Excitement

However, if you are looking to drive conversion, you probably want to tap into some deeper emotions or even desires. Here are a few deeper emotions to look into:

  • Desire for control
  • Desire to belong
  • Love and romance
  • Desire to be smarter
  • Power and dominance
  • Family values
  • Desire to get/be the best

Figuring out which emotion to play out all depends on your audience as well as your brand. The best way to decide on which emotion to choose is by finding what your audience’s interests and desires are. Once you do this, then you are ready to build a story full of emotion based on what you find.

Add the Right Music

Music sets the tone of any video. The music you choose can make or break your video, as well as determining the emotion your audience will feel while watching your film. If you are trying to create a happy, light-hearted video, chances are you won’t choose a slow, sad song to play in the background. Video production companies spend a good amount of time finding the right music to add to their films.

When looking for music to add to your video, think about if there are any mood or emotion changes that occur. If your video starts out more sad and turns happy, a music transition can be the perfect addition to help your viewer feel that shift.

By creating emotion in your video, you can ensure that your video will be remembered by almost all who see it. You can connect with your audience and create a lasting relationship just through one video. To get started on an emotional, storytelling video for your company, contact Fusion 360, an award-winning video production company.

Exploring Non-Traditional Social Media Platforms

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Marketing companies are constantly trying to figure out new methods of utilizing popular social media platforms to boost clients’ numbers. Whether that be in sales or engagement, these marketing companies know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, but there are still some platforms out there that aren’t being given the attention that they deserve.

When the popular social media platforms aren’t doing enough for your brand or you feel that the market on them is oversaturated, your company should turn to some non-traditional sites and apps that could help boost your online presence. Here are just a few different platforms you can explore.

Quora

Quora is one of the most popular Q&A services around and while it may not seem like something that marketing companies should be using to market themselves, there are a few ways you can utilize the site to amass a larger online presence.

Brands can use Quora to create content ideas, interact with audiences on questions that are specific to the brand’s industry, and most importantly to establish authority.

Monthly, 775,000 people use Quora to ask questions about things that are important to them. If your company has the answers to these questions, you can answer them and gain the trust of potential consumers.

Reddit

This platform is regarded as the front page of the internet, and for good reason. With thousands of subreddits, you can find everything on this site. It’s also worth noting that the platform attracts 164 million unique visitors every month.

Using Reddit is simple, all you have to do is create a genuine profile and follow and interact with subreddits that are within your brand’s industry. For example, if you’re a car detailing company, you might want to subscribe to various auto threads.

Google+

Google+ has grown dramatically and now boasts an impressive 250 million users. Though many see this platform as a direct competitor to Facebook, it’s so much more than that. Marketing companies can use Google+ to upload photos, vote on content they like, watch videos, share blogs and links and even watch full-length films.

Mix

Formerly known as StumbleUpon, Mix is a social media bookmarking platform that allows users to “like” websites and add them to their individual profiles. Marketing companies can benefit from this platform in the sense that their client’s websites, as well as their own, can gain a good amount of attention if others add the sites to their profiles. There are over 30 million users on Mix, and like other social media platforms, it continues to grow.

These are good examples of non-traditional social media platforms that can benefit your company if your business gives them a chance. If you’re looking to explore new options when it comes to marketing your brand, contact us at Fusion 360.

The Best Platform for Your Business and Target Demographic

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From helping brands keep in touch with their audience to promoting themselves to more potential consumers, the only way that your company can truly succeed in today’s market is by taking the initiative in creating a strong online presence; marketing companies exist to help brands, no matter how big or how small, build brand recognition and a solid reputation.

So, where exactly do you start when it comes to making your online presence known?

Well, the first step is deciding what social media platform is going to work best for your business. Marketing companies will do all the research necessary to help you identify your preferred and most efficient platform. Here is a quick guide to finding the best social media platform for you.

Facebook

With over two million users, Facebook lets users share text, images, videos, articles and links to other forms of content. The social media giant has a strong presence in 137 countries and beats out all other social networks in 127 of them, making it a strong candidate for your social media go-to. Of course, it’s also important to take demographics into account. About 60 percent of the Facebook population are females, while about 40 percent are male. Further studies show that 65 percent of those users are over the age of 35.

So, if your brand is attempting to reach a more mature demographic, Facebook might be your best bet.

Instagram

Instagram will introduce your brand to a much younger demographic and primarily focuses on the sharing of photos and videos. The amazing thing about Instagram is that there are more than 500 million daily users, which makes this platform perfect for brand recognition. But just because there is an abundance of users doesn’t mean that your brand is going to see quick results. You have to be smart about posting content and know what demographic you’re attempting to target.

Marketing companies have come up with some numbers that show 72 percent of teenagers use Instagram, while adult users reached 35 percent in 2018. It is also worth noting that young adults users total 71 percent of all users. If you’re targeting a younger demographic, Instagram should be your primary focus.

Twitter

Facebook has cemented itself as a hybrid platform where users can share text, photos and videos, while Instagram has taken text out of the equation. Another semi-hybrid platform you should look into is Twitter. While the platform is primarily text-focused, users can still share videos and photos on the platform, making it a versatile option for marketing companies.

Twitter has a more mixed demographic, with 40 percent of users being between the ages of 18 and 29, and another 43 percent being between 30 and 49 years old. Marketing companies can be sure to find their fair share of older and younger consumers.

All of these platforms bring their own unique strengths, and it might be a wise move to utilize various different platforms when it comes to marketing your brand. However, you should analyze what platform your demographic spends the most time on and make it your primary focus. If you’re looking at marketing companies as a way to simplify the process of narrowing down what platform works best for you, make sure to give us a call here at Fusion 360 Studios.

Advertising Methods You Should be Using

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Advertising is always changing, and marketing companies know that to stay relevant in today’s industry, they have to be able to keep up with those changes. While there are staple methods that don’t change much, things like social media algorithms are constantly evolving, making it hard for marketing companies to thrive if they keep producing the same content and using the same strategies.

If your brand has been struggling to see results, you might want to take a step back and reconsider your current marketing strategy. Marketing companies can help you out and they’ll most likely recommend that you use a few of these advertising methods.

Use Banner and Display Ads

In a time where video is dominating the market, some marketing companies might forget that static, visual content like banners and display ads can still produce serious results. These types of ads are an extension of search ads and follow a PPC model, however, instead of text-based ads, users are presented with a more visual advertisement. If marketing companies have talented graphic designers, this is a sure way to drive more traffic to your client’s site by providing consumers with fresh visual content.

Try Appealing to Emotions

Commercials by organizations like The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), tend to appeal to consumers’ feelings. Though some of the commercials might be hard to watch, they tug at your heartstrings and make you more likely to donate to the organization.

This example is used to emphasize the fact that people rely heavily on emotion just as much as they do research. Marketing companies cannot forget about this. If you’re looking to mix up your advertising approach, try creating content that might emotionally appeal to your audience.

Give the Bandwagon Effect a Go

It’s human nature for people to want to fit in, so if someone sees a group of people using a specific service or buying a certain product, they’re more likely to invest in that service or product as well. For example, Maybelline has been established as “America’s Favorite Mascara” because their top-selling mascara is purchased every two seconds. If your brand can offer a top-quality product or service and you come up with a solid marketing strategy, people will start spreading the word around and you’ll see the bandwagon effect in action.

If you don’t make an attempt to switch up your advertising game, you’ll soon find yourself falling behind. Marketing companies like Fusion 360 are here to help your brand come up with new strategies to help keep your brand relevant in an evolving industry.

Why You Need a Video Distribution Strategy

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Everyone knows just how important videos are when it comes to marketing, but do you know how to fully utilize your completed project to get the results that you’re looking for? Video production companies work hard to create high-quality videos that help brands reach new audiences and connect with their current consumers, but it takes more than just uploading your video to YouTube and Vimeo. This is why video production companies use what are called distribution strategies.

Distribution strategies are the reason marketing companies are so successful. The way that a company strategically distributes their content is what draws in audiences and keeps current ones loyal to your brand. If you’re looking to use video content to market your brand, here is why you need a video distribution strategy.

It Targets Your Users

Distribution strategies make it easier to target users that will potentially be interested in your content. It also helps your brand easily recognize what these potential viewers want to see, which helps video production companies create the perfect content tailored to those audiences.

When posting on social media, tools like Facebook’s Ad manager can help you target certain interests or likes so that you can build up an audience and increases your post engagement. You should also use SEO strategies to optimize your videos so that your search engine ranking rises.

You Can View Metrics

Outlining your metrics is essential in creating a solid distribution strategy. Once your video is posted online, you’ll use the metrics to gauge your videos’ success. While looking at the videos’ reach and engagement is important, you should also pay attention to stats such as the number of video starts, average view times, and the number of viewers.

You’ll Achieve Your Marketing Goals

Creating a distribution strategy also helps you achieve your marketing goals. Video production companies will always ask you what the main purpose of your video is, and that will determine what approach they will take in creating your video project. By creating a quality distribution strategy, you’ll be able to narrow down the appropriate platforms to post on.

Going Viral Takes Work

The most experienced video production companies know that going viral is a lot harder than it sounds; going viral isn’t a strategy, more so a goal. You have to ask yourself questions such as how you’re going to achieve that goal, how you’re going to reach your audience, and if you’ll use paid or earned media.

Creating a distribution strategy will help your brand grow indefinitely, and you’ll see an opening in your creative and communication channels. If you’re in need of a professional video production team to help you create a distribution strategy, give us a call here at Fusion 360 Studios.