video marketing Archives - Page 3 of 3

The 3 C’sof Video: Content, Context and Community

As a video producer, I want everyone to use video for their organization. However, having video and using video are two different things. You just can’t have video for video’s sake. You really need to make sure that you are using it to meet your goals. That is why I want you to think about the three C’s when developing your plan on using video.

Content: The adage right now is content is king. You do need something to put out there alongside your written blog posts, your photos and infographics. You need all of this content to push your message. Having video being part of a content marketing package helps visualize your organization in a different way and can be used to add that explanation point to the message you have been sending.

Context: I heard somewhere that if content is king, then context is queen. I really like that. You have to understand why you are using video and how to use it in your marketing and branding. Thinking about context allows you to fully describe the who and the why of your business and to develop a package that speaks to your audience.

Community: Speaking of audience, are they picking up what you are laying down? This is the group you need to be targeting so they can share and like and talk about what you have going on in your videos. Without a strong community, your videos may fall on deaf ears. But with a consistent content strategy you have the ability to build that audience and then sustain them.

So there you have it, think about these three things when adding video to the mix. If you already have content going, video will just enhance it, but only in the right context. Remember this. Video just for video sake is not going to work, because there is no strategy behind it. Your videos have to be purposeful, timely and engaging. That’s also how you build your community.

The Story of UnoDeuce

14 years ago something special happened. I created UnoDeuce Multimedia. It was a huge leap of faith for me as I really didn’t have entrepreneurial blood running through me. My grandmother ran a small brunch cafe, but that’s about it and she closed it up when I was about 5 or 6 years old. So, why did I decide to go out on my own? Why start a company? A few reasons actually.

First of all, the digital revolution was here. Cameras were coming down in price, editing systems were coming down in price, media, etc. There was starting to be this trend toward the one man bands, and it was time that I took my chance at this as well. Secondly, I built a pretty fair network before moving back to Michigan from Seattle. It was probably a tougher state to move on your own in, but I knew with my knowledge of the audience I was targeting, it would be a good fit. Thirdly, a video company, that a friend of mine worked out was selling off all of their equipment so I jumped at that opportunity to pick up a camera, tripod and microphones. Now was a good time to go on my own.

The creative side was easy, the business portion was the steepest learning curve. Even though I ran the day to day operations at my previous job in Seattle, I didn’t have to worry about a lot of the little things that I had to take of now. There was a lot of organizing and getting out there. It took awhile for me to really gain traction as I took some freelance jobs around the Detroit area covering high school sports that really helped me financially, but I feel I wasted a lot of chances to grow because I didn’t have time to do it all and I tried.

When I made the move to Lansing, MI, five years ago, it was my opportunity to start fresh as a business. I immersed myself in the business culture in this area, I no longer had those freelance gigs to take me away from the development of the business, so that would not be a distraction, and I grew up. I don’t look at the first 9 years of what I had established as a wash, it was just a learning experience. I wanted this business to be more of a business and so I attempted to create that atmosphere and be an employer as well as a creator and producer. We are now structured differently, marketing differently, talking about ourselves differently. We are a we, not just an I.

When I first started this business, I didn’t want it to be just an I. That’s why it’s always been a different name, not just myself. I didn’t know how to go about being that we at first, but I know now, and am looking forward to this expansion. So, never give up on your goals. Figure out where you want to be. You may not have the answers at first, but you will come to the right conclusions eventually. Make mistakes. Ask questions. You will never learn if you never get out of your box.

Running a business and a successful business is a marathon. Remember that. Keep your head up and your mind, heart and ears open. You never know where that may take you.

Guest Post: Importance of Video in Social Media

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then, by my calculations, a two-minute video on YouTube played at thirty frames per second has got to be worth at least three-million-six-hundred-thousand words. But I’m no mathematician.
For such a pivotal form of media, the art of film is relatively young compared to pictures and written stories; it’s only been around since the late nineteenth century, and at that point it was just a novelty. Back then, there was no such thing as a feature length movie; instead, people would sit around and watch short, silent vignettes, brief on plot and characters and more experimental. Gradually, though, films, and the process of filmmaking, became more elaborate, and soon directors, actors, and writers were coming together to create stories. The camera served as a bulky pen, and movie set was paper.
Now we see videos everywhere. On the big screen, on the small screen, and, recently, on even smaller screens. Right under our thumbs, we have a catalogue of endless information, and included is a wealth of videos, from the six-second Vines, to the hour long lectures found in the more intellectual pockets of YouTube. Video has become an essential part of the time we spend on social media, so businesses and entrepreneurs should take care not to get left behind. Here are five reasons why it is crucial that you utilize video in your social media content strategy.

1. It’s a growing service:

Check your Facebook and scroll through your feed until you reach a video. Odds are, you won’t have to do much scrolling before you find yourself watching a montage of cats failing to mind the gap, or super-imposed Warriors participating in tag-team wrestling. In recent years, Facebook has almost become its own video service; it hosts around four billion video streams every day, and that number is only growing. Other outlets, like Vine and Snapchat, have taken it a step further with a specialization in short, punchy videos generally made for entertainment. People love watching videos, and people love sharing them. Which brings me to my next point…

2. It’ll spread like wildfire

One of the great aspects about social media is its ability to spread anything and everything, from pop culture to breaking news stories. Going viral isn’t as hard as it used to be; with the right idea and a little bit of luck, your idea can become a sensation. And even if it doesn’t go Chewbacca Mom viral, a well-made, well-thought-out video is the fastest way to spread whatever content you come up with. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg himself cited video as one of the most shared formats on Facebook; he’s predicted that within five years, Facebook will be dominated by video.

3. It’s engaging

What catches your eye more? A block of text, or a video? Nowadays people are more likely to click on an embedded video than a link to an article. In the same way that, for better or worse, movies have drowned out books in terms of popularity, videos on Facebook are much more likely to be noticed and picked up than long rants. No one wants to read a novel when they’re browsing through Facebook.

4. It’s easier for the audience to understand

When you need to look up a how-to, odds are one of the first places you’ll check is YouTube. Seeing a step-by-step tutorial is simple and easy to follow, and that sort of simplicity applies to all types of videos. Take a look at Khan Academy, a channel that’s been helping students with their late night study binges for years. Their videos offer great, accessible lessons in all things math, from geometry to applied physics, and while you may not be catering to an audience of college kids studying Calculus III, making use of video will get your point across in a clear, concise way.

5. It can be whatever you want

Of course, that phrase can be said about any form of media–writing, pictures, photos–but I cannot stress enough how flexible video can be. Whether you want to make a formal, no-nonsense business announcement or a wacky, off-the-wall advertisement, video can do that for you. Some nuances can only be achieved with the direction and quick cuts of video editing. It’s an art form, and whether you want to make a quick vlog on life with your laptop camera or dramatic PSA with dark lighting and moody music, oftentimes the best way to get across what you want to say is with video.

Video is all about communicating with your audience, face-to-face. We live in a highly personal age, and video helps break down the impersonal barrier that lines of text often put up. To learn more about creating a social media strategy that doesn’t overlook the importance of video, sign up here: http://www.glowsocialmedia.com/go/learnsocial

Courtney Lane Maki is the Founder and Managing Director at Glow Social Media, where she currently leads a team of 4 to provide agency-based content strategy and content creation, promoted through client branded social networks. Glow Social Media is located in REO Town in Lansing, Mi. Courtney can be reached at Courtney@glowsocialmedia.com.